PRESS CONFERENCE SAINTS - WR MARQUES COLSTON - Ingles

Super Bowl XLI – Tuesday, February 2, 2010

QUOTES FROM NEW ORLEANS SAINTS PRESS CONFERENCE

WR MARQUES COLSTON

(on Drew Brees’ work ethic) “Drew is definitely the hardest working player that I have ever been around. His play on the field is definitely a result of that.”

(on his biggest inspiration) “Definitely my late father. It has always been both of our dreams for me to be doing what I’m doing; just to be in this and know that he is definitely still a part of it for me.”

(on his hometown of Harrisburg, PA) “I just really want to say thank you for all of the support. Hopefully I will be bringing that trophy and ring back to you guys.”

(on growing since high school) “In high school, I think that is where you learn the fundamentals. For me, it was just trying to learn how to work, just getting a better work ethic. Obviously, I have grown as a player since then and continue to keep growing.”

(on having success at such an early age in the NFL) “I think I was just put in a great situation with a great coaching staff that believed what I could do. Obviously, I havea great quarterback and other great skill players around me. I was just put in a great situation and was able to take advantage of it.”

(on his motivation to progress) “You don’t get to this point or to this level without being a self-motivated person. Like I said, I was placed in a great situation with great players and people around me. I owe a lot of my success to that.”

(on WR Coach Curtis Johnson) “When I first got down to New Orleans, he and I really didn’t see eye to eye just because he is really an in-your-face type of guy. Over the years, our relationship has definitely grown. I respected him from day one but have learned to tolerate him a lot more over the years.”

(on the organization) “You know you are coming into a situation when you are going to get an opportunity to show what you can do. As a player, that’s all that you can ask for. It’s up to you at that point to just take advantage of the opportunity that you are given.”

(on WR Robert Meachem) “Meach obviously is having his breakout year of his career so far. He is only going to continue to get better. He is a guy who works extremely hard. I’m so proud of him and just so happy for him just to see him having the success that he is having right now.”

(on the biggest difference with Meachem) “I think he is finally healthy. He went through his rookie year coming off a knee injury and just fought through injuries up until this year. He is finally healthy and is finally getting the opportunity to show you guys what he can do.”

(on how he ended up playing college ball at Hofstra) “Coming out of high school, I was 175 or 180 pounds. I wasn’t very polished as a receiver or a player. Hofstra ended up offering me a scholarship and gave me an opportunity to grow at a rate that I needed to grow. I just continued to work to get better as a player. Hopefully I’ve shown you guys what I am capable of doing.”

(on if Missouri offered him a scholarship) “They came in late. They offered me [a scholarship] after I had already committed to Hofstra. I stuck with my original decision.”

(on why he stuck with his commitment) “For me it was important to play. I knew coming into Hofstra, I would get an opportunity to play a lot earlier. I took that opportunity.”

(on Reggie Bush’s post season) “He has been as explosive as I have seen him here. He has been having a great post season and is definitely a huge part of the reason why we are here right now.”

(on Reggie Bush’s turning point) “If you look at the second half of the season, the healthier he got, the more productive he was. I think he is probably as healthy now as he has been all year and expect some great things from him on Sunday.”

(on Sean Payton’s game plan) “It is like starting from scratch every week. We kind of keep some of the concepts going. Sean has a great offensive mind and he has the tendency to put us all in great situations and to take advantage of our strengths. It is all in the game plan and you are always excited because you know you are going to have a chance to be successful.”

(on Bree’s back shoulder throws) “That is something that all of the receivers and Drew work on day in and day out. It’s something that Drew is so good at that it has become really a staple of our offense.”

(on if he can take on any cornerback in the NFL) “As a player you have to feel that way. I definitely feel confident in my abilities and how healthy I feel at this point.”

(on his father) “Still to this day, he is my role model. Just a really stand up guy and definitely a family guy and community first type of person. I aspire to be like him still.”

(on dealing with the loss of his father at 14-years-old) “For me it was really important to have my family around but a loss like that, you never get completely over it. In a lot of ways, I am still not over it. Just being out here doing what I’m doing is kind of like therapy to me just because it was always both of our dreams to be doing.”

(on playing for a team so deep with WRs) “It is definitely a blessing just to have so much talent around you. I think the thing for us, we are generally happy and excited for one another. Just that atmosphere alone makes it so easy to share the ball. We all dream about winning. Just to be in that atmosphere is special.”

(on representing the number 12) “That’s funny because it’s not a number that I actually chose. It was one of those things where you just come in and they give you a number. After training camp I decided to stick with it.”

(on his favorite number) “I would have to say 89 in college but I have a feeling I will be sticking with 12 for a while.”

(on if he thought 12 was a bubble number) “That was definitely a thought initially. It didn’t really make it past the first our first game. Once I got into practicing and started to compete all of that stuff was a nonfactor.”

(on Bree’s saying he was confident in Colston since day one) “I felt exactly the opposite. I felt terrible coming out of minicamp. To be honest, I really didn’t think that I was going to be on the roster too much longer. I got into training camp and was able to do some good things. I’m sitting here now.”

(on why he didn’t think he was going to be on the roster) “I really wasn’t in the best shape coming into that first year and really didn’t know what to expect. The heat and humidity in New Orleans definitely didn’t help me out. It is so far removed from that and I am just so happy to be here right now.”

(on the Colts’ defense) “They are fast. I think everything in their defense is built around speed. There are going to be some interesting matchups come Sunday.”

(on the Colts’ roster having Super Bowl experience) “I don’t think once the game starts it will be very much of a factor. All of the stuff leading up to the game, they have been through it. They know what to expect. We feel confident in our preparation and will do everything that it takes to be successful in this game.”

(on the turning point of the season) “It might have to be right here in this stadium. We were down 24-3 to the Dolphins. Just to see the look of everyone’s eyes and the sideline and to really know what we had on the sideline. No one was wavering in their confidence that we were going to win that game.”