 
Player press conference quotes: Oct. 11
Oct. 11, 2010
QB Garrett Gilbert On what areas they improved upon: It was more on finishing; finishing plays, finishing blocks, finishing drives, that sort of thing. We really worked on that. It was an exciting week of practice. Everyone was very excited and enthusiastic and into it, so that was good. On getting motivated for the Nebraska game: It’s easy to get motivated. Our entire team is very excited about it. When you go out to practice every day - when we were out there this morning, even being at six in the morning - everyone is excited about having that opportunity to play because we know it’s five days away. On how Nebraska has played them in past years: Watching them a little bit on Thursday night and then looking at what they did last year being on the sideline for the game in the championship game; defensively they are very sound, very well coached, very physical. So there is a lot of respect. This year they are a top five, [or] top six team in the nation. So they do a really great job. On why Nebraska’s defense is so good: The soundness of it. Everyone knows their responsibility. Everyone does their responsibility. They’re very athletic, very big and very physical. They’re everything that you would like in a defense. They do very well. They stick to their guns. They play their defense and they don’t get out of what they want to do.
On being excited to go to Lincoln, Nebraska: Absolutely. We’ve heard great things about it. I’ve never been able to be up there, but the weather should be awesome. The fans are going to be awesome and the atmosphere is going to be great and I can’t wait. On what he has learned from past performances: Looking at those games, and again, you try to have a short memory and just taking what you can and learn from it. Being able to know where I can I stay in the pocket a little longer, where can I step up instead of flushing out and keep my eyes downfield - that sort of thing. Stuff like that is where I’m really trying to improve. Again, the thing we we talked about in [Texas] Tech week was when I’m dropping back a little and drifting. So specific stuff like that and also trying to keep my eyes downfield a little deeper. On their chances of beating Nebraska: We’re very confident in ourselves. Obviously we have a great challenge in front of us. Nebraska is a great team. We were able to watch them again on Thursday night. They are very well coached. They play very well, and they’re undefeated. But we do have confidence in ourselves as a team, and we feel like we need to play our game and we need to finish our drives and finish our plays offensively. And we have a lot of confidence in our defense. On watching past Nebraska games: Back when Nebraska in the late nineties - when they were [one of] the national powers - I was a little too young for that. {I do remember] seeing Ryan Bailey kick that field goal up in Lincoln in the snow. There have been a lot of great games just since Coach Brown has been here up at Texas. On Mack Brown never having lost three games in a row: For us we don’t look at it that way. Our goal is to just win the next game. Win the game in front of us and take it one game at a time. You never want to lose back to back games much less three, but that’s not how we’re looking at it.
WR James Kirkendoll
On how the team re-evaluated themselves: [By] looking at game film, looking at our mistakes. I guess everybody is really looking in the mirror and figuring out what we need to do to get everybody on the same page. Get everybody making plays and competing for what we know to compete for. On what the team has learned since the OU game: I think we know what we’re capable of. I think we’ve looked back - we’re not used to losing like that. I think it’s going to motivate us more to play that much better. I think if we just relax and everybody plays, I think we could compete with anybody and we can get right back on track. On if he is looking forward to playing a top ranked team like Nebraska: These are the kind of games you come to Texas for. Play against Nebraska. Top ten ranked. On the road. The rivalry alone is sort of like a Texas-OU game or a Notre Dame-Michigan game. Really, this is what playing football is about. Going up there - the stadium is going to be packed. They’ve got a lot on the line, and we do too. Just going up there and playing, it’s going to be a real good game. On if the team has talked about the last time they played Nebraska: That’s not really a focus. We just focus on playing the game. Right now it’s a one game season for us, and Nebraska is that one game. That’s the mentality we have, and we’re just going to take it week by week. On Nebraska’s defense: Their whole defense is good. They’ve got people who are good on the line, [and] secondary linebacker level. They make plays. You look at the stats and they will tell it. You look at game film - but at the same time, we’ve got players too. So we’re going to go out there and compete. On the Nebraska team last year compared to this year: They were real good last year. I think they’re just as good, if not better, this year. I think if we just relax and do what we do, the offense will be fine. On what went through his head when he saw OU and Nebraska back-to-back on the Texas schedule: Really, once I saw Tech, UCLA, Oklahoma and Nebraska I thought, “Man, this is going to be a tough road.” But great teams, these are the types of teams and the types of schedules you’ve got to go through [to be one]. I think it’s going to make us better in the long run, playing teams like that back-to-back. But I think we’ll be fine. Just play like we know how to play and relax. On if the team feels like underdogs: We don’t feel like underdogs, but I guess everybody else would say that. We know what we’re capable of, we just have to go out there and do it. It’s that simple. On what has stood out in his memory about Nebraska games: Definitely last year, being in that game. I also remember when Ryan Bailey kicked a field goal at the end - I think it was ’06. We know that this game is probably going to come down to the last second, but at the same time it would be great to avoid it.
OT Kyle Hix How Nebraska is able to still be good after losing so many players: They have really good players up there across the board. They’re really good at what they do. They’re really sound football players, and they don’t make a lot of mistakes. Ndamukong Suh was a great player and I’m sure he is hard to replace, but they have been doing a really good job this year and they have been producing just as well as they have been last year. So it doesn’t look like there has been any drop off.
OT Britt Mitchell On the biggest challenge in playing Nebraska: The team overall. I think the atmosphere will be great. They have good core defensive players. On Nebraska still being good even after losing players from last year: Any great team should be able to be consistent and maintain. You can’t say a whole team is on one player. Just like here - we have filled the spots of great players in the past and other schools do the same thing.
OG Michael Huey On what the offensive line is doing to improve: We have definitely focused on our assignments, [and] our pad level. Different other techniques and also finishing through the whistle. Some simple steps that we needed to take we have accomplished this week.
DT Kheeston Randall On Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez: He’s good at what he does. They’ve got nice guys on the [offensive] line. [They are] pretty physical. I’m looking forward to the game. On what they need to do to be successful against Nebraska: Coach Muschamp always says [it is about] doing our job. So if you have the running back on a specific play and they’re running a zone-read, you take the running back. Don’t try to be a superman and get the quarterback, and then the running back goes 80 yards. So it’s pretty much just doing your job and having the right techniques. On if he is excited to play in Lincoln: I think it’s going to be fun. A lot of older guys, [like] Lamarr [Houston], used to tell me how crazy it is, so I’m really looking forward to it. He would say just how the fans are real loud and rowdy. It’s just like all the history they have at that stadium and what not. It’s going to be fun. On if the attitude is different after losing the past two games: It’s still the same. We always feel like we are going to win no matter what the situation. We still feel like that. It’s just a matter of executing things the correct way.
CB Aaron Williams On Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez: Just another person we have to stop. We have to be disciplined, have a lot of control, [and] stay back. “Do your job” is actually our motto right now and has been our motto for this whole year. A guy like that, if he gets outside and no one is containing, then he is going to be gone for six points. We can’t have that so everyone has to do their own job and not do more than you’re supposed to do. If everyone does that then we should be fine. The guy is athletic. He can run, and he can pass. If we stop the running [game], then [his team] is going to count on him to pass. The quarterback is not just one person where he is great at one thing; he has to be able to do it all. On having the OU game and Nebraska game back to back: It’s the Big 12. There’s not really an explanation behind it, and you just have to be ready every week. No matter who we play, what time we play, we are going to be ready. They’re going to prepare for us - we’re going to prepare for them. It’s college football. Its Division I. It’s what you signed up for. On being the underdog in this game: There have been days when people expect us to win, and there have been days when they don’t expect us to win at all. It’s just another game where we’re just going to go out and give our best. We’re not going to worry about people’s opinion because we know how we can play and what the outcome should be. On being ready to play Nebraska: I’m ready. I wished we played tomorrow. I wished we played in five minutes, but that’s not our time. We have to wait a couple of more days. We still have to prepare and get our minds right and then head to Lincoln. On what he expects from the Nebraska crowd: I expect a lot of crazy fans. I expect the stadium to rumble like it never has before. I expect a big game. I expect it to be really loud. I expect to be like the past two games, basically. Big plays will be made. Mistakes will be made. When it comes down to the fourth quarter, who is going to come down for the fourth quarter? It’s going to be a fight.
DE Eddie Jones On the difficulty of coming back after a bye weekend: I mean, you want to play every week, but you have to have a break in between sometime. Your body has to heal, and you have to go back to the basics and think what you have to do. It’s a good week to have off. On rising to the occasion of Nebraska: We just want to go out there and play each and every week. We’ve gotten better from the last five games, and we just want to go back out there and play. On controlling the Nebraska offense: We have to do our job. We have to maintain everybody. We have to focus on who we have. We have to wrap up. We have to tackle. You know, we just have to go out and do our job- everyone on the field. On Nebraska QB Tayor Martinez’s speed: Everyone on the team has speed. You find that guy that has speed and you put him on the quarterback and you try to maintain him. On getting better: Doing what Texas needs to do. Doing our job each and every play. Going out and playing each and every week. Getting better each and every day.
DE Sam Acho
On if he’s angry when he plays on the line: When I’m out there I’m definitely intense. You could call it angry, but I would say I’m intense and focused. Then once you get into the game, it becomes more fun. While you’re focused, you have to have fun, because you can’t play this game if you’re not having fun. On how the Nebraska team has changed: Their defense is one of the best in the nation. I think their biggest change is in the quarterback position. Taylor Martinez is one of the best in the nation. They’re talking about him for the Heisman. He has 12 touchdowns. He leads the NCAA. He’s doing a great job, so that is the biggest change. Up front, they’re doing a lot of the same things. It’s going to be a great opportunity to go out and play against Taylor. On how you approach containing Martinez: The biggest thing for us is playing responsibility football. Every player on the defense has to do their job and not worry about anything else. They can’t worry about doing too much - do more than what you’re supposed to. If everyone does their job, we’ll be fine. On the defense’s philosophy: That’s been our motto for the past three years, since Coach Muschamp has gotten here. And that is to “Do your job.” Week in and week out, that is the goal, and that is what you want to do. So win or lose, we go back and watch the film and see if we did our job and how we can do it better. On if there is a positive to take from having Nebraska and OU back-to-back: One positive is that you get to play against the best. Coming to Texas, as a competitor, you just want to play against the best players, the best teams and the best coaches. So that will be exciting for us to be able to play against the best out there. And Taylor Martinez is one of the best out there. On if these games will be a good evaluation for the team: Playing against teams like Nebraska is also a good gauge of where you stand. And I’m really excited to for the opportunity to go over there and go against such a potent offense. On the atmosphere in Lincoln: I’ve never been. Some of the older guys and coaches have told me it’s very intense. I actually have a high school friend that is a huge Cornhuskers fan. Even growing up he loved the Cornhuskers, and he would always have the corn hat. So I know their fans are diehard fans, and [they] have a great program and great players, so I’m excited for the opportunity.
S Blake Gideon
On a turning point from the week: I’d say the first tackling drills. The first set of tackling drills on Tuesday. I guess it was. Like I said, it just went back to fall camp/two-a-days feeling. It’s not so much that we’re getting ready for a game. We didn’t have to worry about resting our bodies and stuff, and so there was a lot of hitting going on and it was very physical. Even when we took off bottom pads on Thursday, it was still very physical. On that being more frustration or focus: It’s more focus. It’s more the idea of working on us. You know, we can’t control what Nebraska or anybody else does, that we play, and so we wanted to use last week to work on Texas -Texas Football. And this week we’ll be able to integrate more of our game plan into our practices. On watching the Nebraska game Thursday: I didn’t. I really don’t like to watch the TV copies of games. I get distracted and start cheering for people and being a fan. I like to get in the film room where it’s dark and it’s just me and no announcers telling me what should happen and stuff, so I’m really able to break stuff down and look at what I’m going to be looking at in the game. On what is different this season with Nebraska: More of the spread look. The same ideas as far as the power running game, just out of the shotgun or a pistol look. It’s a lot of the same schemes, but obviously they have, with Martinez back there, it’s pretty much another running back. A running back that can throw. So with his separation speed and his running ability in the open field, we have to treat him like a running back, and somebody has to be accountable for him at all times. On the level of competition: We bring the same intensity every week to practice. I can honestly say that since the day I got here two years ago, it’s been like that every week. Coach Muschamp and Coach Akina are the same guy[s] for every game. They’re going to prepare just as hard and they’re going to expect the same level of performance and preparation from us every week. So regardless of who we’re playing, it’s important to everybody. You can tell that. It’s important to the coaches every week. They love what they do and it bleeds over. We love doing what we do, so regardless of who we’re playing we’re going to prepare and play the same. On the atmosphere in Lincoln: Oh, I think it’s going to be a blast. I’ve heard all sorts of good things about playing up there and the atmosphere it is. I’ve watched games on TV, and I don’t think that really does it justice. I’ve played in enough stadiums to know that by now. But I think it’s going to be a blast. Any time you can go into a hostile environment, where everything is kind of raining down on you, you feel the pressure of the fans and stuff. That just makes it that much more fun. The guys that thrive in that, they’re going to show up. On going into the game as the underdog: It’s whatever you guys make of it. We’re not saying it. We don’t go into any game considering ourselves to be an underdog. We go in expecting to win. Like I said, that’s why we all came here. It’s what Texas does, and we prepare that way. We prepare to win, whether that’s in the middle of March in spring ball, or the middle of January in offseason. We’re preparing every day to win, so we’re going up there expecting that, regardless of what the pick is or what the point spread is. On how tough it is to defend against someone like Martinez: You have to have a lot of discipline, I’ll tell you that. Because of the running threat, obviously you have to stop the run first. Everyone knows that. If you can’t stop the run there’s no reason for them to throw it. We have to be very disciplined with our eyes, all of us in the back end, and know our reads and what we’re looking at and not be fooled by what’s going on in the back field because that’s all going to look the same. The only thing that’s going to look different is somebody running wide open behind us if we don’t have our eyes right. It’s going to be an eye discipline game for sure, because they’re going to pound the ball inside or whatever on the run nine plays out of 10, but that one play they’re going to have somebody running over the top, and if we aren’t disciplined enough to handle the situation and the atmosphere then that will hurt us. On Nebraska’s similarities to UCLA: A lot of the same downhill running schemes. You know, it’s just out of a look that we’re all trying to get used to in college football - a spread look but still a downhill running team out of the shotgun or pistol. There are some comparisons. They’re all great players and they know the scheme and they know where they fit in it. On keeping mental discipline later in the game: That is when it gets tough, when you’re on the 12th, 15th play of a drive or whatever and you’re tired. You’re in that atmosphere, your eyes start to wander and you forget your responsibilities and stuff and you go back to playing 7th grade football - which you can’t do. You’ll be exploited for sure. That is when it gets tough. When you’re tired and it’s at the end of the game, but that’s what builds champions and that’s what it comes down to. We like to think that we have the type of character on this team that we can handle those types of situations.
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