Nov. 6, 2012
RB Johnathan Gray
On today’s practice: Practice was good. Got physical today. It was a full-padded practice. Best-on-best. Went hard today. Got a lot accomplished getting ready for Iowa State.
On what they are taking from the Texas Tech win: We’re just going hard each and every day at practice. We’re not concerned about wins or losses. We’re just focusing on our stuff and getting ready for Iowa State. Trying to prepare ourselves to go out there and get another win.
On sophomore RB Malcolm Brown being back from injury: It’s very exciting. In the running backs room, we’re all brothers. So, you always want your brothers with you in the war or battle. So we’re glad that Malcolm is back. We’re ready to go out and play against Iowa State, and get the show on the road.
On the mindset heading into the Iowa State game: Get better each and every week. Look forward to Iowa State. Watching them, they’ve got a good defense on that side of the ball.
On how the offense can be consistently productive: Just get better each and every day. Work hard at the run. Figure out what you need to do to get better. Blocking schemes. Finding the hole as running backs. And getting the job done.
LB Steve Edmond
On preparing for an 11 a.m. kickoff: You just have to be ready. It’s a game, just treat it like the rest of them no matter what time the game is. Got to get ready to play.
On if he feels comfortable alerting the defense of the play-call: I’m comfortable doing it because I have been doing it since fall camp. When it’s a hurry-up offense, you’ve got to have help no matter what. Whether it’s [sophomore LB] Kendall [Thompson] or [freshman LB] Peter [JInkens], you need them to make the call inside, so we get the play-call out faster.
On breaking up Texas Tech senior QB Seth Doege’s pass on Saturday: I was just reading the quarterback’s eyes. He was looking to my right the whole time, so I just started drifting that way. I was just shuffling instead of running. If I had been running, it would have been picked off.
On preparing for potential interceptions: In pregame [warm-ups] I always practice catching the ball with one hand. No matter what. Because in the game, I might have to catch it with one hand. I have to be ready for that.
On if feeling more comfortable in the defense is translating to wins: It isn’t just me. It’s everybody feeling more comfortable. It shows more in the game. Even though Baylor scored 50 points, we still showed improvement. We feel like our old selves and are playing better.
S Kenny Vaccaro
On sophomore LB Steve Edmond: He is progressing week after week. He was that player in two-a-days, and sometimes it just takes a couple of games to get everything going. I always knew Steve had it in him. He is going to keep playing like that, and that is the Steve we all know.
On what has improved at the linebacker position: It was just gap cancellation. If you don’t do your job then it just leaves big holes, and it can be one guy. If 10 guys can do it right but one guy messes up, then that could be a 67-yard run. We corrected that at Kansas. Steve and the other linebackers did a great job against Tech. They cancelled all the gaps out, and now I think we are back.
On the confidence boost the Tech game gave the defense: When you are playing good football, you build confidence. As a defense, we have been struggling the first part of the year so this definitely helps a lot, especially for the younger guys.
On what is on the horizon for this team: I think we are progressing. I think we are getting back. Before the year started we were supposed to be an amazing defense, and I think we are getting back. If we bring all three phases of the game together, that is what happens when you win.
WR Jaxon Shipley
On sophomore QB David Ash’s improvement: I wouldn’t say he necessarily didn’t play great in all three of those games. There may have been some plays here and there where he didn’t play all that great. I think this week what he did a really good job of was just displaying his leadership and being really mature out there and really commanding the huddle. I felt like he was a junior or a senior out there. He is playing like he is a lot older than he really is.
On being consistent each game: We need to have a good week of practice in between each game. I think that is really where it starts is that Tuesday practice, that first day of practice and just having a lot of energy out there and everyone is just flying around. Today was a really good practice. There was a lot of energy and guys were making plays all over the field on both sides of the ball. I think that is really ultimately what it comes down to is having a good week at practice.
On the team coming together: The guys on the team have always felt [good about our ability]. We were confident, and we knew that we could win games and come back and put together a really good season. I feel like we definitely have the potential to do that.
On 11 a.m. start times: I don’t think it really has to do with being 11 o’clock or anything like that. I don’t think it matters what time it is. It just so happened to be some of those times we didn’t play as good as we could have. You are waking up in the morning at 6 a.m., and it is a change that we are starting to really get used to. We have had some games that are earlier games and we are getting used to that waking up early and getting our minds right.
On the Iowa State game: Iowa State is kind of under the radar. They’re a good team, but their record doesn’t show it. So we’re going to treat them like any other good team. Come out and play our hardest.
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