The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Rice Quotes [Sept. 12, 2015]
09.13.2015 | Football
Texas defeats Rice, 42-28
Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong
Opening Statement: We were happy with the way we went out and competed. And we needed a victory. We needed to get our confidence going, not so much who we played, but just how we played.
You look at – we started Jerrod (Heard) tonight and it was exciting to watch him go out and compete and the things he can do. He can beat you with his feet and then he made some really good throws. He threw the one to Burt and then earlier threw one to Armanti (Foreman).
And then defensively, we have to get up the field on third down. Just too many plays on third down and we allowed them to extend drives.
And very pleased in the kicking game. You look at what Daje (Johnson) did in the kicking game, and even with Duke (Thomas) catching that short punt and returning it. And we felt we could get us a score in the kicking game if we would go out and block it the right way.
We still have a long ways to go. We're not near where we should be. We just got to continue to get better and just continue to go to work each and every day and just improve. And that's the only way we can do, is just think about it. Just improve and just work harder. And it's all about effort, it's all about passion, and it's all about us just putting it together and making it a team game.
On the decision to start Jerrod Heard at quarterback: Well, Jerrod had been just working hard and just felt like that he deserved the right to start. I didn't tell him until before the game that he was going to be the starter, and I knew that he would be -- that he was prepared all week long, because we gave them an equal number of reps. And so, I just knew that he would be ready to go play.
On competition at quarterback between Heard and Swoopes: No, it's the way he's been practicing and the thing about is, it's not so much who is ahead and who is behind. It's just, I felt like we needed to have us a spark, and then the spark that we needed to go with was Jerrod and just wanted him to go out and compete and give him that opportunity.
On defense giving up more than 400 yards: Well, it allowed them to run the football and we missed so many tackles. I told Vance during the game, I said, I guarantee you, I said we have 20 missed tackles or more. And sacks, God almighty, what did we miss, about 10 sacks? And that's where you get your negative yardage from. And then we just we had to do a better job and just get off the field and third down.
On freshmen making an impact: Well, that's where your future is right now, with those young guys. One time I looked out there on defense and there was (Kurt) Boyd at corner, Holton Hill at corner, and there's Malik (Jefferson) at linebacker and (Edwin) Freeman at linebacker, there's (Charles) Omenihu and you're looking out there. And I said to (Coach) Vance (Bedford), I go, look at all those young guys out there on defense right now.
Then on offense you look at the two freshmen, look at (John) Burt outside, you look at, even (D'Onta) Foreman, he didn't play a lot last year. And then Chris Warren and then there's Jerrod at quarterback.
So you have a very talented, very talented young group. And the thing that was going to happen with them was the more they play, the better they're going to get. And it's going to be game experience and it's going to be some that where we may not play so well, but they will be out on the field and you like, what you like about them is they compete and they do everything I ask them to do.
On a big run by Heard providing a spark on offense early: It did. I just got pissed because he ran out of bounds, I wanted him to keep going. He ran out of gas. But just that spark and you watch him, and when he took off you knew something exciting was going to happen. And that's what you like about him. Once he gets outside the defense, he can make guys miss in the open field and he's fast enough to out run people.
On evaluation of Coach Jay Norvell and him calling plays: Well, they didn't have the ball as much I think, in the first quarter. They may have had one or two drives, because we ended up scoring on a punt return. But they didn't have it that much, and with the things he did was he did a good job of attacking what they gave him. And they brought a lot of pressure. The one that Burt beat the guy one-on-one on, they was bringing the field pressure and Burt out ran him.
And even with Armanti, what you like, it was consistency in what we were trying to do. I know a lot of times there was some lost yardage plays but still though, we just, I just liked the whole flow of it. And you saw points were scored and some were scored in the kicking game, but also some were scored on offense.
On Jerrod's game tonight, do you think you should have played Jerrod against Notre Dame instead of Tyrone Swoopes: You think about it and last season I just don't know if you could have got what you got now out of him, because when he just came in with a different attitude this year. More, I know I can go win the job, and I'm going to go win the job. And so I just think his attitude last season in comparison to this season is totally different. And then you look at the Notre Dame game and it's so much there where what we should have done, and maybe should have got him some reps there in the second half.
On how to fix defensive breakdowns on third down: Well, the thing I said on third down is we just missed so many sacks. I think the one time we had four guys that hit him and he got away from us down here. If you remember one time on their sideline, Freeman's got him penned, that would have got us there. And then he got away from us there.
And then early in the game Malik was -- he's unblocked. And I think that what happened was once our guys saw that he beat Malik at one-on-one, then I think the pressure was coming. But it's almost like you slow down instead of just going ahead and attack and just throw your body and just force him in one direction, it doesn't matter.
Because number one, he wasn't going to run back in the middle he was going to try to beat you back outside. I kept telling Malik, just get to the shoulder, he's going to come back out. He will freeze you, but he's going to still work back outside of you. We just got to did a better job of just corralling the quarterback, I mean, in that situation, whoever it is, just corral him and get him down. And then the ball down the middle is that, what they were doing they were punching the nose and then climbing to the back and where we should have been more solid to the middle.
On playmakers and want to see plays, and is this how the team will grow: That's the only way they're going to be able to do it. Because you look at us in the kicking game, what Daje did in the kicking game with his return yardage and even with Duke we felt that like we needed to get an edge. And the thing about Daje, he's so dynamic in the open field. I thought that he should have had a two if he just stays outside or the one. And then if he just cuts back he's going to get him another one.
And then, with Jerrod just making those throws, because what happens is a team is when you have a mobile quarterback like we faced tonight the thing you want to do is try to load the box so that you can get him tackled and then it creates one-on-ones on the outside. But we're good enough where we can cover with the outside and we felt like we could run by their guys, which we did.
On Shawn Watson and Tyrone relationship, and how did he feel about this decision to start Jerrod: Well the thing about Shawn is that he's a competitor and I respect him so much and him and I really are close friends and the thing about it is that it was tough. It was a tough decision to make, but he's a team guy and I said that I got to make what's best for this team right now and I have to do it right now for the team and just for this university and for all our fans.
But we had to have us a spark and when you look at Tyrone, the situation with that, it's just we just felt like, hey, let's give Jerrod a chance. Let's see what he does. And the thing about him is that I tell you, he played well tonight, but he's one of those guys that he's going to jump out there with a lot of juice. Now he may take one, but tonight it didn't happen. Now you may see him give up one, too, but he's exciting. But he's got so much energy to him, like he bounces around and he goes like, come on guys, you know, I mean, he's always into it.
And I knew that that's what, that was the spark that we needed with our team right now. Because even our guys got really excited. I didn't even tell them. I didn't tell no one. I talked to the two quarterbacks and said, this is what we're going to done and I think they kind of figured it out during our walk through, but I didn't say anything to the team.
On discussing a plan for trying for the quick score to start the second half: We did. We actually put that play in at half and we because we knew that they were going to come with some type of pressure. And then they had been coming with the nickel from the field and playing man coverage and when the guy squatted on Burt, I told Burt, hey, run a good route and just beat him and Jerrod just laid it out there and let him run and go get it. And it was a good throw and catch and they executed the play very well.
On offensive performance, is this just a rainbow: They're going to look at it like a rainfall, like pouring rain tonight? (Laughter.)
Well, I think that what everyone wanted is to see something different and just even if anything just change. And when Jerrod took that field, it was, you could see the crowd all excited, just get excited when they saw him running out there. And the things that he can do.
Now he can make plays and he can, like I said, he's just so exciting to watch, because you know that he's a winner, he has an attitude about him, and it was just more of him just continuing to grow and then finally I just said, hey, put him out there. Let's just go with him. We'll see what happens. Let's just go.
On the moves that Jerrod showed tonight: But you think about Jerrod, and that's just the way our whole young group of young guys are. You see Boyd, he comes over to the sideline, he makes a memory when -- on Malik's touchdown, he hits the guy, blows the guy up on the option, and he just runs over to the sideline and puts on his act.
But those, the young players, they have so much energy and for Malik to Jerrod to Boyd to all those young players, even Bahi, they have a little just a little spark to them. And that's the way they are every day. That's the way they practice. That's just the way they carry themselves.
On the quarterback battle: Still a quarterback battle. (Laughter.)
What is it a quarterback battle? No? What is it? What is it? Quarterback battle. All right. (Laughter.)
On Daje Johnson and punt returns: Well Daje is one of those guys and you know, like I said, I always want to knock on wood, because he's made just a complete turn and he continues to do everything we ask him to done.
And he's so explosive. You put the ball in his hands, something good is going to happen. And you like just watching him and just how hard he competes. And with those return yards, it was special just watching that.
And then with the defense, you like the turnovers, because we talked about getting turnovers, and you look at the one we gave back, if we just put the ball away, we had it out there like a loaf of bread, just put the ball and tuck it away. And they would have never gotten that score and then we get the ball back on offense and who knows what would have happened.
On the future of the program and enjoying the win tonight: Well, you look out there and you look at all that young talent and it is fun to watch, because those guys, they go out and they compete and they work hard. I was sitting there before the game me and Jake was talking and I said, you know you realize Jake it's you, it's Duke, it's Said, it's Pete, it's not many of you guys, older guys. I said, you know, our team is all these young guys.
And even like -- you know where it's just visible, like when we have pregame meals, the guys eat by class. So I call the seniors up and it's only a very few of them. So it's usually the seniors and juniors go together and there's not many juniors.
But when I call the sophomores and freshmen and then it's like the whole team like stands up and it's like, wow, there's a team right there. Because I always punch Vance and I said, there goes your team walking up right there.
But what I really liked is just how the upperclassmen like Duke and Gray and even Taint have done a great job with this young group because they know they need them and they need them to help us win.
On what he takes away from the win tonight and if it builds momentum: Yeah, it is. The energy. And I talked about that before the game. I said that we need to play with some energy and we need to have some passion out there tonight. And we need to enjoy just -- I said it sometimes I feel like we're so up tight and instead of just going out and just playing and a lot of that and not to say one guy's different than the other guy, which they are, but when your quarterback has juice, then your team is going to have juice.
And he has a lot of it. And so the team feeds off of him because they know what he's going to do and what he's going to bring to it.
Senior OG/C Taylor Doyle
On his reaction to Jerrod Heard the starting quarterback: We have a lot of faith in his ability and what he is capable of. Let's get it done.
On the team's performance tonight: Obviously we are excited to celebrate the win, but we have a long way to go. We need to work on being more consistent out there, no three-and-outs. We need to find a consistent run game. We felt great about the big plays, but we need to continue to get better.
On the performance of the freshmen linemen: They did well. I'll better understand when we see the tape, but from my impression of the game they did play very well.
On the tougher competition and the Cal game next week: We are just focused on watching the film and fixing the things we need to fix. We know we still have a long way to go to be playing the football we want to be playing and we need to be playing, so we are happy to celebrate the victory but tomorrow it is back to work.
On how to improve on three-and-outs: As an offense and the goals we set for ourselves, that is unacceptable, so we are just continued on finding that consistency and executing individual roles on every play.
On the first play of the second half; 69-yard touchdown by John Burt: It's really exciting. The big plays tonight were awesome. It's great to establish the momentum firing everyone up.
Freshman LB Malik Jefferson
On his performance: I just had a rough one starting out. Their quarterback is very good, very slippery, so I have to prepare myself better for next week. I feel like we finished strong. We tried to go out there and play our best, but we still have a lot to fix. We have a lot of potential, so that's really good for us and we are really excited for the future.
On having the freshmen on the field: It has to happen now. Everything has to happen now. We've got to have that fluid feeling now so we can be great in the future and know what greatness is.
On his confidence: That's definitely how I was raised. You never want to be on the bottom of the totem pole. You always want to fix things that are broken and this program is not broken, we're just shaking a little bit. You just have to look back on what you have, take your time and everybody has to focus and go for one goal. I think that everybody is really excited about that.
On getting his first touchdown: It was an honor. Honestly, I thought I was going to intercept the ball instead of picking up a fumble recovery, but it was pretty amazing.
On the spark Jerrod Heard gave the team tonight: He played lights out. You know, for him to be able to use his feet and throw the ball is very shocking. A lot of people didn't think he was going to start. I had a good feeling he was and he went out there and proved himself. He got his opportunity and we expect the same thing all season.
On the decision to play Jerrod Heard as starting quarterback: We didn't even know until he stepped on the field. So we were really excited to see that he was actually getting his chance. [Tyrone] Swoopes is still a great baller, and I'm pretty sure if one is having a bad game we can rotate, but you can't take anything away from him. He's been playing good all year.
On staying positive: You've got to stay positive. I think that's what this team is going to be about. Everyone is excited about what this program is going to be, and we are doing this for Coach Strong and the other coaches. There still is a lot of negativity. We've got people still talking about us more than the opponent. The rumors are out there, but we appreciate that so much. We are going to be patient, we're going to take our time and we're going to get this thing rolling.
On the key to getting things back on track: We have to grow and learn from wins, losses as well, but more from wins because you have to look at the things you did wrong. That's going to play a big role when it comes to bigger games.
Freshman WR John Burt
On his feelings about the game: I was feeling good. After what happened last week, everybody had a change of heart. We finally realized that we have to go out, execute the plays and hopefully come out with a win.
On the energy boost from Jerrod Heard: It wasn't about who was starting at quarterback, it was throughout the board on every position. Nobody had a good game last week, so everybody was trying to raise the energy level.
On Jerrod Heard's performance: I felt like he did pretty well. At the end of the day, I don't think it really matters who is behind center as long as all 11 people go out and execute what they are assigned to do.
On the freshman class: I feel like this is the class. There's always a little bit of bias, I'm in this class, but I really feel like this is the class that's really going to change the program. It was evident tonight. A whole bunch of freshmen were out there making plays, so I feel like after we get this first year under our belt, I really feel like going forward Texas is going to start heading in the right direction.
On his reaction to play calls: You know, you can't really think about it. At this point, it has to be natural. You have to get the play call and just rely on instinct and go out there and play for the team. I was looking for it all game and I came through.
On his touchdown: I was really excited. When I saw the ball in the air, I just attacked it and ran full speed in the end zone.
On offensive performance: It felt really good to see that our offense can produce touchdowns, so going forward we can look at this game and build off of everything we have done so far.
On the win boosting morale: It was needed as far as morale is concern. No one likes getting their teeth kicked in like we did last week, so this whole week practice was really intense and energy level was really high. This win really helped us as far as picking us up and realizing that we can go out there and we can win games.
Freshman QB Jerrod Heard
On giving the team a spark: I hope so. That was the goal when I got my number called. Just being a spark and bringing what I can for the team.
On being told that he would start this week's game: I knew that this past week he used me a lot. He was going to use me. I didn't even know until before the game. Really, just for my position and where I stand with the team I always have to be ready for that time to come or anything like that that happens. That's my role is to be ready and when my number's called I have to go out there.
On knowing if he would be named starting quarterback: Not at all. I felt like coach was going to use me in a situational third down or just to move the sticks. When my number's called I just have to be ready.
On being ready to play as a starter: You always have to have faith in yourself. What they were telling me was it was also called a "process," where you really understand the feel for the game and understand what's going on around you. It's just like in high school when you get comfortable and everything and everything slows down, so that's pretty much it.
On how fun it is to get the start: It was very fun. That was my first start and I had a blast.
On bringing the same level of offense to teams like Cal and Oklahoma State: You know, that's the thing, I'm just going to keep working to be able to do that against those types of teams. Those teams are really good, and when my number's called again I have to provide that kind of spark.
On having a "championship mentality": I'm just trying to amp my game up and understand football more, understand defense more at the college level and maybe win two [championships] in college.
Senior CB Duke Thomas
On adjusting to the 3-3-5 defensive scheme: It's basically reading our keys, and the 3-3-5 has always been a part of our defense. But to answer your question, it's about reading your keys and reading the pass. The o-line will tell you what's going on anyway, so you just got to be able to corral the quarterback and make plays.
On Rice quarterback Driphus Jackson: When we watched the film, we had last year's tape, the guy is pretty nifty, coach said it himself. He can really make plays extend and make plays in the back end. So we just had to corral and make sure we get the guy down.
On the third down defense and how to improve: We just had to get off the field on third down. Basically, when it gets down to it you got to tackle and play within the defense. We'll see on tape maybe, they converted third downs because we weren't doing our job. We had to get our side in man coverage, get to our drops in our zone coverage. When we start doing those things, we can get it done on third down and shorten the field for our offense.
On missed tackles and how to improve: We just have to get back to the practice field and really work on tackling. If you miss a tackle, everybody else is pursuing to the ball so it makes things a lot more manageable. Even still, we can't have missed tackles so that extends the play and gets them extra yardage after contact and we can't have that.
On the energy created on both sides of the ball: Yeah, I mean, of course. Jerrod was definitely making things happen and Tyrone got in there and made things happen as well. So overall, it was a great team win.
Sophomore WR Armanti Foreman
On the home opener: It was a lot of fun. I was just trying to do the best I could with the opportunities that I got. I felt like I could have made a lot more plays so I just have to keep getting better.
On having Jerrod Heard starting at quarterback: It all came down to execution, and I think that's what we tried to do tonight, just execute. I don't really think it's a difference, I think they're both great quarterbacks and we could use both of them. I like both of them and I talk to both of them and I treat them like brothers. I just enjoy them throwing the ball out there and me going to catch it.
On the spark Jerrod Heard brought to the offense: He just played the way we knew he could play, and that was great for us. He's very good with his feet and he created a lot of plays with his feet and he opened it up for him to run around. We know he's capable of running like that, when he [ran for 53 yards on the third play of the game], you just have to put the ball back down and do it again. That's what we expect from him; we expect for him to make plays like that and then everybody will just rally and make plays off of that.
On Jerrod's leadership: He brought a lot of energy tonight. I had a lot of talks with him just about things we saw on the field together. He understood a lot and was seeing a lot of things that I was seeing. Having that connection and having a lot of that relationship is great.
On making a statement: I try not to listen to the negativity. There's a lot of things that go on with the Texas program and people say a lot of things about us and we just have to buckle down and just do the best that we can and just play football. As long as we play great football then nobody can really say anything.
Senior WR Daje Johnson
On making big plays: It felt great. I have been waiting for this moment since the summer, and it paid off, all the work we did in the fall camp, so I'm really excited.
On what the win meant to team: You know it's always good to win, period. But it's even better to win after that Notre Dame loss. Just to show everyone what our potential is on offense and as a team on the whole, and we really didn't play our best game now and we still have more to show. Hopefully we can pick it up for the next game against Cal and show everyone what we really can do.
On Jerrod Heard: We have definitely shown positive steps, throwing the ball, just trying to get the ball moving up field, rushing the ball. I don't really think we had that many possessions though, but Jerrod [Heard] came in and wanted this moment since he got on this team. He just took advantage of it, and we were all behind him. First start I thought he played really well. He played with confidence, he was poised, he didn't really get too rallied about the pressure or anything. I thought he handled himself really well.
On settling into where the team is headed: Everyone wants to just settle down and have fun playing and not have to worry about what happens next. Just know that we can stick with offense we have and play hard and get some wins. I feel like it will be a very fun team: special teams, defense, offense, there are playmakers on every side.
On play calls: We were just sticking to the game plan. We wanted to run the ball against Rice, and that's what we did. We took shots when we needed to; mostly we stuck to the game plan based on the film we went through all week.
On the freshmen: I feel like the whole team is a family now. Everybody bought in, everybody wants to win, and everybody wants to move forward. With that, you can really do something with the program.
On his leadership: I try to just lead by example on the field and in practice. Just show my work ethic, show up early, do extra work, try to get other players to do extra work with me. During the game, if something goes bad I just try to say something but I don't like to get in their ear. I just know what the players can do because I see them everyday at practice, so when they do something they normally don't do I tell them to pick it up.
Junior DT Hassan Ridgeway
On third down struggles: We need to get back to the quarterback. We are not getting to the ball fast enough. We need to make sure somebody has to go back there and make a play. Eventually, we are going to do it and get it right. We've got to go back and practice.
On energy in the building: It was good to feel that energy. When you see the offense score, if give the defense something to look forward to. You know that the offense is moving. If you get off the field you know they are going to score that's a big motivation factor for us.
On getting better in the area of getting to the quarterback: First off we are going to have to hunt him down. That's our job as the D-line and to stop the run. One of us is going to have to take responsibility and get up the line.
On holding the line against the offense: We got to take it personally. When they run at us, it's a statement saying we can't defend it and that's pride getting tucked. They are pointing at us and we got to stop that.
On the win: Winning feels good. You are happy about I but you have a lot still to work on before the season ends
On the shape of practice after this game versus South Bend: You dread going to practice after a loss like that. You just want to get back out there and show everybody what you really about. We still didn't do that today, but we took another step, a step in the right direction.
On turnovers: We had some turnovers where we did get some pressure and where we did get the quarterback to mess up just a little bit and make some mistakes. It was nice to see Malik [Jefferson] scoring on defense. Turnovers has been a sense of emphasis. [Chris Boyd] has a ton of confidence. He is one of those dudes you are going to have to watch. He is an energy dude, just like Peter [Jinkens]. They are one in the same breed. They are always talking. They are always bringing juice.
Texas WR Coach Jay Norvell
On Norvell being the missing piece: I don't know about all that. It hasn't been an easy week and we have a lot of quality people on this coaching staff and how everybody handled themselves professionally. Our kids deserve the best coaching and I think we sat down and we found a way we want to approach them, to communicate to them and get the response we needed to get. Our players were embarrassed, our coaches were embarrassed about how we played last week and we wanted to respond. We have a young football team and we wanted to start off playing with great effort and playing physical, doing the things we know how do to and building from there and that's we tried to do.
On what you could do differently with Jerrod Heard in the game: Jerrod has certain strengths and we always try to play to them. I think he did a great job making plays. The quality of a good player is making something happen and we need a spark on offense and our team did and Jerrod did that definitely in the first half. The play isn't always going to be block perfectly and he's got an ability to make something happen when it's not. Him having the ability to break from the pocket when the pocket breaks down and turn a bad play into a big run or a conversion or a first down is huge a football team. So we just have to find a way to keep building on those types of things. I was glad to see us stretch the field and throw the ball. It's a very unusual game, I can't remember playing a game like this where we scored so many points and played so few plays. The defensive turnover and the special teams had a huge part in that but we only had like 33 plays in the third quarter. I just don't ever remember having a game like that but our kids have to learn from this. We are going to play a lot of good football teams and we are just starting. I was just pleased to have them respond.
On dynamic in the coach's room: Shawn Watson is my friend. Shawn is an extremely humble person and wanted to do what was best for this team. Shawn and I have known each other for a really long time. Shawn is a professional and he is going to come to work everyday and he is going to do his job and he is going to do what's best for the players. And I have a tremendous amount of respect for that. We are all accountable and every coach is accountable for his position and how we play. We can't escape that. I have been coaching for 28 years, I have had hard seasons and I have had great seasons and I have had championship seasons. It's our job to coach and that's all we did is coach and we have to continue to do this every day and we got to get the best out of our players, that's our job and our responsibility and so we just went about doing that. We reorganized some things and we approached some things differently and we have to be efficient with our football team because we have to cover up some deficiencies and find ways to get first downs. That's the bottom line of our job, is it get first downs.
On stability and keeping it simpler for these guys: I think the most important thing is that our kids have to play with confidence and confidence comes from knowing what to do. We have to be mindful of that as coach and make sure that we are not running schemes just to run schemes. We have to run schemes that are kids are confident in and can execute and that we can find a way o get first downs. I really was not happy with the way we played the second half. We had very few drives and we did very few with the drives we had so we have to learn from that and we are going to play some great offensive teams and they are going to score a lot of points, ok. Let's not fool ourselves, this is the Big 12. We have to build on what we did and find more ways to get chunks of yardage. We are still not running the ball the way we need to, and somehow we need to do a better job there.
On the decision to start [Jerrod] Heard: I am sure Charlie spoke on that and I don't know what he said. I know it was a staff decision and ultimately Coach Strong's decision. It's the quarterback's job to win and if your team doesn't win, then you get the win and it's not always merited. I think Tyrone [Swoopes] has improves tremendously and Tyrone is going to have to help this football team win. And I told him that tonight so he has had a great attitude and I expect him to continue that.
Rice Quotes
Rice Head Coach, David Baliff:
Opening Statement: We came in here thinking we could get a win. One of the things we had to do was take care of the football. You can't come into DKR and turn the ball over. We had five turnovers tonight. We have to eliminate those kinds of mistakes. We also gave up some special teams plays. They had three big punt returns, one of them went for a touchdown, the other two got them in the red zone. You can't come in here and make those kinds of mistakes and expect to win. Defensively we gave up some big plays. We've got to take care of the ball, take care of our special teams. Really proud of how this team fought back though when we were down 21-0 in the 1st quarter. We just kept working and working and played our way back to the football game. We came in here expecting to win a football game. We believe we had the better team and we have to take the lessons we learned here today for when we play North Texas next week and that's our conference game and we have to be at our best for that one.
On being down 21-0: Sure it's deflating, but that's what I'm talking about when I talk about the character of this team. When you look back at the second quarter were only down 21-14 and we made our way back into then we turned the ball over before half and if we didn't do that we had the opportunity to be up.
On Sam Stewart's big game: I think he had a big game for a young player and that's what we have to continue with some of these young players and every game get better and better.
On Driphus Jackson's Performance: I think Driphus [Jackson] is a proud young man. I think he did some wonderful things today. We have to look at the interceptions, but he did so many wonderful things. We will watch the video and see the mistakes.
On ability to run the ball effectively: I really think that our offensive line performed admirably tonight. You saw during that game how many holes were created. We started Trey Martin at center tonight. I think that was a good decision for us we were a physical unit upfront tonight I was pleased with how they played.
On what to take away from this loss: These games are all about Conference-USA, its about improving this football team. I said earlier we believed we could come in here and win tonight but you can't come in here and have five turnovers and have three big punt returns you just can't make those types of mistakes. Everything we did we did to ourselves, everything we did is correctable, so it's about taking those mistakes and getting them fixed.
Rice Defensive End, Brian Womac
On coming up short after a hard-fought game: Well you know, I think it was a really hard fought game. I think everyone was hundred percent into it the entire game. It is unfortunate when you put the effort in and you don't come away with the win. I think ultimately we have so many little things we can clean up. We will get in and watch film. I think this is a game we can take so much away from it and get so much better from it. I am really excited for next week and the rest of the season. I think we learned a lot from this game.
On seeing the offense converting third downs: It is awesome. It keeps spirits high. I think we believed the whole time we were there to win the football game, but you really believe when the offense is moving the ball. It seemed to be every five to eight yards, every play we were driving.
On the defensive play: I think we played with a lot of intensity. I think we had guys rallying to the football; that was our best attribute. We came in with a good game plan, got after the quarterback, and we just didn't come out on top. I thought it was not a bad game for us honestly on defense.
Rice Quarterback, Driphus Jackson
On mistakes: Everything that we did was self-inflicted we had five turnovers and that's something we've never done as a program. Myself with two interceptions, we had two fumbles and then Ty [Tyler Stehling] had an interception. This is going to be good footage for us to watch and we are just going to try to get ready for North Texas next week
On running back Sam Stewart: He's going to be huge asset to this program for a long time to come. He played a great game, nothing I can take away from Sam [Stewart]. He did a great job on protections, did a great job in zone, he did a great job. That's the kind of stuff we want our other running backs to see and do and I don't want to single out our defense, they played really well and we made some mistakes on special teams that put us in a tough situation, but to know that they can go out there and get three and outs will make us more confident going into conference play. We just have to put points on the board.
On the loss tonight: It is unacceptable. There is not more to say than that. I came out today with two interceptions. I think that Sam played a great game. We have a lot of positives we can take away from this game, but ultimately we want to win. I am embarrassed by my performance. It is not something I am used to, my family isn't used to seeing it, and even the fans of Rice. Personally, to come out and play the way I did, it is just horrible. We got North Texas next week, and we can't be shy and shake this off for coming into practice.
