Head Coach Jason Candle
On today’s trek to Atlantis…
“Long day, obviously. We practiced this morning, up early, but what an adventure to get here and what a great experience to have to finish up the season. Looking forward to a great week here at the Atlantis. The hospitality, obviously, is first class as always. The greeting is first class. We look forward to a great week.”
On the team’s excitement level…
“Yes, obviously a bowl game is a reward for a great season, and we had a good season. This is a time to come down and finish the season off the right way. We have 13 seniors we want to send out the right way with a victory. If you can have that experience and yet have some fun doing it, that’s obviously the main goal. And to be able to do that at a place like this is first class.”
On whether he’s able to enjoy the week…
“I promised myself I’d put my toes in the water at least once this time. Last time (2018) I was not able to do that and we came up three points short. So, maybe this time I’ll get down that water slide and get into that ocean a little bit, and get into that sand, and maybe it will turn out a little different.”
On his message to the team…
“I think a picture doesn’t do this place justice. This is a first-class resort. People come from all over the world to vacation here, so we are very blessed, very lucky and after what the world has gone through the last 18 months we certainly don’t take this opportunity lightly. This is a first-class experience, a great opportunity for our guys to be away and to, right before the holidays, get a little break. We are not tourists, we are football players and we want to come win the football game. But, I think you can do both – you can have a good, fun week and then go play really well on Friday.”
Junior Linebacker Jamal Hines
On returning to the Bahamas…
“We are really excited to come back to the Bahamas. It is real nice here. I’ve never seen anything like this (the scenery) before. Coming down here and making it this far is a blessing.”
On the team’s reaction to being picked for the game…
“The younger guys were really excited. I was excited but this time we have something to prove here – some unfinished business.”
On what Toledo needs to do to be successful against MTSU on Friday…
“We need to execute at a high level and make sure we have the right guys in the right places to make plays. We need to make less mistakes than they do. We told the younger guys that even though we are in a nice place like this we need to think of it as a business trip. We are not done yet – we still have another game to play.”
Sophomore Safety Nate Bauer
On returning to the Bahamas…
“It was a lot of fun last time, but we did not come out on top. We expect to come in and have another good time and win the game this time.”
On what is different for Toledo this time…
“The last team we had was real talented, but this one is real talented, too. This group is a little more close togetherness-wise.”
On what he is looking forward to while staying at the Atlantis…
“This is really exciting. This place is great – great hotel. Great service. Great people. A great time. The events last time were great. I’m looking forward to doing it again. I want to get on the jet skis this time. Also to get on the slide that goes straight down – I want to get back on that. I want to get on the slide with the sharks, too.”
