USU players react to losing head coach Gary Andersen

"He always say, 'Players make plays and players win games,'" said Theurer. "He said it before games. He said the coaches could not show up and it wouldn't matter because we were the ones playing the game. They were just a little part."

Theurer said most of the players feel a debt of gratitude to Andersen, including himself.

"Coach did a lot for me, and it meant a lot to me personally," he said. "Being a local person, I was excited to have him here, to play here. He put me on scholarship (2011) and that was a really neat thing."

While many of the players declined to speak publicly about Andersen and how they feel about his departure, they echo Theurer's sentiment about what fans should be prepared for next season.

"The fans should know the players are optimistic and excited for another season," he said, noting that the upperclassmen were rallying the team even before Andersen has formally been announced as Wisconsin's next head coach. "We're excited for next year. We want to do it better than we did this year. It's going to be a good year."

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