Texas Longhorns College Football Pregame Quote, 12/30/2023

Q. I’ve been thinking a lot about that press conference the day of the playoffs, when Sark [Steve Sarkisian] talked about how he’s changed as a coach in terms of his relationships with players and the discussions that you guys have.

Can you tell me a little bit of what it’s like to have those conversations with your coach about life and things that are off the field?

JAYLAN FORD: With our coaches, honestly, I just think it’s really cool to be able to not always be about ball, you know. At a certain point in time, we get to watching so much film or going over the same thing so many times. It’s kind of cool to just talk about something else.

And so being able to talk to my coaches about life and problems that we have and how they’ve been able to relate to them because they’ve already been in our shoes, been our age, it’s pretty cool.

And like specifically, my LB coach, we’ve got a great LB room. And we always get to talk about other things rather than just football.

Q. Is that unusual, or has it always been that way with all the coaches you’ve played with?

JAYLAN FORD: I wouldn’t say it’s unusual. I would say it just comes with whatever your coach — I have had some coaches that do it. I’ve had some that don’t. I think it’s more about how comfortable they are with their players.

And I think that’s kind of what Sark was saying, was that these coaches are so comfortable with us that they could be that leader figure for us or someone that we can look up to or someone we can come to when we have problems. And I think that’s just them being great coaches.

Q. Obviously, this year, I think this team has shown that it’s sort of a physical, gritty team. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life. You hear everyone always says Texas is superstars and they’re soft and all that stuff.

But what does it mean to you guys that the reputation, really, of this team has been about toughness, and about how hard it is to run on you, and the stinginess of the defense and everything? With the firepower and you’ve got an offense-minded coach, to sort of the calling card of this team has been defense?

JAYLAN FORD: I think it’s just it’s been good to be able to finally say something about Texas and it actually be true. And you can say whatever you want, but our games, our record, everything we’ve done this year speaks for itself.

And I think that’s been the coolest thing is that, so to speak, the proof is in the pudding for us. And I think that’s kind of what gives us the most joy. And that allows us to have the most fun is that we talk a lot or we mess around, but we can back it up. And we’ve been backing it up all year. And I think it’s been an amazing feeling.

Q. You’ve been out here practicing and stuff like that. What’s the vibe of the team? We don’t get to be inside the locker room. We don’t get to be around y’all in the meetings and stuff like that. Just let me know how y’all are feeling.

JAYLAN FORD: Man, I think this has been the coolest team that I’ve been around, especially when half the guys are about to play one of the biggest games of their life. I mean, the vibe is immaculate.

Q. What does this game mean to you, and why is this going to be one of the biggest games of your life besides the obvious?

JAYLAN FORD: This is a history game. Whether you win or lose, it’s going to go down in history. Like I told you, how are you going to want to bring this story back up? How are you going to want to explain history down the road?

Q. How has it been being in New Orleans and being in the college football playoffs?

JAYLAN FORD: It’s been pretty good. I think for the most part, it’s just good to know that everything we’ve done this year has put us in this position to go play for a national championship.

Q. You saw this Washington team last year in the Alamo Bowl. What’s different about them? And what’s different about this year?

JAYLAN FORD: I would say for them, I think they’re just a more complete team. A lot of those guys that they had last year came back and were able to just take more control of their team and kind of establish themselves as a better program.

And I think that’s what they did and we’ve got to go out there and make sure we execute on all levels, and I think we’ll be good.

Q. They have the longest winning streak in the country. Is that something y’all look at or y’all talk about at all?

JAYLAN FORD: Not really. We mostly talk about how they play, their playing styles, and how they’ve been able to beat other teams.

Q. Do you feel any different as a player going into this year’s game than you did last year?

JAYLAN FORD: Definitely. For me, one of them is because it’s my senior year; so these next two games could be potentially my last.

And then the other part is there’s a lot more at stake in this game than the one last year.

Q. Have y’all done anything different to prepare for this game versus last year’s game?

JAYLAN FORD: No. I think mentalities have changed, though, because of the outcome and how much is at stake this go-around.

But I think this season has allowed us to really get confidence in ourselves, and we’ve just been being us and doing everything we’ve been doing all year.

Q. What did you do to prepare for this game? I know you’ve been through a lot through this season. It’s a lot of ups and downs and your team has been doing really good. What have you guys done to prepare for this game?

JAYLAN FORD: We’ve done a lot. We looked over a lot of tapes, what’s caused us problems in the past. And we came out here and I think we corrected most of them, so we did a pretty good job.

Q. First off, congratulations on being here. And then once you’re here, what’s it like taking in all the Media Day?

JAYLAN FORD: It’s been pretty cool just to be able to tell our story, speak about our experience and everything we’ve done since we’ve been here. It’s been a good experience, and I’m excited to go play.

Q. So, obviously, Washington’s offense, one of the top offenses in the country. What’s it been like watching them on tape?

And, obviously, it’s an offense that can throw the football. We know they’re the number one passing team in the country, but as of late, they’ve been running the football. So what do you see on tape from Washington, knowing that you all have got to get stopped?

JAYLAN FORD: I think with them, it starts with their O-line, obviously, whether they’re running the ball or they’re passing it. So I think that’s been their biggest attribute is having a line like the one they have. And for us, I think we have to do us, be technically sound, making sure everybody’s doing their job, and I think we’ll be all right.