What Tayven Jackson, Brendan Sorsby Said After Indiana's 23-3 Loss to Ohio State

Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby both played quarterback for the Indiana football team in its 23-3 loss to Ohio State on Saturday. Sorsby got the starting nod against the Buckeyes, but coach Tom Allen said next week that Jackson will be taking the first snaps. Here's what the two quarterbacks said after the game.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After weeks of hearing that Indiana and coach Tom Allen had made a decision at quarterback, it turned out that the decision was to play both Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson.

Indiana started with Sorsby, but played Jackson throughout the middle portions of the game, before later returning to Sorsby. Neither looked spectacular in the 23-3 defeat to Ohio State, and next week Hoosier fans should expect to see both take the field once again. Though this time, Allen said that Jackson will get the start, while Sorsby will rotate in. 

Here's what the two quarterbacks had to say after the game:

Tayven Jackson

On what he thought of his and Sorsby's performance:

"I think what we did what we were asked to do. Coming in and asked to play against Ohio State as redshirt freshmen can be a little nerve-racking. I feel like we did everything that we were asked to do, and we did it at a high level, and y'know, the outcome is not what we wanted it to be."

On the difficulties of running the triple option:

"It's hard, y'know. A lot of our reads are the defensive ends and the linebackers, and the defensive ends and the linebackers in the Big Ten are freaky athletic. So you're gonna have to pay the price if you make a bad read and get hit in the backfield. [But] it's a next play mindset. It is what it is. You got two fast, athletic quarterbacks who can do it, and Coach Bell believes in us, that we can do it and run an RPO, so we just got to do it."

On the challenges of the two quarterback system:

"It is challenging, [but] I think me and Sorsby have done a phenomenal job of keeping close. Our friendship off the field is like no other. It's just going out there and playing football, and when your name's called up, you just go out there and do what you do."

On how he stays ready when he's off the field:

"It's hard to have that mindset of, 'I'm not starting the game, but I might go in.' If he goes out there and throws three touchdowns, I'm definitely not going in. So it's almost like, you know, you just got to wait your turn. When your number's called, you got to go out there and do what you have to do to get the job done."

On what growth he wants to see after his performance today:

"I feel like in the pass game, I need to work on it a little bit. If coach calls a pass, just execute, do your rules and take care of it. Just work on it next week, and prepare like we prepared this week."

"I think me and Sorsby have done a phenomenal job of keeping close. Our friendship off the field is like no other."

Here's what Tayven Jackson said after Indiana's 23-3 loss to Ohio State #IUFB pic.twitter.com/BvCXbVdmW6

— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) September 3, 2023

Brendan Sorsby

On settling in to his first game as a starter:

"I was excited, especially after the first hit, really started to settle in, so it felt good with the first hit. The second one, not so much. But I was excited and ready to get out there and get going."

On what wasn't working with the Indiana offense on Saturday: 

"I just felt like we came out kind of flat. We didn't really execute early on. We had the opportunity, we just didn't execute, and I'll take the blame for that one."

On preparing to come off the bench in Week 2 after starting in Week 1:

"I don't change [my mindset] at all. I just go into it. I'm ready to play whenever my name is called. Nothing changes preparation wise, and I'm just ready to go."

On how tough the Ohio State defense was:

"They were pretty good. They played like the third-ranked team in the nation. They're a really good team, and big and physical and tough, so I thought it was a really good matchup."

On the offense throwing more in the second half:

"Yeah definitely I like that a little bit more. Me being a quarterback, I like to throw the football a little bit. So yeah, it felt good. Felt like we started to move the ball a little bit late, but like I said, we just got to start off a little bit earlier, and we can't rely on coming back once we're down by that much."

On how he dealt with coming back in after not playing for roughly two quarters in the middle of the game:

"I honestly felt like I was seeing it pretty well the whole time. I just got to continue to press it down the field and trust my guys. They're on scholarship too, just like me. I got to trust them, and we got to go out there and continue to make plays, and I just feel like we did late."

On his relationship with Tayven:

"He's one of my best friends. We hang out pretty much every day, we're always doing stuff together. He's my guy. So I'm rooting for him when he's out there. He's rooting for me when I'm out there, so there's no bad blood. Whatever is best for the team is what we want to happen."

On if it's tougher to get a rhythm while not playing in the whole game:

"I feel like it's tougher to get into a rhythm, because you never know when you're going to go in, and you never know when you're going to get pulled out. Hopefully one of us makes a jump, and we're able to figure out who the guy is gonna be, and we'll go from there, but it is a little bit tough for us."

On how the in-game rotation worked for him and Tayven:

"They kind of tell us before [each drive]. Say we're sitting on the sideline, [they say], 'Hey Sorsby, or hey Tayven, you're going in.' You have a little bit more processing time, but you gotta be ready, because you never know."

On how he wants to grow from his performance today:

"Just being better in the pocket and helping my O-line out, no need to be taking sacks like I did. I feel like [the O-Line] did a really good job today protecting me, and I just got to be better and get the ball out of my hand and hit spots."

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