http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=3260&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=209/24/2007
Mack Brown Monday press conference: Sept. 24
General Comments:...K-State is 3-1 and Ron Prince has done an amazing job coming in there and continuing to build on what Bill Snyder did for the many years that all of us watched him at K-State. They had a 13-9 lead at Auburn late and a quarterback sack and a ball loose that was picked up by Auburn's defense and run back for a touchdown that was the difference in the ball game or they would be undefeated. That was an opening game on the road. Ron Prince is an Appalachian graduate, and in fact, I went up and watched them practice once in the early 90s, and he was on that team and I didn’t even realize it when I was at North Carolina.
It should be a treat for the fans to watch two of the best young quarterbacks in the country. When you watch what Josh Freeman has accomplished, he has been unbelievable. Colt [McCoy] is obviously one of the best players in the country, as well, so that should be fun to watch. Jordy Nelson for them has already had 30 receptions. He is the guy who caught the last ball of the game last year to kill the clock against us.
They are No. 21 in the country in pass offense. They are throwing for about 300 yards a game and 36 points per game. If you look at their defense, they are a 3-4 pressure defense. They are blitzing about 60 percent of the time and playing a lot of man coverage. They are No. 9 in rush defense in the country. They have seven seniors that have played well at K-State for a long time. They’re only giving up 68 yards rushing per game. They are 13th in the country in total defense giving up 258 yards per game. They are 16th in scoring defense. They are No. 3 in punt returns. They are No. 21 in kickoff returns. Their punter is averaging 44.6 yards per punt and six of his 14 punts have kept the other team back inside the 20-yard line. They are fourth in the country in sacks with nearly five sacks per game. Ian Campbell, the great defensive end who is a junior for them, had 11-plus sacks last year and is on all the watch lists just like Tim Reyer their punter and Brooks Rossman their kicker who has not missed a field goal.
If you look at the history of the last three games we lost 42-45, we won 24-20, and won 17-14. The last three games that we have had with Kansas State have been really tough games and really good games and we will know more about ourselves this weekend because they are a really good football team.
On Ron Prince: Ron has done a great job wherever he has coached. He was the defensive coordinator for Al Groh over at Virginia. Al is a great football coach. He is in that line of Bill Belichick, Bill Parcels, and all the great defense that come out of their systems. Ron grew up in that system. He is a tremendous football coach and has done a great job with those kids. They play hard, they play tough and it will be fun to have that challenge again Saturday.
On what Josh Freeman is doing better this year: It is hard to say what he would do better than he did last year against us. He didn’t miss and they beat us with so many big plays. He is doing the same. They are throwing the ball up about 40 times per game. He is just so big and strong and has a great arm and is very accurate. He is right now the force to be reckoned with on the Kansas State offense. He is very good. He is about 6-6, 240. He is just huge.
On starting conference play: We are hoping that we saw enough positives on Saturday night with the consistency. That’s what we weren’t doing well. They need to continue to play with that attitude, understanding the players at Kansas State will be better than the players at Rice.
On if Colt McCoy is excited to play this game healthy: I am sure he is. I haven’t talked to him about it. I did notice this morning that he was 4-4 for 51 yards when he came out so that may be a factor. Colt is mature; he is a coach's kid, so he understands it is about Texas and wanting to win rather than about last year.
On if he is excited about how many students are waiting for tickets: The crowd has been great. It has been great since we have been here. It think we have sold them all out except for the first two. They have been great.
On the Kansas State running game: They can run the ball. Auburn is really good and stacked the line of scrimmage and they just threw it 57 times. I am sure after that game, like us, if you have a game where you didn’t run it that well, you go back to work and tried to make it an emphasis the last two weeks.
On Kansas State blitzing: They blitz about 60 percent of time. They are a pro-oriented defense with their 3-4, but they are really aggressive with it. They don’t drop them as often as they bring them. They make it very hard to run the ball with 68 yards per game, but also if you can't pick up their blitz, it is a nasty looking day. You have got to be able to handle their blitz to have a chance.
On being blitzed so much: It is tough, but I think we have been blitzed more this year than I think we have been since I have been here. We have handled it pretty well. We have had four sacks I believe and the one Saturday was just a miss call up front. We feel like they have handled it well so far. We should be prepared because everybody has blitzed us. Rice blitzed us a lot more than we thought they would. Colt asked me after the game why I thought we were being blitzed so much, and I think everybody is blitzing more. It is harder to stop the run, so people are blitzing to try to stop the run as well as try to get pressure on the passer. Nobody can let the passer stand back there and throw anymore.
On Kansas State WR Jordy Nelson: He is just a good player. He is tough and he blocks. He hustles, he has had great hands and they have used him to run it and they have used him to pass it. He has been involved with their trick plays. They had trick plays against us last year and they've had two weeks to put some more in. We will see some of those on Saturday.
http://www.mackbrown-texasfootball.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=40&url_article_id=3261&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=209/24/2007
Player press conference quotes: Sept. 24OT TONY HILLSOn how he deals with blitzes: Concentration, focus and a will to keep Colt up right. We know how special he is when he is able to make reads. It's our job, and one thing we take pride in, is not giving up sacks.
On what the team is excited about for Saturday: It's not even all about Kansas State. Just the fact that we're opening up the Big 12, I think that's the most exciting thing - being able to open (Big 12) play up in front of our fans. It's a new team. We're rejuvenated so to speak. We're ready to finally play in our conference.
RB JAMAAL CHARLESOn what he expects to see from the Kansas State defense: A lot of blitzes. They're ranked in the top 20 in stopping the run. They're real aggressive and they have a good defensive end named Campbell. He was real aggressive last year, so I know he's going into this game and trying to play well.
WR NATE JONESOn last year's loss to Kansas State: It was a good environment. They came out and played hard and they gave us a good fight. This year it's a new team, we just have to stay focused and continue to do what we do.
On if the team will be looking for payback: No, we just have to go out there and do our part on offense and as a team. We just have to make sure we go out there and execute.
On trick plays: You like them to a certain extent. If you run a trick play and it doesn't work, it's a waste of time. I like trick plays, we work hard on them throughout the week and try to make sure we execute them when it's our turn to run a trick play.
On the effect of blitzing to the receiving corps: When you see a team that's trying to put a lot of pressure on Colt (McCoy), you know that you're getting one-on-one coverage. That's one thing that we (the receiving corps) like, you know if you beat your man, it could be a touchdown. One of our goals as a receiver is to make sure we beat one-on-one coverage. When you have (Limas) Sweed, Quan (Cosby), Billy (Pittman) and (Jordan) Shipley, it helps Colt a lot because he has faith in us. He knows that if he throws it up there, we're going to come down with the ball.
S MARCUS GRIFFINOn Kansas State QB Josh Freeman: He's a big guy at 6-6. He can see the whole field and he can peek over the whole line. He's a good quarterback and a really accurate quarterback.
On preparing for the Kansas State game: We'll review film and I'm sure Coach (Duane) Akina will doctor up a good defense and game plan, which he always does.
LB SCOTT DERRYOn the Kansas State game last year: I think they did surprise us, and I give credit to their coaches and their players. They really schemed us particularly well. We didn't really have a chance to get too much of a pass rush on them because a lot of the time they were running two- and three-man routes keeping max protection in, and they kept their quarterback on the perimeter a little bit and they let him get outside and use his legs and athletic ability to try and hurt us.
On Kansas State QB Josh Freeman: He's a really gifted athlete. He's a 6-6 guy, real big, real strong and he's got a really strong arm. He played really great (last year) and kind of had a coming out party against us.
DT DEREK LOKEYOn if it was frustrating not being able to play during the Kansas State game last year: It was extremely frustrating to watch, simply because we lost the game. It was a hard day for me sitting at home with my parents on the couch just watching us fight so hard, and the game being so back and forth. Just to see my teammates in so much pain walking off the field after the game was definitely frustrating.
On this year's Kansas State game: We definitely want the outcome to be different. It's a big game because it's the first conference game so we're really going to go to work this week and really focus and get ready for those guys. They have a really good offense.
On playing an offense that throws a lot: It's fun at the same time because we get to rush the passer. I'm sure we'll be putting in some different things to try to get to [Josh Freeman] and put some pressure on him. It's still fun playing teams that are pass heavy because you get opportunities for sacks and big plays other than just tackles.
DT FRANK OKAMOn Kansas State QB Josh Freeman: He is a talented player and I think he opened a lot of eyes that game. They are using him in a lot of different ways this year. He's taken control of the offense and they're throwing the ball a whole lot more.
WR QUAN COSBYOn the Kansas State game: Losing to them last year definitely affects your mindset going into it and more than anything it makes you respect them even more knowing they have really good players and a really good team. We're going to have to execute and be on point.
On starting conference play: It will be another test. Each week we play really good teams and especially starting conference play this week. In the conference, you definitely have to figure what you're going to do in it, how you're going to do in it, and we have a really, really good conference, so you have to go in and be ready play. This will be another challenge to go in and create that identity because (Kansas State) does really good things and they do them well. So to go in and hopefully come out with a win would be huge for the team.
