Monday Media Day Quotes
10/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 12, 2010
Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Injury Update:
"Aldon Smith we'll be out for the game. We do not expect him to play. He's doing really great in his recovery and they're (medical staff) going to try and get him running a little bit this week. And if that would change, we would let you know that, but right now he's out for this game."
"Blaine Gabbert has a high hip pointer and we have him as probable. We'll get him practicing Tuesday. For a quarterback, obviously he's got to be able to torque with his waist and hip action. But, hopefully he'll be ready to play."
On playing Texas A&M:
"We're playing a very, very good football team in Texas A&M. They're a much improved team, with a great program, great tradition and a great stadium to play in. We're excited about that opportunity. We're working hard. We want to have good practices and try and get better and improve. Hopefully we go down there and play our best game."
On the increase in injuries and having players out for games this year:
"We've had more guys out than we've ever had. This has been an unusual year for injuries, we've had quite a few. You know, I always feel bad for the guys that get hurt. I think our depth might be a little bit better, but I think we have to watch ourselves. All I know is, you move them over and move them up and you focus on who you're working with and there's no excuses."
On the improvement in the punting game:
"We're just working hard at that and you need great punting to do that (punt inside the opponent 20 yard line). We work at it at practice and again I think it's one of those things, after a while, you expect it to happen and it gets a little bit contagious. And field position is awesome, as you well know."
On the difficulty of playing at Kyle Field:
"We have ways to prepare for games. It's all about focus, preparation and distraction control. It's a tough place to play, but it's about focusing and playing your best. Can you zone out all that's in that stadium and focus on your job? But it's got a great reputation. We've got a bunch of them in our league that are really challenging and fun to play in."
P/PK Trey Barrow
On coming in as kicker:
"I came in as a kicker but when Grant (Ressel) won the job last year they though they'd try me out at punter. I punted in high school as well."
On nerves when fake was called:
"I was mainly just excited. I knew that (Colorado) came out and they weren't in the safe look so we knew we were actually going to run it. I was just really excited to get the opportunity to run it."
On his improved play:
"I'm just being more assertive out there. With Aldon (Smith) and few guys out of our defense, Coach put a little pressure on me to basically step my game up. They know I have the talent so I just got to go out there and put it on the field."
On emotions going into a game:
"Its Big 12 play, it's a little different than non-conference so it's a little more emotional. These games mean a lot to us so you just have to go out there and be fired up and intense. Coach is always on me about my intensity and basically just showing and leading the way for our defense as a whole. So I do take it upon myself to show a little more emotion."
On the defense's play against Colorado:
"Our big guys worked their butts off this week. We had a great week of preparation, guys just went out there and put it on the field so I think we did a great job against Colorado."
WR T.J. Moe
On the play of James Franklin:
"James is a very capable back-up, for sure. He's a great kid and he's very calm. There is a calming presence about him. When he got out there on the field on Saturday he wasn't freaking out. He didn't really let anything faze him. That's good for him, but it's really good for our whole team. If Blaine can't go it's good we have a guy we're confident in."
On offense changing if quarterbacks change:
"That's all coaching stuff. I'm going to play the same way. I'm going to run my routes hard and try to get open every play. I don't know if they'd call the game any differently as a coach or not but I'm going to be blocking the same and running the same routes."
On preparing as if he will play:
"They always prepare us like that each week. Guys who are second and third (string) always prepare to go in. I know (Blaine's) going to play, so it's the same mindset of every other game, just be prepared to go in."
On the importance of the Texas A&M game:
"We try to treat it as every other week. It doesn't matter who your opponent is, you try to come in and work hard and try to do your best to compete and beat them."
On staying calm on the field:
"I give my dad the credit. Growing up he always told me to stay one emotion because if you get up too high or down too low then you let the opponents get into your head. That can mess with you more than just staying one emotion. I don't really think about it too much. I'm just thinking I need to get the play, need to execute and do everything right. And I guess, typically, I'm just not a guy that gets excited that much. You can ask some the guys, I'm just kind of relaxed. It's not really my personality; I'm just a calm guy so I guess that rolls over to the football field. "
DB Carl Gettis
On the defense having a big test this week:
"They have a lot of athletes, they have some great receivers and they have a quarterback that can get them the ball. Each and every week the games just get bigger and bigger so we have to elevate our play even more."
On going on the road:
"It's a big challenge for us. I think it will really help us determine where we are as a secondary and as a team and help us determine how good we are, and where we want to be."
On the upcoming difficult four game stretch:
"When you are playing such a good team it makes it hard to look to the next week. I can't even tell you who we play next week because Texas A&M is a good team so it's hard to look past any of the teams we have coming up. Each team is good and each week is going to be a big game."
