University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Conference Quotes
9/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON, Texas - HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
Opening Statement:
"Last Saturday, we came out in a business-like fashion which I was happy to see from a young team. There were a bunch of things from last year that were a problem but we were able to execute in the first game. We executed in the red zone and started fast, which was an improvement from last year.
"The fact that we played 66 guys and only had one penalty shows that we're headed in the right direction. I hope that this is the case in our game against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
"We talk about three things every week: play hard, play smart and be physical. I thought that we did that. With the number of players that we played, as the game wore on, our interest level went down.
"Obviously, this week it will be a lot different. As we watch tape and look at things, Oklahoma State has really played well. They are a really good football team and I would say they are one of the top four or five teams in the country. They beat a Georgia team, holding them to 90 yards rushing. They play at an extremely high level.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for (defensive coordinator) Bill Young. I've known him for a long time; he is a really good coach. He'll be prepared for us and when you look at the football team they have four or five first-state picks. Russell Okung who is a tremendous offensive lineman. Dez Bryant is probably the best wide receiver in the country right now. Zac Robinson is operating at a high level. He's bigger and stronger and hasn't made a hole bunch of mistakes. Kendall Hunter is a tremendous running back. They have tremendous weapons there. Where people don't talk about them enough is their special teams. They have two of the best returners in the country, Dez Bryant and Perrish Cox. Perrish Cox, I just read something today that he's 29 or 30 yards way from the Big 12 record in kick returns. He's tied for the lead in the country in touchdowns, I think Dez is. The have weapons all the time and that's what you want in a football team. You have to be on edge and ready to go.
"I'm really interested to see where we are as a program. Going up there right now and playing is a great thing for us. We're looking forward to it. If we play as good as we can play, everyone will be happy. If we play as good as we can play but it's not enough; that's okay too."
On what makes OSU's Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant so difficult to defend:
"They are really good. It's very simple football at a certain point. They have a running back who can go wire to wire, is quick in the hole and can do some things. They have a quarterback who has the ability to run and throw. They have a receiver who is one of if not the best guy in the country. They try to score every time. They are not moving the ball to get good field position, they are trying to score touchdowns every chance they get. They're a dangerous team."
On how to prepare for OSU:
"We have to change our looks. We have to do different things and hopefully confuse them a little bit. We have to change our looks and be aggressive.
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK Case Keenum
On the game:
"It's exciting to think what could happen and we're confident with the talented team that what we have. If we come out and do well and be successful then this game is going to mean a lot, and then the game after that is going to mean a lot, week by week we have to take it one game at a time."
On playing at Stillwater:
"It's a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to it. When I heard their linebacker went down I felt bad for him, I want them to be at their full speed and us to be at our full speed, and it will be a fun game to watch.
"I'm just going to go out there and do my job, I can't try to do too much, I can't force things, and I have to let the guys do what they do best. I have thought about winning and have dreamt about it, but it's a long way from now and I'll enjoy it when it happens."
On the game as an upset:
"Yea, it would be considered an upset. Everyone has their opinions. We feel like we have a really good football team. If we play well and do what we can do, we have a really good chance. The way I see it is any team can beat any team on any given Saturday in college football. You have to come out and play at the top of your game every week. It doesn't matter who you play. We're going to go out there and play hard. They're a good team and obviousoly everyone knows it and we're going to see what happens"
On the Oklahoma State/Georgia game:
"I recorded it. They have a great offense. It was a great football game with two great teams. You could tell it was the first game with a few mistakes here and there but everyone had that the first week. That's something you have to minimize as you go along. I thought they played well and hard. They had a lot of energy. That place is a lot of fun to play at. It's going to be fun to up there and be the underdog."
On the weapons he has:
"There is a lot of weapons. We have a lot of guys who are getting open and some guys up front who are getting a lot better too as far as protection wise. It's fun to handoff and pass to a lot of different guys who are a lot of fun to watch once they get out in the open. It's my job to get the ball in their hands."
SENIOR CENTER Carl Barnett
On things beginning to come together:
"We're doing real well. A few plays I messed up but my guys were there to help me out. And being a senior you really respect that when the younger guys step up but we are playing real well up front. If I messed up, someone was there to help. If someone else messed up, I was there to help. We're meshing real well up front and playing well together."
On the chances for an upset:
"Just knowing that we can compete with them because we saw what we did against them last year is huge for us. They're a better team this year and so are we. Everyone is real confident, especially since how we came out to start the game last game. If we can do that again this week, we have a real good chance."
On the second half letdown last year:
"We need to come out and execute in the second half. If we had executed better last year, it would have been a different story. Everybody is ready for this game."
SENIOR PUNTER Chase Turner
On Oklahoma State's special teams play:
"They're very good on special teams. They like to run returns and try to score every time. We're going to go over a lot of film and see what they like to do, and try not to give it to them. They'll need to earn everything in their return game. Basically my job is to make that difficult for them. Whether that is hang time, making the punt returner try to faircatch everything, or keep it out of hands. If the punt goes inside the 20, I'll try to kick it out of bounds and pin them deep. I won't allow him to make the decision to catch it or not."
On improving during the summer:
"One of the big things from last year was the number of touchbacks and helping the defense get the best possible field position. I worked really hard over the summer trying to work on my placement and touch. This first game I had a few opportunities to do that. And you can really see how difficult it is when they have to start inside the 10 yard line. Seeing that, makes you want to do that even more."
On Dez Bryant:
"We know how talented they are, and we know what they want to do. My job is to make it as difficult as possible to do what they want to do, try to keep everything limited to fair catches and not give them a chance to catch the ball."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Matt Nicholson
On the game:
"We just have to prepare hard and prepare to play a hard team. Really it's about executing your game plan and everyone making the right spots. I definitely look forward to it, it's great to play in front of a crowd like that and play a game where you have national exposure and show people what we're about."
On double-teaming Dez Bryant:
"Doing that will open up other chances for other players. I think if we keep changing looks we'll be fine."
On last week's game compared to this week:
"We obviously were very successful last weekend, and got a lot of our young guys in the game, but we know this week it is going to be a battle. We have young guys that haven't played games like this before and were going to see how we stand up."
SENIOR LINEBACKER C.J. Cavness
On the upcoming game:
"We're hoping to go up there and execute and give ourselves a chance."
On Oklahoma State:
"They had a pretty convincing win. That's not a surprise why they are ranked where they are, they have a lot of good, explosive players and they're a very good football team."
On Zac Robinson:
"He can run really well and makes good decisions throwing the ball. He's a very solid quarterback. Any time you have a quarterback who can run like that, it adds another dimension to the offense."
On getting excited for this weekend:
"Definitely, it's a huge opportunity any time you go on the road to play a team as good as they are. Its easy to get up for a game like this."
On preparing for Oklahoma State's offense:
"They're very explosive and have tons of weapons all over the field. You have to be really solid in your execution. We have to work very hard this week and know our game plan. We also need to know their tendencies and know what they want to do to us so we can go out there and execute. We will need everyone to be on the same page."
On the experience gained last week against Northwestern State:
"Last week we started with four three-and-outs, and we scored on the first four possessions so there wasn't a lot of pressure on us. For the young guys, you don't learn everything you need to from that experience. We'll have to figure out how to play when we're down and need to come back."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Tyron Carrier
On playing Oklahoma State last year:
"I played there last year and know what it's like. Last year the game was a lot closer than it looked. Great teams capitalize off mistakes, so if we don't make any, it can be a great game."
