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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 31, 2015Branden JacksonDeAndre WashingtonLubbock, Texas Q. You led the conference last year in rushing. What kind of challenge do you have and is there a watermark game where you guys figure out how much you've improved? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, we respect Sam Houston. We know they come in here and they won 11 games last year. Very talented group filled with people who could have played at the major level or people who left the major level. So we're not sleeping on them at all. We understand how good their running game has been, and what the quarterback and the running backs, so it will be a good challenge early on for us. We're ready to see what we've got. Q. Coach said they haven't shown too much film yet of Sam Houston State, but of the little bits and pieces you've seen, what stands out so far? BRANDEN JACKSON: It stood out to me how talented they are. They're loaded, especially their skill positions make a lot of plays in open field, and their quarterback kind of runs the whole thing. His decision making is pretty precise. When he decides to go, he can go, whether throwing the ball or running the ball. So it will be a good challenge trying to contain him and force him to do what we want him to do as a defense. Q. Last year you guys took on a conference opponent of Sam Houston State. You came out kind of sloppy. Didn't have your best game. What gives you confidence that the focus will be better this year and you'll be able to put it away in what would be an inferior opponent? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, we don't forget last year. We know how we came out last year and how the season ended up. Last year we were riding away from a bowl game feeling like we were going to make some big noise and we got hit in the face early and we didn't handle adversity the right way. This whole camp, this whole off season we've been focusing on handling adversity and coming down and winning every series, drive, quarterbacks, halftime, after halftime, things like that. So Sam Houston will give us their best shot and we'll give them ours. Q. What is different about your side of the ball now as compared to last year? BRANDEN JACKSON: This side of the ball, defense is just a confident group. A group who has been through a lot of turmoil and a lot of goods and bads. We've been criticized and we've taken it the right way. Everyone has taken it head on their shoulders and we expect to make big plays. We're not guessing and hoping they'd make plays. Coach Gibbs and Coach Smith have put us in position to make the plays. So far everyone has been making those plays. So as long as we continue to get better and don't regress, we'll be fine. Q. Coach Gibbs said he's been sweet and nice to you so far. Is that how you see it too? BRANDEN JACKSON: I mean, if that's sweet and nice, I don't want to see angry. He's not a big yeller. He talks to us in private, treats you like a man. He talks about having a professional, NFL type mentality. But I have at times seen him rip a couple people and I've been ripped before for effort and things like that, those are things you can't coach. So, yeah, if that's sweet and nice, then we're in for a rude awakening. Q. Is the D line a deeper group than what you've played with since you've been here? BRANDEN JACKSON: Absolutely. We're really deep in the group. Everyone there can play. We don't expect anyone to be a maybe guy. Everyone's going to get in, and Coach Gibbs emphasizes the rotation and keeping us fresh. So I expect to see a lot of numbers out there and a successful group by committee. Q. Has What Rika has done to improve himself motivated the rest of the defense and maybe you specifically? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, absolutely. Rika's been through a lot. Just to shed the amount of weight he did in the amount of time he did and to come into this season with a new focus and really lock in, I mean, it's a testament to his work and we fed off that. Especially me being competitor, Pete being a competitor. We all look at Rika, and we want to be the one the coach is bragging about. So when everyone started bragging about Rika we had to do something to get our name thrown out there too. Q. I think you mentioned you all struggled with adversity last year or are responding to it well. How come? BRANDEN JACKSON: It was really just confidence. I feel like a lot of us just got down early and thought we've been here before. It didn't turn out the right way. And the mentality this year is that no matter what, we're going to win this series. We're not going to worry about the game so much. We're going to win the series and each drive. The more times we get off the field and get the ball back to that offense of ours, we'll be just fine. Q. Is that trouble with the players themselves or was it trouble with coaches reading the situation and getting the confidence? What was it last year? BRANDEN JACKSON: It was the players. The coaches put us in position. If you look, we were in position to make a lot of big plays and execute, but there were a lot of mental busts, a lot of effort things where guys weren't going a hundred percent because we just gave up pretty much. This year I hope not to go through the same thing. It doesn't look like we will. Q. How do you stop that snowball once it starts going down? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, we won't know until adversity hits again this year. Maybe second half of Sam Houston when they're hitting us in the mouth and we have to respond. But so far this camp, we've bounced back from big plays from our offense and big runs from DeAndre. Next series we got turnovers or forced three and outs. So it looks good right now, but you'll never know until the games get going. Q. Mike Smith said he wanted you guys to be nastier in the beginning of the off season. Are you nastier? BRANDEN JACKSON: I think we're definitely nastier. We look nastier. That was the first thing. We had to look the part first and then start playing physical and nasty. We've been out there, and if anyone who has watched the practice, there's been a little pushing and shoving after, a little extra. Some of that is tired of practicing against each other. Another one is building an identity and mentality and not allowing anyone to get away with things like that. So hopefully it's a nastier, more aggressive group coming out there and ready to win. Q. What has Coach Smith brought to your group? BRANDEN JACKSON: Coach Smith has brought a level of confidence and just a competitive nature that we haven't had. I mean, the guy drafted baseball and football. Worked hard, a try hard guy, he's from here, so Lubbock is a little different for him. The double team means a lot more to him. He had to get us to understand that it's not enough to want to make it to the NFL. It's not enough to want to impress your family. You've got to love and respect the school you're playing for, and that is the thing that we gained in the defensive line this year. Q. The guy listed as your back up, Talor Nunez, where have you seen him improve throughout the fall camp? BRANDEN JACKSON: Talor is a remarkable guy. That's my guy since day one when he came in here. His work ethic is second to none, and he's always been on top of his playbook. Now he's starting to understand the speed of the game and Jinks has slowed it down for him. He's starting to make a lot of big plays and not just being in position to help someone else make plays, and that goes a long way. I'm just really happy for the guy. The guy just got put on scholarship and worked his way up the depth chart. I can't wait to get him out there and watch him compete. Q. Do you think a guy with work ethic like that where he works from being a walk on and getting on the depth chart, do you think that inspires players around him on the rest of the defense? BRANDEN JACKSON: It definitely inspires us. A lot of people don't know, everyone in our defensive line room are on scholarship now. Armani was put on scholarship. Talor Nunez was put on scholarship. Those are two guys who were doing this for fun and the love of the game. The way they were able to work their way into having their school paid for was an inspiration to all of us. The defensive line as tough as we are and tough as we look we shed tears when our brothers were awarded those. That just shows how close we are and how much we want the best for each other. Q. Does that kind of give you a sense of pride when the defensive line and when everyone in your room was able to work that hard to get put on scholarship? BRANDEN JACKSON: Absolutely, especially looking at the work from some of the walk on guys in the past walk on guys in the room. The way they worked and never asked for anything. It was an inspiration to me from day one just for them to go out there and compete at a high level and not be getting their school paid for. Talor is an engineer major and competing in one of the hardest fields out there. He comes out here and busts his butt every day and doesn't ask are if anything. So once he got put on scholarship and once Armani got put on scholarship, we hugged those guys and told them that's what hard work gets you. Coach Smith always tells you nothing feels better for when you work so hard for what you really wanted. I'm happy they were awarded that. Q. When adversity hits and you see guys giving up or maybe don't have the confidence, whose job is it to fix that? BRANDEN JACKSON: It's definitely my job, along with Pete, Rika and Micah, we start right there. Start up front and go and trickle down from the back end. J.J. will come in and chip in there. But this is a senior led defensive group, and the seniors have to lead and we have to take control of all of that. Q. You came out of Mckeesport, Pennsylvania a few year back. Now in your senior year, how do you look back at your time at Tech and what are your thoughts and feelings? BRANDEN JACKSON: I look back at my time at Tech and I just smile. The ups and downs I've been through, some of the successes. It's just everything that I expected and didn't expect at the same time. Lubbock has become a second home to me. The program has given me so much. I'm just so thankful every day that I'm a Red Raider, and the double team means a lot more to me now. I just can't wait to make everybody, our fans and everybody proud because I feel like we have something special here and we're ready to get going. Q. This might be a shot in the dark, but any smack talk between you guys and Derrick Edwards? You all keep up with him as a former teammate playing for Sam Houston State? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, well this is a family. So anyone that's ever come through here we never lose contact. I talked to Derrick before we found out we were playing Sam Houston. Once we found out we were playing him, trash talk was going back and forth, little friendly things. But, yeah, that's just who he is, and that's who we are as a competitive nature. So I'm sure everyone's kind of talking trash to him like he's talking trash to us. Q. You talk about senior leadership, when you see a freshman force his way on the field, what does that do for you guys? BRANDEN JACKSON: It gets us amped because competition breeds competition. The harder the guy behind you pushes you, the better player you'll be. Coach Kingsbury and Coach Gibbs always talk about sharpening steel with steel. That's a testament to that right there. A guy who wasn't expected to play, early working his way up the depth chart, earning time and earning the respect of his peers. It's second to none. But then again, we expect that from a Fehoko. That's their nature. DeANDRE WASHINGTON Q. You're kind of the guy offensively who from a visual standpoint had the best year last year. Statistically speaking, how does the pressure feel different this year as compared to this time a year ago? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I think more so than anything, it's my senior year. So I definitely want to go out with a bang. With that being said, getting that base for a championship, that would be first and foremost what we're trying to get accomplished. I mean, that's really all the pressure that we're feeling, especially as a senior led group. Q. You talked about all the work you put in from a few years ago in Columbia, Missouri, to ripping up that knee to where you are right now? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah, you took it way back, man. Freshman year, I feel like I've come a long way with the help of our trainers and our strength staff really helped me to the point where I feel like the injury didn't even happen. So I just think Coach Dennis does a good job coordinating injuries. Like guys coming back with injuries to rehab, those guys did a tremendous job helping me get back to where I am today. Q. Did that change your outlook at all on football? Did it change you going through that? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: It definitely builds character. I think just because of my first major injury like that. Especially the year, I sat out and maybe kind of see things from a different perspective. Q. How much of the offense do you anticipate the rush game will be this year? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I feel like we're going to definitely have to utilize the run game a whole lot this year. I feel like with the depth we have in our room and the running back room and just the time that we have, you can line us up by running back, line us up by receivers. You can put us on special teams, so I definitely feel like the running backs will be heavily utilized just all over the field this year. Q. Kliff said this off season it's the best running back group he's been around which speaks highly considering who he's been around before. How do you compare it to previous groups you've been with? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Definitely felt this is the strongest without a doubt. Because every guy on this team, if we were somewhere else on another team, I feel like we could go to another team and start. That's every guy, all four guys we've got in that room. So I think it just speaks volumes that Coach Kliff and the guys that he's brought in and as well as Coach Jinks. He does a good job getting us prepared. It will be a fun year for the running backs. Q. How did Kliff break the news of the starting quarterback to the rest of the offense? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Unless he told you all, I haven't heard anything yet. So I don't really know too much. That was a good one though. That was a good one. I'll give you that. That was a good one. Q. Every running back that gets on campus has to go through a process to try to be a more complete running back, you've gone through that. What do you see from Justin Stockton in this off season continuing to you through that? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I think just being more decisive. Getting stronger and knowing how to utilize his ability. You know, I mean, it's D 1 football. He has a lot of speed, but he's not going to be able to outrun everybody, so he's done a good job being able to get between the tackles. Being effective in the block game. So I think just being the first one, I think he's worked through this off season. Q. What do the quarterbacks bring to the offense? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: What do each of the quarterbacks bring to the offense? I think just a winning mindset. Those guys have had their ups and their downs, but they can take over this team. They have the respect of every player on this team, and I think that's huge. When you're being the quarterback, you're the guy. So I think they have the support and respect of everybody on this team. So either way it goes, we'll be all right. Q. Right, but they're different players. Each of them have a different skill set. What does one bring and what does the other bring? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Like I said, just a winning mentality. I think they all win. They're competitors and as quarterback that's what you want. You want somebody that can go out there and compete with you, somebody you can walk down a dark alley with, and I'll walk down with all those guys. Q. Does that say something about your offensive line? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Oh, no doubt, no doubt. Q. How do you view their off season? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Probably as a group they've probably had one of the strongest off seasons. You've seen them at practice doing the extra work, going the extra mile. They've always been like that. I think the seniors on that offensive line, Jared, Le'Raven, Frado, those guys have done a tremendous job checking those younger guys and helping them out, because we're going to need those guys this season as well. Q. How much does having the offensive line with you your whole career help you going into your senior year? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: I think it's been huge. That was one of the recruiting points we kind of hit on when we actually all committed to Texas Tech was that we kind of all wanted to stay together. Over the years I feel like we've built a relationship that's second to none. So we can joke around and give each other a hard time, but we know when it's time to go to work, we know what time it is. Q. (Indiscernible) you said you want to go out with your senior year with a bang. How much do you, not just for yourself, but for them and their senior year kind of want to do that as well? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Yeah, I mean, it's huge for all of us, man. I think we just want to do something that hasn't happened around here in a long time and that's get that Big XII Championship. So I think for each and every one of us it will be a big deal. Q. Is there somebody that you're excited about seeing play that everybody looks at and goes wow look at that and what he's done? Is there someone you're looking forward to seeing play on Saturday? DeANDRE WASHINGTON: Really a lot of those young DBs we've got, Tevin, Jah'Shawn, Nigel, Justis, I really want to see something between them and the receivers. So I can't wait to see them on Saturdays. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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