The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
09.10.2014 | Football
Defensive coordinator/Secondary coach Vance Bedford met with the media Wednesday
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Defensive coordinator/secondary coach Vance Bedford met with the media Wednesday afternoon. Bedford talked about what the defense learned from the BYU game, how each of his positional groups are performing, and previewed Saturday's game vs. UCLA. Below are complete quotes from Bedford's availability.
On if the defense needs to circle the wagon and reinvent itself: We circle our wagons every day, win or lose. Reinvent ourselves? No, we just need to go be who we are. That's the thing about it. Football and defense is about attitude. Attitude that you want to go make every single play and that's what we've been teaching our guys since we've been here. We'll continue to do those type of things and play with great effort.
On what stands out about UCLA: The quarterback – he reminds me a lot of Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. Big, strong, athletic and – I must admit – one of the best arms that I have seen. I had the chance to go against [Detroit Lions QB Matt] Stafford when he was at Georgia, a first round pick for Detroit, [Ryan] Mallet at Arkansas. This kid [UCLA QB Brett Hundley] has that type of arm. The entire field is wide open. He could be on one hash and throw the out cut and, I'll tell you what, it looks like a bazooka. He's a special talent.
On preparing for different style QBs: It's true but one thing about me, I'll tell it how I see it. This kid has that kind of ability. He's big; he's strong; he's athletic. He has that type of arm. He makes plays with his legs but always looking down the field to throw the football. He is hard to corral and hard to tackle. He's a lot like [BYU QB Taysom Hill] from last week – he's strong in the lower body. He looks to throw it more than he looks to run it. When he pulls it down now, I would have to say he's a 4.6 guy.
On what the defense learned from the BYU game: We had a chance. I think we had five or six sacks in that game, but we missed six sacks. If you get half of those six sacks, you take 20 points off the board. In the third quarter, we have a blitz on and my man [Peter] Jinkens draped over the quarterback and he throws a duck. We have two DBs around the ball and don't make the play. That would have taken seven points off the board and may have turned the game around. I think at that point it might have been 13-0.
When you have opportunity in life, you have to make the best of them. How many of you guys play the lottery? You think you have a chance to win, but you don't. I'll tell you that right now. Guess what, I don't play the lottery so I have no chance at winning. So I have no opportunity. In the game of football when that ball is in the air, you have the opportunity to go make a play. We missed a lot of opportunities in that game in the third quarter. They scored 28 points in the third quarter. We didn't give ourselves a chance.
On DT Malcom Brown: Two straight games, he's done a great job for us. He's a man amongst boys. He can push the pocket. He can beat you one-on-one. He's a vocal leader. He lets you know what's going on and he'll get on the other guys. He's a type of guy you look for. If you go out recruiting somebody, I want to find another Malcom Brown and that's going to be hard to do because he's that gifted.
On Brown being married and if his different perspective is the type of player he wants: He's married. What a beautiful thing. Married and kids and you know what, he's hungry. He's hungry to do well for his family. He has a chip on his shoulder, that's the kind of guy you want on your football team. When you leave the football field and the lights go out, you don't have to worry about him because he's motivated to be successful and that's what you look for in young people today. What motivates each individual to be who they are? You want a guy that's hungry and a guy that wants to do right - that's Malcom. A guy you can trust – that's Malcom. A guy I can let in my house and I don't have to worry about anything. He's a class act.
On if UCLA underperformed the first two games: I think the first game, they had some things that they had to get worked out. Second game against Memphis, I think they had a lot of those things worked out. Again, [Hundley] lost his top two receivers from a year ago, so he's feeling around. I think against Memphis he found the guys he likes to throw to. He's gotten better each week, which something you see in a lot of quarterbacks because like I said, he's a talent. We're going to have our hands full. You see their receivers at 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-3, big, strong, physical, and run good routes and good hands. The offensive line is big and athletic. It's going to be a major challenge for us and we are looking forward to that challenge right now.
On getting off the field on third down: First thing I told them Sunday, if you get three-and-outs that means you are winning on third down and that means you can get off the field and rest. Football is not complicated, but a lot of people try to make it complicated. If you stop a drive in three downs and out, guess what, you get a chance to sit down, have some Gatorade, and get ready to go again. That's what we need to do, we need to get better on third down. We cannot allow a team to be in third down and one or two. We had too many of those last Saturday night. That's hard to stop in those situations. We need to get some third and longs and win those battles, get off the field, and get ready to go again. We told our guys from the start if our defense plays better than their defense, we'll win ball games. Guess what? We didn't play better than their defense and we lost the game. It's not that complicated.
On if it's easier to get players' attention after a loss: I think win or lose you get their attention. If you are doing the right thing as a coach, the things you believe in, the attitude that Coach Strong brings to the table as a defensive staff is that we are always hungry win or lose. Sometimes when you win you are on them harder. Sometimes a loss like this, they step back and get ready to go. We tell them all the time, if you can't be your worse critic, when you get up in the morning and you look in the mirror, what do you see? Some walk around with a crown on their head all the time. They really need to take that crown off and see reality. That game brings it back down to reality. At The University of Texas or any institution across this country, you have to go out there every single play and play great. You can never take a play off. If you understand that, then great things will happen to you.
On what he think of the defensive backs: Average. We had a chance to make some plays against Brigham Young and didn't make them. That crucial third down in the third quarter when we had the blitz on them and the ball in the air and didn't make the play, that's huge. It's a missed opportunity and you don't want to miss opportunities in a close game, in a tough ballgame at home. You need to make those plays and that's what it's all about. When it comes your way, make the play. Just think about it, that ball up in the air, we intercept that ball and return it for a touchdown – the only guy that can tackle him was the quarterback and he was on the ground. Now it's 13-7 and a whole different ballgame, whole different field position. It didn't happen and they ended up making the play and we didn't. It ended up being another touchdown and they went up 20-0.
On if he expects better play from the DBs: Oh yeah a lot better. If you want to walk around saying that we are DBU, when the ball is in the air – you know what DBU means – that ball is my ball. You throw it? I'm going to take that ball home. That didn't happen in that ball game, we had one interception. Our goal was to have four takeaways and we only had two. We get four takeaways, again, the game could be different. Missed opportunities are key for a defense.
On if Josh Turner is coming back: Josh Turner right now is still up to the head coach. It's still up in the air so that's just a wait-and-see situation.
On if he's seen a difference in player's dedication to video and preparation: Guys have been around a lot more as far as watching video. Certain guys watch video all the time. Jordan Hicks, he's around all the time. He's like a coach on the football field. Some other guys are starting to learn what it takes. If you want to be an outstanding football player, we only have 20 hours a week that coaches spend with the players. That is not enough. If you want to be a great football player, you need to spend some time on your own. So far this week, they've been around watching video, looking for tip sheets, looking for the details that will make them successful on game day. That is what it takes.
To be honest, when you look at big time football, it's like professional football. If you don't spend time on your own then it's not going to get done. It's not enough time in the day as coaches. In the NFL, you have the players all day long; here, we don't. They have to go to class. We have meetings all day ourselves. As coaches, the time that we need to spend with them, sometimes isn't enough; therefore, they need to take ownership themselves.
On what he has learned about defensive ends Bryce Cottrell and Caleb Bluiett: I think Caleb [Bluiett] is an excellent pass rusher, Bryce [Cottrell] is coming along, he's a young guy that needs to continue to develop. The other guys, they're starting to come just a little bit more. We told Ced[ric] Reed we need him to pick it up. He had 10 sacks last year, and he needs to get some sacks right now. He needs to be the leader of this defense right now, he needs to step up his performance.
On players not knowing what to expect: That's a good thing. If you're on edge all the time, it keeps you tight. You need to be on edge all the time to get ready for the unexpected. That's how the game of football is played. When you go out there for a play, you don't know what's going to happen, but if you're focused, you're detailed, you spend the time to get yourself prepared, then you're ready for the unexpected, and that's a good thing.
On if he's concerned about the players fearing the coaches: No, these guys don't fear us. They come around, they laugh with us. If you actually talk to Quandre Diggs he'll sit back and crack jokes about us all the time. At the end of the day, Jordan Hicks is that way, Malcom Brown is that way, those guys don't fear us. They come up to us and they laugh with us all the time. Somehow the media has brought up that they're afraid of us. No, they're not afraid of us.
One thing Coach Strong has done his entire time of coaching, as a defensive coordinator, as a head coach, he brings discipline. Doing the little things right, that's what is important. A lot of people talk about those things and at the end of the day, he's doing them. Guess what, if you're a parent at home and your child did something wrong, 'oh, it's okay, don't do it again,' he does it again, 'oh, it's okay, don't do it again,' and you continue to do it, what are you teaching that kid? As a football coach, guess what? You're a parent. You're a parent, you're a teacher, you're a counselor, you're a psychologist. You're all those things in one. You have to be an extension of mom and dad. It's up to you to teach them discipline and how to do little things right.
Coach Strong talks about his core values, he put them on the wall like it's a new thing, like somebody wrote the Bible. Well, if you go home, treat women with respect. If you have a son, won't you teach that? At the end of the day, I never had a gun. My mom never let me have a gun, my wife sure won't let me have a gun, so what's wrong with that? No drugs, what's wrong with that? Don't steal. What's wrong with that? What's big about those core values? It's the same thing that every parent out there teaches. People say 'oh man, that's really big!' No it isn't. Every parent teaches that at home. All he's doing is saying that's what I do with my kids, his two daughters.
On how players know if they're crossing the line in regard to Coach Strong wanting players to tear something down he posted in the locker room: You want guys that are a little bit on edge, and that's all the fun in it. Quandre [Diggs], he tore some things down. What happened to him? Nothing, because that's the type of guy he is. That's the type of guy who is very confident in who he is, who has pride in being here at The University of Texas, and having pride in his brother Quentin [Jammer] who played here. That's what it's all about. At the end of the day, I threw a couple of them in the trash myself, what's the big deal? I'm a coach, I didn't get in trouble, so what are we talking about? Those signs up there that show them what happened to us last year, if you don't like it, do something about it.
On how the linebackers, other than Jordan Hicks, are doing: Solid. We need to improve, we need to make more plays. We're in position to make more tackles and we need to make those plays. Again, on Saturday we missed some great opportunities with a couple of guys. Jordan Hicks has been really good for us so far this season and we have some other guys that need to step up. A guy who is playing well for us right now is Peter Jinkens. We played so much Nickel [defense vs. BYU], he was standing next to me on the sideline, so we were trying to find a way to get him on the football field. He's a guy that brings a lot of energy to the defense, and to us, defense starts with energy, it starts with enthusiasm. Here's a guy who is always laughing, always energized, and I watch him, I get fired up. We need to have more of that around here.
Being cool, that's not good for football. Football is a physical, dirty, bloody sport. Let's throw the ball out there and get some mud and some water and let's go have some fun, that's football. Let's get rid of the AstroTurf, let's go back to the old days when the ball was wet, cold, covered in mud, you've got blood on it, spit on it. Now you get a cut and they take you out. That's not football. Let's go back to the old days. Let's take off those face masks right now, everyone wants to look like Ray Lewis. You know what, I broke my nose, I had a two bar face mask, broke my nose, but a bar down the middle, that's all I needed. Life went on. I still look good don't I? So what am I worried about. My wife thinks I look good and that's all that matters.
On how he gets Peter Jinkens on the field: You have to train them at two positions. He is a kid that is sharp enough to get those things done. You know why? It's important to him. He wants to get on the field. You want guys who want to go on the field. I tell guys all the time, if you're a backup, that's your fault. That's your friend, but when you're on the football field he can't be your friend if you want to play. You should go out there and take your job. Competition makes a team better.
On if he'd be surprised if the defense can't get up to face UCLA QB Brett Hundley: We definitely have the wrong people if we can't get up on this guy. I watch the video and man, like I said, he can throw the ball anywhere. I haven't seen many quarterbacks on one hash throw the out cut to the field. It's coming and if you're not close enough, it's a completion. He has an NFL arm. What I mean by that is, you can have tight coverage, he'll put the ball away from a defensive back. Most college football quarterbacks can't do that. They'll hold that ball, they'll scramble and go someplace else. If you can't get up for this guy, you can't get up for anyone.
On if guys are licking their chops facing UCLA: Our defense has done a good job. The biggest thing is if we can have tight enough coverage to make him hold the ball a little bit, we can buy time for our down guys to get there. That's going to be key, disguising coverage. He does a good job sitting back there and reading coverages. Noel [Mazzone, UCLA Offensive Coordinator] has done a tremendous job preparing him every week.
On if Josh Turner is back if he'll be in the mix: If he's back then he'll be part of the mix.
On the last time he was embarrassed like he was after losing to BYU: I don't know. Every time I lose a game I feel embarrassed, whether it's one point, whether it's 40 points. If you're a competitor, losing leaves a bad taste in your mouth, no matter how you look at it. For the fans out there, are you upset? You should be, because you played at home. At the same time, it's like I said after the game, I have a great father, 82 years old, he was there, my beautiful wife was there, and my brother-in-law was there, until the end of time. I have two little nephews in Houston, Texas, and they play football. Watching little kids play football, for an old coach like me, sometimes I shake my head. I stay there the whole time, good, bad, indifferent. Why? I went there for them. For the football players here at The University of Texas or any university across the country, these young men worked their tails off. If practice were open and you could see how hard these guys work, no matter what the score was, no matter what the weather is, you would stay there to support them the entire time because of how hard they work. If you're a Texas Longhorns fan, through and through, you bleed orange; you'll be there to support. I've been away from this university a long time. I've coached at a lot of places, and I've always kept up with my alma mater. Why? It's The University of Texas. That's how I feel about this university as a fan when I was on the outside looking in. These young men need your support, good, bad, indifferent, if you're a Longhorns fan like I have been for the past 20 years.
