	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 5, 2011

Keenan Robinson

Q. BYU is a pretty big non-conference game. What does it mean to you to just be a part of something? Kind of tell us where you are a little bit.
KEENAN ROBINSON: Yeah, definitely. Any game we play that's non-conference is definitely a big game for us because it's a chance for us to play against teams that we usually don't get to play against and make a point for our conference. We're representing for the Big 12 right now, and as a team, we want to come out and win against any opponent, but definitely a team like BYU who we might not get a chance to play ever again.
They're a team that since I've been here and been around we haven't got a chance to play, so I'm very excited. It's a new opponent that's on the schedule this year, and I'm definitely -- definitely can't wait to Saturday to play this team who's going to try to run the ball, but at the same time their air-raid passing team and they have big guys out, receivers, that can make big plays on the field. We're going to have to be fundamentally sound in the running game and the pass game and step it up from last year.

Q. How does that affect what you do mentally?
KEENAN ROBINSON: Mentally it's just make sure we have our keys, I guess, our run keys, our pass keys, all that. You've got to play physically fast down here. We need to stop the run first. Once we stop the run, then we can work, on stopping the pass, then we can make them one-sided and make them one-dimensional, and once we do that, then we can start getting after the quarterback and start making plays in the passing game.

Q. What do you have written in your head?
KEENAN ROBINSON: That's just my name, man. My barber did it.

Q. How different is the defense for you this year?
KEENAN ROBINSON: It's different because it gives us more freedom. Coach lets us fly around, make plays, and he tells us not to worry about making mistakes. If we make a mistake, in our eyes, then someone else will be right there to pick us up, especially in the blitz game. The blitz game is different because now instead of hitting A gap, you have an opportunity to hit A gap on this side, A gap on this side. So if you decide to pick up the A gap on the left, I know that Emmanuel or Jordan Hicks or a safety is going to be right there on the right to make the tackle if I don't make it.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
KEENAN ROBINSON: Yeah, last year we tried to a lot but now it's more like the D-line is moving around, the linebackers are moving around, same with the DBs in the backfield. Actually me and Emmanuel moved around a lot just because we wanted to get the offenses some looks, get them to know where we were going to line up, but now as a team we're trying to get everybody to move around so that'll help us when their coach is trying to make a decision from the press box, we'll play the run, it kind of throws them off and we force them to throw a bubble wind. If the bubble is not there, it forces them to run the ball when the run is not there.

Q. Mack talked about strength of schedule. How important do you think that is?
KEENAN ROBINSON: I think it's important. Obviously you've got to win, though. But once you win it comes down to who's been playing who, which teams are the better teams. Like UCLA lost the other day to Houston, but if we beat them, then that could still help us because we won, but say it comes down to OU and us being 12 and 1 or something like that or 11 and 1, and they played a team that won more games than the team that we beat, it kind of makes -- say we play a team that's 10 and 1 and they play a team that's 11 and 0 or 11 and 1 and they beat that team, that kind of affects us because that team that they beat has a harder schedule and is a better team than the team that we beat that's not as good.

Q. Can you repeat all that?
KEENAN ROBINSON: It's kind of hard for you guys to understand, but basically if a team that we play that's not as good as a team that OU beat, basically it shows that our strength of schedule is better than theirs.

Q. Was it a concern that they did hit you guys in the middle?
KEENAN ROBINSON: It was not a concern but something that we definitely watched film and definitely seen that we need to work on. There was a few times where they made a couple runs for 10 or 12 yards and that hurt us in the game, but we were able to go up in the red zone, stop it and make a field goal. We watched it on film, there was a few things. We lost our gap integrity times, and that kind of hurt us because everyone that gapped out in the front seven, then that's how a run splits, and that's what happened the other day.
I feel like we prepared for it yesterday and we'll work on it in practice this week, and we'll be able to be more fundamentally sound when it comes to stopping the run Saturday.

Q. You're not on house party or special forces or anything like that?
KEENAN ROBINSON: Yeah, I was on house party which is our kickoff return; I was on rangers, which is our punt team. I was on them for a couple snaps throughout the game. But other than that, I'm not with any.

Q. Do you need a badge or a medal to be a part of this crew or what?
KEENAN ROBINSON: Special forces are, as they say, they're special, because it's a team that doesn't get recognized a lot but contributes a whole lot to the game. You see the punt team, they came up with a turnover. Kenny was able to go down there and make the guy drop the ball and AP picked it up. So they can definitely be a big part of the game, and if they don't take care of it like we need to, they can get punt returns for touchdowns or kickoff returns for touchdowns against us if we don't do what we need to do.

Q. House party needs to have that party in the end zone, too, don't they?
KEENAN ROBINSON: Yeah, it's been a while. We haven't scored since two years ago since DJ scored or Marqueis scored, so it's definitely been a while since we've been in the end zone, so I definitely think we need to get back there soon.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297