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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 7, 2015Jared KasterBranden JacksonLubbock, Texas Q. Jared, how did you feel like you guys played on Saturday? JARED KASTER: O-line, there was some good things put on film. Some things that we've got to go back and correct. Our effort was good. It's probably not where we want to be as an O-line-wise. Still we've got to work on penalties. We had a couple up front that are just stupid penalties you can't have. They pushed us back. The only thing that's going to stop us are penalties, and you could see that going into the game. Overall, we saw good things. Like I said, there are a lot of things we do need to work on though. Q. Do you think that's kind of just first game, kind of getting into the rhythm? JARED KASTER: Yeah, you could say that. Just a little bit of jitters out there. But you've still got to work on it, and go out there with the mindset that this is the game and you've got to bring it your all. Q. Coach Kingsbury talked about a lack of killer instinct. Coach Morris talked about that needs to be a player thing. So who amongst you guys do you expect to step up and talk with the non-killer instinct guys? JARED KASTER: Just us leaders. We'll bring it every day in practice. What you do in practice is going to have to transition on Saturdays, and we'll bring it. This is the first game. It's something that us as a team, us leaders, are going to have to work on to get this season going. Q. During the game itself? JARED KASTER: Yeah, exactly. Q. What did you think of Pat's performance? JARED KASTER: He did good. He did good. He came out there and did things that Pat does, which is being a good quarterback. Q. Are you happy to have him as a starter? JARED KASTER: Yeah, I'm happy with whoever it would have been, whether it was him or Davis. Coach Kingsbury does a great job of getting both those guys ready. Us guys up front just worry about protecting either one of them. Q. What do you remember about that UTEP game last year? JARED KASTER: It was fun. It was a great atmosphere. UTEP is a very, very good football team, a lot of guys that work, phenomenal effort. They gave us a little trouble at the beginning, but they're a great team, and we've got to bring in our A-game. They're coming off a tough loss against Arkansas, which they're a very good football team. It's going to be fun to play them here in the Jones, another game Saturday at the Jones, but it will be fun. Q. You guys were rotating, working with the rotation on Saturday. Does it disrupt your chemistry as a unit to kind of bring guys in and out during the game? JARED KASTER: I don't think so. I think we all over the off-season built a great chemistry together. Anybody that can go in there and work can get the job done. Coach Hays does a great job with getting all of us ready. Whoever is in there is going to bring our full, because that's one of our goals is bringing your effort and being the best you can be. Whoever's in there is just going to get the job done. Q. What did you think about Justin Murphy's performance? JARED KASTER: He did good. He's young, he's excited. I see myself in him a little bit just with his attitude. He's a Hunter. He goes out there and he hunts guys down, which is what you need in offensive linemen. Q. (Indiscernible) your cost of attendance checks every two weeks? JARED KASTER: It needs to be spent on the things that they -- Kirby has done a phenomenal job with that. We really appreciate what he's done for all of us. It really helps us guys that aren't as lucky to have the money that they do. Thank you to the NCAA for really helping us out and put it towards good stuff. Q. How tough was it last season not having that extra money? JARED KASTER: Oh, you just use it where you it needs to go. It's something that guys can really put that money towards good things. You could see it was tough for some guys, but it's good to have that and have to not worry about not knowing where your next meal is or whatever. But it's good. Really thankful for what the NCAA and Kirby has done for us. Q. What did you do with that first check, how (Indiscernible)? JARED KASTER: It's great. I think all of the athletic department has done a great job with really organizing how we get that and managing it for us as players. Q. Coach mentioned there weren't too many players that are kind of needing some things with those checks coming in. JARED KASTER: I won't talk about my personal business or how my -- Q. Just in general in the past some guys say coming to school without the checks, there was a lot of stuff that they were needing that they didn't have. JARED KASTER: Yeah, you go back to us guys that (Audio issue) but I see guys on a team that are putting it to good use. You know, if it's toothpaste or if it's food, whatever it might be, it's putting it to a good use. Q. Coming off the bench, (Indiscernible) how do you think he performed? JARED KASTER: Great, man. When you've got a guy like that who has been through so much, you feel the world for him, man. He's been put through hell and back. Really see a guy push like that through all the stuff he's been through, you give it your all for people like that. That's what you play the game for are people like Tony. It's exciting to see him out there and get his first start which is great. He's one of the guys that you wake up and you play for. BRANDEN JACKSON Q. We all remember the huge plays the defense was able to make in the second half. Talk about how important it is to make routine plays consistently? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, the more times we get the ball to the offense, we've already discussed it, the better this team will be. Just getting off on third downs and just being effective in flipping the turnover margin is something we've been preaching for years. It was good to see Coach Gibbs technique and things he's been preaching and making us practice throughout practice had shown up a little bit in the second half. We've just got to make sure we do it in the first half. Q. What happened in the second quarter when they were able to have the ball for nine minutes? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, a really good team. A really good team. They played really good football, won a lot of games. They're a confident group and talented group. They came out there and made us play to their scheme and what they had. They just had the game going right there and kind of rode the way as it was gone, and we had to make a stop to force them to change it. They had a couple of big plays and they stuck with those plays like anyone would do when you're having success. They forced us to make them change it. Q. With Pete's status still being unknown, do you feel an added pressure to be a leader with the front seven? BRANDEN JACKSON: Absolutely not. If anyone knows Pete, you know it doesn't matter what you do to him. He's always going to have his presence known. No added pressure at all. The defensive line as a group is a very close-knit group, so whether I'm not there or Pete's not there, someone's going to be there to step up because everyone respects each other. The defense as a whole, we're pretty close also, and it really doesn't make a difference who is being vocal or who is not. It's kind of lead by committee. Q. How vocal was he on the sidelines? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, I said you can't shut the guy up, so he was in everybody's ear. He was hollering at the same time he was talking to the young guys letting them know what he sees out there, what they're doing wrong. Telling me I need to pick it up and things like that. He's a great leader, you can't stop that. Q. You guys were able to force four turnovers in that second half as compared to the first. But how did you guys grade out on film after you've had a little bit of time to watch some tape and digest everything? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, it's never as good as it seems or as bad as it seems. In the second half we were able to get some turnovers. I feel like the game kind of slowed down for some of the younger guys that were just getting their feet wet. All the fans had them screaming and hollering and excited. Second half we were able to get straight to football. As far as grade-wise, we grade each other critically, and we probably grade ourselves a little harder than most people would have. But when your expectations are high, you have to never let yourself get too high on yourself. Q. Do you feel like the first half was just a little bit of nerves and jitters, and then finally that second half -- Coach Gibbs said you guys didn't make that many adjustments. It was just kind of the same, but you seemed to be making the plays? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, Coach Gibbs came in at halftime and told us nothing's going to change. We're doing things the way I want it to be done. Make the plays when you're in position to make the plays. In the second half I feel like all the nerves were out of there. All the younger guys that hadn't played so much on defense, so to speak, they were one snap and clear, and they were getting down to the game they love and playing ball and playing at a higher level. That's why we had a better second half than first. Q. From what you remember last year from Aaron Jones and UTEP, what's he do that's so hard to defend? He's not that big a guy, but can really run the ball well and catch out of the back field? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, he's not that big. But it's the things you can't measure that make that special. He does everything well. He's a pretty speedy guy, but at the same time he has some power. Sees the holes quickly, reacts fast, and dictates the holes. He knows how to pick and choose where he wants to go, and that's what makes him so difficult. Q. How did you guys evaluate the missed tackles from Sam? BRANDEN JACKSON: We were kind of hard on each other about that. Pick your head up, see what you hit, things like that. A lot of it you take good and bad. We're happy the guys were shooting the gun, but at the same time, like Coach Gibbs preaches, see what you hit. Don't just go out there and diving around. So I'm sure we'll get out on the practice field and have a few more tackling circuits, but nothing too major to focus on with that, as long as guys continue to rally around the ball and make people stutter their feet, there will be a second man there to make the tackle, if you miss the first one. Q. Do you feel Saturday guys were more focused on trying to rip the ball out before securing the tackle? BRANDEN JACKSON: No, I honestly feel a lot of guys were nervous. They wanted to make a play. The fans came out and they were great. That environment was second to none. I've seen a lot of young guys looking up and just smiling. Kind of lost a second there. Hold on, bro', focus on the game type of thing because they were just locked in the moment. They get out there and want to make a big hit, so they're diving with their head down. They're not seeing what you hit. When you do that in Division 1 ball with good opponents, they're going to make you miss. Q. As a defensive player, you guys have just given up a long run, a long series of plays and Jakeem runs back for a kickoff return. Is it a 50-50 thing there where you're excited for Jakeem, but knowing you have to go out there without getting a break? BRANDEN JACKSON: No, it's more of a 70-30 thing. We were down on ourselves about the long drive. But when Jakeem sparked that long run and scored, it got everyone excited. Everyone was like take it to the field, get back to fence and pick it up. We kind of forgot about the series which had just happened. You get lost in the moment of success with your brothers, and that eases the pain of the play that happened before. Q. How much of Saturday's performance were guys still adjusting to their responsibilities schematically? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, in practice we always do our 1/11ths. We try to focus on that. In the game, when your nerves are going, some people try to do more than one thing. That's what we had to control was the urge to want to make the extraordinary play, and just do your 1/11th, and that's when we started playing better defense. Q. How do you feel about the defense's conditioning? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, a very hot afternoon, but that's to be expected in Lubbock. Coach Dennis and the strength staff we've got over there is second to none. I feel like we're in game shape. It's just every once in a while 110° gets you and you kind of get fatigued. But that's no excuse. Everyone's in shape. If we're not in shape right now we wouldn't be on the field. Q. Big story line off-season was more rotation up front. Did you notice a difference personally? BRANDEN JACKSON: Absolutely. It was definitely a difference. I think I only cleared 57 snaps, 60 snaps, something like that. Last year I was 80, 90 snaps, so the rotation was phenomenal. Talor Nunez got out there and got me a well-needed break when I needed it in the heat, and Zach Barnes and Mike Mitchell were rotating frequently. The rotation was as expected, and Coach has been doing that often in practice. Q. What's it mean to get the cost of attendance checks for yourself? BRANDEN JACKSON: That means the world to me and my teammates. We just want to thank the NCAA and thank Kirby Hocutt, our AD, for doing what he did to make sure he could get us the maximum amount. I mean, it just does so many things for you. We've got guys in place who have to learn how to budget and save money and things like that. The cost of attendance is a great help, and it's helping us learn how to save money as well as get things done that we may not have been able to do last year. Q. What sorts of presentations did you go through in terms of not spending too much on video games and head phones and stuff? BRANDEN JACKSON: Yeah, so we had a team meeting whenever they announced the cost of attendance. They listed how much we'd be getting whether you're on campus or off campus, and we talked about setting up a budget and letting guys know you'll get your check this time, you'll get another check this time. Spend this right here on rent. Put this here in savings. Coach Jones and people met with him personally and learned how to budget money and have some banking things. Then we had Miss Dana go through with when to shop and how much to shop being that we'll get more money and things like that. Our staff did a great job of getting us prepared. So far I only know about five people that have a new Madden, so we haven't been spending that money too crazy. Q. In the second quarter when Micah Awe goes down, what do you do as a defense to rally and not let that stay in your mind? BRANDEN JACKSON: One snap and clear. When we seen him down, and watched him stand up and walk to the sideline. Are you all right, bro'? He said I'll be all right. I'm be back. That's all we needed. Dakota came in there. He was eager to play. We got him out there, he had some nerves flying. He settled down and everything went smoothly after that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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