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WSU players Monday press conference highlights

Here some of the best quotes from the Monday press appearances of Luke Falk, Gabe Marks and Peyton Pelluer.

WSU Linebacker Peyton Pelluer

Question: How meaningful was it to have a game like that end on a defensive play?
Peyton Pelluer: I think it's meaningful, not just for the defense but for the team. Just to show that we've got the team's back when we're needed. And the offense had our back as well and special teams, in addition. So I think it's important as a team to have that ability and to show it.

Q: Are you excited for the chance to show your home crowd how much you've improved?
PP: For sure. Like you said, we want to put together a full game. We came closer on Saturday, with all three phases: offense, defense and special teams. But we want to put it together in front of our home crowd for a game that we haven't been able to put together yet.

Q: Could this be a trap game?
PP: Obviously it has that potential to be but right now our emphasis and what the coaches told us, it doesn’t matter who we play. We're going to go into each game focusing on us and we have to play to our level. That's something, as players, we have to really start to emphasize. The coaches can only do so much and say so much but it really comes down to us playing at the level we know we can play at. Right now, we know we can play with the best of them, so we've just got to go out there and execute and do what we know best. And that's play football.

Q: What is this team capable of?
PP: I think we're capable of a lot of things, certainly of making it to the Pac-12 Championship. Like I said, playing with the best of them. As long as we put together a full game – offense, defense, special teams – I think we have potential to do great things here. The coaches gave us the mold, the blue print and all it is is us players continuing to buy in, play to the best of our abilities and execute the game plans the coaches give us.

Wide receiver Gabe Marks

Question: How would you describe Luke Falk as a leader?
Gabe Marks: When you think about playing quarterback when you're a kid and stuff like that, you think about the situations that everyone wants to be in at quarterback and Tom Brady moments and stuff like that, he's kind of that guy. He's got that aura to him and he's really gritty on the field. He's not like a lot of the quarterbacks today, real pretty and stuff like that. And he's like one of us, he likes to get out there and get dirty with us. I respect that. Because a lot of quarterbacks I think are a little – I play receiver and we've got some egos and I think they're getting a little ahead of us, now. It's a little out of control in college football.

Q: What did Saturday's win mean?

GM: I just think the guys on this team, we're tired of losing, you know? A lot of us come from winning programs in high school and a lot of us are from California and stuff like that. I know a lot of the guys from high school. None of us are accustomed to losing at anything and the years we've been here have been tough. I think we finally just decided, we've finally been given the reins complete of the program and we want to start winning some games. I think it's that time.

Q: Any theories about the ego issue?
GM: Quarterbacks don't get hit anymore. They just hang out at practice all day and toss a ball around a little bit, wear different colored jerseys. I think sometimes they need to get hit, I don't know. And it's like the Heisman quarterbacks. They win the Heisman every year. Let somebody else win the Heisman. There are better players than a quarterback every year that can win a Heisman. I like quarterbacks. Without them I couldn't do my thing or whatever. But I like more the Luke Falk kind of quarterback than the, uh, I'm not going to say any names.

Q: How do you avoid a letdown against Oregon State?
GM: We've got to come out and just win another game. We're not in a position to be taking anyone lightly, given the type of season that we've had. Every week it's come down to the wire for some reason. I don't know. I don't think we're that type of team. We understand what it takes to win, now, and I think we know that anyone in this conference can beat anyone from what we've seen over the years and this year especially.

Quarterback Luke Falk     

Question: Gabe wants to know if you show up early and leave late to be a cliché?
Luke Falk: No, I actually get stuff done. It's not just for the cliché.

Q: When you were growing up, pretending to win games, how'd that go down? Who were you playing for?
LF: I was a Broncos guy, because I grew up a big Bronco fan. It was always the Denver Broncos against the Oakland Raiders. I would actually put some pillows down around the fireplace thing, which was kind of weird, because didn’t want to hit my head while I was diving for a touchdown. I actually burned one of them and my mom kind of got pretty pissed off at me. I always envisioned myself winning the game and getting it done.

Q: Do those wins give you a sense of what this team is capable of?
LF: I think so. Just showing what we can do when we rise up as a team together. Our biggest challenge is just to do it all four quarters, rather than certain spots, and I think if we do that we'll be a hard team to mess with. There's a lot of positives on this film and there's some things we can build on. If we can get those things we can build on, we'll be a great team.

Q: Did you see Shalom Luani being this good?
LF: Yes, he came out to his first seven-on-seven this summer and instantly made an impact. That usually doesn't happen until week two or week three that you've been here so instantly I could see he was a player. And in fall camp he was hitting the crap out of our guys.



Jacob Thorpe
Jacob Thorpe joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the Sports Desk covering Washington State University athletics.

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