Texas Tech University
Week One
August 31, 2009
Head Coach Mike Leach
On how it feels as the first game is finally here:
“I look forward to the first game. It’s always exciting especially when
you’ve been out there for a
month and a half pretty much just playing yourself so we’re looking
forward to game week. It sort
of reinforces what I have thought for a while, which is they ought to
let us have scrimmages or
mixed practices a couple of times in between for our preparation. I
think it would be good for
everybody.”
On what may be holding the offseason scrimmages back:
“It is just never been done before. It is kind of like when somebody
brings up playoffs and there’s
this look of shock like ‘How could that be?’ or ‘Who would say such a
thing?’. Well, let’s see,
volleyball, tennis, baseball, basketball, all other divisions of
football besides this one. So
anyways, it’s just never been done before but I think it would be good.”
On whether it would be better during the Spring or during camp:
“Both would be good. I think camp would be better. I think camp would be
more important and I
think it’d be pretty good for everybody. I think it would be exciting
for the players. I think it’d be
exciting for the various teams involved but right now we spend too much
time just amongst
ourselves. I think when they got rid of two-a-days, the window went long
and so I think it’d be a
great way to mix it up. Mixed practices may be even better than
scrimmages – the mixed practice
format kind of like they do in the NFL.”
On dealing with the media circus this year as opposed to last year:
“Probably. Last year started the same as this year.”
On the new team captains:
“I think they do a good job. I think they are good players, good
examples. I wasn’t very surprised
with who we selected. It was a pretty clear-cut margin and I think those
guys really became
captains in the course of Spring training and Fall camp. (Brandon)
Carter and Jamar (Wall)
maybe were kind of headed that direction anyway but in what I think is
good as far as working
together, kind of an emerging team, is that I think they became captains
in the overall course of
Spring and camp.”
On the feeling of (Taylor) Potts being ready to assume the starting
position:
“Oh yeah, I have thought so for some time. I mean, selecting the guy is
easy, you just pick the
best one that you’ve got.”
On if (Taylor) Potts is more ready than some of the other guys he has had:
“Yeah, probably so. He’s talented and has picked things up quickly.”
On if anything has surprised him during Fall camp:
“Um, surprised, I don’t know. I would say the overall cohesiveness of
the group. I would say,
which I expected, but is further along than I’d thought. I’d say the
level of play from our young
class overall, our incoming class. They’re playing at a high level. The
biggest thing you see about
them is that they’re not intimidated by anybody, which I think is
impressive for a group that age.”
On what does Leach know about North Dakota:
“They are a good team. They have got some players out there. That state
has always played
pretty good football and that conference has elevated there. They are
bound to be better and so I
think they’re a good group, I think they’re a good team. Lately, several
times a year, these teams
have got their first-level guys really good and it’s like you know,
what’s the difference between
them and the guys in the bigger conference? Well, the biggest difference
is your second-level
guys, that’s the difference. It is not the first-level guys as much as
it is the second-level guys as
much as maybe a player here or there and those guys have had quite a
history for knocking
somebody off or playing somebody close. We’ve got to play well and
develop as a team this week
and have a good week of preparation.”
On preparing the team to avoid an upset:
“Well, we’ve focused on playing to the best of our ability, becoming the
best team we can be,
rather than really focus on them. And we kind of do that every week.
Focus on us and become
the best team we can be.”
On what he wants to see out of (Taylor) Potts this week besides scoring
and winning:
“Play well. Just play a good game. I want him to play steady and do a
good job utilizing all his
resources around him so that he just takes control of the whole offense.”
Quarterback Taylor Potts
On the anxiety leading up to first game:
“There is definitely a lot of anxiety. I am very ready. Game week,
Monday, school starting, no
practice feels like a regular game week. And I’m really excited.
On waking up at 8:40 a.m. this morning:
“It was not really much different. It’ll probably set in tomorrow when I
go to practice tomorrow or
Wednesday. But I am really excited.”
On how it feels to be ‘the guy’ at the press conferences now:
“I kind of always wondered what it was like and I am kind of figuring it
out and it is kind of what I
thought it’d be like.”
On earning the trust of his teammates:
“I think all of us have to earn that trust or that leadership. You know
being voted captain is kind of
an honor and I feel that to be that respected and well-thought of by
your teammates is really an
honor. I’ll try my best to work my hardest, play my best every week and
in turn, I hope that I can
lead this team really well.
On his personal goals for this season:
“I just set a goal for myself everyday to go out and be really good. I
want to be the best. I want to
put up the best numbers. I want to look the best on film. So they are
not really necessarily goals
but expecting perfection and greatness every day.”
Cornerback Jamar Wall
On his reaction to being named captain:
“It’s always an honor to be selected as a captain, especially at a
Division I school, my senior year
and out of all these other guys. It is an honor because they look at me
as a leader, as someone
they can look up to for encouragement and advice. Take it and run with it.”
On embracing his leadership role:
“You always have to stay positive. Like I said, I have got young guys
looking up to me. So in
situations when they need you most, you have got to come through for
them and come through
with the other captains. I just want to figure out ways to keep us
motivated and help us to be
successful.”
On his confidence in the secondary this season:
“The secondary, I am not worried about. Like I said, we have experience.
We have lack of
experience in the safety position, but they’re coming along great. They
are good guys who are
really willing to learn. I think they are going to be ready to go on
Saturday.”
On being a more “lead-by-example” type of player:
“I am more of a lead by example player right now but I mean if I have to
I will be outspoken. You
have got to do what you have got to do. It just depends on my day. I’ll
come up behind a guy and
encourage them but I am not a big yeller at all. I think it gets the
point across though. It seems to
have worked so far.”
On the aspects of the game North Dakota does well:
“Their route running is really precise. They have good athletes and they
have some average
athletes but they will run to the ball and they will try their hardest.
They are going to be a team, I
don’t know so much about physical, but they are going to be ready to go
and they are going to be
excited I can guarantee that.”
On not taking any opponent lightly this season:
“You can never take anyone lightly. We always said fear no one but
respect everyone because
anyone can come in and beat you. Coach (Leach) has always said you have
to look at different
teams like last year with the USC vs. Oregon State and the Michigan vs.
Appalachian State. He
brings those games up every day. We have a big sign in our meeting room
about it. We just have
to come out there and play them like we are playing Texas or any other
Big 12 team.”
On La’Ron Moore and Brent Nickerson’s improvement from last season:
“They have gotten so much better especially since it is a competition
for the starting spot. They
push each other, me, our freshman every day, so in turn, they are making
everyone get better in
the secondary.”
On defensive changes from last season to this season:
“I mean we lost a few guys but I mean the way that we have been working,
since the last bowl
game until now. I mean we still have a chance to be better on defense.
The young guys have a
lack of experience but I think after that first game is over they will
get that extra confidence is just
going to go right.
Offensive Lineman Brandon Carter
On his reaction to being named a team captain:
“I was a bit shocked but it is good that those guys look up to me and
that they see me as a
captain. I work hard every day and I make sure that everybody else works
hard. I guess they saw
that. I am not a huge vocal guy unless I have to be. I do not try to be
negative. I do not believe in
negative reinforcement and I guess these guys cope with that pretty
well. It is a huge honor that
they all look up to me and any time that they need somebody to look to
for help, you know I will
be there and I will do everything to make sure that we have good
practices and make sure that
we win every game we are out there.”
On referring to the team as a “Caged Animal”:
“That is how I feel right now. We are kind of like a caged animal right
now. Everyone is ready to
be released. I think everyone is excited. We are the most excited team
in the country right now.
Everyone is just anxious and ready to go but you know when it comes
time, I think we have to
kind of control that rage. You know you have to play disciplined and
make sure we do not have
any penalties. As of right now, everyone is excited. We went out there
and practiced yesterday
and we were moving around really well. We had precise throws, blocks and
runs. I can see it in
everybody’s eyes that we are ready to go.”
On being more of a team without the “stars” from last season:
“I think last year we kind of had a couple names on our team and I do
not discourage those guys,
they are great players and they were team players. This year, without
those stars and everything
like that though, we can be more of a team and we will be seen as Texas
Tech and not a couple
names. We are going to put up the same numbers, they might just be
dispersed between a few
different players. No one is really going to notice, we are just going
to go out there and do the
same thing we have in the past”.
On starting quarterback Taylor Potts:
“I like (Taylor) Potts. I think he is a great leader and he is a great
player. He has taken control of
the offense really well and I haven’t noticed any difference from him
and last year with Graham
(Harrell) with blocking and everything like that. The offensive line we
kind of do the same thing.
We will give him as much time as he needs. He is our job, that is why we
are out there.
Therefore, any time he gets hit, it is like the world comes to an end.
We are going to make sure
that he has time to make his plays and I think he is going to be able to
make all the plays he
wants to.”
Defensive Tackle, Ra’Jon Henley
On what it’s like with game week being here:
“I think a lot of guys are excited. Just the work we put in in the
spring and over the summer, guys
are ready to get out there and go against some other guys instead of
going against the offense
every day.”
On the anxiety and excitement building up to next week:
“I think it is like that for a lot of players, especially the seniors.
They know it’s the last go-around.
We’re excited to play. As for me, I’m excited right now and the games a
week away. I was excited
when we travelled to the hotel yesterday. A lot of guys had it in their
head that we had a game,
but it was just practice. The guys are just really excited to play.”
On the different mentality being at the inside rather than outside
defensive tackle position:
“It frees me up a lot more to go against the tackle. On the inside, you
can move a lot quicker, get
to the quarterback quicker. At the end position, you just have one guy
to beat and you’re at the
quarterback, so that’s where I think it will free me up a lot more.”
On Colby Whitlock’s play and how helpful that is:
“I really like him. He is one guy I go to war with and I really like
that. He is tough and a great
competitor. He really helps up a lot with how he runs his stunts. When
we run our stunts, we
know what we expect out of each other. With him being in there, he
really enables me to make
better plays too. The chemistry we have is really what makes the
difference for us.”
On his reaction to being named team captain:
“I was a little shocked. It didn’t really bother me if I was going to be
captain or not going to be
captain. I think I am just ready to go out there and play, no captain or
captain. I’m ready to start
the season and get some W’s behind us.”
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