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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 5, 2015

Pat Mahomes

Lubbock, Texas

Sam Houston State - 45
Texas Tech - 59

Q. Can you tell us how you're feeling personally going into your first game as, quote-unquote, full time starter?
PAT MAHOMES: It was a great feeling, of course. Coach prepared us really well, both me and Davis, and the team pretty much knew that either way we were going to have a chance to win the game.

Q. At what point I guess in this process did you know that you were the starter? Were you told?
PAT MAHOMES: I think he kind of hinted it to me somewhere in the camp sometime. I can't really remember exactly when. It really didn't change anything. I went out there like I did every single day and competed. I knew at any point, Davis is a great quarterback, so either way I was just going to compete every single day.

Q. Do you take any momentum off the Baylor game last year that you came into spring camp, fall camp, and get your first start?
PAT MAHOMES: I mean, it's a long time away. There was some momentum. It kind of gave me a little bit of confidence that I could compete against the best in the country and that momentum I guess it gave me a little bit. But it's a new year so we're trying to change what happened all last year and make it a whole new year altogether.

Q. How would you assess your performance today?
PAT MAHOMES: I thought I did pretty well. Could always do better. Missed a lot of reads, missed a lot of checks that I could have made happen. But I thought I did OK. I'm always going to look to improve myself and I'm going to watch the film tomorrow and be critical.

Q. (Inaudible.) That was pretty.
PAT MAHOMES: We repped it so many times. Devon Lauderdale is a great receiver, great speed. We got the look we liked and I just put it out there and let him make the play.

Q. You mentioned that Kliff hinted you would be the starter. When did he say you would start September 5?
PAT MAHOMES: You know how Kliff is, he never really just said it, said it, but you could kind of get the feel out as practice went on that I had a good chance of being the starter, and I don't think he ever really just said you're the guy, you're the starter, so I just competed every day. Like I said, he was letting the competition go, and it made both of us better.

Q. How is Davis handling it?
PAT MAHOMES: Extremely well. I couldn't even explain to you how well he's handled it. He's been positive the whole way, and I think that goes to the friendship we have. We both like each other and we're both rooting for each other in the end.

Q. What was the difference between the offense in the first half and the second half?
PAT MAHOMES: I think we lost a little bit of focus in the second half. Kliff is kind of hyped on us being a second-half team. We lost a little bit of energy but the defense made some plays, and we did get the job done, but we could always have done better.

Q. Not to use it as an excuse, but it was awful hot out there. Do you feel like it affected anybody today in terms of that energy?
PAT MAHOMES: I wouldn't say that. We worked so hard this summer in the heat, and that's what we've improved on is being a second-half team. I think we're physically in condition to be there. We've just got to stay focus and keep the energy level high at all times.

Q. Can you break down that first touchdown pass to Sadler, when you kind of zigzagged across the field and found him right there on the goal line from your perspective?
PAT MAHOMES: Yeah, honestly I think I missed the first read. I think Lauderdale was wide open at the very beginning and I tried to go run and I realized that my pocket was still wide open so I tried to just go back and I saw 12 going down the goal line so I threw it to him and let him make a play.

Q. (Inaudible.) Looked like they were both going for it. Was it a pass to Patrick or what was actually called?
PAT MAHOMES: I mean, I'll say the pass was to Lauderdale today. (Laughter.)

Q. What about Ja'Deion High? He caught a couple passes today. Was he in the mix during the fall camp? I know he came in because of injury, but what do you think about his future?
PAT MAHOMES: J-High as we call him, he's very consistent. He works really hard. And he got his chance to play today and he stepped up big, and that's something we knew he would do when he got his chance. It showed on the field today.

Q. What's it like on the sideline when the defense is turning the other team over and over and over again there in the second half? What's that like?
PAT MAHOMES: It's a great feeling. It's showing that all the hard work they're doing is paying off and getting turnovers and stuff like that, that's helping the offense out in every way, so it's a great feeling to see them going out there and getting turnovers.

Q. (Inaudible.)
PAT MAHOMES: I mean, it was open. I just tried to throw it a little bit too hard and overthrew him. It was something I should have hit and guessed on that defense and I made a bad throw, and it was a mistake I made in the end.

Q. Are you glad to have the first game behind you and now you can look forward and know who the starting quarterback is and not have to worry about that?
PAT MAHOMES: I'm glad to get the first win, of course. Not necessarily because I'm the starting quarterback or whatever, just getting the first win, getting on a roll and hopefully carrying it into UTEP this next week and into the rest of the season.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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