The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
09.22.2014 | Football
Head coach Charlie Strong and players met with the media
Longhorns Gameweek | Texas-Kansas Game Preview | Tickets
After a week off from competition, head coach Charlie Strong and members of the Texas football team met with the media to preview this Saturday's game at Kansas which is slated for a 3 p.m. CT kickoff on Fox Sports 1. David Ash also discussed his recent decision to retire from the game due to head injuries. Quotes from Strong, Ash, senior CB Quandre Diggs, senior WR John Harris and sophomore QB Tyrone Swoopes are below.
Head coach Charlie Strong
Opening statement: Feels great to get back into game week after having the week off, and during that week off, it was just get the practices in and it's all about effort, assignment, fundamentals and technique. Just like the overall attitude. You lose in that game with UCLA, it still kind of burns and you want that to burn, because you want to see in that locker room afterwards just how much it hurt, and it hurt a lot of the players. That's where you know that you're taking strides and you're getting better and better.
But this is a good Kansas team. And we know this: Every time you go on the road, you have to pack your defense. I said to the defense, because what's important is the defense takes the crowd out of the game. And you want to pack your discipline because you have to be a disciplined football team and you have to have your focus and you have to have your special teams, because that's all about changing the field position and the togetherness where you have to play together and then just making sure that we go and compete and we go and compete at the highest level.
Looking forward to it, and just knowing this, that we have a few more days to get ready for it and we should be prepared to be ready and be focused and locked in.
On if he has any updates on the suspended players: No update on the suspended guys. None of them will play this game. None of them will play.
On Kennedy Estelle and Desmond Harrison's timeline to come back to practice and if there is any difference between their suspensions and Daje Johnson's: No, it's no different. Daje has been practicing and the two tackles eventually will return. It will be one day this week but not for sure what day this coming week.
On any similarities between taking over at Louisville and here: When you look at Louisville, what is really different is that when you took over, it was the senior offensive line. So there was a pride there. They all wanted to prove that whenever -- the foundation, where it all starts, it starts up front and that's where it really started for us and we ended up winning six games. You go into the last game, we had to win the last game of the year to even become bowl eligible.
And then you come back the second year, and at one point the second year, we were 2-and-4 and looking to go on the road to West Virginia. So I was looking at the schedule and I was like, oh my God, we're not going to win another game. Then we go to West Virginia and beat them, and then go and win five out of the next six.
But it's coming. It's all coming together. We have a really good team and it's got to come together. I told the seniors, it's their leadership, and what you like, your senior year, you'd like to see them go play their best football, because some of our seniors are not playing their best football right now. Until it changes -- and it's not going to change until we start developing pride and we have pride within ourselves and pride within the team.
On with the Big 12 having always been a high flying, offensive driven league, how do you squeeze more big plays out: Well, we are going to have to squeeze them somehow, because you're right, it's a scoring matchup, and you look to some of the games, and one score, and then the next, follow up with another score. We know we are going to have to score points and know we are going to have to generate some offense and generate some big plays.
On how he emphasizes a fresh start with conference play: What I told them, we told them at the start, we have phase one, so phase one was the non-conference, and now it's the phase two. It's all about conference play and each game counts. So it starts this week with Kansas, and that's why it's critical we can't slip up. We have got to go play our best.
On senior tight end Greg Daniels: He came back to practice yesterday and we are slowly moving him in, and hopefully by the end of the week, see where he is and be able to assess exactly just with injuries how much he'll be able to help us this week.
On why the sacks aren't coming for senior defensive end Cedric Reed: Well, Ced, it's always hard when you look at a season where he had last season, 10 [sacks] and now he's sitting at one and still has nine games to play. It's still too early to evaluate what teams are doing to him. It's all about everybody just picking up their play and playing better.
On how he gets bigger plays for the offense and how he thinks the running backs have done so far: Well, you look at the quarterback position, and he's had two games under his belt, and playing a lot better, so now you can open it up some. And then you just have to win outside at the wide receiver position. With Marcus [Johnson], he's fast enough where he can get on top of people and get the ball down the field.
Then with running backs, we have to do a better job just blocking and opening up the holes, because you have two talented running backs. And it's just about with the offensive linemen, we get a man on each man and let those backs squeeze through. And I told them, I said, it isn't always going to be block perfect for you. Sometimes you are going to have to run over someone, and we need to get that done.
On how dangerous Kansas is: Well, you look at their quarterback, a guy that can move around and got good enough feet where he can run around and can get out of pressure. And [Corey] Avery, the running back, we recruited him last year but ended up where we had our backs already. But he has enough speed, and they can run us out with the wide receiver because they have good height with the wide receiver.
But you go on the road and you go to any other place, so it's always tough when you to someone else's home because you know they're play their best and we have to play our best and it's going to be on the road. So it's always dangerous when you're going into someone else's territory.
On if they are having any problems recruiting with the 1-2 start: No, the recruits are still out there. We are The University of Texas, so you're going to be able to get the recruits. It's for us making sure that we get the right ones and we get the ones that we really want.
The recruits, I don't think a 1-and-2 start has anything to do with it because a lot of young men out there haven't made up their mind, so they are looking at us. The good thing about us, we just have to make sure that when we go and recruit, that it's the right fit for our program.
On how he would assess the strength of the Big 12 from perceptions he had coming into the job: Well, I've always had respect for this league. You look at Oklahoma and look how well they are playing and go on the road and beat West Virginia at West Virginia, and Kansas State is only a play or two away, ball bounces off the shoulder pads and there's a touchdown right there, and they had Auburn on the ropes.
It's a really strong league, always like I said, I always, always have had a lot of respect for this league and it's a really strong league. And now that we are in this league, we are going to go battle some really good teams. It's all about us and getting our -- making sure that we do the right things, also, but it is a strong league, have a lot of respect for.
On the play of sophomore defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway: Without a doubt, played very well. Thing was he was playing behind Malcom [Brown] now and now he gets an opportunity to go start. But the thing about Ridgeway is he's so strong, so powerful, and he's big and strong where he can get off blocks and make plays, and you just see him go at people and just throwing back and just reach over to get sacks. But he's playing very well, just love his whole attitude.
On Cedric Reed and if he's happy or disappointed with the way he's played: No, he has not been a disappointment, but I am happy, three games into it, you know what happens, a lot of time, walking out of a great junior year and come back their senior year and they might not have the numbers.
When you think about last year, you had [Jackson] Jeffcoat on one side and you had Ced on the other side. And with Jeffcoat being the force that he was, he was creating a lot of sack opportunities, and then they were able to get the flush to Ced, but Ced is playing fine. I think we get caught up; he's playing well enough for us. I'm not getting caught up in the numbers, because I know we see 10 sacks in the last season and each and every year it doesn't go that way for you.
On special teams: What happened with the punt [near the end of the UCLA game], and it all comes into one play, because what you need is the ball to be punted in the right direction. So when we set the punt, it should have been kicked to the left and it was kicked down the middle. So your coverage is to the left because you try to pin and return it to the boundary, and so then he catches the ball in the middle and so mostly your coverage is going to the left. And then all of a sudden, he beats one of the gunners and the gunner gets pinched so now you consider the wall.
Even when he got to the wall, we had our opportunity, because when he got to the wall, I think we had the defender on the 45-yard line and defender on the 50. He got hit on the 45 and then he bounced off and he kept moving. And then when he got hit, it's just like we kind of just stopped, instead of just continuing to run. Just, you have the sideline, use the sideline. He's going to step out of bounds. So just let's knock him out of bounds and we allowed him to get the ball to the 33-yard line.
But we've got to do a better job of covering the punt. Like I said, that should have never, ever happened. No way that should have happened. And then the ball has to have a little hang time. It was more of one of those that just jetted off his foot, so even when it jets off and then the coverage is not doing -- when you out kick the coverage, it's a perfect example of out kicking your coverage.
On what he's seen from Tyrone Swoopes in the way he's practiced and progressed after realizing this is his job and his team: It is and that's what he's done. He's realized it's his offense, and his confidence is just building each and every day. And that's what you like out of him.
You think back to the spring game and we all said, 'oh, my God, it's like, wooo.' And he comes in (Laughter) -- and then he comes in and he plays well against BYU, and then UCLA he gets better.
And yes, the thing he's doing now is he's become a student of the game, which he never did before. He never put his time in. Usually if you don't think you're going to play you're not going to put your time in. But he realizes, hey, this is my team now, this is my offense now, and I really have to put my time in and that's what he's doing.
On looking back at the UCLA game has he figured out why they were able to run it in the second half and has he figured with Desmond Jackson going down, you get Poona Ford or Chris Nelson involved: I'm looking at that game, the second half, the first play we miss a tackle where if you hit the ball right there and it's a missed tackle, it's 2nd-and-8. And then we get them to the fourth down, we miss the tackle and we are off the field and we don't get the field goal.
So it's not so much them just running the football. We had our opportunities to stop them. And then it's about gap integrity and getting off [blocks]. We have a number that we can rotate with the guys we have, with the vets that we have, that we feel like we can rotate them enough where we can get the guys on the field that we need.
On playing nine straight games after having an early bye week: What you like to see happen is the bye week coming around game six, right after game six, so first half of the season and you get a rest and you go tune it up and you go play the second part of the season.
But when you're coming away, we play three and now we have to go nine and just we have to go play and you don't have that rest, which you would have loved to have had it where you could have balanced it up where you had it in the middle.
On playing very few freshman this year is it dangerous when you're trying to build for a long term program or build up momentum for a Bowl game: Well, it's not so much they are not good enough. It's just that you have enough in place right now where you can use the sophomores and seniors that you've had in the program, and you would love to play freshmen, but if they are not ready, I'm not going to take a freshman and just play them for 20 or 25 snaps and waste a full year on a young man.
Then you think back and you're saying to yourself, you know what, gets to be a junior, senior and you say, I wish I could have had them another year. But we end up playing them very few snaps, and that happens a lot when you see a lot of -- you get to the senior year and you see a young man say: 'Well, my freshman year, Coach, I only played 20 snaps,' and you don't want to see that happen.
On if the players have lost any confidence after two losses and what have their attitudes been like so far: I hope they are not thinking to lose confidence after two, and you have nine and you have the conference looking at you, and so you have the conference to go play for now.
On where has this team shown progress and where do you feel like you can improve: Well, if you look at where you think we've shown progress, it's at the quarterback position with Tyrone getting better. And then you'd like to think that just on defense, we could play better than what we're playing, but it's all about us getting off the field on third down because we've had the opportunities on third down where we didn't get off the field.
And now, it's all about confidence. It's all about us just continuing to play, and it's just, you know, a lot of times you look out there and you say, just finish the game. We have to play for 60 minutes, and that's what we are not doing, just go finish the game.
I think back to that UCLA game, and there was five plays there where we had a stretch of five plays that just hammered us. And then those are the deciding plays within that game that really cost us that game -- we just go finish the game.
It wasn't the one play where we get beat on the double move. We can look back at the punt return, where the ball should never have gotten down there. It's just different plays that hurt you where you have to go back and just assess them and just say, if we just go finish guys, just finish the game, it's a 60 minute game.
On the decision of whether or not to play freshman QB Jerrod Heard: Right now it's going to depend on the flow of the game and going through each game that we play, because you just don't know, if you have an opportunity to play him. It just depends how the season goes and just game by game.
On from an offensive production standpoint what do you feel like you need to see this week: Well you talk about the offensive production and you go into the first game with [David] Ash, so you get numbers there because you have a veteran quarterback and now all of a sudden you lose him. So you come into the second game with a whole new offense, and even with the offensive line, you're trying to piece it together.
You would like to see just more explosive plays, where we can get the ball down the field. And it will happen. It will eventually happen, because the more the quarterback plays, the more confidence he will gain. And then he can feel like, you know what, I stand back here and just deliver the ball without feeling pressure.
Because a lot of times, the quarterback whenever he feels pressure, you want to get rid of it quickly. But now, he can feel like, you know what, I can stand back here and take a hit and let the ball be delivered down the field.
But the opportunities will come now. As long as you -- because with our playaction game, it will open up and cause people to start sitting on the playaction game, and then you will be able to get the ball down the field.
On if learning how to win in certain situations is a skill that has to be learned: Well, it's a skill of just learning how to win. And then when you finish, you go back to the punt and it's more of, okay, we punt the ball. So let's get down the field and cover. Don't count on someone else to go down the field and cover. And you look, and guys aren't just really just running down the field. And then you look at the skill with the double move, we played it the whole game. And that's all we talked about, every time we took the field, listen, be ready for the double move. You knew at some point, it was going to come. And you look for it after a big play comes, they have a big play on the punt return and now here it comes, because it's coming now, guys, without a doubt. Now they have to do something, because they think we are back on our heels because we just gave up a big punt return. So we are sitting back on our heels, and they get ready to release one and they released it at the right time.
You just have to stay locked in the game and stay focused and just knowing, hey, at some point, it's going to be -- a point in this game where there's going to be a play to turn it. Now, who is going to make a play? Is it going to be someone from us going to make it or is it going to be someone from them.
On saying at his second year at Louisville when you started 2-4, and you weren't sure you were going to win a Bowl game. You're 1 2 now, what is your confidence level right now on making a Bowl game this year: You know what it is, it's game by game. I don't look down the road. I just say, let's just take it one at a time, because that's the only way you can look at it now is one at a time, and let's take it game by game and then we'll just see where we are.
Because a lot of times, if you look down the road, you say, okay, what about this game, what do you want to do here, what do you want to do here. We can only take it game by game.
On how close is Jason Hall to maybe getting a starting spot or getting more playing time: Well, he played a lot against UCLA because he's in on the nickel package. So he's the safety on the nickel package, he's the starter. So he plays a lot, and he had a really outstanding game. The thing about him, he plays with a lot of energy and passion, and he brings a lot to the team. So yeah, he'll play a lot. He's been playing a lot.
On in his experience, is there a different attitude to win on the road as opposed to when everything seems to be going your way at home and with the crowd: What I try to tell them, the reason why I say you pack the defense, because you have to take the crowd out of the game. And I tell our players, it's what you have to realize: Whenever you go on the road, they are yelling for you. So don't ever think the crowd is not yelling for you. Obviously they didn't come to watch the other team. They came to watch us.
You know what happens, the fans can't come on the field so they have no control of their team. Whatever happens on the field is us. It's all about us controlling it with our defense. Take the crowd out of it.
And then special teams is so critical because it changes the field position, because now is when you really have to be focused on special teams, you really have to, because you can't give up a blocked punt. Or even with return yardage, we need to get positive yardage.
But the defense is key. The defense is totally key. Any time you're on the road, it's all about the defense and how well they can play.
On what his confidence level is in the five players in the nickel package: The five as in the secondary? It's got to be the defense. It's not just those five guys. If you can't create pressure up front, you have no chance. Those guys in the back end have no chance if you can't put pressure on the quarterback and get off the blocks. It's more a combination of everyone involved, not just those five guys.
On Kansas struggling the last few years but even so with the loss to BYU does that make everyone on the team realize you can't take any opponent lightly: You would like to think that each and every week you have to go out and get prepared and you don't want to take anyone lightly. You can't, because I tell them all the time, just look across the country, look at different scores across the country. You can't ever relax.
We have to go in with the right mindset that we are going to get their best. You're going to get, and I tell them all the time: any time someone plays The University of Texas, you will get their best and that's what we have to be prepared for, their best. Now, if they are going to come with their best. We'd better come with our best. We'd better come with our A Game to be ready to go play.
On if they changed anything with practice during the bye week: Well, you still have nine games to go play. Just because you lost a close game, we went out and practiced the way we always practiced, and nothing changed.
Opening statement: Thank you all for being here today. Just wanted a chance to say thank you to the fans and I have a few other specific thank yous. But it's been a tough couple weeks. Been kind of a hard year, and throughout this whole process, there's been so many people reach out to me and encourage me and tell me they are praying for me and just remind me of God's love for me. I want those people to know that that really does matter, and it really did affect me in a tremendous way and a lot of times helped me keep going and helped me find strength in trying to get back throughout this whole ordeal.
So, you know, obviously what I have accomplished since I've been here, I didn't do on my own. There's been a lot of people helped me and I just wanted to go through and thank a few of them. There's no way I can mention everybody, but I'm going to try. You know, obviously right now, my teammates and my coaches. I know it wasn't easy week to week, knowing whether I was going to play, whether I was going to be in the game, whether I would hold up during the game, and I just really appreciate your patience and support throughout all that, and just let you know it was a lot of fun playing ball with y'all. My mom and dad, my family, thank you for teaching me to honor and love God above everything else. The Barbers, the Garys and both Stephen and Ashley and Bob and Sharon Shipley, for being a home away from home and being a source of encouragement at all times. For my church back at home on 15th Street, I know the people on Beltman and Academy that have put the prayers and love and support overall my grown up years. Chris Terry and Jared Barber for just being great friends. Andrew Gary and John David Roberts, and the rest of my best friends in Yellow and Green House, thank you all for caring for me so well. Thank you, Brett Rogers, for being such an incredible influence on my life. And finally, thank you Coach Strong and Coach Southern and Coach Brewer, thanks for being amazing coaches and even better friends.
Just wanted to say, football has been obviously a huge part of my life. I got to go home this weekend, and see my family, and I see where I went to church, and I walk by a bush that every Sunday, I would hide my football in it, because it was a lot faster to get it out of the bush than ask my dad for keys to the car, go back to the car, get it out of the car. I had to maximize the time I could play with it. I would wear my play clothes underneath my church clothes, so I would be ready to go; snatch the ball out of the bush and I was ready to go. I saw that and I just saw a lot of memories and a lot of joyful times. I was reminded there that the biggest joy I've had in football was doing it all for my dad. And I dedicated my career to Jesus when I was in eighth grade, and it's really incredible to see how far I've come. But my football period is ending. But I'm still very thankful my relationship with Jesus will never end. I played quarterback on one of the premiere stages in college football. I experienced a lot of things that people everywhere desire to experience, and it's been really fun, and I can't begin to say what a blessing it's been. But at the end of the day, I'm just like every other human in the world. I have the same struggles as all of my friends. At the end of the day, I just want to be and I want to have a purpose. I need something greater than football or anything this world has to offer and Jesus takes care of all that for me. My since and my failures, concussions, whatever it is that comes my way, even death, can never touch my relationship with Jesus. That's the rock I will always stand on. I'm not a victim; I'm a victor. I have Jesus today and I have everything. Football was never the gift, Jesus was. So that's my—that's my deal. But you know, also, I'm so thankful for the media (Laughter). Y'all have been a delight (Laughter) over the last three or four years. Y'all feel free to ask any questions now.
On what are some of the things that he was thinking about his health as he came to this decision: I just prayed a lot about it. The decision, it was I think the process of it all, the doctors and coaches, were all—I think they all pretty much knew I wasn't going to be able to play. But they never told me that because I think they knew if I just took it away like that, it would have probably jolted me, and so we went through due process and it helped me understand why. I'm really thankful for that and I'm at peace with that, because the questions are answered and I have an answer for all the reasons. God has given me peace, and so I have a lot of hope and I have a lot of belief that there are still awesome days ahead of me.
On what role he will have with the team moving forward: You know, I just want to be present. I want to be around. You know, people have asked me, are you going to be like quarterback coach No. 2 now? No. I'm not like some Jedi Master quarterback coach. But I have some experience and I have some things that I can share with these quarterbacks. And if they need help, or if they are in a situation where I can help them, I want to be there and be able to do that and just, you know, share what I've gone through and help them make this team successful. The last thing I want to do is be another voice in their head. They have enough people yelling at them and telling them what to do. We just need to go play ball. They are talented and they can do a great job, and the one that's doing it right now is doing a great job. I think he's about to be special.
On if he came back because he didn't want to look back and say what if: Yeah, it is I think. It's really hard, I gave it everything I had and I have no regrets. It didn't work out and I'm grateful that I got to play that one last game. That was a lot of fun.
On what happened that night: It was all kind of blurry. Exactly sort of how it went, I ended up calling the doctors later that night and saying, you know, I'm feeling some symptoms. Went back and watched the game, and I didn't really look like myself during the game. The symptoms kind of got worse the next day and the next day. So yeah, that's kind of how it went.
On if there is something the doctors told you specifically that influenced his decision: I think the main thing was, "If you were my son, I would not let you play. "
On if he is feeling any symptoms now: I've felt better probably the last three days than I have in a while. I'm feeling a lot more regular most of the time. There's still things that every once in awhile feels a little irregular, but I've been improving and I'm getting better and I expect to get a full bill of health soon.
On if he wanted to go to the coaches and the doctors to make his case to stay on the field or if he knew they weren't going to let him back on: At the core of my heart of hearts, I know I shouldn't be playing, if that's what you're asking.
On if he had any concussions during high school: I never experienced any head injuries until I was in college.
On Coach thought it was the first hit he took, but is there anyway to know for sure: There's really no telling. When you're playing, there's so much other stuff going on in a football game besides pain, besides it's so hard to tell, so much adrenaline. A lot of people have asked me that and I really don't have a definitive answer.
On how hard it is to really decide that giving this up is what's best for him: Well, I guess I had a lot of dreams. I had a lot of goals, goals I still believe fully that had I remained healthy, I would have gotten to accomplish those. But there's so much still, there's so much good life out there besides football. I'm really excited to put time in those things now. I love my family. I love getting to spend more time with them, my friends. It seems like every time I go home, it seems like my nieces are six inches taller, and it's going to be fun to see them grow up. You know, maybe I'll get a girlfriend (Laughter). Who knows? There's all kind of possibilities going on right now.
On if he is close to his degree and if he has thought about his future: Yes, some. Obviously they always tell you, especially at Texas, that we have great academic staff and people are trying to take care of the student and the athlete. They always say, have a Plan B, all that stuff. You're like, yeah, yeah, I've got a Plan B. And then you're like, wait, I didn't have a Plan B. (Laughter) because I think whenever you're playing ball and you have dreams, and you really believe in those dreams, you don't make a Plan B. I think that's just how it is. But I do graduate in December. I believe I still have a year of eligibility left, so I'll be able to continue going to school and try to get in some kind of program on a medical scholarship and have a year to try to flush that out and figure out exactly what new direction God is leading me.
On what was the final thing: The whole time, the whole time it was kind of like, so you're saying there's a chance? (Laughter). So I don't think my hopes were ever really, really high. They never poured water on the play or anything and said no. I think they wanted it to happen in a healthy way.
On how he wants people to remember David Ash: You know, I don't know. I want you to remember the good plays and not the bad ones (Laughter) for sure. But I want what I stand for to stick out more than my abilities. I think we live in a world where facades and skills that are gifts, you can't control your looks, you can't control your athletic ability. All those things are direct gifts from the Lord, from the Creator, and you can't control any of that. And so many of those things are esteemed, and that puts a lot of people in a tough situation. And I would like people to remember me for what's on the inside, for character, for my faith. I hope people remember me as treating other people well, not based on athletic ability or how fun you are. Just because you're a person and you have a soul.
On the level of concern for his long-term health: That obviously played a role in some of it. I don't know. I can't see a future or how they have a lot more research concussions and all those sort of things. I don't know what the long-term effects of what mine will be.
On if he reads stories on concussions and long-term effects: I read that, and you know, that's definitely concerning. None of my symptoms have been… I haven't had a lot of memory loss. I haven't had any cognitive disability or anything like that and what little I have had, I've regained. Yes, I've always been slow (Laughter). But there are other things that I think could affect me long term but I'm praying.
On what his favorite memory of Texas is: I don't know if you can throw out any of it and just keep some of it. It's just the whole experience. I wouldn't change any of it, the hard times, good times. It's a good place.
On what it was like for him emotionally the last couple of weeks: It's been hard. I've met my quota for crying for like the next ten years probably. But at the same time, I have faith and a hundred people a day, reminders from people that really care for me, and that's really awesome.
On if there is a sense of relief that he has finally made a decision: Yeah, there are senses of relief just because it's done. I've wanted to do it at a time where I get my stuff out there and I get it out of the way and focus and go back to the team and what they are going to do this year. But, yeah, you know, I don't have to worry about my head any more or getting hit or what they do on third and five, or what their blitz tendency is in the red zone. I don't have to worry about any of that. But I think I'm going to miss that worry.
Senior CB Quandre Diggs
On team get-togethers during the bye week and talk about moving forward: We practiced last week. I think we practiced well. We just came out and everybody was still down after the loss, but after we got going, practice went smooth and I think guys were just able to go home and just relax a little bit. That's always good throughout the season, just to be able to go out and go back home with your family and just have some free time, and now we are back at it. Now it's time to regroup and get back together.
On taking a breath during the bye week: I think it gave us more time to refocus. Coming off a tough loss like that, where we had the opportunity to win the game. It's always good to have some time off and just watch some film, watch other teams play, and just kind of let loose for a week or so and get back into it this week. You know, it's stressful throughout the season. It's a stressful time. So it's always good to be able to see my family and just go home and eat some good cooking.
On looking at last season's 1-2 start and the probability of having success this season: We have experienced this, but we don't want to look to last year. We have a whole new staff, a whole new team. We can't go off what happened last year. We just have to come out, step up to the plate and be ready for this week.
On not finishing against UCLA: As you can see, small things turn into big things throughout the game. We didn't play well enough to win that game. The game was close, but we didn't do the things necessary to win. That's what happens when you play a good team.
On positive aspects of the team moving into conference play: I think guys are getting more comfortable throughout the season knowing what to expect from the coaching staff. I think we went out and we played with a lot of passion against UCLA and had a lot of fun. You can see just what a great experience it was. Just something different, and I think guys came out with the right amount of energy. I think we played pretty well, but we didn't play good enough to win the game. But I saw guys having fun and going back to some of the things we did the first ballgame.
On bringing the right mindset to Kansas: We just have to focus. This isn't going to be two years ago where we went out with the attitude that we are going to beat them pretty bad, and they almost beat us. We can look back to those experiences, but like I say, it's a new year, and you've just got to get guys to focus - myself included. Everybody gets a little carried away sometimes, so you know, we just have to go out and play our game and have fun.
On worrying about confidence from younger players: You just kind of stay on those guys and hopefully those guys get the picture that you are going to have ups and downs. I've been through that as a young guy my freshman year. I know I had a lot of ups and downs. You just continue to talk to those guys, get them in the film room, and they will continue to build confidence up throughout practice and things like that.
On the play of freshman DB Jason Hall against UCLA: We had a nice little spark from Jason when he came in. He came in and he had two nice plays back-to-back, and you know, he's out there hitting guys. He loves to hit, he loves competing. You can tell he has that passion for the game. Once we get him going the right direction and get him lined up in the right places, you know he's going to let loose and he's going to go. That's always the hard thing about being young. You just want to get in and you want to play. Might not do things right, but you're going to run your tail up to the ball. You're going to go out and try to make plays. Once we get him to read his keys more and do things like that, he's going to be a great player.
On if Cedric Reed is having a slow start: The thing is, it's not just sacks with him. He's making tackles. He's staying in his run gaps, taking care of responsibilities. I think a lot of people expect him to go out and have monster sacks, but he's getting doubled and things like that. That's how it is when you're a big-time player at defensive end, they are going to double you, chip you and do anything they can do to get you away from the quarterback. I think he's had a lot of quarterback hurries and things like that. He's getting back to the quarterback. I'm sure that it will start paying off sooner or later.
On if he is affected by David Ash's career finish: I think we are all affected by David. He's not only one of our teammates, but he's one of our good friends. We are all affected by it, and we know he's very emotional about it. He made the choice that, you know, that it was time to give up, and we all agreed with him and support him throughout the tough times. He's going to always be around us, and he's always going to be part of the family, so nothing is going to change out of that. He's still a great guy, and I'm just praying for him each and every day.
On if he brings to light his high school QB days: I bring that up. I bring that up. I told them that if they need me over there, I'll go over there and do a little bit. I can't do too much. I used to do that back in my prime, back in my prime in high school (laughter). If they needed it, I would go over there and be happy to do it, but I don't know, I don't think [Coach Strong] would want to do that.
On if he is no longer in his prime: Not my quarterback prime, that's what it is. I'm just working -- I'm just focused on playing defensive back. But like I said, anything the team needs, I'll go out and do it. That's the type of player I am.
On the coaches' messages to the team: As a player, as a grown-up, you're a man. You're going to have ups and downs in life. You've got to understand that. So as much as the coaches tell you, it's up to you to keep yourself positive and know that things are going to work out for us down the long run. So, you know, those guys, they always have pretty positive measures for us. They get on us and things like that, but they are all like father figures, and they are going to keep us up and keep our spirits up. But like I said, as a man, you have to be able to separate things and know right from wrong and know when things are positive and when things are negative.
On if the team is doing anything unique to maintain positivity: I think we are around each other so much. We all just hang out a lot, and I think that's what keeps everybody positive. We are always together, either watching film or in the training room or any little thing. You can find us together in the classroom and stuff like that. I really think the bond between this team is there. I see older guys hanging out with younger guys. I think we have some pretty good leaders in each room that can help the other guys. I just think everybody is staying positive because we know how good we can be.
On when he believes seniors will step up and be the leaders Strong is seeking: Coach Strong always says the team is going to be as good as the senior leadership takes us, and he says the seniors are not playing their best ball right now. Until we start playing our best ball as seniors, we do have certain guys playing, but until we get everybody to step up and play the right way - that's when this team will start going the right direction and things will continue to start moving. But I think it's coming together slowly but surely, and you know, I think we're going to adjust right. I think good things are coming up, and we've just got to take it one week at a time.
Senior WR John Harris
On belief in being Big 12 conference contenders: I think we're contenders. I think anybody in this league is always a contender going into the first [conference] game. We are excited to go back out there and get going in our season. This is a big step for us in conference play.
On potential of recreating last season [regard to being 1-2 going into conference play]: It's basically almost the same thing that happened to us last year. We started off 1-2, and then we got a big win at Iowa State last year that got us rolling. Hopefully we can go into Lawrence [Kansas] and get a win and get it rolling the way we did last year. Just finish the season off the right way this time. We were 30 minutes away, so we would like to get back to that if we can.
On necessity of creating confidence: I don't think we need it badly. I think we just need to win to get some confidence. We have confidence in the locker room, and we see that we can win. We were, what, five minutes away from beating UCLA, a ranked opponent. I mean, the confidence is there. It's all about finishing. It's all about finishing the game.
On reasons behind the team not being able to finish: I'm not really sure. Just the situations haven't played out for us the way that we wanted them to. It could be some on our part and how we prepared and little small mistakes in the games where we could have taken advantage and not even have been in that situation. I mean, we learn from it, we are moving on from it, and we are just going to get better as the season progresses.
On whether the UCLA loss still burns: Yeah, it burned a little the last week just thinking about it and watching teams play over the weekend, but we are moving on from that. We are not worried about that game. We are worried about conference play. There's still a lot of football left to be played out there, so the Big 12 is still open. We still have one game - we still have games to win and still have games to play.
On the bye week: We got to work on little things, things that we made mistakes on in that UCLA game - just getting more comfortable with the offensive line and Tyrone a little bit with the receivers. So I think that helps a lot, getting more rhythm with your offense. We grew up a lot in one week. Hopefully we can grow up a lot more in two.
On what still needs to be worked on: I think just coming together as a team. I think that's the one thing we need to work on and then being able to finish. We all have the talent, and we all have the ability to win the Big 12. I don't think anybody doubts us with that, but we just have to finish. Just go out there and play a full 60 minutes every week.
On whose responsibility it is to finish the games: I think it's us as a senior class. I think it's our responsibility. We've got to step up in big moments, and we have to make plays whenever we need to make plays. Especially at the end of the games, there are a lot of guys on the defense that are seniors, and a lot of guys on offense that are seniors. You just have to make plays at that moment. I think as a senior class, we need to step up and lead this team, especially in those situations at the end of the game.
On Tyrone's Swoopes leadership: He's done a wonderful job of leading this team. He's a young quarterback, and he's growing. He's growing fast. He's learning at the same pace we are learning at. He's doing a wonderful job leading this team on offense. A lot of the guys on the team have respect for him. He's a well-spoken person, and he's playing and being himself and having fun and leading us as a quarterback. We want a guy like that.
On David Ash remaining part of the program: It means a lot. That's a guy that went through a lot. It's good to see him around and smiling, and he's not down on himself or anything. It's just good to have him around and feel comfortable with him and help him teach Tyrone to grow.
On Ash's new role: He's still one of us. We don't treat him any differently than what he was before. If he wants to be a coach, he's a coach, but he's still one of us. We are not going to treat him any different or see him any different than what he is.
On overlooking opposing teams and any potential doubt of defeating Kansas: We don't overlook anybody. We respect every opponent that we play, and that's how we are going to play in and out. We want to go in there and get a win. We know in our minds we're going to win, but we are not going to overlook Kansas. We are going to give them the respect that they deserve.
On how the offense has changed: I don't think it's changed at all. Probably the only difference would be that we use Tyrone a little bit more in the run game, just because he's a little bit more mobile and doesn't have the symptoms that David had. That's probably the only thing that's changed a little bit more. Other than that, everything is pretty much the same.
On Tyrone Swoopes' demeanor: He's fun. It's just fun the way he is. He's fun to be around, especially in those huddles. He's calm and knows how to get the offense going when it's time to go to work. Tyrone is a great leader in that huddle. He's well spoken. He is a little soft-spoken, but there's nothing wrong with that. He brings confidence to that offense, and we're really comfortable with him, so I know he does a great job whenever he's out there.
On chemistry between QB and the receivers and how important it is: Chemistry is chemistry, and I think that builds over time. I don't think people make it out for more than what it is. I think chemistry is a big deal sometimes but not always. You just learn and you grow with somebody and you learn their tendencies and they learn your tendencies, and over time you get better and better. Sometimes you have to learn at a faster rate than you can. I think tendencies do play a big part, but the chemistry in this offense has gotten better since we played against BYU. It's growing, as you can see.
On how many times he's watched the fourth down catch against UCLA: I only watched it probably about twice, and I just kind of let it go. You know, I probably would have watched it a little bit more if we would have won that game, but it was a big catch in the game. It was a great moment for me, and it was a great moment for Tyrone, especially on fourth-and-8, getting down in the red zone. You've just got to move on from it and just worry about the next big play.
On closeness to seeing the offense take off: Yeah, we are right there. We are nudging at it. We put 17 points on the board in the UCLA game. We played pretty good football, but we could play better. So I mean, we are right there to being explosive. Just a couple more plays, just a couple more assignments that we've got to make, a couple more key blocks. We turn those into explosive plays and we look like Texas in the offense.
Sophomore QB Tyrone Swoopes
On the team being 1-2 going into conference play last season and potential of recreating success: I feel like we can do it because we have kind of like the same pieces that we had last year. I don't see why we couldn't do the same thing or more. I feel like we can do it again.
On confidence growth since his first start: It's grown a lot because I've gotten some experience on the field and played kind of well. I've gotten some confidence from the guys, as well, so that's really helped a lot. I've gotten a lot of confidence from it.
On David Ash's step down and if he feels differently because of it: Not really, I just feel the same way as I always have. Just have to go out there and be ready. Got to prepare and be ready to play, play for the team.
On whether more playing time last season would have better prepared him: I mean, I feel like it would have helped me a little bit, just getting the experience and getting in the game and getting meaningful snaps. It didn't work out like that, so I guess I've just got to play with the hand I was dealt and just go with it from there.
On if Jerrod Heard should get playing time: I think it's up to the coaches. I don't really have a say on that, so I'm going to leave that to them.
On how live game experience has helped him and where he thinks improvements need to be made headed into conference play: It's helped me a lot, just like you said, helped give me equal snaps. That's helped a lot, and helped me with getting better on third downs. I don't think we were very good against UCLA on third downs. We need to stay on the field and give our defense a rest and play with points on the board.
On where the team needs to improve to help with game finishes: I think it is kind of an attitude just because we haven't gone out and finished people like we should. I think going into conference play, we'll see that it's really important. I think we'll get the job done going into conference.
On advice he's received from David Ash: He's just given me advice on normal things any new starting quarterback would need - how to handle things on the field if things are not going well and just things along those lines.
On whether the rest was actual sleep or specifically not practicing: A little bit of both. We didn't really have as intense practices as we have during a game week, so we had a little bit of time off just getting to relax and sleep and hang out.
On still feeling the burn of the UCLA game and putting that burn to use: Definitely just use that, how we felt after that game, and just put it on the field. I mean, there's a lot of things that we could have done better. We just need to work on those little things that we didn't do and do them correct in the future so they don't happen again.
On the team needing confidence: I don't feel like we need a whole lot. I feel like we just need something moving in the right direction so everyone can see how we can do it, and then just take that and go with it.
