The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.03.2014 | Football
Head coach Charlie Strong and players met with the media to preview the West Virginia game
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Head coach Charlie Strong and players met with the media Monday morning to review the Texas Tech game and preview the upcoming matchup with West Virginia. The Longhorns play host to the Mountaineers Saturday at 2:30 p.m., with the game set to be televised on Fox Sports 1. Below are quotes from Strong, senior DS Nate Boyer, senior CB Quandre Diggs, junior OG/C Taylor Doyle, senior LB Steve Edmond, senior WR John Harris and sophomore QB Tyrone Swoopes.
Head coach Charlie Strong
Opening statement: It was a great team win. It was great to see us go on the road and play a complete game. I said before the game I don't know what team is going to show up, but looking at our offense, we had a 200-yard passer in Tyrone [Swoopes], a 100-yard receiver, and we had a 100-yard rusher in Malcolm Brown. It was just great when you see the runs that [Johnathan] Gray made, he made some outstanding runs also. The offensive line did an outstanding job of blocking.
But you watched the offense, we kind of got it cranked up. We had to warm up out there. The ball slipped out of Tyrone's hand and they scored a touchdown, but we were able to get it back together. Then on defense it was all about finishing the game. I told our defense we need to go out and make some plays and make some stops. The hit by [Quandre] Diggs [helped us] hold momentum for the rest of the game … You got to see him put the hit on the quarterback, and then watch the defense all of a sudden come alive and start playing the rest of the game.
Then you see [place-kicker] Nick Rose, he was able to bounce back. But what is really exceptional for him is kicking the ball out of [the end] zone. I don't think we've had any run backs since the Oklahoma game. He's been banging it out. So [it's good] to see a complete game and watch us steadily improve. I know we're not where we should be, but we just continue to get better and better.
On the players enjoying the win: Well, you have to enjoy playing the game, and I don't think they've really done that yet. Just week by week, performing, we have to play better. When you win, you've got to have a lot of smiles and laughs. When you don't win, that's when everybody has a long look on their face and they're very sad. And we need to continue to just play better and you're going to have a lot of fun. If you win football games, it creates smiles.
On establishing consistency: Well, I told our guys, and I told our quarterback, especially, it's going to go as he goes. If the quarterback has a good game, the team's going to play very well. The quarterback needs to play well. Then on defense, it's all about just playing great defense, and that is the way a team is built.
Our number one thing we've talked about is playing to win. Let's go play great defense, and defensively we got off to a good start when we needed to get off to a good start. But it's got to be about playing as a complete team, even with the kicking game, just change the field position. I tell them, "Set up a score, but just make sure there are no critical mistakes within our kicking game."
On the senior's contributions in the victory: For the seniors, it's all about them finishing the right way. You look at John Harris and the way he played, look at Malcolm [Brown] and the way he played, and Quandre [Diggs]. Cedric [Reed] didn't get a sack, but he played an unbelievable game just applying pressure all day. But the seniors are playing well. Mykkele [Thompson] came down with the interception, his first one of the season … Steve Edmond was the lead tackler, [Jordan] Hicks [played well]. You like the way the senior class is taking hold of the team and trying to lead it.
On his involvement with the offense: Only thing I do is during the flow of the game I see how the game is going. If we're not getting anything going on offense, I might say, "Hey, let's up-tempo," but I don't get involved with [the offense too much]. I have enough issues on defense.
On the team's confidence heading into the final three games: It's all about us getting prepared for West Virginia. They're an outstanding football team. Good thing about it, we have them at home. We need to play good at home. We haven't played well at home all season long. The thing for us to start doing is [winning in] our home stadium, which we haven't done a great job of on our own turf. It's all about, it's one by one, so let's get ready for this one. We know we're playing a really good football team, so we're going to have to be at our best.
On senior wide receiver John Harris' confidence: We were just talking about that. I said I don't know where it came from, because I didn't see it in the spring … the thing about it is he wants the ball. He wants the football. Even the one that slipped out of Tyrone [Swoopes'] hand, he was open … It's just fun to watch him play with the intensity he's playing. The one ball that was under thrown, he goes up, takes the ball from the defender and stays on his feet.
The one that I got on him about was the touchdown that he dropped. He said he lost it in the lights, so I was kind of like looking like, "Where are the lights at?" … But you just watch how he's competing. You look at our offense, if he plays well and gets going, the whole offense gets going because they kind of feed off of him.
On junior wide receiver Daje Johnson: Daje [Johnson] is an outstanding athlete, and I think he'll get more involved. We handed him two reverses and the one Tyrone overthrew him went out of bounds. If it had been on target, he would have caught that one in stride. The thing he can do is stretch defenses, and once he gets the ball in his hands, he's such a playmaker and so fun to watch.
On him wearing an orange turtleneck instead of a white one: You sound like my daughter. Hailee, she told me I can only wear orange from here out.
On the offensive line: I say it all the time, but we squeeze every ounce out of that offensive line. They're playing so well. You look at them and look inside. We took Taylor [Doyle] and moved him out to center, and really just fights. Then with [Kent] Perkins and Sedrick [Flowers] at the guard position, and you go Camrhon [Hughes at tackle], which I tease him about a lot. I call him NCAA all the time. And then on the other side with [Marcus] Hutch[ins], it's just that group of guys kind of finding a nucleus. The offensive line is such a special bond, and they're just playing as well as they can play.
We're just getting more and more out of them each and every week. To go out and protect Tyrone [Swoopes] and [have him throw for] 200 yards, and have a one-hundred- yard rusher, and J[ohnathan] Gray ended up right around 80 [yards] himself. It's fun to watch that group because they just go out and compete. They always talk about the offensive line is a dirty job. Those guys, try to give them credit in the meetings … look what we're getting out of our offensive line right now.
On senior wide receiver John Harris' breakout season: We came and had a meeting with John [Harris in the spring], because he was one of those guys [who hadn't broke out yet]. Three years he'd been there and not done anything. I think he'd been in more trouble than out on the playing field. He said it's all about his attitude and he needs to decide if he really wants to be here, and he needs to make his mind up. Even in preseason camp, you really didn't see it, because he would just go out and practice but really didn't show much. But when it came to the games he started playing well. It's just fun to just watch him right now.
On West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett: You look at him, and you're getting a guy that transferred in. He started some games at Florida State, and you look at the bigger receiver, Kevin White. He's the go-to guy. And you have two running backs that are rushing for over 500 yards. They are an up-tempo offense that scores a lot of points. We have to get lined up on defense. We know they're going to move the ball on us, but we have to make sure we can't give up the home runs. Make them drive the football and make them protect it. They're really good on third down. I think on third down we have to get off the field, and that's where they're great right now. They're converting third downs and keeping those drives moving.
On having recruits in town this weekend: The first impression is to go win the football game and give them something where they can go see us play well. But it's really tough to bring in official visits during the season, because on Friday you're with the team and then Saturday you play the game. So you don't get much time with them. But our hosts are really key, which are the players. They're going to have to do a really good job of just selling the program and selling what it's all about. The first thing we need to do is go out and play well and give them something to talk about.
On how important it is for the offense to establish the running game: They're really capable. But with the run game, they have to get started and they have to get on people, not so much to move people, but give us a crease so our backs can run through. Just look at the hole from that one big run by Malcolm [Brown]. They were able to open it up and run the seam right down the middle of the defense. But it's critical. We were just getting on the right people, and that's what we're doing, just getting on the right people … Just body them up and give our [running] backs a chance … It's best to go get two or three yards, so then you can look at the home run.
On if the second half was the best they have run the ball this season: That's where you like to get to what you can. Everything's always formation based. It's formation based when you play against other teams. What we did was we took [Andrew] Beck and put him at fullback, but also we can take him back and put him on the line of scrimmage. We can take him and flex him out, so that creates problems for the defense. That's what you're trying to do is create mismatches. So now, when you play power football, you've got a bigger guy who is leading on a linebacker. Not to say that [Alex] De La Torre can't do it. De La Torre can do it, but … with a fullback you can only get in so many formations. When the tight end is in the game, you can go run your game plan and go through different things, and that's what that allowed us to do with the two tight ends.
On if he worries about the team becoming overconfident: I don't think we can get overconfident, not us. When you look at it, we end up putting one out of the game, but still though, it's just how we've got to go play, and we have to finish and make sure we play well. We had a number of missed tackles. We had some missed assignments we can get corrected, but everything that happened we can get it corrected within our team.
On the flexibility of the offensive line: What we try to do with that offensive line is just move them around. You have a swing guy like [Darius] James who can play guard or tackle. So if something wasn't happening at tackle position, you have a guy that can go and play the tackle. Then with Taylor [Doyle], you've got a guy that can play guard and center. So it's all about the flexibility that we have right now with those guys.
On keeping Tyrone Swoopes healthy: You look across the country, and everybody's in that position. Nobody wants to lose their starter and that's what I hope doesn't happen to us. Because if it does, the other guys are getting their work in practice, but they haven't had the work in the game.
On if they need to emphasize the little things to beat a top 25 team this week: This is a top 25 team and we're going to have to do our best to beat this team. They're playing so well right now. They got beat on a last second field goal there by TCU, but they are an unbelievable team. We need to go finish. That's what we haven't done well is go finish. We didn't finish early against UCLA. We didn't finish against Oklahoma, and we played well against Baylor. But we need to go finish these games.
On if Malcolm Brown has become the primary running back: No, you're looking right now at Malcolm [Brown] and [Johnathan] Gray, both of these guys are playing a lot of snaps. What happens, like last week, Malcolm didn't get those touches and we were talking about it. When those drives were coming, when you drive the football and you're in the game, you just stay in the game and get your runs in. But you'd like to see a guy get the touches and we'd like to see more 100 yard rushers.
On if he thinks the offense can win a shootout with the progress they have made: I don't know if we can win that shootout. I just don't want to see our defense getting caught up in a shootout. I'd be very upset being on the defensive side of that ball. I don't want to ever have to place ourselves in that position. We can throw the ball deep. I think we took the ball after [Texas Tech took the lead], and boom, boom, two passes, and a touchdown. We can throw the ball deep as long as we can protect Tyrone [Swoopes], because he has enough arm. The one he laid out to there to Marcus [Johnson] I told him let it go. He said, "I threw it as far as I can." I said, "That ball was 50 yards, I thought you could hang it out?" We have the speed, because you have Marcus [Johnson] who can go straight and take the top off the defense, and you have Daje [Johnson] who can take the top off of a defense. He has some guys that if he can lay it out there, they can go get it.
On what his nickname for the team would be and what TCU's defense did to shut down West Virginia: For this team? [Laughing] I've thought of one, I've got something in mind. But you know what? They have a really outstanding corner at TCU. He manned up with [West Virginia receiver Kevin White]. What they did too is they doubled him because you can roll up and force him to beat them. [West Virginia has] got to come off of coverage and jam coverage and try to get him the ball. So what they did is they took him out of the game so they forced the throws to the [other] receivers. They do have some other receivers. It's going to be about us and just how much and how well we play. We've got to play well in the back end with our secondary. We have to play very well and not give up those home runs in the big throws.
On coverage against Kansas State: What happened in that game, was we were playing just a different coverage and what we were doing is trying to take [Kansas State receiver Tyler] Lockett out of the game to force the ball into the other receiver's hands. Right now, we've just got to go right and left and just go play it and make sure we get coverage over the top where we need the coverage and knowing where he is. You have to be aware of him at all times.
On the leadership of Tyrone Swoopes: Well, the quarterback position has to be the leader because he's got the ball in his hand. He has to make a lot of decisions, like which way the ball's going to go. I think with him now, it's just growing and developing in the position. He didn't play well against Kansas State, and when he had to bounce back this week and play well, he did. He took it upon himself. He said, "I just didn't play well, and it's my fault." We had to show what we had on offense, and you can see, he's matured and grown up. You watch that ball, and a lot of times guys don't come back when the ball falls out of their hands, especially a young guy. They go in the tank … Just make sure we come back out and get the score here. He was able to come back like no big deal. I think a lot of times sometimes it's better to have his personality because a lot of times it's like it rolls off his back and you're like, "Okay, where are you at? Help me out here. Come on. There is something in there." But it's just great to see how he's developing and really becoming himself.
On senior defensive back Mykkele Thompson's first interception of the season: Well, I'm glad he got one of them, finally. It's always good to see him get that first one. It's an interesting story about Mykkele. He wears glasses, so he had not been wearing contacts. I said to him, "Let me ask you, in a game, do you have contacts in?" He's like, no. I said, "How do you see the ball? I said, how do you see? Look at your glasses?" He said, "They're not that bad." I said, "How long you been wearing glasses?" He said, "Since the 9th grade." I said, "Okay, so your eyes have been wearing them since the 9th grade, so you're telling me you can see a ball when it's thrown?" He said, "Yeah, I can see it. "I said, okay, did you see that double move out there against Baylor?" He's said, "Kind of late." I said, "You can see the film, it was too late." But he's got his contacts in now. So that's why I told him the other night. I said, you never would have caught that ball if you had your contacts in. I was just teasing him about it. So he's going to put them back in, but he's wearing his contacts now.
On how to keep the team consistent: I don't know. I wish I had that answer. That's why I said, I'd just like to see which team I get today. But anytime it's all about when you're dealing with some of the young guys and you have a senior class, and a lot of that senior class hasn't really played a lot. You think about it, John Harris all of a sudden he comes on the scene, playing really well. You lose your quarterback. Now you have a new quarterback in there. But even with the offensive line, there is a group there that's never started before. The strength right now is on defense. That's why I put all the pressure on the defense. Because you look at our defensive front with Malcom [Brown], with Cedric [Reed], with Hassan Ridgeway. Guys that have played a lot of football, with [Jordan] Hicks and with [Steve] Edmond inside, and the [defensive backs], they played a lot. That's why I like to put all the pressure on them and try to relieve the offense.
Just don't turn the ball over and put us in a bad position, but let the defense go out and play, let them set the tone. Defensively, we may have to play two quarters, three quarters until our offense gets going. Then once they get going make sure we hold the lead if we ever get the lead.
On if he watched the Louisville game and if he uses it to show Texas how he wants them to play: No, I only watched part of the fourth quarter. But I don't ever talk about that program because you know what happens? A lot of times when guys are young players, they all have an ego. So if you say, hey, look at that guy, they're going to tell you they're better than him anyways, so I don't even go in that direction. But it's just that we're going to get there, and we will get there I hope a lot sooner than later, and it's going to happen. This season, and I said it last week, it's disappointing because I think we could be a lot better than what we are and what our records show. I think we're a better football team than that. But it's all about consistency. It's all about finishing. It's guys playing with pride and guys having the confidence and believing in themselves where they can go get it done. But within this team, and I tell them, anything I say to you out there you've heard it before, we're a better football team. It's just us growing up and putting it all together and playing together as a football team.
On his level of confidence on beating a top 25 team and getting to a bowl game: Well, it doesn't bother me at all because I just want to make a bowl … I told our coaches that we haven't beaten a top 25 team. We need to go beat one. My confidence is fine, when you've done it before, it doesn't bother you that much. I just want to make sure the confidence is built within our players where they believe in it. What we have to do this week, you want to make sure we have a plan, a plan that we can go execute and give our players the best chance to go win and they can play with energy and play with excitement there at home and get our crowd behind us and just have fun. Enjoy this, especially our seniors. Its three games left. I said it's really come very quickly. Think about it, here are only three left. You never thought you'd be in this position so quickly.
Senior DS Nate Boyer
On Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury speaking to him after the game: He just came up behind me and patted me on the shoulder. I turned around and didn't expect it to be him. I thought it was going to be someone on the Texas Tech team. He just said, "Hey, man, I really admire you and appreciate what you do. Thanks for being such a good example and inspiration." He shook my hand. It was really cool. It was really surprising. Maybe it's kind of bad to say surprising, but I'm a pretty judgmental person, and he's got that image, that Ryan Gosling image. But, no, it was amazing. I thought that was a true sign of respect. Obviously, a big supporter of the troops and everything like that. I'm proud he's in the Big 12 with us, and I hope they win the last three and go to a bowl game. I'm pulling for them. Yeah, it was cool.
On what he sees in the team right now: You know, it's been tough. Nobody wants to lose, but it's making guys better people and better players. A lot of the guys are understanding, especially the guys that haven't played and how much goes into it, and the preparation and all of that. It's a learning experience. Obviously, my senior year I want to win every game, but I want to win every game every year. I wouldn't change anything. I wouldn't change where we're at. I think it's cool that we're going to have to fight to get to a bowl game. We have to earn it, and there is nothing wrong with that. I think the team has come a long way though. The guys have really stepped up and maybe they never expected to play at all here and they're starters now. They're taking it in stride and not complaining. They know that everybody's relying on them to be the guy, even though they never thought they would be the guy. It's inspiring to see guys step up like that and kind of become men. I'm an older guy, so I kind of have a different perspective about things, but I'm optimistic and think we can finish this thing the right way. I'm proud either way of this team.
On urgency for this team to make a bowl game: I'll be honest, if it doesn't happen, the sun is going to rise the next day, and we'll go on and the team next year will be even better and continue on their way up. I know that. But I think it's important to allow these guys to show the work they put in does produce results sometimes because I know it's been frustrating this year. There has been a lot of work put in, and guys have really buckled down. The ball just hasn't bounced their way a few times. We haven't been able to finish a couple of the games where we've really outplayed the other team. You look at that OU game, and everybody knows it, and everybody that knows anything about football knows that we beat them, we just lost the game. So that's kind of been the theme this year, but like I said, there is no light without darkness. I just think it would be great for our senior class to be able to go to a bowl game and spend our last month together. I'm going to miss it. It already bothers me thinking about not being around this team, even at school.
On not playing well at home this season: Well, I think we have played well, in my opinion, at times. We just haven't put together a complete game. We haven't finished a complete four-quarter phases of the game performance, so we're due for that. We're capable of more. [Coach Strong] knows it. He wouldn't push us like he does or say those things if he didn't believe in us. My father did the same thing. When someone thinks you can do anything, honestly, it's almost never going to be good enough, and that's the way I see it with us. That's how the team feels too. Even though it's not all the same guys we thought it would be at the end of the year that are playing right now, still, it's The University of Texas. These are great athletes. They're all capable players and they're smart. I'm just excited for Saturday because it's an opportunity to do that - to go out and play our best at home, and we're going to have to do that to beat a team like West Virginia. They're obviously good.
On talking to Caleb Bluiett about going into the game due to his hip flexor and if he would've come out of the game: I was just being soft. It wasn't that bad. There is no way I was going to come out unless they had to amputate or something. No, I was just letting them know, you never know. Just be ready. He's the back up in that situation. He was ready, he would have been fine. I have total confidence in him. But, yeah, it wasn't a big deal at all.
On the seniors taking ownership: They've really taken ownership all year. This group of seniors is a good group. They're good players and they are good leaders. They take the responsibility for everything. Even when some of the individuals have good games, if we don't get the result we were looking for, then they take responsibility and say, hey, that's on us, just like the coaches do. Sometimes you go out and play well and you just didn't win the game, the coaches say that's on us. That's on the coaches, and the seniors are doing the same thing. Guys like Jordan [Hicks] and Quandre [Diggs] and Jaxon [Shipley] and Malcolm [Brown], those are four off the top of my head that step up and say something when something needs to be said, but more than anything, they all lead by action just the way they play. John [Harris], there is a great example too. For four years he struggled getting on the field, and now he's amazing, you know, just because he kept working. His type of leadership is just effort. He played on special teams for all those years, and he always gave a hundred percent, and people noticed that and guys realized that. It always seems like that every year since I've been here. Maybe it's like that everywhere, but just the seniors, it's like maybe because they know this is it, but they all seem to step up and keep us in games sometimes and keep us in contention and keep us heading the right way. I'm proud to be a part of the senior class, for sure. There are guys that are 11 years younger than me that I look up to because of the way they play and the type of leaders that they are.
On what is next for him after UT football and the possibility of playing pro: If I get invited to a camp at 33, or I'll be 34 then, sure, I'll go. I don't know how many 5'11", 195-pound long snappers there are in the NFL, but I'm pretty sure it's zero. Especially that are 34-year-old rookies. But, hey, if I get a call, I'm going to go. Why not? Other than that, I'm moving back to California. I have an internship out there. In the long run, I want to work in film. It's something I've always wanted to do, so that's what's next for me. I'll be back here a lot for games and be around Austin and UT. It's not like I'm leaving, leaving.
On what Veterans Day means to him [regard to the West Virginia game honoring Veterans Day]: Honestly, a lot of times I think about civilians on Veterans Day. Obviously I'm always thinking about the guys that are over there fighting right now and remembering guys that I knew and guys I didn't know that lost their lives fighting for this country. But when I say civilians, I'm talking about the fact that that's a day where a lot of the general public recognizes the sacrifice and says thank you to people that are currently serving or have in the past. I think that's great. In my opinion, Veterans Day should be 365 days a year, plus you get free meals places and stuff like that, so it would really work out for me (laughs).
There are a lot of good organizations around the country that do things all the time. So for me, it really does seem like another day, but it's always nice for someone to say thank you. There are people that do a lot more than that, which is amazing, but for someone to appreciate what you do, thank you for your service, like Coach Kingsbury did, that means a lot to me. It would have meant a lot to me even if it was somebody I didn't even know, but for him to come off the field after losing a game and to still recognize that and remember to say thank you to a service member, that's pretty cool. Not a lot of people, I think, would have that kind of mindset. I want to win the game [Saturday] because I want to win every game, but it would be special to win for Veterans Day.
Senior CB Quandre Diggs
On Nate Boyer: He's a true leader, first and foremost. I can say for myself, everybody on the team respects Nate. He's a guy that works his tail off each and every day. He loves to have fun. As serious as he can be, he loves to have fun. He's a guy that started off in the DB room. I've always been pretty close to Nate because coming in, he was getting some of the reps with me when I came in my first spring, so we've always been pretty close. Just having that type of person on your team definitely makes you more thankful for what they do, for all the troops and the military and all that those guys do around the world. A guy like Nate, he gives you his all. He doesn't want anything in return. He just wants to go out, bust his tail and play the game of football, just be a teammate. That's what he looks forward to each and every year. It's always good when we get him back in the summer. We can't wait until he gets back because he's a great person. He's just a great player and a great dude just to be around. All together, we all love Nate.
On it being odd when Boyer joined the team [regard to his age]: Yeah, it was weird, because when I first got here, I think I asked him, dude, how old are you? He looks pretty old. It was kind of weird, but once I figured out what he's been through and things like that, it all made sense the type of person he was and all those things came together. I can remember my sophomore year when he had just won the long snapping job, and they put in the Daily Texan, the 31-year-old sophomore. I was just saying, hey, you're not going to be able to get any girls around campus when they see that headline (laughs). It's all been fun and games with him. It's pretty funny when you think about it now. What is he, 33, 34? It's still pretty funny him being that old and playing football with us. Being the old man that he is, it's pretty hilarious some of the jokes he gets around the locker room.
On getting respect from other teammates: It means a lot to me. Coming in here, coming into this university, I knew that we had three corners that were leaving. I just wanted to make my mark when I first got here. I think I earned the respect from some of those older guys. When I came in, I was trying to hit everybody, trying to intercept every pass and go out and compete each and every day, and that kind of took notice with guys like Kenny [Vaccaro] and Blake [Gideon], and A.O. [Alex Okafor], and all those guys. I guess I got some respect from those guys. From then on, I just felt like when those guys leave, it will be my turn to step up and be a leader, you know, and have guys look up to me. As bad as this year has been for us, I've been trying to stay positive around the guys as much as I can. When I can have those guys say that they look up to me and that those guys look at me in tough times, it means a lot to me because I've grown a lot since I've been here. I've seen tremendous leaders since I've been here. The coaching staff, they've given me all of the tools - anything I could ask for just to help be a leader on this team. They've continued to push me and drive me to help me learn and get better and learn some of the tendencies I have to go off on people. I'm trying to get better with my attitude, but sometimes you've got to snap as the guy that people look at. At the same time, you've also got to be positive. I try. I just try to do my best, and God has blessed me with tremendous talent and tremendous opportunity, so I just want to take advantage of it.
On who will be the leaders next season: After we leave, I think Duke [Thomas] is going to be a tremendous leader. He has all the qualities. He's learning to talk a lot more. I definitely know it will be his turn in the defensive back room next year. That's his responsibility to be the leader of those guys. Tank [Desmond Jackson] will be back next year, and he has a big voice on this team. Tyrone [Swoopes] continues to get reps, and I think he'll be a tremendous leader, because guys look up to Tyrone. They respect the heck out of him because he goes out and works. He has that swag to him that quarterbacks should have that play the game the right way. When you have guys like that and those guys make you feel better each and every day, guys have no choice but to respect that.
On other games this season against top 25 teams: We just need to finish, put everything together and quit giving away the little things that we've given away all year. I just think the guys need to lock in and focus and get in the film room every day and prepare. It's going to be a fun week. The guys are hungry. We want to get to a bowl game, but we've got to go one week at a time. I think we just need to put everything together and go out and play our best game.
On if he feels they have come up short this season: It kind of does feel like that, but you get what you put in, so if we put in a ton of work this week and do what we're supposed to, we'll have the right outcome. When you don't put in that work, you don't have the right outcome. Hopefully guys are taking this week serious. We get into it, and we're ready to go.
On West Virginia receiver Kevin White: It's going to be fun. He's a big time receiver. He makes a lot of plays, so you have to want your defensive back to go up against the best. It will be another opportunity for us to go out and compete and just have fun. He's a good guy, and I know he wants to go out and compete and have fun, so that's what I'll do.
On winning games when Coach Strong wears his orange mock turtleneck: I told him before the game that's the one he needs to wear. I always joke around with Coach Strong, but I think everybody needs to wear a little mock turtleneck this week. And I think if we play as well as we did, we all need to continue to wear it. He wears his orange ones and we wear the orange ones we have.
On superstitions: I'm very superstitious. I've been like that since I played football in those leagues. I'm the type of guy I feel like I have to have two thin wrist bands on my legs, and I've got to have high socks that I can pull down and scrunch up. I think what's really been my main thing is having the long shirt under my jersey. That's something I've been wearing for the last two or so years. If I don't have that, I just feel weird out there, so that's been something that I've been doing for the last two years. I feel like it's been working for me.
On Mykkele Thompson's confidence: Well, Mykkele's my best friend, so I've definitely had that conversation with him. I'm probably the toughest one on Mykkele and on the whole team. I've never understood why he doesn't wear contacts. He always wears his glasses. We tried to get him to take those glasses off because he looks weird and kind of looks soft up here with glasses on playing football. We try to get him to take those off, but that's what he wants to wear, so we just go along with it. It doesn't make any sense, he needs to keep wearing those contacts.
On what type of leadership he displayed during the hit Saturday: I think that was just a play that kind of turned the game around, kind of brought that physicality that we needed. Anytime you can get a good, clean look on anybody, it definitely turns the momentum in the game. The guys reacted like you see any big hit. I guess that got everybody's juices going. That is leading by example. You go out and make the play when the play is presented to you. Once you do that and do the right thing, the guys have no choice but to respect that, and that makes everybody else want to go out and play harder.
On ranking the hit on his list of achievements: That's one that's definitely on the list. I actually called my brother (Quentin Jammer) after the game. I was like, I've got the best hands and I'm the big hitter in the family. He definitely disagreed with that. I'm always competing with him. That will be a story that I can tell. My little nephews, they definitely got a kick out of it too.
Junior OG/C Taylor Doyle
On the offensive line creating a strong running game against Texas Tech: It's definitely encouraging. It's very exciting to see our backs run the way they did, and we obviously feed off that as an offensive line. It's very exciting to have some success in the run game.
On injuries affecting the season: It's definitely been an interesting process. I don't know if anyone saw it happening like this, but it's been exactly that process. It's been encouraging to see guys step up and play well.
On where the offensive line is now: Shawn [Watson] once pointed that out. You know, we have guys, including myself, who have come a long way and had to step up, but we still have a long way to go. Fortunately, we're in a great position with Coach Wickline leading the way and teaching us as we go.
On struggling against top 25 teams at home this season: Everyone's ready to turn that around. We're excited to be back at home and have the support of our crowd. Everyone's fired up and ready to prepare to go out and play this game.
On what made the offensive line "click" against Texas Tech: Coach [Wickline] put a lot of emphasis on drive the five, get our five guys on their five guys, and it's exciting to see us have a little success. Obviously, we can always improve and be in a better position. But, yes, usually when you get all five guys on their five guys, good things happen.
On Coach Wickline's personality: It's tough to describe someone like him. I would say he's one of a kind. He's very enthusiastic about what he does. He's definitely an interesting guy to be around.
On Coach Wickline's post-game message: Sometimes after the games he's a man of very few words, but it was encouraging. He put a lot of emphasis on we don't have much time to celebrate. It's on to the next opponent.
On Coach Wickline's motivation: He has an interesting way of motivating, and he's very encouraging. If you spent 10 minutes in a room with him, you'd understand.
Senior LB Steve Edmond
On if the team can get overconfident after a win: Not with a team like West Virginia, because you've got to have confidence going into this game. I feel like when you're playing good teams, you have to have all the confidence you can have. Only way I feel you have too much confidence when you're playing teams you know you should beat. But with a team like West Virginia, you should have all the confidence you can have. I don't feel like we're too confident with this game.
On playing West Virginia last season and his interception at the end of the game: Just like the whole game was just fun for me. Everybody turning around, and creating turnovers and playing better than what we did in the beginning of the year. Catching that pick I feel like it was the highlight of my season last year. All the hard work we put in, and I put in and to get that pick, it was worth it.
On the remainder of the season as seniors: I mean, it's important to win the rest of the games because it is the last time we get to wear the burnt orange, put the jersey on for this school. And tomorrow's all the hard work we've put in since we got here, I don't know. It's something we've worked hard for to get.
On his message to the recruits: You come to Texas and it's a life-changing event. You can go to another school and have the nice uniforms, the flashy uniforms, but it really doesn't mean anything. Here, you have tradition. You'll be proud of what you're doing other than how you look. So I feel like if you come here, you'll get something more than how you look. You're going to get a great education, a great experience, and great head coach here, Coach Strong. I feel like he changed my life. Before he got here, I really didn't care about school. Ever since he got here my grades have been coming up. He made me feel like more of a man than a kid. So Coach Strong will make you grow up, make you accountable, and he's going to make sure you do everything right.
On how head coach Charlie Strong changed him for the better: The first thing he did was check every class, every day. I'm about to be a senior, so I want to make sure I'm on his good side instead of his bad side. I wouldn't skip class [before], but I would go to class and actually sit in the front and learn. My grades started improving, and I just started getting used to it. It became a habit. You get your papers back with 90s and 80s on it.
On how nice and rewarding it has been having Coach Strong care about what they do in the classroom: It shows he cares more about you more than football. I've had coaches in the past do that, but at the same time it kind of felt different for Coach Strong because even outside of school and football, he'll talk to you about life. He'll joke with you. You can say anything to Coach Strong and you'll feel comfortable around him.
On what he expects from the West Virginia offense this weekend: I don't know. I look at this game like the Baylor game because they're both fast offenses and stuff like that. They've got good receivers. It's up to the defense to slow them down, put our offense in a good position to score and come up with the win.
Senior wide receiver John Harris
On if he's noticed the team being undefeated when Coach Strong wears an orange turtleneck: No, actually I haven't noticed that. He wears turtlenecks so much, so I never really paid any attention anymore.
On if he has any superstitions: I say when we throw the ball, everything's going right. Whenever we have that ball in our hands, it's going to be a good day.
On his impressive senior season thus far: It's been a great ride for me here just getting the respect that I have from guys like Quandre [Diggs] and Duke [Thomas] and Malcolm [Brown]. Just feeling the love from my teammates and coaching staff that I have this past year, it couldn't be any other way that I would want to leave out of here. So I want to go out and get these last three wins really bad just for this coaching staff, because this coaching staff has done a lot for me. They've been there through everything that I've dealt with these last couple months.
It feels good to be a leader and part of this team. Hopefully we can get to 7-5 and get to a bowl game because that would be the greatest feeling in the world for me, especially playing the way I've been playing these last couple weeks. It would be a great way to finish out here.
On if he ever believed he would have this good of a season: I always dreamed it. Even before I got hurt, I thought I could be that guy at one point in time. After I got hurt, it kind of faded away a little bit. I kind of lost a little bit of confidence. Then I never thought I'd have a chance to be that guy here or put up the numbers that I've been putting up. Just being here right now is just a blessing being, and I'm just riding with it.
On if the dismissals of players helped him realize he could contribute more his senior year: I think it was more so it was my last year. Whether Kendall [Sanders] and Montrel [Meander] would have still been here [or not]. When I got in fall camp, I knew I was competing with Marcus and a lot of those other guys for a starting spot. It just got to a point in camp where I was like, hey, you can go get this job, and you can be a big impact on the team. I started making plays and being more consistent. The more consistent I got, the more confidence I started building in myself. I think that's where it began was in fall camp.
On if he is worried about the team is going to be less motivated after a win this past week: I don't think guys are going to get back into a lack of emotion. We're not going to get full of ourselves and just beat up what we just did. We're not going to worry about this win. We're going to worry about West Virginia this week. Nobody's going to fall asleep. We're excited about for this game. We remember a few years ago when they came here and we lost by three points then going up there and beating them in overtime. I think guys are going to go out and play hard. We want to get to a bowl game, especially for us seniors. We want to get to a bowl game, and I think it's going to be a big game for all of us.
On why Texas and West Virginia have played such exciting games the past two seasons: I don't know. The last time we played them, it was just their crowd. Going up there, their crowd was amazing. When they came here before, they had Geno [Smith] and Tavon [Austin] and those guys, so they brought a lot of energy. And [now they have] Kevin White and Clint Trickett. It's just another big test that we love facing. We love big tests here. None of those guys in that locker room are scared of a test or a challenge. We're up to the task this week, and we're going to try to perform that way.
On if he thinks this team can win a shootout: If it has to be a shootout, we're going to make it a shootout. We're going to score points on offense. I'm going to tell those guys this week, get focused and let's go. We can't waste any time. We have to score points this week. If that happens, we'll be ready for it. But on the other hand, we don't want to get in a shootout. We want to go out and dominate the game like any other team does. If we get in the shootout, we'll be ready to go.
On the offensive line's recent improvements: It helps us a lot. I mean, took us some time to get confidence in that offensive line, especially with some young guys that have never played. They were kind of in my position at one point. Over time you just start to build trust in those guys. As a unit, like Coach Strong always says, they're squeezing every ounce out of those guys out of them. Taylor [Doyle], I was really surprised how well he played under center in the Oklahoma game. I wasn't expecting that. Watching those guys gel with how much work they're going to put in, it's only going to take seven of them. They grind every day in they probably grind harder than anybody in practice because they're a limited group. So we've got a lot of respect for those guys and they give us every ounce that they've got. So we just need a little bit more, and we've got to keep going with them. We trust them every bit.
On why he compared Clint Trickett to Case McCoy: I mean, their size. They're pretty similar to me. He has a lot of competitiveness to him. You can see it on film. He took a big hit this weekend I think against TCU. When we were watching the game, the kid got back up and kept playing. It's every bit of Case that I see in [him]. He's a great quarterback. He's playing great this year. I mean, he just reminds me of Case from last year. Just leading his team the way a quarterback should lead his team. I have the most respect to him and Case. Case did a tremendous job when he was here. He just reminds me of Case so much in so many different ways.
On his message to recruits: I think you should come play for Coach Strong. I don't think there is any place else that you should be. If you want to go be a physical defense, and dominate on defense, come play here. If you want a chance to play on offense, come play here. There are opportunities all over the board right now. There are chances for kids who come here and live their dream out to play football for Texas and change the program and make a statement here for your name and your family. So I think coming to play for Coach Strong would be tremendous for those kids he's recruiting, and I think it will be a great deal for them.
Sophomore QB Tyrone Swoopes
On if he wants to become a leader that takes charge: Yeah, that's something I'm trying to focus on just because when something bad happens, like that turnover for a touchdown, I just had to let that roll off my back and not really worry about it too much because there isn't anything you can do about it. After something like that happens, you've just got to move forward and keep on playing, because there is a lot of football to be played.
On the chance of getting a signature win at home against a top 25 team: It's a big opportunity for us. I feel like if we just go out and execute and play like we know how to play, we'll go out and have a good game on Saturday.
On being undefeated when Coach Strong wears his orange mock-turtleneck:
I don't even pay attention to stuff like that (laughs). I didn't even know. I guess he might have to start wearing it more often.
On defeating a top 25 team and the difference it could make: It's just what we've been saying for weeks now. Going in, executing and just playing mistake-free football. There is nothing really out of the ordinary we need to do except for that.
On his superstitions: I'm not really superstitious. There's just things I like to do a certain way every day. Every time I put my pads and shoes on, I've got to do it a certain way every time or I won't feel right. I always put my left shoe on first. I always put my left side on before I put the right side on.
On if he feels like he has to out-duel West Virginia QB Clint Trickett: I just feel like it's a good opportunity for our defense. I don't really try to go out and try to outdo anybody else. I just try to manage the offense and do what I need to do. I don't try to do anything outside myself. I just do what I need to do to move the ball, make plays and get points on the board.
On not being overconfident after defeating Texas Tech: Just like any other game, we need to build on the positive things we did and work on the things we didn't do too well. Just go into practice and keeping a level head and don't get too high or too low on ourselves.
On running game taking pressure off of him: It helps a lot just because when Malcolm [Brown] and [Johnathan] Gray get going, it helps us set up some play action shots and things like that that we can do. So once they get going, it helps the offense as a whole, really.
On the offensive line creating time for him to make plays: When they give me time, we have the receivers that run good routes and they get open. When I get time, I can distribute the ball to them and let them do what they came here to do. They've been growing every week and getting better, and I think they'll do the same thing going into the future.
