Derrick Harmon on a Mission to Slow Vaunted Boise State Rushing Attack
Oregon defensive lineman Derrick Harmon shined in his Duck debut, recording 5 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a 24-14 win over the Idaho Vandals.
Harmon met with reporters in Eugene following Wednesday’s practice to give his thoughts on facing the Boise State Broncos.
Question: Jeanty the Boise State running back, what have you seen from him on tape?
Harmon: “A good running back. We gotta stop him. If we want to win we gotta stop him.“
Question: How do you feel like you did this past week?
Harmon: “Just made the plays within the defense. Coach made the calls we gotta execute.”
Question: How’s the camaraderie of the defensive line been through camp and this first week?
Harmon: “It’s been good, I love those guys. Probably the best group I’ve been around in my years in college. I love these guys.”
Question: Small sample size so far, but your decision to come to Oregon, so far how’s it met expectations?
Harmon: “It’s met its expectations. I feel like I made a great decision.”
Question: How are you guys able to build off of the success that you had against Idaho?
Harmon: “We came here this week just—get back to work. It wasn’t the best of football we played. But we came here attack this week and still attacking this week. We’re gonna put on a show next week.”
Question: Have you seen that show up in practice? Better effort, better execution?
Harmon: “Yes sir. It’s been an intense week. Everybody’s fighting and grinding to get better.”
Question: They’re really efficient on third and fourth down. What have you seen that makes them that way?
Harmon: “They want to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball and they want to take shots. Keep running the ball down your throat then take shots. Big plays happen like that.”
Question: Talked about stopping the running back, but what’s sort of the key to just even taking him down? ‘Cause that’s often easier said than done.
Harmon: “Tackle. It’s football. Gotta tackle somebody, you bring ’em down.”
Question: What have you seen from their quarterback and what he does?
Harmon: “Hand the ball off to his running back pretty much. Of course he takes shots. He’s a good quarterback, not taking anything from him, but good quarterback.”
Question: Is the defense still more fired up when you see a guy that ran for 260 and averaged like 14 yards a carry, six touchdowns?
Harmon: “Yeah I feel like it’s a mission to stop him from doing that against us. As long as we stop him from running that ball we can win the game I feel like.”
