North Texas Mean Green College Football Pregame Quote, 09/21/2021

On Louisiana Tech:

That’s a dang good football team. Skip (Holtz) does an excellent job. That’s why they’re always in it. They’re consistent in all three phases and they’re really explosive offensively with great skill weapons and a good mobile quarterback who throws the ball great. Defensively, they’re always going to have big athletic guys up front who can rush the passer and they’ve always been good on the back end with guys in the NFL at corner and safety. They can be athletic up front and play you in man. They’re very competitive all the way around. They’ve had some really, really tough losses that could’ve gone either way. They could just as easily be 3-0. They’re a great football team and we have to make sure we have a great week of preparation.

On freshman OL Gabe Blair:

He’s done a good job. He’s a physical kid and he’s tough and smart. He loves ball. He’ll continue to grow and improve each day. It (starting) wasn’t too big for him. He wasn’t nervous. That’s his personality, so you love that about him. It obviously doesn’t happen often. Sometimes you don’t want it to. You want guys to develop and get bigger and stronger but he’s a big strong kid and a weight room guy and extremely strong and explosive. He’s powerful. When guys are ready, guys are ready. Everyone is a little different. Sometimes guys come in and they’re more developed and sometimes the speed of the game is slower for some than others. Some guys are just ready.

On TE Jason Pirtle:

He’s been here since I’ve been here, he’s been here forever. He’s a stud. He’s a great teammate and he works hard. He’s very well-respected and he’s made plays and is consistent with what he does. He’s put on weight to be more of an H-back type guy and he does a good job in that role. He’s really smart, and he understands football.