Nov. 1, 2005

Head Coach Guy Morriss

On Morriss' comments after the Texas Tech loss:

"I don't think anybody was offended. I think they realize that we didn't play like we have in the past, with a lot of energy and emotion. I was thinking of one play in particular that caught my eye from an end zone view, a long throw to Trent [Shelton]. I'm sitting here with a view from this end of the stadium watching and I see one person get a little excited. Everybody else was just walking down the field like no big deal. They realize it. It's kind of hard to argue the truth. Shaun Rochon was the first one to jump up and down and run over and grab Trent. Everybody else was very lazy about it. That's not the way you play ball; that's not the way we're going to play here."

On last week's fourth quarter:

"The consistent thing is that we aren't putting the ball in the end zone enough. We're in the game but we aren't taking advantage of opportunities that are in front of us to go ahead and put the ball in the end zone. I think, certainly in the fourth quarter, if you leave your defense on the field too long and almost ask too much from them, they're going to give up some points that late. I made that comment after the game on Saturday. It's unfortunate that Texas Tech got 28 points because that's not indicative, I don't think, of how well our defensive players played Saturday. They didn't have a lot of snaps but when you play an offense like that, your mind set has to change a little bit. They have a big play capability every time they snap the ball. When the play is over, you have to get it completely out of your system then line up and be ready for the big strike again. They've made a lot of plays on a lot of folks and I think that maybe caught up with us."

On the quarterback change in the fourth:

"The thought about Saturday to make the change was the fact that we just weren't playing with a lot of energy or life. And by the nature of that position, that guy can sometimes provide the spark you're looking for. Just by maybe his demeanor or making a comment to somebody. Or by making a throw here or there for a big play. That was the decision to make the change at that time, hoping to get something going. We were still in the football game and it was kind of just the gut feeling you get on the sidelines."

On Shawn Bell and Terrance Park's confidences:

"I don't think they are to that point of questioning themselves. They're competitors but they support each other. Coach Pease has done a good job managing them. I don't see it as being a problem."

On the team's emotional mindset:

"I talked to some of the offensive guys and I think they're fine. Like anybody else, they want to win some ball games and win enough to get to a bowl and accomplish their goal. We just talked about some things that maybe will help us do that. Some stuff probably needs to stay in my office but I don't think anybody's ready to jump off a bridge. We aren't going to make any radical decisions in the next three or four days that's going to beat Texas. There's some subtle stuff that we can do a better job of. The kids got a couple things off of their chest and I got a couple of things off of mine."

On Baylor's two overtime losses:

"I think maybe disappointment is maybe the best word. I saw some tears in the locker room after those two losses. And I kind of jumped for joy to be honest with you because I've been here when there weren't tears shed after a thrashing. I think the level of caring is there. They are physically upset about getting beat which to me is a good sign, that they care enough to show that kind of emotion."

On maintaining confidence:

"I think they have. I know our defense has. I think our offensive kids may be a little shaken after Saturday, but they'll be back. I really believe that."

On Baylor's opportunity for an upset:

"It's something that's in their psyche right now. I don't think you have to mention it to them; they're aware of that. That's why we play. We have to have a good week of practice and just go play and see what happens. I think everybody makes too big a deal out of all this stuff. On paper, it looks like it's undoable, like it can't be done. Every weekend count the number of upsets. That's why we play. That's what our kids have to understand. We have to get prepared and give it our best shot then see what happens."

On the team's motivation to play Texas:

"I think they are really getting excited about it. I talked to several of them individually Saturday. They are an amazing group of kids who have bounced back every week, ready to play the next opponent. I fully expect them to be that way this week."

On Austin-native Paul Mosley's motivational influence:

"I think everybody will be a little more amped up; but, him particularly because that's his hometown. You don't really ever have to worry about Paul being ready to play; he's played well for eight weeks now and he'll be ready to go."

On Vince Young:

"He's such a tremendous athlete, a great football player. He's got a good cast around him. Nobody's really shut him down and I don't know that anybody can. I know Coach Bradley has a plan in mind that we'll unveil Saturday. Hopefully, that will slow him down enough to give us a chance to beat these guys."

On Texas's wide receivers Ramonce Taylor and Billy Pittman:

"They are good players, explosive type players. They're good enough athletes that they can play multiple spots, two pretty good players. We tried to recruit them both and we know all about them."

On the team's improvement:

"We haven't turned the corner yet. We're kind of on a curve, maybe, but we aren't around the corner yet. Not in my mind. We set some goals for ourselves as a football team this year and if we don't reach those then we haven't made the turn. We have to accomplish what we set out to do. I think it's still very doable. If we can do that, then you might say we we're turning the corner. I'd say we're in the midpoint of a curve but we haven't turned that corner."

On the team's goals, reaching a bowl game:

"In my mind, the number one goal is to win the Big 12 Conference. Right now, being realistic, maybe it's not obtainable. But it's still up there as first and foremost. I think we as a staff and a group of young men, this program feels like we can get six wins this year and go to a bowl. And that's what we're trying to get accomplished. I think it's realistic. I think our kids still believe it. To me, that's the most important thing. If they lose sight of that and they don't believe that they can do that, it's not good."

On Baylor's talent level:

"You go to overtime with Texas A&M, double overtime to Oklahoma, lose by nine to Nebraska, and go into the fourth quarter down by six against Texas Tech. We're competing right now with our talent level. We have enough talent. We just have to get everybody to play together on the same Saturday afternoon. We'll be doing a lot of competing."

On an ideal quarterback:

"First of all I want somebody who wants to be here. Heart and soul, he wants to be a part of this program. The intangible stuff, he's got to have leadership qualities, a guy that can take command of the huddle. You have to have a guy who is willing to do everything right even when the coaches aren't looking over his shoulder. He's got to be that kind of leader. About a 200 IQ doesn't hurt, you know? A cannon for an arm would be nice, can run a 4.4 and leap tall buildings with a single bound. I don't mean to be smart, but you know what I'm saying. You want a great athlete, a guy who can think on his feet. A good student, good character. Ideally, that's what you're looking for."

On this year's success' influence on recruiting:

"I think we are on to a better quality of players. Those type players are taking a serious look at our program now. A lot of kids want to be part of the turn-around. There is something kind of special about being a part of it. I think it's in some young people's make up, to be part of something special, to build a program from the ground up. There are always those who want to play as a true freshman or early in their career and they certainly can find that opportunity here in a few spots. Kids are starting to realize that we are doing a better job of putting out there the experience that our staff has in professional ball as players or coaches. All these kids coming out now think they're bulletproof and that they're going to play 20 years in the NFL. Certainly, that's a good dream to have but the odds of making it are rough. But we sure sell them on our staff; we've got 114 years of pro ball experience on our staff. You can't find that anywhere else except right here in Waco, Texas. And that appeals to some of these kinds of kids.

"I think the fact that we've been together for almost three years now. Our coaches keep going back to the same high schools building relationships with those coaches. The kids recognize them when they walk down the hall. They're calling our coaches by their first names. It's the consistency and that relationship building in those high schools that are paying off.

"We've been fortunate enough to play six times on television, giving us a lot of exposure. Kids are seeing us more and we're playing hard. I think kids and parents and high school coaches look at teams that play hard week in and week out. If I'm looking for a place to go play, that's kind of staff and environment I want my son to play. I wouldn't send him to a place that's high as a kite one week then flat the next. In my mind, that's where it all starts. If you can't get kids to play hard for you, you can't win. If they don't believe in where you're going, you can't win."

Offensive Coordinator Brent Pease

On Texas Tech:

"Looking back, our plan was to control the ball as much as we could and keep their offense off the field. Looking at film, we did a good job of that. Our problem came when we didn't capitalize when we had our opportunities to score. If we take two, three, four opportunities we had to score and we put those in and we change the feeling of the game, the momentum of the game. Especially as well as our defense was playing. I don't know if it was just maybe the kids trying to stay in the game, playing tentatively. That's the way we looked at times, a little tentative, we weren't aggressive enough and we just didn't get it done. We haven't been that type of personality. We have the capability of scoring with the kids that we have. We just have to come out this week and get better at what we're doing and get it done. We have to feed off the defense and use some of the momentum that they've built. We've had opportunities with turnovers, field position, flipping the field like [Daniel] Sepulveda did and special teams play. We have to play to that advantage. That was the thing that killed us. We just move on. We hadn't necessarily been in that position before so we have to find a way to get it done. We're capable of it and we have to get better with it."

On the quarterback situation:

"Right now the decision hasn't totally been made. We are still in the evaluation process. Going into this game, we have a week of practice and we'll see what goes down."

On Texas:

"Texas defense is probably the best one we'll see. They are the best defense in the league. They are the number one pass defense and number six rushing defense in the league. They have so much speed in all the spots, middle backers, safeties, corners. The guys they have in the middle, we refer to them as man-eaters. They control the line inside. And really [Tim] Crowder is probably the guy, the defensive end. He can chase plays and people try to run reverses on him but he can retrace it and cut it off. They can play a couple gaps or chase the ball and still handle the reverse. They are very sound with what they do, and they all control their gaps. You don't see a lot of glaring weakness, and their kids really fly to the ball and play with a lot of passion for what their doing. Playing man coverage and matching up on the back's of the backers. They still have a good blitz package."

"Our plan is to be very sound and control the line. Give enough time to throw it and maintain the pocket. We have to find that lane or edge to get to those spots for running. They don't give up a lot of big plays and they get to the ball."

Defensive Coordinator Bill Bradley

On Texas Tech:

"Defensively speaking, I think we had another shot of closing it out and didn't get it done. That's what we have to strive for, finishing it off. But also in that game, our guys really executed the games plans. We put two different game plans in- one was kind of extreme and the other was just our normal stuff. First thing I'd like to do it give credit for that good part to the assistant coaches on defense, Don Wnek, Larry Hoefer, Wes McGriff, and Mark Nelson really had a big part in coming up with the alternative game plan that we used. It confused [Cody] Hodges pretty much all day. I was very pleased."

"Tech as a tremendous offense as we all know. But for us to become the team that we want to be, we have to be able to close some of these games out."

On Texas:

"We've got to stop Vince Young. Everybody has to stop him and we have to figure out a way. He's their leading rusher; he has almost 800 yards rushing the ball. His chunk of yards have really been faking the hand off, keeping the ball, and juking the first guy out. When he runs, it doesn't look like he's running fast; but, nobody seems to get a solid hit on him. A very smooth athlete. He's getting better at throwing the ball; but, in all the tapes that you look at, his guys are pretty much wide open."

"So our key is to first try to stop him, try to get as many people around him as you can. But you still have to stop the other ball carriers. They've got a good bunch of people that run the ball. But you have to stop the whole running attack. Our defense has to play as a total defense. We have to fly to the ball, get around it and we have to be in the right stop to hold them down. With receivers, they spread the ball around a bit and do a pretty good job of it. They do a good job of getting open if they're covered. We have another big task defensively to give our team a chance to win."