Texas Longhorns College Football Pregame Quote, 10/07/2019

Obviously excited to get a big road win. As I said post game, great environment. I think West Virginia has got a lot to be proud of in terms of their fan support and just the atmosphere of the game, and Coach (Neal) Brown definitely has them headed in the right direction.

Then this week speaks for itself. Extremely excited to start preparing. Obviously, that began a little bit last night, but mostly in earnest this morning. So I haven’t had a whole lot of time to study them just yet. We will burning the midnight oil tonight, trying to figure out a way to score some points and hopefully hold them to something reasonable with that offense they have.

Injury update: Cade Brewer is progressing and will progress into practice. He did not have a concussion, which was good.

Chris Brown with his thigh contusion will progress into practice tomorrow.

DeMarvion Overshown was kind of the highlight. Ran really, really well yesterday on the side of practice, and we plan to practice him barring any setbacks on Tuesday. Kind of work him into practice. Obviously we are not going to just throw him in and run a million snaps, but he looks like, again, barring any setbacks, that he will be available this week.

Jordan Whittington is doubtful but progressing. So I think having him this week was maybe a bit of pipe dream but he has not had setbacks. He said, and I asked him yesterday, that he feels much better that he did after the first surgery that he had in high school. So excited to get him back soon.

Collin Johnson practiced full yesterday. So again, barring any setbacks, we plan on him playing as well.

Questions.

Tom, can you talk about Oklahoma’s offense, especially their running game. I think they are averaging 7.8 a carry. What you’re seeing, how they are different in the running game this year than maybe in previous years?

Not a whole lot different. Obviously they are going to hang their hat on the counter-trey play and inside zone. It’s what they do and been doing since Coach Riley got there. Probably the only difference is the designed quarterback runs. I haven’t watched a ton of them offensively throughout the season. When you do a get a spare minute, as an offensive guy, I try to throw on their offense or Ohio State’s offense, some of the prolific offenses to see what they are doing.

Jalen Hurts is a different animal back there in terms of the style of run game. Obviously Kyler Murray is a dynamic, dynamic runner but was used a bit differently.

A ton of respect for how adaptable I think that offense kind of evolves over the years based on personnel, but they are going to hang their hats on the counter, zone and now the added element of some quarterbacks runs.

I wanted to ask about Jalen. He’s really running in the open with no one around him.

You have to cover CeeDee Lamb, Charleston Rambo, Theo Wease and all those guys.

So maybe it’s that, but is it their blocking? Is it him? Is the defense they’ve played terrible? What was it?

No, again, I think his scrambles I think are probably what you see him get the most open on because once you do realize it’s pass, you better go cover those guys. So that leaves some pretty big voids in the field. Then in the quarterback-run game too, it’s why we believe in it to a certain degree, that you literally have added an extra player and that ability to block for the quarterback.

So both of those two things combined allows him to find a lot of space in the run game.

Big-picture question: Being in the rivalry a few years now, but the Cotton Bowl itself, has this game lived up to the hype in your mind of what you thought it was, what it means for Texas and what it means for Texas fans?

Absolutely. I think there was some public opinion that having the championship game being in Dallas as well, and then when it does, when we are fortunate enough to be in that game against Oklahoma, that it would diminish the mystique, if you will, of the Red River Showdown and it hasn’t in my opinion at all. It is one of, if not the, greatest games in college football. I have been a part of some pretty cool rivalries in my day. The Battle of Piney Woods was a big one. You guys chuckle but they hate each other. I mean, hate each other. Iowa-Iowa State for three years, then obviously Michigan-Ohio State for three years.

So it’s been pretty cool to be a part of all of those, but this one takes the cake just because of it being interstate rivals. The two states in general don’t get along very well, and to have it at such a historic venue during the Texas State Fair. I think it’s cool that it’s always on our soil, which is ‚Äì everything that surrounds the game makes it one of the, if not the best, games in college football.

Coach, kind of in the same vein, the fact that you see Oklahoma twice in or for third time now in the past year, does that help you prepare for them better because you have more film? Second, can you give us an update on Keaontay?

He’s fully cleared. Practiced yesterday. So Keaontay is fine.

A little bit different on both sides of the ball because of new defensive staff. So that changes things certainly from an offensive breakdown standpoint. Then again, I think that their offense does such a good job year to year and even throughout the year of even adapting itself to its personal strength. Quite a few new offensive linemen. Obviously the new quarterback with a different skill set, and they haven’t missed a beat.

So I think our defense can glean a little bit from the last couple of meetings that we have had from just from, who are these people philosophically, but in terms of the schemes and formations and people that they have doing them, they are quite a bit different this year.

Lincoln Riley, what do you admire about him about what he’s done? And are you kind of cut from the same cloth?

He’s been able to stay thin for three years. I know I haven’t done such a good job of that in three years at my job. So I definitely admire that about him.

His creativity offensively, his ability to stay so involved in the offense and yet tackle the requirements of being a head coach of a premier program in the country.

And are we cut from the same cloth? I don’t know, but I do know before we became rivals, we used to talk a lot of shop and talk football and all of that stuff. So we share similar philosophies I think when it comes to offensive football for sure.

Is the plan to start D’Shawn and Cook again this week?

We will see how they practice. Today is Monday.

If they do, what’s the significance of two guys who play the same position from the same high school now playing in the at the same university maybe starting in this rivalry game?

Not much. I’m not trying to be a smart aleck. It’s a bit irrelevant where they went to high school. It’s kind of a neat story certainly, but once the ball is kicked off, none of that is going to matter. There has been a lot of good players come out of Houston Lamar. We continue to recruit that school very heavily. These two guys happen to the same grade and go to the same school and have the ability to earn their way to be starting corners at Texas.

Coach, the last two games you’ve been creative with the trick plays, creative plays. Many people are wondering why would you have the trick play late against West Virginia or was that sending a message to Norman that Tom Herman is creative and inventive with trick plays?

No, I was trying to score a touchdown. Touchdowns are hard to score, especially in the red zone. It was just a fortunate confluence of events where the right hash – it was on the correct hash or the correct area in the red zone that we planned on calling that. So it came pretty easily for us to call that.

I think it’s again more about I think what gets lost in the game of football is how difficult it is to score in the red zone when the field is that compressed. There are going to be two extra hats in the line of scrimmage in the run game, and when you are throwing, you only have to defend a few yards. So it is extremely difficult, and any trick up your sleeve that you can find to gain an advantage on that ‚Äì touchdowns are ‚Äì as you guys know around here, we don’t like kicking field goals in the red zone. So we are going to pull out all the stops to score touchdowns down there.

Tell us your first memory of this rivalry. Also what about this game can you as a coach staffing not get them ready for, they just have to go through it?

My first memory, to be honest with you, as a GA riding through the State Fair, I think I’ve told the story, looking out the window and literally seeing this elderly lady that had to have been 80 years old, going double bird (indicating) to the Texas bus. Then literally next to her was a couldn’t have more been than eight-year-old boy going double bird (indicating) to the Texas bus. I hope I didn’t actually put those up. I got close, right? (Laughter.) That would be a meme in a heartbeat. It speaks to the intensity of the rivalry, that it crosses a lot of different generations.

Then what do they have to go through that you can’t really teach them? I don’t know. We have played in some pretty big games already this year. Playing LSU at home and West Virginia on the road were two pretty big significant games for us. Maybe running out of the tunnel knowing they always get the tunnel, their fans get the tunnel, there is a lot of not nice things said. They do a good job of looking up your girlfriend’s name and your mom’s name and all that stuff, and saying things about family members and all that.

Other than that, it’s a big game. These guys fortunately for us, our young guys, especially as young as we are, we have been in a couple big games already.

Just the mentality of there is only one game that matters and that’s this week, how have you been able ‚Äì what have you learned in managing this particular week same as LSU, same as the Sugar Bowl, how do you manage this week with your guys?

The biggest thing is your practice preparation. We have now for two years really studied our workloads and our energy output, it’s through the roof. This week it was the LSU week. These guys are going to practice really, really hard. So we have to be cognizant as a staff to make sure we are on the field long enough to get our work in, but we don’t want to wear them down. We want to be fresh. Eleven a.m. is pretty early as well. We want to make sure we are fresh but we also have work to do. That’s probably the biggest fine line in terms of managing this game.

The good thing, there is no – I always get the question when you are playing La Tech and LSU the next week or West Virginia and OU is next, are you worried about your guys looking ahead? No issue this week. There will be no looking ahead with this week, for sure.

When you look at Jalen Hurts, how many of his runs are designed runs and how many do you think are ‚Äì don’t give a number ‚Äì

I would probably say off the top of my head 30% are designed runs and 70% are scrambles or busted plays that he makes right. Kind of one of those things.

As it relates to the receivers as talent as they are how, they are important is for you guys to strike the pass rush, so Jalen Hurts doesn’t have time to get comfortable back there?

We talked about it at length with the defensive staff, we didn’t sack West Virginia one time. That was not concerning because we did disrupt quite a bit. I think we got two critical PBUs by D-linemen on third down and we did press the pocket, but we have got to do a good job of getting on the edge and making him feel uncomfortable.

If he’s got ‚Äì I think there was one play in West Virginia I think Austin Kendall had like 4.4 seconds standing back there. I don’t know care who you throw out there in the secondary, four and a half seconds is a long time to cover somebody. It needs to be a big part of our game plan to make him feel uncomfortable.

Again, I’ve gone on record that the number of sacks is not necessarily indicative of the effect that a front can have on a quarterback. So I don’t want to say we have to sack him a bunch. We do have to make him feel uncomfortable for us to have a chance in the back end.

Facing Mayfield and Murray, now Hurts, it’s an embarrassment of riches at quarterback, but as a staff, it’s pretty basic (inaudible) and another guy talked about as the Heisman?

No. 1 picks and Heisman-trophy winners in back-to-back years. I think we have done an admirable job in all three games including in ’17, when we weren’t really good. We held them to significantly less to their season average in terms of points allowed.

So you are not going to shut Oklahoma out. This is not going to be a 10-7 ballgame. We know that and our kids know that. We know that they are going to make plays and they are extremely explosive offensively. But we have got to get critical stops.

They are only averaging eight third-down attempts a game. Averaging 9.9 yards a play. So theoretically, statistically every time they snap the ball, they are making a first down. So we have got to limit those big plays. We have got to keep it in front of us and get it into third down and medium-to-long to where we feel we can get off the field.

We have got to get turnovers. We’ve been very successful around here when we’ve won the turnover battle. I think we are 14-2 in three years, something like that, when we have won the turnover battle. So we have got to make sure we get our hands on some of the balls, too.

Tom, obviously as the head coach at UT how would you describe the significance of the “hook ’em” hand gesture, not just from a symbolism standpoint but also when it comes to recruiting or branding?

I don’t know that it helps recruiting or branding. All the Texas schools have one. I think there are “Sic ’em, Bears,” “Gig ’em, Aggies,” and “Wreck ’em, Tech,” all of those hand signs. “Eat ’em up Cougs.” All that.

We think ours is special because of how historic it is, but it’s special because this place has been pretty dang good throughout the course of the 20th century and into the 21st century.

I liked the fact that when we got here we made a very big point of kind of bringing ‚Äì it sounds hokey, but our school spirit back. I think I said very early in our tenure here when you walk across campus in Tuscaloosa and you say “Roll Tide,” you’re going to get “Roll Tide” said back to you. In Columbus you say “O-H,” somebody will say “I-O” back to you. For me, it was really important being a graduate here that we have that same type of school spirit that the big boys do in college football. So we don’t say “hello” or “goodbye” anymore, we say “hook ’em.” When somebody gets done talking in front of the team they say “hook ’em” and do that.

It’s important to me because it’s who we are and every school has got one. I thought ours lost our luster somewhere along the way. It’s pretty neat to see it rejuvenate itself.

The last couple of weeks with Collin were there setbacks? Are you being cautious with him? With him out, has he taken up a more leadership role with mentoring the younger receivers?

Yeah, he does a great job of that. A lot of it goes unseen by coaches and we hear about it.

There were no setbacks. We knew that this time table was the most realistic one. I guess, technically there was one, so he was not feeling right in the LSU game and probably ‚Äì our best guess is the stretched-out catch that he made against La Tech might have started something, and the LSU game he didn’t play like himself, didn’t feel like himself. So we shut him down for the Rice game, then we thought it was going to be really, really minor.

Then in prep for whoever we played after Rice, was that Oklahoma State? There was a setback that Sunday. So it was immediately Рget the PRP injection and we knew we had the off-week to let it heal. Just felt like – we knew that the PRP injection would prolong the short-term recovery, but hopefully extend the long-term recovery, meaning that he would be able to, once he does see the field again, hopefully (knocks on wood), not feel any residual effects or not be 90 or 80%, but truly be 100% when he got back.

So much of Oklahoma is about their offense but what do you see you from their defense at this stage? What’s your handle of them now?

In the couple of hours that I’ve watched them, they are really, really flying to the football. Not extremely complex in terms of coverage structure but they are in the right place, not very many busts. Not turning guys loose. The thing that’s a bit unique is the multiplicity of their defensive front. Them stemming and moving and twisting on almost every snap, which is difficult on an offensive lineman, to be honest with you, to try to target a guy and all of a sudden he is moving on you.

So that will be a huge point of emphasis for our offensive linemen is to be able to handle all the movement up front, and then in the run game. We have got to do a good job with our down-field blocks when they are quarters coverage, their corner safeties are screaming downhill to be the two extra hats in the run game. I’ve been impressed with Coach Grinch the short time, the level that are playing out right now.

I wanted to ask you about a specific drive in the second quarter against West Virginia. You had Wiley, Washington, Johnson on the field. You had backups in there when it was still crunch time, not mop-up time. Was there a conscious effort on your part to get the young guys out there when you could –

No, Malcolm Epps can’t play every rep in a game and Cade Brewer can’t either. It was just kind of time to give those guys a breather, and I think Marcus and Jared, they are going to be phenomenal players here, really, really good. The upside on those two ‚Äì all of our guys have tremendous upside but because you brought those two up, we feel like, Jared could go in a game right now, and I don’t want to say not miss a beat because Cade Brewer is playing really, really well, but it would not be disastrous if he had to play a significant amount of time.

It seems like with DeMarvion being out and BJ being out for stretches of a game, that you will be in a modified cowboy package, with them being available, will it be how it was against LSU earlier in the season?

You are still missing Josh and Jalen and Caden in the secondary. So we will probably be one deep in that Cowboy. If somebody goes down, not really be able to play it much.

Tom, Oklahoma’s quarterbacks, running through them quick a little bit. You’ve had time to develop a guy. Can you talk about what that’s like having time to develop a guy?

My admiration, affection, love for Sam Ehlinger I hope is very well documented. I love him like a son. We have got a great relationship. He’s mature enough to know when it’s time to have fun with each other and when it’s time to be coach-player and “yes, sir,” “no, sir.” That has developed. That takes time. It really does. We have grown to trust each other quite a bit.

I’ve just been so impressed with his development as a player. We knew all of the intangibles were there as a young freshman, but to see him develop into the quarterback that he has, has been really impressive.

Again, that’s a testament to Tim Beck. Tim Beck and him have a phenomenal relationship. Sam would credit him with a lot of his improvement. Again, I don’t think it can be overstating the fact that is the same system for three years in a row for the kid. There is a level of comfort in this offense, that he knows the strengths, he knows the weaknesses. Thinking you know and knowing you know are two different things. Right now, he knows that he knows, that allows him to play with a ton of confidence.

I know I asked you on the radio Saturday, but again the perseverance of Kirk Johnson and the blows he’s been dealt in his career to get meaningful carries. I know that is not the objective but that’s worked out what did that mean to him (inaudible)?

I didn’t realize it until you told me it had been since 2015, against Texas Tech with Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback, that he carried a football in a game. I pulled him aside right before practice and said, man, I didn’t realize that. I looked him in the eye and gave him a big hug and told him how proud I was of him. And had a little moment.

It’s an awesome story to go through all of the things that he has gone through in his career here. 99% of us would have said enough is enough. I’m good, I’m going to walk away and get my degree from Texas and go be Joe citizen, and he didn’t because he loves this place. He loves his teammates. He loves the game of football. It is just a really, really special story.

Thanks guys. Hook ’em.