The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.19.2014 | Football
Players met with the media after practice
After taking Monday and Tuesday off, the Texas football team returned to the practice field Wednesday afternoon. The Longhorns are in a bye week before playing their regular season finale against No. 5/5 TCU on Thanksgiving night. Following Wednesday's practice, a few seniors met with the media to discuss their final home game. Below are quotes from RB Malcolm Brown, WR Jaxon Shipley and TE Geoff Swaim.
Senior RB Malcolm Brown
On this season being culture changing: We definitely came in and have been through a whole lot. This senior class has been through a lot of ups and downs throughout my whole career that I've been here. Coach Strong coming in our senior year was definitely a coaching change for us. It was definitely something special to be part of, something that will probably go down in history for this program. I'm just really honored to be a part of it.
On how he's changed throughout his college experience: I feel like I've definitely changed as a person. I feel like that's what college is for. You're just kind of finding yourself. I came in, and I was really quiet. I didn't speak up as much. Coming through college, I learned to speak up for myself a little bit more and make decisions a lot better. In life, I'm an indecisive, quiet, kind of laid back person. Throughout college, I've had to make a couple of decisions here and there and just changed how I am, how I act. I definitely have a better attitude, I would say, about a lot of things. It's definitely changed me.
On his thoughts after the Oklahoma game with the team being 2-4: For me, it was just to keep fighting. A lot of guys have been in worse situations. This situation is definitely not what we wanted, but at the same time, I feel like it was somewhat my job as a senior, as a guy that's played a lot on this offense, to not show that I'm sweating at all, to keep my composure. I felt like it was my job to do that for the offense. That's definitely what my thoughts were – just keep composure and try to keep everybody on the right track. Stay positive for everything that we have ahead. We have a lot of guys on this offense that stayed positive and really took this whole season in stride and kept on fighting.
On the most fun and most difficult aspect of his Texas career: The most fun has been just gaining brothers. No lie these guys, especially the guys that I came in with, I've built a lot of relationships with them, and I feel like they're going to last for a while. The most difficult was probably going through some of the injuries that I went through early on. I wasn't too used to that, sitting out a lot. That's definitely the most difficult and the most fun.
On if he has regrets from this season: I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. God puts people in our lives for a reason. God makes his own decisions, and he puts people in situations that he knows that we can handle. I'm a firm believer in that, so I have no true answer.
Senior WR Jaxon Shipley
On his last game: It's going to be pretty sad, especially for me being around here pretty much my whole childhood, watching my brother play and then me coming through here. I still remember the first time I came out of the tunnel against Rice, and it was surreal. It was amazing. It's the same way every time I walk out, it's just this awesome experience. For this to be my last time, I'm not looking forward to it being my last time. I know for me and for my family it's going to be a pretty sad moment, but it is what it is. These are going to be some of the best memories of my life.
On what the Shipley legacy means to UT: Hopefully just being able to come out there and for me and my brother just being able to be guys who go out there and giving every single play and give the fans somebody to be able to watch make consistent catches. To just bring joy to people as far as Colt [McCoy] and Jordan and then me and Case and that whole deal. I don't know exactly, but it's something that I know I've had a great experience. Hopefully it's been a good experience for the fans watching.
On watching his brother's senior night to it being his own : I still remember it like it was yesterday, them going around the field and giving high fives to all of the fans. I remember thinking that was the saddest day ever for me, and now my time is coming, and it's going to be probably the same feeling, probably even more for me. I think it's probably going to hit my mom and my dad pretty hard just because they've had so many good memories here. Now that this is over, or about to be over, Saturday's they're probably not going to know what to do with their time anymore.
On if the seniors can take pride in laying foundation: I think anytime a new coach comes in you can say that. It's been rough in the beginning, but we're on a pretty good streak, and I think you can attribute that to the seniors laying the foundation. That's what it feels like, at least for me. If we start winning a few more games and then next year have a really good season, then that's just the way it is. The seniors from this year are going to be the ones that get credit for that.
On conversations about adversity with his brother: We talked about it here and there, but it's nothing that's brought up a whole lot or anything. He really doesn't talk to me a whole lot about football unless I ask him about something or I bring something up to him. That's mainly the only thing that we talk about anything like that. We've both faced adversities. He faced a lot of injuries, and he had one quarterback the whole time and I've played with a few. I've enjoyed playing with all of those quarterbacks. There's ups and downs, and there's benefits to everything, and I think with me, I got to have a strong bond with all of those quarterbacks. There's definitely some parallels, but there's some differences. For me, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Senior TE Geoff Swaim
On his thoughts after OU: I was talking to my dad or someone the other day, and I was talking about how it's much easier to go to work when things are positive. It's a lot harder to go to work when things are negative. That's just a learning experience, and the way you grow is through adversity and trying to persevere. It was tough. Of course it's tough. It's always tough when you lose. It doesn't matter what your record is, it's tough when you lose. It's hard to get up and go to work and have the same amount of dedication and enthusiasm about what you do as when you're winning. That's kind of the reason you're here. You have strong-minded people that can do the job, otherwise we wouldn't be here. You have to remember that every day is a new day, and your goal is to win. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter what's happened in the past.
On if he feels like he's been successful in changing the culture this season: Yeah, that's somewhat of a loaded question. The culture of any program is always set by the leadership, so as the leadership changes from a new coaching staff, as well as, if you're talking about senior leaders, we're leaving. The next team next year is going to set their own culture and how they run things. The only thing you set is hard work. That's all you set. Every team has a different personality. I've been on teams where there's a lot of yelling and a lot of vocal stuff. I've been on teams also where you don't say anything and just go about your business. Hard work is the common denominator, so that's the only thing that matters.
On what kind of team this is: I think this team takes more of a business approach to it. Even on quiet teams, you always have guys that are vocal. Teams need that. You need a guy to stand up every once in a while and say something. Our team has a lot of older guys on it, especially on the defensive side of the ball. There's a lot of older guys on that side of the ball, and so you hear a lot of business talk, if you will. Standing and talking about tactics and how they're going to handle things. That's what the sign of a veteran team is – when guys can sit down and talk and you can coach each other. That's when you mature, that's when you grow.
On the TCU game being senior night: It's just another game. It doesn't necessarily matter that it's senior night once you start playing because it's another game. In a way, it is a bigger deal because it's your last home game, but it's not a big deal because it's senior night. It's just a big deal because it's the last time I'll play here. It's a different feeling, but once you're playing, you're playing. You don't concern yourself with what TCU's record is or what their plans are. We've got plans of our own, so that's what we focus on – our own plans and making sure that our plans come to light.
