Kiko Mauigoa played a huge role in holding USF’s fast-paced running game to 62 yards on 32 attempts (1.9 YPC). He met with reporters to discuss the upcoming game against Virginia Tech:
On Virginia Tech: They have a really good team. 2-2 is very misleading. They almost won against Rutgers. They lost by three points, but they’ve got a really good team. They’ve got a really good offense. The quarterback is very good with his feet, and the running back very explosive, too. So we’ve got a challenge this week. This is conference play and we're excited for the opportunity.
On striking a balance between celebrating and not getting penalized: When it comes to playing football, you’ve always got to have composure. You can have fun at the same time, but can't be overdoing it. We've seen a couple of times we got selfish and got some penalties. So for us, it's good to have fun, but always have a limit to it. It’s putting the team first, and having awareness. For us as leaders, we’ve gotta emphasize that on the team. Everybody’s doing a pretty good job putting the team first.
On keeping their edge: We always have the goal and mindset to dominate every single play. We have a standard that we’ve got to dominate and we’ve got to win our one-on-ones. If we see ourselves not doing what our standard is, we gotta check ourselves. We hold each other accountable on that.
It happens on Greentree first before it happens on the game field. So it’s having the mindset to dominate. Our coaches have done a pretty good job emphasizing that throughout the whole week.
On his decision to come back: Before I even made a decision to come back, I felt like this was the best decision for me. Being able to come back and be part of something very special and be part of a group of men that are willing to pour into this program and make each other better and hold each other accountable is what I've yearned for and what I've been missing. So just being able to come back and play football with these guys, it's a blessing. No, I have no regrets on having that decision to come back.
On Virginia Tech: They have a really good team. 2-2 is very misleading. They almost won against Rutgers. They lost by three points, but they’ve got a really good team. They’ve got a really good offense. The quarterback is very good with his feet, and the running back very explosive, too. So we’ve got a challenge this week. This is conference play and we're excited for the opportunity.
On striking a balance between celebrating and not getting penalized: When it comes to playing football, you’ve always got to have composure. You can have fun at the same time, but can't be overdoing it. We've seen a couple of times we got selfish and got some penalties. So for us, it's good to have fun, but always have a limit to it. It’s putting the team first, and having awareness. For us as leaders, we’ve gotta emphasize that on the team. Everybody’s doing a pretty good job putting the team first.
On keeping their edge: We always have the goal and mindset to dominate every single play. We have a standard that we’ve got to dominate and we’ve got to win our one-on-ones. If we see ourselves not doing what our standard is, we gotta check ourselves. We hold each other accountable on that.
It happens on Greentree first before it happens on the game field. So it’s having the mindset to dominate. Our coaches have done a pretty good job emphasizing that throughout the whole week.
On his decision to come back: Before I even made a decision to come back, I felt like this was the best decision for me. Being able to come back and be part of something very special and be part of a group of men that are willing to pour into this program and make each other better and hold each other accountable is what I've yearned for and what I've been missing. So just being able to come back and play football with these guys, it's a blessing. No, I have no regrets on having that decision to come back.
