UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2020

Justin Wright

Press Conference

Tulsa Golden Hurricane 34, East Carolina Pirates 30

Q. What's the locker room like when a team drives for a fourth quarter touchdown, final minute?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: It's pretty energetic, I'd say. But we know we still have work to do, so we're pretty focused on that.

Q. What was it like for you being on defense on the sideline watching the last drive play out?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: I was hopeful. I had faith in my offense, you know, they struggled at first and then they made some big plays and got in the end zone and that's all we care about.

Q. Defensively, caused a lot of turnovers today and played very well throughout the season. From a player's perspective, do you think it's -- what do you think has been one of the keys to your success?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: Well, not just my success but the defense as a whole and our special teams. I think we make our turnovers because we run to the ball constantly. We're so aggressive. We're smart. We're gap-sound. We're all of that, and I think that's really big when it comes to turnovers if you want to -- if you have a lot of them. I think that's the biggest thing to look for, see if you do that.

Q. Do you feel like there's quite a bit for the defense? Like you have to fight through this thing, maybe the first game this year where it felt like you guys weren't necessarily a step ahead of the opponent and so you had to battle through some of that? It seemed like they maybe some had schemes that worked well but you guys were able to force them to field goals at times and do enough and end up winning. So this is a different performance than the first three. Do you feel like there's a lot that you can learn from and build on?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: Most definitely. We are a team that has been through a lot and we're a defense that's been through a lot. We're an offense that's been through a lot.

So I think today kind of showed us that when we win some games, we cannot get lackadaisical or anything like that, and we've just got to finish and do what we've been doing so good so far this year.

Q. For you this year, I have no idea what the reps who have like if Yohance had not been hurt, but that happens kind of the week of the very first game and you're dealing with it and you get thrown in there, and obviously were ready for that. So maybe take us back big picture with you, your role, at least in some way probably changed, you're getting more snaps than you might have otherwise, but just being ready for your moment, if you will, this year.

JUSTIN WRIGHT: I'd say that I was always pretty ready. Yohance is a pretty outstanding athlete. He was at star the whole time he was here and they moved him to Mike every so often last year and then this off-season, moved him to Mike, and I was understanding. I understand the role that defensive coordinator has to play when putting your best guys on the field. I'm just happy that I got my shot, and you know, I pray for Yohance to recover, to get back out on the field.

But as of right now, I'm just very thankful for being there.

Q. What was the mindset being thrown in there in terms of what you thought you could bring to the table and how you wanted to go about trying to do your job? You knew you had a lot of talented guys around you, and you want to play up to that level.

JUSTIN WRIGHT: I've always been a pretty energetic guy. There's hardly ever a time where I'm dull, unless I'm pissed off. But as far as that goes, I think that I've always been that way since, you know, Pop Warner, middle school, high school.

So I don't think that I thought that that was going to be an issue. I think -- I think I do good with our defense and I'm thankful that our defense trusts me enough to be out there with them.

Q. Explain your interception. It was hard to see from up top. Everyone was jumbled up and it was like bang, bang. Just explain that.

JUSTIN WRIGHT: It was hard for me to see. It was -- the amount of distance between me and the quarterback was so short and of course I had my eye on him the whole time. And I saw him throw the ball, and I'm not even sure if it got picked or tipped or anything like that, but I just saw it within a split-second and got it, tried getting it in the end zone, but did not, obviously.

Q. The final drive there, on the sidelines, review, overturn, fumble, what was it like seeing it unfold and being on pins and needles there, I guess?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: Like I said, I have a lot of faith in our offense. I also said that he struggled tonight just a little bit, but they managed to pull through. I'm a godly man, so I had faith that they would pull through on that last drive, as well, and they did.

Q. Were there any big ethics speeches at halftime like the movies?

JUSTIN WRIGHT: Oh, yeah.

Q. Or just boring --

JUSTIN WRIGHT: Yes. Most definitely. I can't give you a full detailed speech but it was a lot like the movies. It was very energetic and discipline-oriented.