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Sept. 21, 2011

Recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach Bruce Chambers
On TE D.J. Grant’s three TD day vs UCLA: I was really happy about it and, as I was just telling somebody today, in our offense, the way that it’s structured, it didn’t have to be D.J. It could have been Blaine [Irby], could have been Barrett [Matthews], could have been any of those guys. It was just that it was D.J.’s number and it came up and he kept responding. So I was glad to see that.

On TE Blaine Irby possibly being the next breakout: It’s hard to say. All I know is that, everyday those guys are really working hard just so they can be ready. When opportunity and preparation meet, some people call it luck. We like to think we’re planning for that to happen.

On blocking schemes with tight ends: Everything right now is downhill in our blocking. A lot of times we’re doubling with a tackle, but right now it’s just everything is a downhill blocking scheme.

On Grant never having a doubt that he’d be able to come back from his knee injury: Just like I said about Blaine, how Blaine worked really hard, but D.J. did the same thing. The thing is that those guys never took a day off. They really pushed themselves, and that’s a big credit to [Head Athletic Trainer – Football] Kenny Boyd and his staff and that rehab staff that they [have] downstairs. They really stay after those guys and just the fact that those guys never did have any doubt that they were going to come back and obviously, I’m glad they are [back].

On the versatility of Grant: One of the things I do as I coach those guys, I coach them like they are wide receivers. One of the things that I constantly said to them is the fact that I want them to have that mentality, that they are wide receivers. They’re just bigger guys [with] bigger bodies. I want them to think that they’re a wide receiver. The fact that no one can cover them, the fact that they’re going to catch everything and believe that, and that’s the way I coach them.

On how Grant got so wide open for the first touchdown against UCLA: There’s a move that we practice all the time, we call it a stir-step. He stir-stepped the guy, and it’s one of those things where it looks like he’s going vertical and then he breaks it off and then he goes vertical again and breaks it off again. So if a guy is in a trail technique, he has no idea where he’s going and he has to react to it and that last time [Grant] broke it off and he just ran away from the guy.

On reminding them to block like tight ends: We run routes and catch balls like wide receivers, but we block like tackles. Actually, we block like offensive lineman. They have to be two positions in one.

On his thought of Grant being a better blocker than people give him credit for: Yes, he really is. The thing that D.J. did during his time away is that he got stronger, just like Blaine did. He got stronger and when you get stronger that brings confidence and you’re very confident in blocking because you are stronger. Of course, the quickness that comes in with it, with quick hands, a guy gets that confidence when he knows he’s strong.

On Grant’s performance being duplicated by the tight ends again in this offense: I like to think so but being realistic, there are going to be some days, some people that we play that will say, “Hey, lets work really hard at trying to stop that.” And hopefully they won’t be able to take everything away.

Offensive line coach Stacy Searels
On first impressions of the team so far: Well, I think one thing – the offense as a whole has been executing. I really like the way our backs are running. The old guys have had a role, the young guy [RB] Malcolm [Brown] stepped up. [RB] Joe Bergeron stepped up. They all have been running extremely hard, and that makes it easy on us up front. I’m pleased with our effort. We’ve got a lot to improve on. That’s one thing we’re working on this week is trying to get better.

On freshman OG/C Dominic Espinosa: Dom has been steady inside. He’s got a lot of work to do, but I’ve been pleased with his progress. He started out really well the first game, and he’s doing a good job with his snaps and his calls, and he’s holding up pretty well.

On the depth of the offensive line: We’ve got a lot of young guys that if called upon they can step up and carry their weight. Primarily, we’ve rolled in [OT] Paden Kelley as a sixth guy. [OL] Josh Cochran has rolled in and played a part. [OL Sedrick] “Sed” Flowers has rolled in. All those younger guys, the guys that aren’t starting – [OT] Luke [Poehlmann] and [OG Thomas] Ashcraft - all those guys have played some this year.

On if he feels better about the depth of the offensive line three games in: Well, you always want to get better. I want our first line to get better. I would like for the second line to push them. This week has been a big emphasis on guys competing for their jobs and just getting the best five guys out there.

On if it’s hard to keep the team focused with all the good press out there: The only numbers we’re going to look at is the “W” and “L.” And we’ve got three wins, no losses, but we know that we can be a lot better. We know we’re going to play some really, really good football teams down the road and our only goal this week is to get better and prepared to beat Iowa State.

On if having multiple quarterbacks taking snaps makes it harder for the offensive line: We’ve got a job to do regardless of who is back there. I couldn’t tell you how many guys have taken a snap this year. There have been a lot of different people back there. We’ve got a job to do. We have certain code words up front that we have to block the play, and I don’t care who the quarterback is, we’ve got a job to do.

On if he has been pleased with the way Texas has dominated in the fourth quarter: I think there has always been an emphasis with great football teams, you want to be a fourth quarter team. You want to win the fourth quarter. Of course, if you’re ahead in the fourth quarter, if you score more point than them in the fourth quarter you’re going to win the game. But we always want to win the fourth quarter. We always want to wear our people out those first three quarters – take something out of them each play. And in the fourth quarter you want to be successful. You want to run the ball and put some points on the board.

On the different schemes they have been running: [Co-offensive coordinator] Coach [Bryan] Harsin’s done a great job of calling plays and he’s brought a lot of different things to the table that I’ve really enjoyed – the misdirection and the schemes we have. A lot of the schemes we have up front are simple, basic schemes. Gap schemes [and] zone schemes. But when they’re put into the whole package, it makes it easier for us to block.

On if he is excited to open up Big 12 play and get a better feel for the conference: Every game we have played this year has been, for me, like the Sugar Bowl. You know, I haven’t played these teams. I’m excited about playing them, and I think as a coach, if you’ll approach each game, like I said, “We’re going to get better this week and we’re going to beat Iowa State. We’re going to get better and we can beat Iowa State.” If you approach it one game at a time, then don’t worry about anything else. This is the biggest game of the year. Then you’ll have your guys prepared for that.

On if they have begun preparing specifically for Iowa State: They’re 3-0, and they’re a very good football team. The primary thing we’re trying to do this week is us getting better and then as the week goes on we’ll implement a little bit of preparing for those guys. But we’ve got to get better ourselves.

On freshmen OLs Josh Cochran and Sedrick Flowers: I think Josh is a young guy that once he gains some weight and gets a little more physical is going to be an outstanding player. Sed has been hurt and that has limited him. I think he would’ve played a lot more if he hadn’t been hurt. But they add depth and any time you have depth you can keep guys fresh, and that helps us in the fourth quarter.