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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 29, 2017

Broderick Washington, Jr.

Lubbock, Texas

Q. How great is it to actually strap on the pads and play against somebody not wearing red and black?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: I'm pretty anxious. I can't really show my excitement on the outside. But on the inside, I'm jumping up and down like a little kid.

Q. How much progress have you seen this defense make from that first scrimmage from I guess about a month ago, we talked to you after that, to the last four weeks, how much progress have you seen in general and on the D-line as well?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Since that first scrimmage I've seen a lot of progress between the whole defense, just with us coming closer together and actually playing with each other and for each other and knowing that we have each other's back and just building that trust. From a defensive line standpoint, I feel like the guys around me are doing a great job. The same thing, really with the whole defense. We're all coming together and playing better with each other.

Q. In your defensive line work, what one or two guys really progressed the most, do you think?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: One of the guys that I feel like has progressed the most is the same guy I've been saying Lonzell Gilmore. He's going to be a name to remember. Really just everybody else, really. All the guys around me really are just doing a great job of what they're doing.

Q. What do you expect to see from Eastern Washington's offense?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Basically some of the same things that we see in practice. They might use the jet sweep more than we do and outside runs more than we do, but pretty much the same tempo, quick passes, yeah, pretty much a lot of the same things we see from our offense.

Q. How much more prepared do you feel with yourself and your game than from this time last year?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: The difference between now and this time last year is that I feel like I know the game more and it's slowed down a lot more to me because that transition from offensive line to defensive line, it was a tough one. But now that I've got a year under my belt, well, a couple years under my belt with it, I feel like it's just going to come to me like that.

Q. Any snaps you haven't played or any rotation you'll use?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: I can't say an exact number, but I know a lot because we've got guys that our coach can just put anywhere on the field and be able to play that position. So it's really a whole lot of mismatches that you might see this Saturday.

Q. Being a Longview native, how did your family do in the hurricane?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: They're doing pretty good right now. I've been in contact every day with my mom since finding out about Hurricane Harvey. I've just been checking on her every day making sure they're good, and texting them. She told me she should be getting some rain and stuff from Hurricane Harvey around Wednesday. So I've just been keeping up with her, making sure they're all right.

Q. You mentioned Lonzell and his progress, what has he done over this last year so that you've seen that growth in him?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: It's all about maturity with him. When he first got in he was pretty down on himself about being red-shirted. But just his attitude towards things and the way he sees things now, he's matured a whole lot since our first year here together.

Q. Kliff mentioned a moment ago that Yontz made some plays in the last scrimmage or two that kind of helped him on the spot. What did you see from him?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: I've seen a guy that has a lot of speed behind him. He has a nose for getting to the football and staying around the football. Like if he's running plays down the field or anything like that, he is always around the football.

Q. So guys like him and Tony Jones have kind of helped you all have built-in speed up front?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Yes, sir.

Q. I know you talked about the offense in general, but can you talk about the quarterback and maybe the difficulties he presents?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: He presents almost the same amount of problems that we had with Pat in practice because Pat could move around a lot in the pocket and make plays happen. This quarterback's the same way. He may be a little faster than Pat, actually, and he likes to run the ball. So we've just got to make sure we're doing our jobs, being in our gaps and making sure we've got contain on him. If not, he could be a problem.

Q. Anybody that's watched Eastern Washington knows how many championships they've won at the FCS level. They beat Washington State last year to start the year, and Washington State ended up being pretty good last year. What is the biggest challenge with you and your teammates? I know it's the first game. I know everybody's going to be hyped up. But almost just not sleeping on a team that might be really good, and not on the same level with you guys as far as divisions, but dominated at the FCS level for a long time.
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Really, we can't overlook anybody this year. We're going to treat every opponent the same way like it's a big game. Eastern Washington won't be any different. Their offense works well together. They can present a lot of problems that we could see later on in the year. If we don't come prepared, then they could beat us. We're really going to have the mindset of treating everybody the same.

Q. Can you guys talk about that game for Eastern Washington against Washington State last year? Is that something that was brought up in conversations in meeting rooms?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Yes, sir. We actually talk about the last three games because the first -- well, hold on. Let me get it right. Over the last couple years they've played good opponents like outside of their not conference and in bigger conferences and they gave them a good game and they barely lost those games. So we know they're going to come out, fired up, ready to play. So we can't overlook them at all because they're a pretty good team.

Q. How much of that falls on you and Nic and guys in the locker room to make sure the team is up and not sleeping on stuff like that?
BRODERICK WASHINGTON, JR.: Making sure everybody's on the same page and not overlooking any little thing about them. We really haven't even -- like normally you would hear guys talking about like, oh, it's going to be a breeze, stuff like that. But everybody's just locked in, focused and making sure they're doing their job to the best of their abilities.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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