9/9/04

Two-Minute Drill: Justin Blalock
By: Jeremy Sharpe, Media Relations Assistant

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Sophomore OT Justin Blalock is a strong, versatile lineman who is UT's starting right tackle. He has started all 14 games of his career and was a key figure in the Longhorns gaining 513 yards rushing (No. 7 on the UT all-time list) and 673 yards in total offense (No. 3 on the UT all-time list) versus North Texas in the opening week. The Plano, Texas native recently ran the Two-Minute Drill with MackBrown-TexasFootball.com.

On Arkansas:
There is no way we are taking them lightly. It may have happened last year, but this year we are treating each game as if it is a one game playoff. We only get to go out there so many times this year and each one is as important as the next. We aren't going to look past anyone.

On getting tougher this season:
I think the soft label started getting tossed around after this game last season, so this is a perfect time to show that we are tough. It started in the offseason and was a point of emphasis throughout our workouts. The coaches have put us through a lot during the offseason so I think we are tougher both mentally and physically. I think we've got a better attitude and people are a little more mature. It seems that everyone has bought in, so we were looking for a new way to go about things.

On Cedric Benson:
I've been watching him all camp. The past four or five weeks, he's been running really hard. It seems like he's got something to prove.

On the Texas offensive line:
We've been together for a while. It's not very often that you can return just about your whole line. We've been here two or three years, so I think we have a pretty good feel for each other and it carried over well into the game. It isn't just the starters who are playing well either. The second team guys have been coming along great as well.

On any extra motivation this year:
We want to prove to ourselves that we can go out and play the way we did last weekend against Arkansas, especially since we came up short last season. It would be nice to impose our will on them.

On the blue-collar mentality this coaching staff brings:
It's interesting because we just got a pat on the back after Saturday, but then we went back to work on Sunday. We had an hour-and-a-half practice just correcting mistakes. The pat on the back was nice, but then we just got back down to business, which I think will help us throughout the season.