April 7, 2003

On what particular area of the team needs more work~ Everything needs to improve. It's a constant. I don't think there are any areas we are tremendously strong in.

We've put our depth and our personnel in certain situations that are set pretty good. Now, we have to just keep getting better on both sides of the football. We're going to need every single practice prior to our first game. We need to finish well this week. We need to get a lot done.

I think the effort is good. I think we are hitting harder than we have ever hit before. Appearance wise, we are a faster football team.

I just don't see the consistency level on both sides of the ball that we need to be having to be a good team. It's ongoing.

On what people can expect to see during the Black & Gold Game~ Not very much. Our goal for the spring game is we want everyone to stay healthy.

The second thing we want to accomplish is to allow the players who have not played much, the redshirt freshmen, to get some time in. Our starters will only play a minimal amount of time. For the other players that haven't played a lot in a game day environment where they have to play at a high level, some of those guys haven't competed in two years, we'll lean on them a little bit more.

The environment and being in a game day situation is a positive, so I don't' want to take away that. On the other hand, some of the more established players will get some rest and they'll get out of there.

On the team's biggest improvements this spring~ Things look more around here like they are supposed to look. Our players look more like high level Big 12 players. I think we have more speed. We're a faster football team. I can see that. I think the effort, attitude, hitting, and running have improved. I think those are some good things.

Again, this is a never-ending business. I don't care how good you are you need to get better, and that is all we are focused on. We have to prove a lot between now and our first game.

On the development of the offensive line~ We have a lot of things going on there. We have a lot of competition. We have a group coming back from a year ago that competed a pretty high level, so we feel very good that depth is developing there.

In most positions on a football team, we will play more than one player. If you are a first or second team player and both are good enough to play on a high level in the Big 12, that second team player will play also. Just because a player is a starter does not mean he gets all the reps.

A guy earns playing time by how he practices.

On how Phil Pitts and Brian Smith have responded since being moved to the first team~ We've been talking about that. That has been a real plus for us. We have a lot of guys who are stepping up. (Elgin) Childress has done a real good job. (Rusty) Groth has shown much improvement.

We were talking today about Atiyyah Ellison. Atiyyah Ellison is a completely different player inside. I mean a completely different player! On the outside, as a defensive end, his production was very low. When you put him inside, he's a completely different guy. He's been a real plus for us.

I don't think there is any question when you look at Brian Smith as well as Zach Ville, both of them, have been a real plus. I think they have a chance to be real, real good players.