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June 20, 2013
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Player press conference quotes: Oct. 15

WR JORDAN SHIPLEY
On the Iowa State game:
It was a lot of fun. I just got to go out there. We needed a game like that, the whole team did. It was fun to get out there and make a couple of plays. It was really good to get a win.

On being healthy: I'm just out there trying to do my part. It's definitely a lot of fun being out there. I'm hopefully done with my injuries and all that stuff. It feels good.

On his two touchdowns: I have to give a lot of credit to Colt [McCoy] on those plays. They are both just busted plays and he just got flushed out of the pocket. He does a great job of getting out of the pocket and looking around and seeing if anyone is open. I have been fortunate to make a couple of plays in those situations.

On being injured so much: It has been really frustrating. It has been a really tough couple of years. I have missed two whole years. My first two years with injuries and all of two-a-days and the first two games this year. It has been tough trying to come back from that. I have just had to rely on my faith and I think God has a plan for everybody and I guess I just have to learn some patience.

On his routes: I guess we did a lot more of that this week than we have been doing. It was kind of the game plan to come out and throw it around a lot. He has a lot of little things that he sees; he knows where to throw the ball. A lot of it is him really, he knows what is going on and what we do is just get a route and run it. If we see him flushed out of the pocket we just take off running and try to make a play.

On what else besides his faith has kept him going: Definitely my parents have been a big inspiration to me and always telling me to keep going. I have been fortunate, I have some good friends on the team that have kind of kept me going and kept me positive. More than anything, my faith has been the main thing that has kept me going through all of this. Definitely also my family and my friends have been great.

DT FRANK OKAM
On the team having more excitement and energy: I think after the OU game we saw a lot of things that we can do well as a team. But to do some of those things you have to come together as a team and you just want to take everything one game at a time and really just try to work on those and get better. We know we can play at certain levels, it is just on us to do those things.

On Baylor's offense: Their offense will basically wear you down. It spreads out all over the field and as a defensive lineman you are probably going to rush the passer 50-60 times and especially against 300 to 600 pounds if it is a double team, it can get tiring during the course of a game. Having depth this week is going to be important.

On if he likes rushing the passer every time: I do. I think it is a great opportunity to make some plays. Having a quarterback back there if you can get there you can make some things happen by forcing him to make a turnover or making a bad pass to get it intercepted. It is going to be important for our defensive line to be ready for this week.

On Colt McCoy being a leader this year: It is obviously a maturation process for him. It is his second year and he is trying to lead this team and trying to do things right. I think he has done a great job. I think the offense really respects him when he gets into the huddle. They listen to him and try to execute everything he is saying. He definitely has control of the offense and overall on the team he is stepping up big time. He will get to do this again; he has two more years of this.

On forcing turnovers: I think that is important. You can see how it turns the game and it gives you momentum. When Brandon Foster returned that for a touchdown it gave our defense a great boost of confidence. Anytime you can turn the ball over and make teams do that it breeds confidence in your team. Having gone three games without doing that is kind of disheartening. We are hoping to get back on track. They usually come in bunches so I hope we continue that this week.

QB COLT MCCOY
On his running touchdown: We had a screen play set up on that play. If Vondrell [McGee] doesn't get held up and they don't read it, he is probably going to score too. He would have got there faster than I would of I think. The play didn't work out and I got to the line of scrimmage and nobody was there. I just tried to do what I could and ended up scoring, it was pretty exciting.

On the offensive lineman: Those guys are getting better every week. I feel like they played great. This offense really clicks, it really works well when we can get some protection. You could see on Saturday what we could do. The receivers that we have and the talent that we have, those guys played really well and I think they will continue to do that. They are working really hard in practice and we started watching film together. We are doing a lot of different things. We are really playing well.

On being able to throw on the run: I think it is important. A lot of those plays are kind of busted plays getting out of the pocket and scrambling around. I think it is important for a quarterback to be able to do that, to be able to throw on the run. When he can do that, it kind of helps your offense out. We have had to do that a couple to times this year and they have worked so far.

On the moving in and out of the pocket: It is just how you feel in the pocket. I feel comfortable standing in the pocket and delivering in the pocket. Sometimes they get some pressure from the outside, Coach Chizik he is going to bring some guys around the edge and fill the middle so you can't really form a pocket up from offensively. I knew going in a little bit that I may have to escape from the pocket and try to find somebody open. The receivers did a great job of breaking off of their routes and knowing, they just kind of play it by their instincts when I get out of the pocket, they break their routes off and we do a good job of that and we did a good job of that on Saturday. Obviously you don't like busted plays, but when you can make something happen during a busted play it is good for your offense.

On the game slowing down for him: I think it has a little bit. Like I said I'm feeling more and more confident in the offensive line. They are really giving me a lot of time and more protection than we had in the beginning, and they are starting to gel. If they can continue to do that, then I feel like this offense will keep clicking.

On bringing the back-ups in early: It was great for them. It was great for the offensive line to get a rest. We have had some guys get beat up and they are sore. For the second team offense to go in there and to get a couple of first downs and kind of give us a rest, it was good. Obviously we expect them to go down there and score, that is what they need to do, but I feel like them coming in was a benefit for the offensive linemen especially.

On what he said after the OU game: That was a while back so I don't remember everything. Your teammates get really emotional; your coaches get really emotional, after two losses. That is something that we are not accustomed to around here, nobody is. You definitely don't like to lose two in a row and sometimes things just happen like that. I just feel like it was important for somebody to say, 'Hey, don't get down. We have a long season ahead of us.' I think that is kind of what started the whole new season. 'We went 4-2 in the first six games and we have six more left. Let's make something happen. Don't give up, be committed, stay dedicated to this team.' I think that really helped us as a team come together and start a new season. If we are looking at it like that, we are 1-0. We've got to continue to keep playing.

On his schedule: I try to stay on the same schedule every week no matter who we play. You are going to get something thrown at you that is different from everybody every week. Every team is going to play their best game against you. It has helped a lot this year being able to go back and watch what they did to us last year. Being able to play and kind of remember some things that went on in the game last year, I try to do that. Then I try to watch all of the stuff that has gone on this year, their blitzes. Coach Davis has watched so much film and he has kind of gotten it under my skin, so I spend a lot of time doing that and I feel like its really important as a quarterback.

On being a leader as an underclassman: Being a leader is a tough responsibility and not everybody can do it. It is a tough word, I don't even like to talk about it. Before you be a leader, before you can step up and talk you have to earn the respect from your teammates and your coaches. Not just in the locker room, but how you perform and how you play. Being able to do that and step up and for guys to listen to you, I think shows the character of this team of everybody that is involved. When somebody steps up, people ought to listen. I feel like we did. We started a new season and we are moving on. I think it was important.

DT DEREK LOKEY
On the first series against Iowa State: They came out in a different formation, they were kind of running a formation that we had never seen them run before, it was kind of a wishbone type set and shifted to a power eye without a tight end with the receivers split out. They had a little bit of a numbers advantage and we were able to see that a Coach Akina made a great adjustment and fixed it.

On if the team is having fun now: I think we are. I think last week was a big win for us as far as breaking that streak we were in and then coming out and playing so well as a team. The defense did its part and the offense seemed like they were scoring every time they had the ball. Special teams did well too; the kickoff team did a great job. It's exciting that we played a full team game together. It gave us a glimpse of what this unit can be if we go out with great energy every week and execute like we're suppose to. It was an exciting game and I think it was an important game for this team and our future.

On what kind of energy Sergio Kindle and Brian Orakpo bring: Sergio is a character. He gets out there and he is so wild and crazy with such great energy. He's on the kick off team so he's usually the first one out there if we're kicking off to them and he gets everyone hyped up. He seems like he just knocks somebody out every play. Big hits get us pumped up so when we're running out there on defense after seeing Sergio knock someone out it's a huge boost. We really appreciate that out of him and having Orakpo back is great. He's so quick and fast off the edge he can get a sack on any play. That helps our defense immensely. We're excited about those guys and the energy they bring.

On playing defensive end: It's very similar; you get between two guys before the play and try to stay there at the end of the play. There are a few different assignment type things you have to learn like blitzes, but that's something that I've kind of had a heads up on the whole season since we lost a few defensive ends early. It's not that difficult to learn and do and I enjoy it. Wherever they need me. It gives the chance for three defensive tackles to be in the game at the same time.

On the spread offense: For a defensive end it's a little trickier because you have the zone read and different defensive calls. As far as playing on the inside they have bigger splits so there is more space. It seems like it's a little cleaner of a game and moves a little differently. It still moves fast, but with so much space you have a half a second more to think about things. They run the zone, so zone blocking schemes and those are things we're going to have to focus on and also getting some pass rush.

WR NATE JONES
On the Iowa State game: Coach Davis was calling some good plays. We try to be a 50-50 team, 50 percent run and 50 percent pass, and this game we threw more than we actually ran, and I guess he knew ahead of time that there was a lot of gaps in their defense. It shows how much faith he has in his receivers and how much faith he has in Colt. We just have to go out there and make plays because we have a quarterback that can sit in the pocket or scramble and make some plays so you have to be ready to catch the ball.

On his touchdown reception following McCoy's scramble: I thought he was down, but when I looked up he came out and threw the ball. It seemed like it took forever for it to come down. I just sat there in the end zone praying that it would hurry up and get down before the guys turned around and came to knock it down. It made it to me, but as I watched film yesterday I didn't know he did all of that in the back to get out of there. He did like a cartwheel and everything just to come out of the pocket and throw the ball. That shows his character, he fought to stay up and keep the ball alive and he found me in the end zone.

On if it's easy or tough on the receivers when McCoy starts scrambling: It's easy because the guy that has you man-to-man or zone thinks you're going one way, but once you see Colt scrambling you turn and go the opposite way. You try to find holes if it's zone and if it's man-to-man you just try to juke your guy. It's like backyard football, just juke and try to get open.

On the team: I don't think we have anyone on the team that's selfish. I think that the guys just go out there and try to make sure that at the end of the game we get a win. We just have to keep fighting for one another and fight to the end. If we get a win, then everyone is proud and it makes us come together as a team just to go out there and see us fighting and working together.

On downfield blocking: That is one thing that Coach Kennedy gets on us about - is making sure we block our guys, get a lot more cuts, and make sure that we don't give up on certain blockings. Like when Colt took off for 50 yards, it seemed like he was running forever. I thought he was going to get caught on that. Quan (Cosby) made a good block to spring him open and Quan also made another good block for Jamaal when he scored. It just shows that if we do our job down the field blocking, then everything else will help us out when we catch the ball.

On Jordan Shipley: Having Jordan back really helps us out a lot. We have one guy down with Sweed, and Jordan knows all three positions. It just keeps the rotation alive. All the guys can come in full strength and Jordan knows all the blitzes, so he can also play the slot receiver position. To have a guy like that, that can play all three positions like me, really helps us out. Jordan is a really cool guy. He comes to work every day and to have a guy with his character and the ups and downs that he been through, but still fights through it and comes out there and plays the way he does, it really shows his character.

OT TONY HILLS
On protecting Colt McCoy: I think the guys are starting to learn each other a little more. We were really consistent this weekend. I felt they played with a lot of passion, a lot of want to, a lot of energy. I just let them know that's the type of quarterback Colt can be if you keep guys off him, so we did a great job.

On staying focused for Baylor: Baylor has our complete attention. Last year they came in and they jumped out on us early, 10-0, and they have good players. We just have to make sure that we're focused and we can all put it together again like we did last week.

On preparing for blitzes: I think a lot of teams are going to try to blitz us a lot, so we have to make sure as an offensive line that we have our eyes in the right places. Iowa State did a lot of blitzing, it's a credit to Coach Davis and Coach McWhorter for getting us ready for those blitzes. They didn't show anything that different from what we saw in practice, so it's a credit to those guys.

On McCoy's touchdown run: It was amazing. I was out there trying to find somebody to block but he cut clear across field. By that time I wasn't going to catch him, so I just was hoping the receivers would make up for me not being down there. They did a great job, Quan and Nate, sprung him free and he scored. It was fun.

LB SCOTT DERRY
On preparing for Baylor: They run the spread offense, which is what a lot of people are going to nowadays in college football. It might be a game when the linebackers are rotating a lot with nickel and dime coverages on a lot of third downs and stuff like that. We know it's going to be a game where we'll probably have a lot of plays on defense just because they nickel and dime going down the field. You just have to know playing pass coverage is going to be a very important thing for us this week. I think we did pretty well against Iowa State. Our pass rush is going to be extremely important this week as well.

On the effect of quick scores by the offense on the defense: We definitely like them scoring fast, but I don't know about that fast. We'd just got off, there's a lot of guys that are on the punt return team, so we just got the offense the ball and we'd just come off the field so we might be a little tired but having guys rotate in from our second team has helped a lot.

CB BRANDON FOSTER
On his record-breaking interception: It's a great honor to be in those record books, and it's great to get some turnovers. We put a lot of emphasis on that this past week in practice and it's just great to see it on Saturday.

On preparing for Baylor: We're very excited. Anytime a team comes out and wants to pass all the time, it's great. As a secondary, we look forward to that all the time. It's going to be a great challenge. We watched film on (Baylor) yesterday and they have a lot of speed on their side. I'm sure Coach Akina is going to put together a great game plan to put us in situations to make plays, so we're looking forward to it.

On holding Iowa State out of the end zone: It gives us great confidence, but we know Baylor is going to come out and give us 100 percent. They got up on us last year so we definitely know they're going to come out and give us their all so we have to be ready for those surges and go out there and play our defense.

On what's changed about the team: We've just grown closer together. Through those hard times all you can do is come closer together as a team. Coach Brown does a great job of motivating us and keeping us together. Nobody pointed any fingers, we just got together and made a commitment that we were going to get everything back on the right track and we were able to do that on Saturday.

On if the team responded after Colt McCoy's speech after the OU game: Most definitely. Colt put it real simple. He said if we keep playing hard like we did, we'll be able to win. We believe Colt, he's a great team leader and it was just great to see him step up and say that. Coaches can only say so much, but when players get up there and voice their opinion, it's great. We definitely took that to heart as a team and we just rolled with it from there.

On Deon Beasley's interception: It was great. We made fun of him a lot (for) the way he jumped to catch the ball. It was definitely great. He's a young guy that's coming along, he's playing very well. It's great for that that to be our second turnover of the game. Like I said it was just real funny to see Deon get an interception the way he did.

On if he makes adjustments to covering tall receivers: Not really. On paper we wouldn't have a chance against those guys, but Coach Akina does a great job of coaching us every week. It doesn't matter how tall the guys are, you just have to go out there and play football and make plays on the ball. I look forward to playing big, tall receivers. I just look at it as a bigger target for me.

DE BRIAN ORAKPO
On the play of the defense against Iowa State: Our defense played great. We held them to three points and didn't give up an offensive touchdown. It was great for us. We finally got three turnovers in one game. That was big for us. When Brandon caught that interception, it was like a big relief for our defense (and) for our team. It was great for our defense. It was just a big team effort.

On returning from his knee injury: It's great to be back. Against Oklahoma I was able to get a few reps in and do the best I can. In this one, it was my first time actually being a full-time starter, so it was great to be back out there. Besides that big brace on my leg, I feel great. Just getting back to the rhythm of things, getting back to where I was at the start of the season, I feel I'm getting a lot more confidence. I just have to trust my knee. I just have to act like I never got hurt again. That's the hardest thing to do, to be mentally prepared. I believe it's coming along well. We'll see how well I can perform against Baylor and hopefully (I can) get to that quarterback.

On the challenges of facing a spread offense: There are a lot of things that go along with wide splits. You can spread the defense out a little bit more to where it will open up some huge gaps for the running back to get some positive yards for the offense. And also for the defense, it's a lot more yards to get to the quarterback because he's so far away. You can't just line up anywhere, you have to be where the tackle is or where that guard is. In the past, we haven't had a problem with it. Coach Akina's going to come up with a great game plan for Baylor. We're going to put it in tomorrow, get to work, start watching more film on Baylor and we'll see on Saturday how well we can perform.

On the key to being successful against a spread offense: Preparation is the key. We started watching film Sunday. Today we'll watch more film and tomorrow we'll get back to practice. We're focusing on putting pressure on the quarterback to cause turnovers for our secondary and linebackers. Also, the rotation that we have; obviously throwing the ball requires a lot more running and a lot more guys getting tired. Rotation is the key for us and I feel like we can keep the ball rolling putting fresh guys in every play.

On the young defensive players: I already knew they could play. As soon as I saw them, they came in big and physically prepared. Those guys have been making some great plays for us, especially with our key guys going down. We lost Aaron (Lewis), and I've been out, so those guys have been filling in the roles and playing to full potential where everybody knew they could. Sergio (Kindle) has been making some great plays for us, Jared Norton as well. Hopefully they can continue doing that.

On Derek Lokey playing some defensive end: We use Lokey in power situations. It gives us more depth ever since we lost Aaron. He's a defensive tackle, fullback, defensive end; Lokey's doing everything for us.

WR QUAN COSBY
On the receiving corps after the loss of Limas Sweed: Knowing that, of course our heart goes out to him in his situation. Having that in our mind, we had a really good week of practice. Everyone in the rotation made their mind up to step up, make plays and be positive. It's not necessarily just our group, it's a whole team thing.

On what Jordan Shipley brings to the team: Two touchdowns, a big game, really big plays for us. Not only that, for blocking. You see the player that he is and the potential that he has. We see it all the time in practice. We're happy to see it actually coming out on Saturday. We're pretty confident he'll continue to make plays for us.

On what he said to help Shipley through his injuries: More than anything, I just checked on him and made sure he was positive mentally. I knew physically when he came back he was going to be fine. In the situation he was in, mentally it kind of wears down on you. I just talked to him, made sure he was upbeat and he always was. It probably has a lot to do with why he's being successful now.

On Colt McCoy's touchdown run: We were kind of out of the play at first, and it ended up being a busted play. My guy kind of stopped, and then he took off to the right and I followed him, I looked back and I saw Colt running, so we took off. It was a good touchdown.

On how the team is improving: In the Oklahoma game, it was a situation where we lost, but we made strides. Last week, we flipped over that leaf and continued to make even more strides and I think that was accomplished. Everyone was making plays, flying around the ball. We had no turnovers and our defense got three. That's what you want to have out there. We have that feeling of what we really can be and we just want to work to be that type of team.

On preparing for Baylor's special teams: They've always been known for their special teams. They've been known to get better every year and they have. Special teams have always been a big part of their team, so it's going to be a really big challenge. We just hope to continue to work this week and try to go out and be positive, put our offense in good situations as far as field position.


 

 

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