UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 9, 2023

Frank Harris

Press Conference

UTSA - 20, Texas State - 13

Q. Frank, first of all, how are you feeling right now?

FRANK HARRIS: I'm good. Ready to move on from it, watch the film and get ready for next week.

Q. What was the process like for you at halftime figuring out whether you'd be good to go and get back out there?

FRANK HARRIS: I went to get an X ray. They said everything was good. Got my toe injected with a shot, then I actually got shot in my right cheek as well to try to get back out there. That was not fun.

But credit the guys to stand in and give me a chance, and we went out there and won.

Q. What happened in those plays late in the second quarter that you ended up going down?

FRANK HARRIS: I honestly couldn't tell you. I cut back on third down and stood up, and my toe was hurting pretty bad.

Q. What did it mean to the guys to be able to kind of grind this one out? It wasn't a pretty win, but it's still a win for you guys.

FRANK HARRIS: For sure. These are the wins that you live and die by. The grit that we showed, the toughness that we showed throughout the whole game, the four man offense that we performed, we didn't give the ball back to those guys. It's a credit to the defense getting the ball to us and the offense just killing the clock.

Q. This was the second largest crowd in program history. What are your thoughts on having that and just the atmosphere today?

FRANK HARRIS: Yeah, that means a lot to us. That just shows that we could have that crowd each and every week, and they definitely were a factor. They had a couple of false starts, which is credit to the crowd.

We love the love and support. We feed off of them. Hopefully they come next week when we play Army as well.

Q. How did you guys adjust the offense in the second half for maybe having a little bit less mobility on your end?

FRANK HARRIS: Coach did a great job of just keeping me in the pocket, not calling too much stuff, calling more RPOs. I just couldn't really move as much. O-line did a great job protecting me, and I went through my reads a lot more.

Q. How important is it overall for this team to get this game and rebound from last week?

FRANK HARRIS: I think it meant a lot to us just to show we're capable of going out and playing great opponents. Like Texas State, they're a great team. If we won last week, I don't know if we would have come out with a victory this week.

We learned from that mistake versus Houston, and it just showed today.

Q. We talked to Coach Traylor and a few of your teammates this week, and it sounds like you were pretty down on yourself for stretches coming away from that one? What were the emotions like coming away from week one and through this week?

FRANK HARRIS: Just frustrated with yourself. You start questioning yourself if you can keep on doing this, if you can come out the same, all the injuries I've been through.

You did stuff in the past, but it's the future now. Kind of have self doubt. But my teammates, credit to those guys, to show love and support the whole time throughout the whole week, even during the game. Teammates and my coaching staff as well, they just got me through that hump.

Credit to those guys. It meant a lot to me. I wore it on my sleeve and tried to perform better today.

Q. Did you have some of those moments during this game today at all? When you go down, do you worry, is this it? Could this be a serious injury? Do you shake it off pretty quickly?

FRANK HARRIS: I don't go out thinking I'm going to get injured. When my toe started bothering me, it's my toe. I'm not going to not play because of my toe. That sounds terrible me even saying that. I probably will get made fun of once it hits social media that my toe was bothering me.

I've got to tough it out, go to treatment tomorrow, and I'll be ready for next week.

Q. Frank, did you have any doubt this week that you guys would -- that you personally would be able to bounce back from a rough game?

FRANK HARRIS: No, just adversity makes you a better person, makes you a better man. I battled adversity my whole life, so when my back's against the wall, somehow I'm going to figure out a way. I felt like my back was against the wall.

All the critics, believe it or not, I see everything. Coach told me don't get on social media. I'm looking at everything on social media. I see all the stuff about me, all the negative things about me, but I also had a lot of great people reach out to me and kept me positive. It meant a lot to me as well.

Q. I saw after the game last week you had a social media post. You going to put one out this week, and do you have any idea what that message will be?

FRANK HARRIS: Pastor Pete talked to us yesterday, and he said, Can I get a witness? Everybody said shhh. I'm going to fly low, and I won't say nothing.