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Aug. 29, 2012

Co-offensive coordinator/running backs coach Major Applewhite
On missing DT Chris Whaley in his backfield: No, he is doing a great job. I remember watching him in high school out there at Cameron Yoe High School playing one night. I saw a 6’2” 235 pound running back as a junior and just thinking he is not a miniature schnauzer, and he will continue to grow. So I don’t know where he is going to end up, but he is a great athlete and I think he has found his spot and he has done a great job.

On Whaley's move to DT: I think the coaches on the staff just talked to him about it. Chris is smart. He’s got football sense, so he saw the handwriting on the wall in terms of where he was going to be the best. When you talk about real competitors - and Chris is a real competitor - they just want to be on the field. I think he saw that his time might be limited or that he might play at tailback, but if he just kind of goes ahead and accepts where his body is going to go just through genetics, he is going to be more of a defensive end or defensive tackle. So I think he welcomed the change, and it has been better for him.

On what makes Whaley a good DT: Well, he has that fast twitch, so he has that initial out-of-his-stance quickness that you would normally see out of a tailback. Except he was carrying around 240 pounds to 250 pounds his senior year [of high school] and freshman year here. I saw that and he also has great hands, really soft hands. How that translated in the defensive line is that he has fast hands, and he can use them well. He has a great power base, big legs and a big trunk so he can drive off well.

On how much time each running back will be seeing in this week’s game: You know, whoever has the hot hand. We have a little rotation, and we are going to do some stuff on down and distances with certain packages we are ready to go with. You can get into a flow situation and keep feeding the guy who is doing well for you. It’s no different in any sport, right?

On being cautious to not incur injuries: As the game goes on, you have to be cautious of that. We want to keep those guys fresh, and if you look at the teams that are winning championships at the end of the season, they are playing two or three guys and they have quality backs that they are rolling out. There is a fine balance between pulling them too soon, making sure they get enough snaps in a game, and going to game two. But we feel like we are in a situation where we can rotate those guys and use them in different packages and hopefully keep them fresh for 12 games.

On the wildcat: What we want is the best guy for that situation. So we are not trying to divvy up carries like that through packages like, "Well, this is one way to make sure he gets his carries" or "Well, if he is not as good as that guy. Well guess what, then you get more carries because you are just simply better at that." There are things that we want each of those guys to get better at so they can be complete backs. That is your whole goal. When you come in as a true freshman, you are going to be able to run the ball or else you wouldn’t have been recruited. So you have to learn how to pass protect, you have to be able to do all the other things; play without the ball, get into routes, and all those different things other than just carrying the football. We are not going to divvy it up because we want to take snaps away from another guy. We are going to give those packages to guys that do them the best.

On knowing when to rotate the backs: You always tell them, just like any other player, "If you are spent, let me know." We need a fast player in there, and we need a player that is 100 percent. But I also tell them, "Hey ,I am watching your body language and if you look like you’re dragging, then I am pulling you out. And if you are just loafing, well that’s your fault." So if you tap your helmet and tell me you need to get out, then I will put a new guy in there. Again, packages usually helps you with that. You package certain things and you pull a guy, and it turns out to be a good time for him anyways.

On Wyoming’s defense: Toughness. They play hard. They play real hard. Those guys are blue-collar guys. We played against them twice, and they are not intimidated. They don’t care who you are. They are going to come in here and hit you.

Assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Duane Akina
On what stands out about Wyoming QB Brett Smith: His legs. He is very productive. You have to defend the quarterback run game. They do a lot of things formation-wise that can give him some good angles and some good numbers. He can also keep himself alive with the throwing game, so there are times you may have to cover him twice. You may have initial coverage, but he can extend plays with his legs and create offense down the field. We have to work hard. We have get our eyes back if we see him move and relocate our eyes again back on our targets. I think he is coming in with a lot of confidence. He had a very good freshman year, and his main weapons are back so I think he is excited. The last time they lined up against the University of Texas they faired very well for a while there. We are all excited to get the opportunity to play against a real productive quarterback.

On going against a team that tests the defensive backs: I think it is good. There are some guys that don’t like that, but it gives us a chance to see where we are at with our depth. It forces us to play six guys out there. It also puts us in a position where we can stay with our regular personnel and see guys play in space. I think we will come away with a good feel of where we are overall defensively with maybe a core of 18 players or so.

On sophomore CB Quandre Diggs’ progress the last year: I see good growth. I see a guy who has not rested on last year. We have challenged him with that. I think it is always good when the best player in your room, [senior S] Kenny Vaccaro continues to improve. My feelings are that as a coach, I think you need to coach the best players the hardest and keep raising their level, because I believe then the rest of the room comes along with them. Kenny has done that, and Quandre has answered the challenge that he had a great freshman year. He has heard about people coming back as sophomores and being not as productive, and he understands that. He has heard it from myself, and he’s got a big brother [NFL San Diego Chargers CB Quentin Jammer] that understands that. The neat thing with him is he is very driven competitively. We are lucky that we do have built-in competition there because AP [CB Adrian Phillips] is a starting corner, too, and with [DB] Mykkele [Thompson] and [CB] Josh’s [Turner] development, you can move a lot of things around.

On former defensive backs coming back in the summer: They do [come back]. That is something I am really proud of. We are really proud in that [defensive backs] room that those guys have great feelings about being a part of Texas football and being a University of Texas defensive back. They share that with the guys that are in the room now. When you go in the room, all of those pictures are up there, and I remind them that those eyes are watching them every Saturday when they are playing. They are somewhere in some city watching those guys play. They let me know about it, and them, if they do not like what they see.

On the current DBs being reminded of former players' accomplishments: No, [they do not mind], because we don’t do it to that extent. I think it is more one of those things that if they get mentioned with that group there is a sense of trying to belong; the little brother that is trying to be like the big brother. What helps is that those guys come back, and they help. They come back and do footwork drills with them in the summer, and they try to lead them along and help them as much as they can. It is really a neat fraternity. I am just proud to be a part of it myself.

On punt returns: For the punt return game, I think there are some of the same situations that were there. Qunadre is going to be in that situation, and I think you just have to be smart. We talk with the punt returners all the time that the bottom line is we want the offense to trot back onto the field and just do your job and be smart with it. We do have a guy that averaged 22.7 [yards] a return a year ago and had one of the real electric plays in the A&M game. We are excited that we are having a veteran returner come back. It is a little more exciting when you have a first-year guy back there. This year we are excited about Quandre being that principle weapon.