Tulsa Golden Hurricane College Football Media Day Quote, 08/04/2021

On what he has learned about his team heading into fall camp:

We have quite a few of our starters coming back, so as we went through spring ball, we continued pushing from an installation standpoint. (Along with) The carryover that you got from last season. We’ve had such good leadership and we have a lot of guys coming back up front. We have to be good there, we’ve been good the last couple of years and we’ve got to continue to be strong there. Most of our skill guys are coming back as well, so we feel good about where we’re at. This conference is always very difficult but we’re going to be up for the challenge.

On trying to recruit length on the defensive side of the ball:

Our guys have done a tremendous job throughout the spring and the summer getting their bodies prepared for the upcoming season. I was thrilled with how they reacted today, you saw guys in their transitions and being able to stick and move, the length that we’re carrying in our secondary and the things that happen with that length. In addition to that, being able to handle that practice with the type of energy that they had from start to finish, that’s something we’re going to build on every day.

On where Tulsa is at as realignment begins to take shape:

All of the realignment talk is out of my pay grade. There are guys in rooms making decisions and moves on all of that part of it. For us I know our conference is extremely strong. We’re a conference that has gained national respect over the last couple of years and is still growing, still building. Our conference is strong, we have strong teams in it, we’ve got strong players and strong coaches, we feel like we’re in a good position. We’re going to focus in on what we have to do this season to win games.

DL Jaxon Player

On losing a teammate like Zaven Collins and who steps in as leaders:

It’s tough losing anybody but especially a player like Zaven and our two corners. We’ve got great leadership on defense and some great guys stepping up and coming back off injuries. This year should be special.

On being included on preseason watch lists and the expectations with those:

I always expect to elevate my game in every year that I play and just get better. I am more focused on the team winning and us winning games. Any way that I can contribute, that is my focus right now.