Louisville DE Ashton Gillotte, CB Quincy Riley on Decisions to Return in 2024
Transcript
00:00 >> When did you make the decision in your mind and
00:05 kind of what did it come down to that you were gonna come back and do it another year?
00:08 >> I came to that decision sometime in December, but
00:12 obviously I just talked to my family, I prayed it up.
00:17 Obviously trying to get Scott opinions and all that kind of stuff.
00:21 So I really just, just like how I always have,
00:26 I'm just trusting the planet God has for me.
00:30 And that's what it felt, I felt called to do so.
00:32 That's what kind of led me to my decision to come back.
00:36 >> What were the opinions you got?
00:38 What did they tell you out there?
00:40 >> I mean, you get a whole bunch of opinions.
00:43 You got people telling you to go, people telling you to not.
00:46 But obviously it comes down to what you think is best for you at the end of the day.
00:50 So I've had people tell me I should have gone,
00:55 I've had people who told me I shouldn't have stayed, but I'm glad with my decision.
00:58 >> And same question for you, Quincy.
01:00 What kind of went into your decision to come back for 2024?
01:03 >> What went into my decision was, what would be best for me and
01:09 position I'm in, and then coming back with my pros and cons, and
01:14 leaving with my pros and cons.
01:15 I feel like it was more pros than cons for
01:19 staying rather than cons and pros for leaving.
01:23 So I just trust the guy I'm playing, and I just stuck with it.
01:27 That was just really my reasoning.
01:29 >> Quincy, what were some of the pros of coming back?
01:32 >> Some of the pros of coming back were just playing again on the new coaching staff.
01:39 Like this is my first year having really, in college football,
01:41 having so much fun playing.
01:43 So that was just a pro.
01:46 Also improving my drive stop, that was another pro.
01:49 And just bettering myself, that was another pro.
01:54 >> With both of you coming back, your big piece is obviously to next year's success.
01:59 But obviously the staff is also working the transfer portal,
02:03 both on the defensive line and the secondary.
02:05 How much attention do you guys pay to what they're bringing in?
02:08 And if so, what do you think about the guys that they're bringing in to help
02:10 strengthen both spots?
02:12 >> I mean, it's always great.
02:14 I mean, I think we made a lot of good pickups, quality pickups,
02:18 not to build our team, but our depth.
02:21 Obviously, we're a transfer portal team.
02:24 We rely on it, we have a lot of players out of it.
02:27 But I don't think of that as a bad thing.
02:30 I think it promotes a lot of good competition, which is obviously what we
02:33 want, and we wanna do a championship team.
02:34 So just really just our main focus is gonna be getting together with the new
02:39 guys, trying to focus on what the goal is.
02:42 >> Ash, and in terms of hearing what your NFL draft stock was from people who
02:46 know, did that play any sort of role in your decision to try and come back?
02:50 Or what did they tell you when you asked them what your stock was?
02:53 >> I mean, it's a little bit to what he said.
02:55 I mean, obviously, it wasn't a matter of if I could go or not.
03:00 It's to improve my stock.
03:01 Obviously, there's a whole numerous reasons why you would choose to come back or
03:09 declare, but there's just a lot of benefits to me coming back.
03:13 I think there's a lot of stuff for me to improve on in my game,
03:17 a lot of stuff I can put on film to better improve my stock and
03:21 how I feel as a player.
03:22 >> I guess just can you expand on that for both of you guys?
03:25 What do you have more to prove or
03:27 what do you want to do differently next season to improve that stock?
03:30 >> Really just the feedback you get from scouts and your coaches,
03:35 that's probably your weakness of your game.
03:38 Mainly what I wanna improve on, whatever that may be.
03:42 >> Yeah, same thing.
03:43 I mean, they give you kind of a list of what things that you could work on.
03:48 For me, it would probably be counter moves and stuff like that,
03:50 just having it happen faster.
03:52 Obviously, I was new to the actual end again,
03:56 cuz I haven't played it since high school.
03:58 But I think coming back, being able to focus on that will allow me to develop
04:02 into the player I wanna be at the next level.
04:04 >> Actually, I was supposed to say, one year you're inside,
04:08 then you're back out, and that kind of thing.
04:09 The second year, another year, how big was that in your mind to be able to put
04:15 what you did this year on tape again to help your stock?
04:17 >> Wait, can you rephrase that, sorry?
04:21 >> How big was it in your mind to put that on tape for a second year?
04:24 Like the year you had this year to repeat it next year, or maybe even do better.
04:28 How big is that for your draft stock, do you feel like?
04:30 >> I mean, it's obviously a crucial part.
04:33 I mean, I haven't been on the edge as much,
04:35 they haven't seen me on the edge as much.
04:37 So there's a little bit of a gray area, what should he actually play?
04:42 So I think going out this year gives me a chance to prove that I am at the end,
04:47 I can play both if I need to.
04:50 It's just giving me a lot of flexibility, and that's a good thing.
04:54 >> For both of you guys, obviously, there's still several more months until
04:57 next season.
04:57 But when you see, you got you two coming back,
04:59 you see everyone else that's returning.
05:01 Then you see the amount of quality pieces that are coming in through the transfer
05:05 portal and through high school.
05:06 How excited does that get you guys wanting to get back to work and
05:09 get back to playing football,
05:11 knowing all that you guys could feel the top 15, 10 defense?
05:15 >> It feels good, of course, like just the guys you see come in,
05:19 where they come from, and how they play there.
05:21 Like, it's a whole bunch of talent going around in the room.
05:24 So it's just exciting knowing that if y'all just come together and
05:27 do what y'all supposed to do, we can be big this year.
05:30 >> Yeah, I mean, and especially from the guys coming in,
05:35 all of them, we haven't had an issue with any attitudes or anything.
05:38 So I think everyone knows what the goal is.
05:40 We're pretty clear-minded on what we wanna achieve this year.
05:45 And I think a lot of that competition is gonna be great just for
05:50 the team, just to get us going.
05:52 >> I guess from a team perspective, you guys, is there a little bit of a,
05:55 I guess a feeling of unfinished business knowing how far you guys made it last year
05:58 in getting to the ACB Championship?
06:00 Is there a little more motivation this year knowing that, okay,
06:03 we got here last year, now we have all these new players, this new talent coming in.
06:07 It's kind of playing on you as far as maybe winning one next year.
06:11 >> 100%, yeah, we see that we got there last year and could have won last year.
06:16 But now that we see that we can get there, it just motivates us to get back there and
06:19 just finish the business that we didn't finish.
06:22 >> Yeah, now we have a standard to uphold.
06:24 We gotta, I mean, that's the thing with raising the bars every time.
06:29 Now that's gonna be the expectation.
06:31 Obviously, people in the city are gonna expect us to do the same thing.
06:34 So obviously, I mean, we know what we can do.
06:38 We've done it.
06:39 So just getting back to that level, executing again.
06:41 >> Quite a bit of success for a first year of a head coach,
06:45 you get from obviously the storyline coming home and all that.
06:48 What's been his message to the team since the holiday bowl,
06:52 getting your minds focused on 24?
06:54 >> Just work.
06:55 I mean, talk about just work.
06:57 And right now, he's not really saying much, but that's what we know.
07:01 He wants us to just go out there and work and just take care,
07:04 what we need to take care of each day and not worry about so much the end goal.
07:08 But just each day, what we need to work on to get better to reach the end goal.
07:12 >> Yeah.
07:12 >> Quincy, you played all but like 30 snaps this year.
07:19 What was it like to be out there for so long, so much?
07:23 What's your body feel like now?
07:24 And how important are these next couple months to kind of get refreshed
07:29 before spring and get back out there and work on your craft more?
07:33 >> Of course, it was exhausting, especially the position I play.
07:36 We just run all day.
07:37 >> [LAUGH] >> So with the new guys coming in,
07:41 I would hope they would like to take some reps off me.
07:44 Cuz we need that to win games, for real.
07:47 So with this spring coming, I wanna just work on getting my body where it needs to
07:50 be so I can come back around, I'm 100%.
07:53 >> And just going off that, Quincy, what is that conditioning like for you?
07:57 What were some things that you did to try to be able to play all those snaps?
08:02 >> Really just cold, tough, been in the training room, stretching.
08:05 Like just the little things that can get you to the next game.
08:09 Cuz once after the first game, you're never gonna be just 100%.
08:12 So you just gotta maintain that balance of being sore or
08:15 banged up a little bit just to get ready for the next game.
08:20 >> For both you guys, or either one of you, you guys lost 18 guys to the portal.
08:25 But of those guys, there wasn't a ton of what I guess most people would call
08:29 main core guys.
08:30 Does that speak to the culture of the program now?
08:34 And is it different than it was this time a year, year and a half ago?
08:38 >> I don't know how you want me to answer that.
08:43 I mean, some guys left and more guys came in.
08:46 So it's just, whoever wanna be here, I'm happy to be here.
08:49 Whoever don't wanna be here, go find a place that you're happy at.
08:53 >> I mean, this is the part of college football now.
08:55 I mean, obviously transfer portal is heavily relied on.
08:57 People wanna take their shot and get a better opportunity.
09:01 So I'm not gonna knock any of those guys.
09:03 I mean, we're welcome to people who come in.
09:06 >> I guess just, obviously, most of you guys in this house,
09:11 you both seem kind of quiet, more reserved.
09:13 When you have so many new players come in,
09:15 I guess how does that leadership role take on?
09:17 Or what do you guys do to, you wanna all go with them?
09:20 Or how does that leadership role kind of rise now that you guys are the elder
09:23 statesmen and trying to curl up the team, I guess?
09:27 >> I mean, obviously, I mean, we're both reserved.
09:31 But stepping out of that comfort zone a little bit, I mean,
09:35 I'm trying to read coaching books,
09:36 like trying to figure out how to step into a leadership role properly.
09:40 But I mean, it really, it doesn't change too much.
09:44 Like the culture is still the same.
09:46 You just gotta know when to be vocal.
09:48 And that's always, that's a crucial part about being a leader.
09:51 I mean, obviously, we both lead by example.
09:53 But knowing when you have to have the difficult conversations,
09:57 know when to call people out.
09:59 I think that's something that, I mean, I've done more recently,
10:03 just obviously just trying to call out what we expect from the team.
10:08 >> Yeah, I think that's my biggest knock is me not talking so much of my past years.
10:13 And now since they got me in that leader role,
10:17 I feel like I just watch the coaches and see what they do.
10:20 So when it's time for me to do that, I just kind of copycat what they do.
10:24 But it just helped me get out of my comfort zone, talking to the guys when I
10:27 need to, whether they're doing good or bad, just getting more so
10:31 out of my comfort zone.
10:32 >> For both of you guys, obviously a lot of teams, they said,
10:35 preseason expectations of wanting to make the championship game or
10:38 win or something like that.
10:39 But with Jeff Brom coming in his first year and going out there and
10:43 getting you guys to the championship game, how much does that in your guys' mind
10:47 kind of validate that this coaching staff knows what they're doing and
10:50 has this program on a positive trajectory?
10:53 >> That lets me know a lot that you know what you're doing.
10:56 Louisville never been there before, but he had been there before,
11:02 in different conferences, but still coming in to a new program, to new kids.
11:08 He just wanted one thing, and he made all the coaching staff knew that that one
11:12 thing, installed them to the kids.
11:14 So now that we believe in him,
11:15 I feel like he can do more than what he had done, though.
11:18 >> Last two.
11:22 >> Ashton, you kind of talked about being the team that has used the portal
11:26 to its advantage.
11:26 After the season you guys just had, how do you think other places look at Louisville
11:31 even differently now as a brand, and as a place that you can come transfer in and
11:35 have a season like you did last year?
11:37 >> I mean,
11:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:47 Obviously, I don't know exactly how other schools will look at us.
11:51 I mean, I always would say that they reviewed as an underdog, but
11:54 I think people see that we're a school that's on the uprise.
11:59 We have a good trajectory, we have great coaches, and
12:01 I think our season was a testament to that.
12:04 Obviously, we had a lot of people who transferred in last year who started and
12:07 played, and got good reps.
12:08 So obviously, I mean, we're a little moshposh team.
12:13 We got a lot of people coming in, a lot of people coming out, but
12:16 I think it shows that we have a coach that can rally and
12:20 guide all that together just to get us to the main goal, which is just to win every
12:25 day, so.
12:27 >> Go ahead, last one.
12:29 >> Last question, I know making it to the next level is the ultimate goal.
12:35 We got some pretty big games coming up this weekend.
12:38 I'd like to know who you're gonna be cheering for, and you better say Lamar.
12:41 >> [LAUGH] >> I'm not gonna say it, the Ravens.
12:45 My dad's a big Ravens fan, so it's been ingrained in my family for a while.
12:49 So I'm gonna definitely say the Ravens.
12:51 >> All right.
12:54 >> Thanks, Kevin.