Texas Longhorns College Football Pregame Quote, 01/05/2025

Q. Andrew, obviously your family’s journey to this point is an incredible story. But then your story, even coming back, and it feels like you’ve elevated yourself this year, which I know you said coming into the season, you wanted to. What has been the reason why you’ve been so comfortable and made so many plays this year?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: I feel like schematically, I feel like it’s a good fit for me, just having the opportunity to play that true safety position.

I say, as far as coaching has helped me a lot as well, too, and really just getting comfortable and playing football the right way. I feel like that was my biggest thing, just getting comfortable and playing football the right way. Like how I feel like I’m playing now reminds me of my high school days where I’m just flying around and having fun.

Q. Obviously, Jahdae [Barron] won the [Jim] Thorpe [Award]. What are your impressions of the other guys in that cornerback room? Manny (Malik Muhammad), Gavin [Holmes], just how they played throughout this season.

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: They’ve played exceptional. They’re a big part of the reason why we’re successful as a defense, especially in the back end.

Those guys, they come in day in, day out, put in work. Manny is one of the leaders in the back end, so stuff runs through him, too. So I say those guys have really showed up for us big-time.

Gav come in there. He hold it down. You see the games like the Georgia game, he came in there and do what he’s supposed to do.

Those guys do a great job, and they’re really helping us. They’re part of the reason why we are who we are as a defense.

Q. Just wanted to ask about the season so far. I know it’s starting to feel like an NFL season, I bet, with all the games on the schedule. I know the body is not great. But when it comes to the chemistry with these added games, I know you’ve talked about this game, how has that helped

out with learning this game more, with more time to learn it? And also just being a transfer coming into this locker room, how have these added games and more time in the locker room helped you out just building relationships and bonds with the guys?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: With these added games, I feel like it just gives you a kind of different switch, a different mentality knowing that one of these games could be your last game.

So we just try to go out there and prepare like this could be our last game, or else we’ll keep going.

So it’s really just a mentality, to be honest with you, knowing that we’re in a situation where if we lose, we’re going home. And if we win, we just keep playing.

We’re in a position where we’ve got the national spotlight on us. This is what you want. For a guy like me, this is what I’ve wanted.

So the more games we play, the better it is for us as a team to have the opportunity to reach our goal. And as an individual goal, it’s the opportunity to go on the big stage and showcase your talent.

Q. Andrew, you guys are facing the most explosive offense in the country right now. What’s the concern level with some of the trunk plays that you gave up in this last game, and how are you guys communicating in practice to try to keep Ohio State under wraps?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: I wouldn’t say we have any concerning plays. I feel like the things that we went through can be fixed, and it isn’t anything really huge or something we need to worry about. We’ve made those adjustments already, and we moved on to the game that we’ve got coming up.

But I wouldn’t say there’s any concerns, to be honest with you.

Q. Andrew, you and your teammates are obviously playing great football. Will Howard’s got 32 touchdowns, completing 73%, and you know about Jeremiah Smith and Emeka [Egbuka]. Is there going to be more pressure on you guys in this game than in any game all year? And are most teams doubling Jeremiah Smith?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: I wouldn’t necessarily say pressure. I feel like this game, just how we’ll prepare for any other game during the year. Just going out there to practice, practicing hard. I feel like we’ve never really prepared differently for whatever game it was. We just went in with the same approach every week, to just practice hard, let the results show on Saturday.

I feel like we’ve done a good job of doing that week in, week out. Because around this time, guys get banged up and tired. But with the guys that we have, we do a good job with that.

As far as Will Howard and those guys, they do a good job throwing the ball. Will Howard is a good quarterback. He’s got a lot of experience under his belt. He can find ways to pick apart your

defense and those sorts of things. So it’s going to be fun.

Q. I’m just curious, can you compare and contrast the styles that you see from the two Ohio State running backs? Are they different or are they similar, in your eyes?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: I’ll say they’re different, but they’re both special guys that can do so much with the ball. Very special with the ball in their hands, can make plays happen.

As far as [Quinshon] Judkins, I feel like he’s a hard runner, runs hard. Got speed on him. I believe TreVeyon Henderson, he’s more of a guy that’s going to try to get him in space and give him the ball, let him do what he do.

They’re two different running backs, but they’re both very special, and they can hurt you in a lot of ways.

Q. Andrew, can you talk about your body, your recovery? Some of you guys played over a hundred snaps in that game. And then what have the teams that have had success, the defenses that have had success against Ohio State, what’s been the common thread?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: As far as the body, Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) and the guys do a good job with us, giving us time to recover, trying to take the load off of us in practice. I believe that stuff helps us for sure, as far as recovery and trying to get our bodies back.

There’s guys that played over a hundred snaps, so that’s important, and they do a good job prioritizing that.

Q. The teams that have had success against Ohio State’s offense, is there a common thread?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: I say really just match the physicality. I’d say that’s the biggest thing. It starts up front with the D-line and with the linebackers, and obviously with the guys in the back end.

So I say if we match our physicality. That’s what the other teams that has played them did and had success doing that. That’s one big thing we’re going to try to carry into this game, try to match the physicality. And if not, be the more physical team.

Q. Andrew, what are the biggest things that stand out to you when you watch Jeremiah Smith on film?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: He can catch the ball. He’s got good catch radius. He can make a lot of crazy catches. Good speed. Good route runner. And the kid is very special. I’ve seen him on film do some crazy things ‚Äì run past people, jump over people, those sorts of things.

I can tell he put in the time, and he’s done what he’s supposed to do, and you can tell by how he’s playing with a lot of confidence, and that’s going to carry on for him, I know that.

He’s a good player for sure. He’s a good player. He’s very special.

Q. Andrew, obviously, you and [Michael] Taaffe and Jahdae [Barron] had a relationship for a while before this, and then you go to Clemson, Taaffe and Jahdae almost didn’t have a chance to come to Texas either. Why did you go to Clemson to begin with, and how did you come back to play all these big games together? What has that been like for you guys?

DB ANDREW MUKUBA: Playing together is something that we’ve talked about since we were training with each other in high school. Me going to Clemson, I believed I had the opportunity to play early. That’s a school that I believed was right for me in the moment, and I made that decision.

But just having all three of us here, that really means a lot to us, because this is something that we talked about multiple times. And now seeing it coming to reality, it’s even crazier.

Us doing it this big, with Jahdae winning the Thorpe and playing some of his best football, and Taaffe, All-American, playing some of his best football, it’s literally everything we’ve talked about. And it’s happening in front of us, and we’ve got a bigger goal to reach. The story is not over.