Opening Statement:
"Hey, everybody, I think we're about ready to go. Everybody asks me if I'm excited to get started and really I want to get a couple more practices out of the way before I start to get too excited, but it is fun to be in game week and it's going to be exciting to play somebody for real, to have a little bit of competition. I feel pretty good about our football team and I think I've gotten to know our team and our coaches pretty well in the past few weeks so I feel good about where we are right now. As I mentioned last time I wouldn't start over again, I think we're about where we need to be. I wish Travon [Blanchard] hadn't gotten dinged, that's an issue that we are going to have to deal with, but other than that I think we're in pretty good shape and ready to get going."

On envisioning blitzing more to generate more pass rush:
"Yeah, you know that's a great question. I do feel like to be successful defensively you have to be able to get some pressure with three and four man rushes so I don't think you can just dial up blitzes every snap to get pressure. The thing that I do like about our defensive front is in some cases we aren't the biggest defensive front, but we are very athletic and I have enjoyed watching our pass rush drills. I do think we are going to have to bring linebackers, and in certain cases secondary guys, to get pressure, but I think we'll have to mix that up. I feel really good about our athleticism. I know in the past we've had some guys that were a little bigger than the guys we're playing with right now, but I'm really excited about our athleticism and I'm anxious to see us start playing games. I think the thing we'll find out, or hopefully find out, is that we won't have to blitz every time we want to get pressure."

On feeling good about the rotation of guards and tackles around senior center Kyle Fuller:
"I do. Randy Clements has done a really nice job. It has made us a little bit inconsistent at times because we've just rolled guys around from guard to tackle and so I think we've pretty much got three guys on each side that can play tackle or guard and we'll probably continue to roll them around a little bit. Early in the year I would think that would make for some inconsistency up front, but I think going forward as we get on into the season these guys are just going to have to play guard and tackle for us. I hope Tyrae Simmons comes on quickly. He's a guy that has some mobility, very athletic, and we'd like to get him into the mix, but I think it's going to be okay as long as we stay healthy. I think we're going to make some mistakes, which we'd expect, but I think we've got guys that are working hard to learn both positions and so going forward if we can just roll those guys around I think we've got the guys up front to get people blocked."

On Terence Williams or Shock Linwood being the first running back on the field:
"I would say that Shock will be the first guy on the field. I think what we are looking at is a situation where Shock and Terence have both performed really well this summer. I've been really pleased with JaMycal, I think JaMycal Hasty is special. I think we've got three running backs that we'd feel really, really good about putting on the field. We know Johnny Jefferson is special, but he's been hurt and I'm hopeful we'd get him back in the mix, but I think right now I wouldn't override Jeff Lebby's decision, but right now I think Shock will be our guy and then the other guys will play. The best thing for us would be if all three of them play really, really well and we can kind of roll them around and keep them fresh."

On six freshmen on the two-deep depth chart and the potential for them to play:
"One of the things that's very concerning to me, and I have expressed this to Phil [Bennett] and to KB [Kendal Briles] and all of our coaches is that the minute we put a freshman on the field you've committed to playing him all year long and some things could affect that, he could get banged up and there's a little bit of wiggle room with the NCAA early in the year if a kid were to be injured, but for us what we don't want to do, what we really don't want to do is waste a year of eligibility. Now, I've had some kids that have been great special teams players and they've spent a year doing mostly special teams so I'm okay if that's the way it turns out, but the last thing in the world that we want to do is put a kid on the field and he gets two or three snaps in the first two or three games and then doesn't play anymore. So I've really put the pressure on our coaches if you're going to put him out there. I'll tell you that we've got two or three kids that are really talented that we aren't planning on playing right now, that we're planning on redshirting, so I feel like the guys that in our two-deep right now are guys that we expect to play a fair amount."

On his transition into this position:
"Well, this has been a very unusual situation, obviously, and especially for me in that in the past I had more input as far as what we were going to do X and O wise. I had more input as far as what players were going to be first and second team, that kind of thing. I've had to rely on our coaching staff quite a bit as far as the X and O's are concerned and I've relied on them primarily to kind of stack the guys up first, second, third team. As we go forward I think I may be more involved but I really couldn't do that until we start playing games and I see how the kids perform and how things go in competition, but from that standpoint I've been really, really impressed. I think we've got a great group of coaches on both sides of the ball. I've been very impressed at how involved all the assistants are on offense and defense and in game planning and in schemes or plays on offense, schemes on defense. I just think we've got a really good staff. I've been very, very impressed. I've been very, very happy with everything we're doing right now and it's just been fun for me. Typically, I think as a head coach you spend a little bit more time teaching your assistants what you want. This has been a situation where I've had a chance to learn some new offensive stuff and some new defensive stuff and I'm excited to watch it in action. One thing I feel really, really good about is our coaching staff right now. I think we've got really good teachers. I've got a group of guys that really care about their kids. Obviously, it's unusual because I brought nobody here. Staff-wise, not an offensive or defensive coach, not a support staff because I really, really felt that unless I found guys that didn't belong that I was going to try to support these guys, and I'm glad that I did. I think we've got an especially good group of guys."

On excitement level going back into coaching after three years:
"Yeah, absolutely. It's just good to get to football. I mean, that's what we do. You know coaches, and I really enjoy all the things that go with coaching and we haven't been able to do a lot of that. We've spent a lot of time talking about things that have to be talked about, no question, I mean we had to deal with a lot of serious issues, but now it's kind of more light hearted because we are getting ready to play a game and so it's fun. You know, I said I've learned a lot from our players, I've learned a lot from our coaches, but I'm expecting to learn more Friday night and so for me it's just exciting to get back into a football season and watch these guys perform."

On decision to put more of the walk-ons on scholarship:
"We've put two on. We've put Cole [Edmiston] and Tyler [Jaynes] on scholarship and we are still looking at guys. We don't have to make that decision right away. We could have one or two more kids pop up and be factors for us, but one of the things I've always tried to do is make sure that the kids we put on scholarship earn it, that they are at least heavily involved in special teams and possibly in the two-deep offensively and defensively. I think we've still got one or two kids that are still competitive to work their way into that mix, but you know they're the heart and soul of your football team -- walk-ons. You can talk about the scholarship guys all you want to, but the guys that walk on are absolutely only playing because they love the game and that's really the way it should be. You like the guys that are playing because they love football and love their teammates and they love to play and so those are the guys that are in my heart. I went to junior college for a couple years and paid my own way to school and had loans and pell grants, and helped clean Garber Hall every night and I thought that was still pretty good because I got to play football, but when I got a scholarship to the University of Virginia I thought that was pretty cool so I know how hard it is for our guys to not be on scholarship and still stay committed to football. So those guys I'm most proud of and they're the ones that give us a look every day and give us a scout look that helps us be successful."

On Northwestern State:
"Well, it's going to be interesting. I think I read somewhere that they've got maybe as many as 11 transfers, some junior colleges guys, and maybe some guys from four-year schools so that's what makes it interesting. You've got a little bit of an idea from watching last year's film on where their talent is, but with the influx of transfers that kind of makes it different so it will be interesting when we take the field Friday night to find out what we're up against. It's a little bit of a toss up right now, but I see a very well coached football team, I think Jay Thomas does a great job in watching the kids fly around and play hard and I think they came on really strong at the end of last season. The thing I've learned in 40 years of coaching is you better take everyone seriously and respect every opponent and we'll find out pretty early how much they've improved with this influx of new talent."

On plan for rotating guys in and keeping them fresh:
"Well, I think we have two things in mind. We certainly want to keep players fresh when we can, but I think you're always better as a team when you go to practice every day and the guys know when game day rolls around they're going to be in the game, especially when you're working with punt team, punt return, kickoff, kickoff return, all that. Those guys, when they are working those things every day, they know they are going to be on the field. Sometimes your backups on offense and defense are not as convinced they are going to be out there so from our standpoint we'd like to get kids on the field to keep them fresh, but we also don't want our kids fired up during the week to know, `hey, this practice I'm putting in is not in vain. I'm going to end up on the field come game day,' and that makes your practices go that much better. And obviously, the more kids that can contribute and win contribute and be successful and get the job done the better off you are.

On the idea of having a Friday night opener:
"I think either Thursday or Friday night. Thursday's may even be a little better, but I think you like to start out and have maybe a little bit more game preparation for the next week. Anytime you get a little bit more time to not only prepare, but to rest your players a little bit is good so I've never been a big Friday night component, I don't like butting heads with the high school teams on Friday night, but way back when we were discussing this I was talking to Coach [Grant] Teaff about it the other day, you know originally our stance was not to do that, but everybody is fighting for exposure, all the conferences are fighting for exposure so now it's almost become any night of the week could be a college or an NFL night so it's not really something that you get too concerned about. My preference would even be if we could play Thursday night, but everything is tied to television. That's who really pretty much tells you when you're going to play, what time you're going to play and what day you're going to play. I'm not wanting to take away from any of the high school games on Friday night, but it does give you a little extra time to prepare for the next week."

On personal rituals before a game:
"Well, really I don't have any superstitions. I probably should. I'll have to dream one up, but typically before a game one of the things I learned from coach [Fisher] DeBerry at the Air Force Academy is to try not to get too cranked up because I don't get to play a snap. When games go on sometimes I've been criticized for being too calm on the sidelines, but I've always felt like it's a player's responsibility to play with a lot of enthusiasm and usually if coaches, especially me, have gotten too fired up on the sidelines I usually don't make good decisions so I've tried to stay as calm as I can and let the players play the game."

On his anxiety level and how he controls himself with his return on Friday night:
"I've been on the field the last couple of weeks, though. It's exciting to get back out there, especially with the guys and how hard they've been working, and how hard we've been working as a unit. It's back to football, it's what everybody has been waiting for. It's college football and it's week one. All the jitters are there, especially with all the guys, I know I have some but then again it's just football and it's what we've been training our whole lives for."

On preparing for Northwestern State:
"You definitely have to game plan for everybody. You have to treat them as if it's like a national championship type of game, because if you don't and try to overlook some teams that's when they can upset you, and we definitely don't want that. We're definitely game planning as if it's Oklahoma, TCU, anybody. It's a high level game, if we lose we start off 0-1 and we don't want that. We want to go 1-0 to start the season and move on from that and then prepare for the next game."

On the last time he got hit and if he's thinking about it:
"Yes... But no, I'm happy the way the surgery went. The doctors were the top doctors in the nation, possibly in the world, and I have full trust in them and I'm back to 110%. I'm excited and ready to go."

On if his emotions are any different from the start of last year to the start of this year:
"I don't think so. It's all the same. It's just excitement and being kind of giddy. For the most part, I'm counting every blessing that I have, to be able to wake up this morning and to go out and have practice with the guys today and just take full advantage of this opportunity and just get ready for the game upcoming."

On if his mind set will change at all when carrying the ball:
"If I'm carrying the ball I'm going to carry the ball the way I need to. If we're up 25 points with three minutes left in the first half, then I probably don't need to take on a linebacker head on. You can get down and if it's third and long, I can get down and we can't punt the ball whatever it may be because I trust our defense from what they've been doing. Coach [Phil] Bennett has been doing a really great job with those guys. They're flying around, they're fast. You definitely have to be smart, especially in every aspect of the game. If it's third and long, and there's nobody there I just need to either throw it away or get down and not take unnecessary hits."

On if there are any loose ends that the offense needs to tie up by Friday night:
"It's never as smooth as we want it to be. There's going to be some hiccups along the way, that's just part of it. Being game one, week one, emotions are going to be high and we haven't had a whole lot of game experience right now, but hopefully we won't make too many mistakes and we're able to capitalize on a lot of opportunities and put up a lot of points up on the board."

On if he thought at any time this week wouldn't happen during his recovery:
"I definitely had to think about opportunities, what may happen, what could happen, there was always that chance of it not healing right. Just like with any surgery, you can go out and get a hang nail and end up having to get your toe cut off, with infections and stuff like that. But about eight weeks into it, everything healed properly, perfectly. Once I reached that point I knew that this moment was going to happen again and I'm really excited about it."

On the depth chart:
"I feel like we're going to have a lot of guys rotating in, too. Everybody can play, every one of our guys are going to be able to play. That's going to help us out offensively. We're going to put up a lot of points quickly, and to be able to keep those guys up front fresh is going to be really helpful for our tempo for the most part. On the defensive side, everybody can play also. We have guys who are flying around, being fast, being physical and are ball hawks, and they're smart too. I'm really excited to see what they can do and also for our guys up front. I have full trust and faith in them that they are going to do what they need to do to push the ball down the field and get the ball in the end zone."

On where he feels the offense is at with tempo and pace:
"I don't think we're there yet. But that just goes with experience. Our running backs are doing a really good job of getting the ball, getting the play in, and our tight ends are doing a great job, too, with getting the call and getting lined up fast. The first game might be kind of rocky, hopefully not, but we're not where we want to be but we'll get there."

On Coach Grobe's transition from when he came in to now:
"From when he's come in to now, I haven't seen any change. He's been consistent, and he hasn't changed much. He's been the guy who has said we're going to do this and we're not going to do this, we're going to keep it at a high standard and do it with a lot of character. Somebody who doesn't change is somebody who's confident in what they do. I'm really confident in what he's done for us as a team and a unit. He's knows what we can do and he knows the capacity we have, and he's behind us 110% on that."

On if the mission of this season has changed, given what's happened the last few months:
"Absolutely not. Our goal is to win the national championship every year. That's what we're going to fight for. Every team has their haters, I guess, to say. We're not going to let that bother us. They're not on this team, they're the guys sitting at home eating pizza. We're not worried about that, they can say whatever they want, we're going to play Baylor football."

On the defensive line:
"[I see] ambition. They're young, but they're ambitious. Everything they do they're willing to learn and change. They have those big eyes. That's always a great thing when your line can be willing to work, willing to take that extra step."

On team mentality heading into Friday's game:
"Everybody is on the same page. With everything that's going on right now, it just brings us closer, more of a family. We don't necessarily have a motto, but just family and having that tight bond."

On being an emotional leader and play maker on the field:
"As soon as it's time to put on the pads, it's natural. Emotions pour. People feed off it, and that's something that just becomes natural for me -- to have that extra energy for me, to bring that extra swagger. I plan on getting to the ball. If they call a blitz to me, I'm going to get to the quarterback. Every time my number is called, I need to make a play. That's how I am."

On support from the student body:
"I know that here on campus, guys will say, `hey, ready for the weekend?' or `I can't wait to root you on.' Stuff like that makes you say thank you. It's nice to hear stuff like that every now and then. It is good to have that support, especially going into game week."

On heading into his final season as a Bear:
"I've been here forever -- five years -- and I can remember every one of those years. It's super exciting going into my senior year, but at the same time it's definitely different. Whenever you're a junior or a sophomore, you're sitting there thinking of your senior year and what will come about, and then all of a sudden it's here. We're here, and here we go."

On feeling different going into this game compared to last year:
"Not so much. I think that everyone is just excited to get back out there. Through everything we have stuck together and are ready to push forward and continue to the season."

On who you see in the locker room:
"Guys that are hungry. Guys that are hungry to go out there and prove that you can't count us out."

On progression of offensive line since camp:
"I think we've progressed a ton. We've been getting out early and staying late and we've had a lot of development over the past three or four weeks."

On the role of Kyle Fuller in the offensive line's development:
"He's the anchor, he's the leader. We lean on him for experience, leadership, and he's the perfect guy for that."