Monday Mack
Notes from Greg McMackin’s press conference today addressing last Saturday’s 31-21 loss at Nevada and this week’s game against Utah State:
>> Richard Torres has an appointment to see a doctor today for his pulled hamstring. McMackin said the hamstring was tight entering the game and the staff took him off of special teams duty. But it tightened up in the first quarter. His loss forced the defense out of a package designed to contain the option.
>> McMackin hopes cornerback Jeramy Bryant will be available this week. Bryant didn’t make the trip to Nevada due a biceps injury. McMackin was pleased with the play of freshmen Lewis Walker and Kawika Ornellas in the secondary.
>> On running back Alex Green: “We know he’s an outstanding running back and had a real good game. We’ve been waiting for him to be able to block also and he’s at that point now.”
>> On Jovonte Taylor’s 109-yard game: “It’s good to have that speed on the field. Obviously when we lost Rodney (Bradley) that hurt, but it was good to see him come along because we need playmakers and he made a big play for us and helped us.”
>> On costly mistakes: “I think the guys were mentally ready to play and they were focused and together. And it comes back to making those little mistakes. We got a high snap and a 7-yard punt when we were trying to back them up. We make some of those young, inexperienced mistakes and we just have to keep coaching and working.”
>> On Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel: “Even though they didn’t win a lot of games last year, we knew he was a guy that was really good and he played really good against us (in Utah State’s 30-14 win). He’s a guy that can run and throw the football, probably throws the ball a little better than Colin (Kaepernick) does.”
