Denver Johnson Quotations

We won't be better because Boomer's gone, but it has forced us to structure some things differently, and I think that will prove good for us.

I found myself the first couple of years that I had to sell things to people. There was a lot of resistance, a lot of resistance on the team and some in the athletic administration.

It has been Boomer's team, sometimes to a detriment. He was making the tackle that someone else should have made. We had guys just think that Boomer would be there.

Our scoring system showed if you turn the ball over it's going to hurt you. Overall, I think the spring was really good. We wanted to have some fun and we did that. We wrapped it up on a positive note.

Our focus is always on the Gateway, and we use the four non-conference games as a chance to evaluate towards that. (Eastern Illinois) will be a challenge for us. We'll know a lot more about ourselves when we get on Saturday.

I was very pleased with the way we played last week. We beat a big, physical Murray State team and we did it soundly.

I was really disappointed on the offensive side of the ball today. We are little watered down right now (in terms of offensive personnel), but overall I thought it was a good day - we got a little something done and lots of film to look at.

The past couple of years I've had other opportunities that were fairly attractive to me, but I'm committed to this. I still perceive this program to have great potential. I think we can do something special here.

We've got three pillars that we're going to try and build this program around. The first is academic integrity. The second is social responsibility. We want good citizens. Third is competitive excellence. When I evaluate our program on those three pillars, I think we're making good progress.

We are excited to get this worked out. It gives us another opportunity to open up the season against a nationally recognized opponent. Our kids are always excited about playing these I-A games, and we just appreciate the opportunity.

With him they had a threat to get back in it in the second half (although down 28-0). At halftime I told the team that they had to nail it down and that's what they did.

To be honest, I'm excited again to be head coach here at Illinois State. There was a time here when I'm not sure I could say I was excited. My tenure here has not been an easy one. I feel we've got new leadership in the department, we've got good direction in the program. I feel that we're going to get a little bit of traction here and really become productive.

Boomer is what you want them all to be.

Brockway has been like a government mule. We've worked him to death. But he's done well. And I tell you, he's benefiting from it. He's getting a lot of opportunities to get better and he is.

Being two plays away is like being the guy who drowned three feet from the dock. Our kids feel like we're better, an improved football team. But we have to get a win to enjoy that.

Sometimes you see that happen, where a team gets over the hump and gets some traction. Don't ever underestimate the power of momentum.

Drake is certainly a worthy opponent. They gave us a pretty good game out here a couple of years ago. Drake is a good enough team to come in here and beat us. If you don't play well, you give people the opportunity to upset you.

It's a tough deal when you've got one quarterback. Brockway has been like one of those mules that carry people in and out of the Grand Canyon. We're working him to death. I'm sure he's tired, but it's been a great spring for him. He's learned a lot and he's really improved. Right now, I think we could win with Kevin Brockway.

There's the physical component of evaluating kids, there's an academic component, and then you get into the intangibles. You try and get a handle on what kind if kid he is.

I'm not sure I anticipated how far and how fast this institution would move academically, but I did see it coming. It's not a bad thing. It is a good school. To get a degree here is not an insignificant thing.

I'm not happy, certainly not satisfied, with what we've been able to get done on the field. We've had some good years. We've had some very competitive games, but we need to break through. We need to have an 8-, 9- or 10-win season before long.

In coaching the old adage is you'd really like to come in behind someone they wanted to run out of town on a rail. (The previous staff) came in here and had great success, unprecedented success in the I-AA era. They set that high-water mark, and we fell short of it. That was disappointing to me. I'm sure it was disappointing to the fans and everyone involved in the program here.

I'm probably going to jinx myself but our defense is playing well right now. They are hunting in packs and getting after the football.

I had a great job at Murray State, but I perceived some great potential, and I still do. Dare I say there were some obstacles that we've had to overcome.

I don't know if Luke was nervous, but I was. You have a sophomore quarterback who has never started a college game and the first time he takes the field he's on his own 20-yard line and staring at a very good Big 12 defense. He didn't complete a pass on his first couple of tries, but once he completed one he turned the ball loose with a little more confidence.