UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 28, 2023

Frank Harris

Press Conference

UTSA 41, East Carolina 27

Q. Frank, you guys come away with a big win. What was the mood like in the locker room?

FRANK HARRIS: You could tell we weren't too excited. We didn't play our brand of football. We've just got to get better tomorrow, watch the film, just get better for next week against North Texas.

Q. What do you think was lacking?

FRANK HARRIS: On the offensive end we went out there, had another turnover for a touchdown, and we got in the red zone, we didn't capitalize like we knew we could. Then we got down there, once again, had a lot of unsportsmanlikes. I had one myself. Stuff like that, we've got to get better at, and that just can't keep happening.

Q. Wanted to ask you about the offensive scheme. It seemed like you guys were focused on going down the field a little bit in this game. Is that kind of a function of what East Carolina was doing defensively?

FRANK HARRIS: You know, they just loaded the box. There was always an extra guy in the run game, so they were giving us no choice but to throw the ball. They were kind of challenging us to do that. I think Coach Burke did a great job of just calling the plays, and the receivers and O-line did a great job of just doing their job.

Q. How much do you have to change your approach as a quarterback when you know you're going to be looking for some big plays down the field? Is there anything different about how you make your reads or anything like that?

FRANK HARRIS: No, just trust the play call, trust your protection, trust the receivers are going to do what they're going to do, and just go out there and play football.

Q. I know Josh Cephus had the 84-yard touchdown catch. Seemed like you kind pump faked, maybe drew the corner in. Take us through what you saw on that one.

FRANK HARRIS: It was just a little RPO, little post and a wheel, where the flat -- the wheel backer, he tried to play the rail route at first and then he tried to get off of that and play Oscar, so I kind of pump faked it because I was going to throw it, and when he came to get Oscar, Cephus was wide open. I threw the ball to Cephus. He did a great job of just getting some YAC after the play, and I think that was Tykee blocking for him or whoever that was, did a great job of just blocking, so hats off to those guys.

Q. You have your name on a lot of records here, but now that's another one to be able to say you're part of the longest passing connection. What does that mean to you, if anything?

FRANK HARRIS: Yeah, it doesn't really mean too much to me. I think it's more for Cephus because he did all the hard work.

Q. Speaking of Cephus, he became the second Roadrunner with 3,000 receiving yards. The other one was Franklin, so you've thrown to both of them. What does it mean having him out there catching passes for you?

FRANK HARRIS: You know, he puts all the work in throughout the whole week. I have the utmost trust in him. He's proven that he deserves that. Throughout the whole week he puts a lot of work in. He's a hard worker. He's a great teammate. Then on Saturdays he goes out there and proves it.

When I see him out there, I know it was a one-on-one man coverage or something like that. Go give him a chance, and he always makes them right.

Q. (Inaudible) more than 100 yards today. What's it like to see how he's developed in that area?

FRANK HARRIS: Yeah, just how he's developed as a person, as a player, I've been with him since he was a true freshman. To see the growth that he's had, he's put a lot of work in to get to where he is, and Coach Price does a great job of just challenging the receivers just to get some YAC after they catch the ball. I think all those guys have responded well to that, and he's going to keep challenging those guys.

Q. How physical was it out there? Looked like you took some hits a little bit today.

FRANK HARRIS: I got hit one time. He hit me right in my stomach, so it knocked the wind out of me, but other than that, it was just football.

Q. How are you guys feeling on this four-game winning streak? Seems like you guys have put together a real solid month.

FRANK HARRIS: We're not really satisfied. Like I said, the mood in the locker room wasn't what you would have thought after a win. So we've got to watch the film, get better from it, and get ready for next week.

Q. We talked the last couple years about all the different comebacks and fourth quarter drives and close games you've been a part of. Now it's a few weeks in a row that it's been pretty comfortable down the stretch. What's that like for you as a player?

FRANK HARRIS: Yeah, it just means a lot, going out there and defense doing a great job of giving us the ball back, stuff like that. Having a lead like that just means a lot. Early in the game you just separate yourself, so it doesn't come down to the wire at the end.

We're just fortunate enough to have some of those games like that. That's not common, especially in college football, and especially not conference. We would love to keep it rolling, but if not, we're up for the challenge to come down to the wire.

Q. Are there any keys you can point to why you've been able to make that happen or build some of these advantages, something that's working for your team?

FRANK HARRIS: I think we're just playing great football from the offensive end and defensive end and special teams as a whole. I just think we just keep doing our jobs, keep doing our 1/11 and just playing our style of football, I think we'll be fine.