Full transcript from Clay Helton's Sunday night media call. Note, Helton deferred injury updates to Tuesday after seeing who is able to practice.
Opening comments ...
"After watching the game came away with a bunch of positives. One, a big Pac-12 win on the road for our football team, which we're going to need to do a couple more times in order to have a chance to win the Pac-12 South. To be able to go on the road and get that win I think builds a lot of confidence with our team. I think just watching the tape, it was great to see the maturity of Kedon after making an early mistake and not to get rattled and really to fight his way back, complete 68 percent of his balls, throw over 400 yards and he's really protecting the ball well in the passing game over the last three weeks. I think he's 8 touchdowns to 1 interception, so it was neat to see him really grow in that area over the past couple weeks.
"I thought the big three on the outside with Amon-Ra, Tyler and Pitt really shined. You know, we asked them to step up and play big and each one of them had 100-yard games of their own and each scoring a touchdown. Amon-Ra comes up with 50 yards worth of rushing offense and then two 100-yard receiving days by Tyler and Michael, so really great job by those three. And then you add Drake to it with his 85 yards and especially a huge play on the last drive on second-and-long that ended up helping us get a first down on that last drive. Really played a mature game, and there's a reason I think that group is one of the best in the country. They played like it.
"It was nice to see a true freshman in Kenan Christon making his first start. I thought he played beyond his years, rushed for 76 yards and averaged 5.1 per carry and you can see his effectiveness out of the backfield with his touchdown catch.
"Defensively, I thought one of the biggest keys of the game was the second half it felt like we were getting off the field on third down. You look at that second half and 1 out of 7 Colorado is third-down efficiency, which is huge in being able to provide more opportunities for our offense coming from behind. And I thought the hidden gem of the night was Ben Griffiths. You look at, sometimes the punter doesn't get a lot of credit, but his 46.2-yard net average and especially the last punt that was on the -15 in the fourth quarter and needing to flip the field, their drive start was on the -13 -- just a huge play by him.
"And then lastly I just like the finish of our team. Being down 10 and winning the fourth quarter 14-0, they have a never-say-die attitude and a Fight On attitude that's been evident to me this season. I appreciate their mentality, our staff's mentality and finding a way to get the job done. Now it's on to Oregon. We're in right now game-planning and looking forward to the opportunity to compete again this week."
On the injured players and which might be able to return this week ...
"I think I'll have some better answers for you Tuesday. The guys will be reporting back in tomorrow morning. They're off today. Some guys are in getting treatment, but they'll be back in tomorrow. We'll get them checked by the doctors. We've got a couple guys right on the cusp, a Christian Rector, a Chris Steele, but I'll be able to give you exactly who's who. The biggest thing that happened for us in this last game is coming [out of it] without injuries, not adding to the injuries. That was good fortune for us here. We had a game where we did not have a significant injury to any player -- that's the good news coming out of this game. And I'll have more details for you on Tuesday."
On Drew Richmond playing only 14 snaps, Liam Jimmons playing a larger role and the origin of moving Jimmons to the OL from DL when they did ...
"When we originally recruited Liam, if you remember, he was a tight end as well as a defensive lineman that we thought could end up being a quality D-line or O-lineman. We knew he was going to be a big person, and as you've seen he's becoming a 300-plus pounder and has really done a great job developing. He's got great athleticism, great feet, great toughness and instinctive football smarts. And Drew just wasn't feeling great at the beginning of the game, just wasn't feeling like himself. We've got a little bit of a bug going around and plus being at altitude just wasn't feeling great. He fought through it and gave us some numbers, gave us some play numbers, but gave also Liam a chance to go out there and do what he's done really the last two games. Credit to him, credit to Jalen moving out to tackle when need be and credit to Drew not feeling at his best and still going out there and fighting for his brothers."
On Kenan Christon's performance and what he showed ...
"I thought he did a terrific job. He got 16 touches in the game -- I think it's 14 runs and 2 catches in that game -- and comes up averaging 5.4 a carry, had 76 yards total rushing and has a touchdown catch. So he did the things that were needed to win the game. What was really neat, I always thought you could tell a player by his eyes when he's out there coming in and off the field, and he looked very calm. He looked excited for the moment and having a chance to go out there and play and help his teammates, and that was a great sign. To be able to go out there, and the best thing he did, he secured the ball. You always worry about a young guy getting out there his first time and that's two games in a row that he's had great ball security, made positive yards for us and he's that home run hitter. I thought he had a couple times he was right there with the last [defender], I was like, 'Oh my goodness, if he gets by this one guy it's gone.' We just needed to make the last one miss, but you hold your breath every time he touches it. I thought for his first start to go out there and get 16 touches and really be productive was a great step forward for him."
On whether Amon-Ra St. Brown will get more carries out of the backfield ...
"We'll never give away game plan, but one of the qualities of Amon-Ra that I think he reminds me a lot of what Robert Woods brings to the table … he's one of the more physical players on the field offensively and defensively as a runner, as a blocker, as a pass-catcher. And he's tremendous after the catch or running. There's a reason that he's returning punts for us. There's a reason that we put him in the backfield. He has dynamic running skills and he's physical. You look up and he has 3 carries for 50 yards, which is just huge in the game for us, and has an explosive play for 37 yards for a touchdown. We're always going to try to find ways to get him the ball, not only down the field but just to get the ball in his hands whether it's hand it to him, screen it to him, perimeter screen, RPO to him just because he can do so much getting yards after the catch."
On the defense finishing strong ...
"A couple things happened, and Clancy and I, we were very clear and transparent really after the game watching the tape, I thought in the first half we let Steven [Montez] get out of the pocket and be able to create and extend some plays. I also thought that they made a sense of urgency to be able to get Laviska [Shenault] the ball, which they did a nice job in the first half and that first drive of the second half. We made a little bit of alteration, if you noticed, going from a little bit of off coverage because of the deep ball threat that they had shown in the past and went to more press man to man and pressing at the line of scrimmage I thought helped. But really what I thought was evident in the second half was just keeping Steven in the pocket, making him work from the pocket where he couldn't get outside and gain vision, forcing those throws to be on time I think helped us a lot, especially on third downs where they go 1 for 7. A little bit of alteration in technique by our DBs in the second half and a little bit of better contain."
On Kenan Christon showing he can play bigger than his size ...
"I think the kid is a kid that can handle a bunch of touches. He handled 16 on Friday night and didn't look tired, he looked fresh. And obviously he had some opportunities, some inside and outside zone, which we were running a bunch of in that game, and he averaged 5.5 yards a carry. The off tackle play that he ran the game before he made some explosives. So I think he can run any play in our offense. What I was even more excited about was his just natural catching ability that you got to see a little bit of outside, and that's a huge part of this offense is the ability to get dynamic athletes in space. Here we are down the red zone, called a designed play specifically for him, for a freshman, and he makes the play and makes it look routine. So it was great to see. I think it was a great step for him."
On taking back-to-back days off Saturday-Sunday ...
"That's a NCAA rule. Because of the short week we actually worked last Sunday and declared our day for that week on Saturday, and because of the Saturday game this week we have to give them today off. So both days were mandatory, and to be honest with you we needed it to get some bumps and bruises done and get fresh back for practice tomorrow. But yes, both days are mandated by the NCAA."
Opening comments ...
"After watching the game came away with a bunch of positives. One, a big Pac-12 win on the road for our football team, which we're going to need to do a couple more times in order to have a chance to win the Pac-12 South. To be able to go on the road and get that win I think builds a lot of confidence with our team. I think just watching the tape, it was great to see the maturity of Kedon after making an early mistake and not to get rattled and really to fight his way back, complete 68 percent of his balls, throw over 400 yards and he's really protecting the ball well in the passing game over the last three weeks. I think he's 8 touchdowns to 1 interception, so it was neat to see him really grow in that area over the past couple weeks.
"I thought the big three on the outside with Amon-Ra, Tyler and Pitt really shined. You know, we asked them to step up and play big and each one of them had 100-yard games of their own and each scoring a touchdown. Amon-Ra comes up with 50 yards worth of rushing offense and then two 100-yard receiving days by Tyler and Michael, so really great job by those three. And then you add Drake to it with his 85 yards and especially a huge play on the last drive on second-and-long that ended up helping us get a first down on that last drive. Really played a mature game, and there's a reason I think that group is one of the best in the country. They played like it.
"It was nice to see a true freshman in Kenan Christon making his first start. I thought he played beyond his years, rushed for 76 yards and averaged 5.1 per carry and you can see his effectiveness out of the backfield with his touchdown catch.
"Defensively, I thought one of the biggest keys of the game was the second half it felt like we were getting off the field on third down. You look at that second half and 1 out of 7 Colorado is third-down efficiency, which is huge in being able to provide more opportunities for our offense coming from behind. And I thought the hidden gem of the night was Ben Griffiths. You look at, sometimes the punter doesn't get a lot of credit, but his 46.2-yard net average and especially the last punt that was on the -15 in the fourth quarter and needing to flip the field, their drive start was on the -13 -- just a huge play by him.
"And then lastly I just like the finish of our team. Being down 10 and winning the fourth quarter 14-0, they have a never-say-die attitude and a Fight On attitude that's been evident to me this season. I appreciate their mentality, our staff's mentality and finding a way to get the job done. Now it's on to Oregon. We're in right now game-planning and looking forward to the opportunity to compete again this week."
On the injured players and which might be able to return this week ...
"I think I'll have some better answers for you Tuesday. The guys will be reporting back in tomorrow morning. They're off today. Some guys are in getting treatment, but they'll be back in tomorrow. We'll get them checked by the doctors. We've got a couple guys right on the cusp, a Christian Rector, a Chris Steele, but I'll be able to give you exactly who's who. The biggest thing that happened for us in this last game is coming [out of it] without injuries, not adding to the injuries. That was good fortune for us here. We had a game where we did not have a significant injury to any player -- that's the good news coming out of this game. And I'll have more details for you on Tuesday."
On Drew Richmond playing only 14 snaps, Liam Jimmons playing a larger role and the origin of moving Jimmons to the OL from DL when they did ...
"When we originally recruited Liam, if you remember, he was a tight end as well as a defensive lineman that we thought could end up being a quality D-line or O-lineman. We knew he was going to be a big person, and as you've seen he's becoming a 300-plus pounder and has really done a great job developing. He's got great athleticism, great feet, great toughness and instinctive football smarts. And Drew just wasn't feeling great at the beginning of the game, just wasn't feeling like himself. We've got a little bit of a bug going around and plus being at altitude just wasn't feeling great. He fought through it and gave us some numbers, gave us some play numbers, but gave also Liam a chance to go out there and do what he's done really the last two games. Credit to him, credit to Jalen moving out to tackle when need be and credit to Drew not feeling at his best and still going out there and fighting for his brothers."
On Kenan Christon's performance and what he showed ...
"I thought he did a terrific job. He got 16 touches in the game -- I think it's 14 runs and 2 catches in that game -- and comes up averaging 5.4 a carry, had 76 yards total rushing and has a touchdown catch. So he did the things that were needed to win the game. What was really neat, I always thought you could tell a player by his eyes when he's out there coming in and off the field, and he looked very calm. He looked excited for the moment and having a chance to go out there and play and help his teammates, and that was a great sign. To be able to go out there, and the best thing he did, he secured the ball. You always worry about a young guy getting out there his first time and that's two games in a row that he's had great ball security, made positive yards for us and he's that home run hitter. I thought he had a couple times he was right there with the last [defender], I was like, 'Oh my goodness, if he gets by this one guy it's gone.' We just needed to make the last one miss, but you hold your breath every time he touches it. I thought for his first start to go out there and get 16 touches and really be productive was a great step forward for him."
On whether Amon-Ra St. Brown will get more carries out of the backfield ...
"We'll never give away game plan, but one of the qualities of Amon-Ra that I think he reminds me a lot of what Robert Woods brings to the table … he's one of the more physical players on the field offensively and defensively as a runner, as a blocker, as a pass-catcher. And he's tremendous after the catch or running. There's a reason that he's returning punts for us. There's a reason that we put him in the backfield. He has dynamic running skills and he's physical. You look up and he has 3 carries for 50 yards, which is just huge in the game for us, and has an explosive play for 37 yards for a touchdown. We're always going to try to find ways to get him the ball, not only down the field but just to get the ball in his hands whether it's hand it to him, screen it to him, perimeter screen, RPO to him just because he can do so much getting yards after the catch."
On the defense finishing strong ...
"A couple things happened, and Clancy and I, we were very clear and transparent really after the game watching the tape, I thought in the first half we let Steven [Montez] get out of the pocket and be able to create and extend some plays. I also thought that they made a sense of urgency to be able to get Laviska [Shenault] the ball, which they did a nice job in the first half and that first drive of the second half. We made a little bit of alteration, if you noticed, going from a little bit of off coverage because of the deep ball threat that they had shown in the past and went to more press man to man and pressing at the line of scrimmage I thought helped. But really what I thought was evident in the second half was just keeping Steven in the pocket, making him work from the pocket where he couldn't get outside and gain vision, forcing those throws to be on time I think helped us a lot, especially on third downs where they go 1 for 7. A little bit of alteration in technique by our DBs in the second half and a little bit of better contain."
On Kenan Christon showing he can play bigger than his size ...
"I think the kid is a kid that can handle a bunch of touches. He handled 16 on Friday night and didn't look tired, he looked fresh. And obviously he had some opportunities, some inside and outside zone, which we were running a bunch of in that game, and he averaged 5.5 yards a carry. The off tackle play that he ran the game before he made some explosives. So I think he can run any play in our offense. What I was even more excited about was his just natural catching ability that you got to see a little bit of outside, and that's a huge part of this offense is the ability to get dynamic athletes in space. Here we are down the red zone, called a designed play specifically for him, for a freshman, and he makes the play and makes it look routine. So it was great to see. I think it was a great step for him."
On taking back-to-back days off Saturday-Sunday ...
"That's a NCAA rule. Because of the short week we actually worked last Sunday and declared our day for that week on Saturday, and because of the Saturday game this week we have to give them today off. So both days were mandatory, and to be honest with you we needed it to get some bumps and bruises done and get fresh back for practice tomorrow. But yes, both days are mandated by the NCAA."
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