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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 26, 2011

Blaine Irby

Q. A lot of touchdown passes to tight ends these days. How have you guys been getting in the mix?
BLAINE IRBY: I think it's something, a lot of credit to DJ Grant. It's something we've seen in practice and during off-season workouts all the time, and I'm just glad we're getting to showcase our talents. DJ has really worked hard to get to the point he's at right now, and I think after that first touchdown grab, I think all of our tight ends were out on the field celebrating. We're real excited, you know, and like I say, give a lot of credit to DJ. He's worked his butt off to get to where he's at right now. I think it's just something that we're going to still have to progress, and as a position just keep improving throughout the season.

Q. We kind of saw that with you in the game before and then DJ this past week. Do you think we can kind of expect to see more of that?
BLAINE IRBY: Yeah, I think this offense definitely showcases our talents at tight end. There's a lot of different personnel in there, either one or two of us, and yeah, I think either one of us have the potential to stretch the defense out a little bit. Like I said, DJ really showed that this last game and throughout the season, and I hope we can do that more.

Q. Do you think Case is kind of starting to settle in?
BLAINE IRBY: Yeah, I mean, you see Case, even during the BYU came when he first came in, you could tell he was comfortable in the pocket and comfortable in the huddle. And during the UCLA came you could tell on the sideline that he's definitely taken a leadership role. He's just one of those guys I think that have it in their blood, and he just -- I think every game he's just looking to improve. He knows that we -- he wants to be the leader, and he's taken that role. I think we've all trusted him from the beginning because during camp and during everything, the competition at quarterback was real high. I think any guy that stepped in there we trusted, and now since Garrett went down, Case is becoming that guy in the leadership role, really.

Q. Did you play in Ames four years ago?
BLAINE IRBY: I did.

Q. What do you remember about that game?
BLAINE IRBY: I think I'm the only guy on the team actually that's played in Ames, which makes me feel like a grandpa. But it's a great stadium, cool stadium. I just remember it being a little chilly down there. I think it was one of our first games in the cold. But I just remember it was a really cool atmosphere. I know their fans got really loud, and I think that's what we're expecting this week. They have real passionate fans and they're doing real well this year, so it's going to be a real cool place to play football.

Q. Anything you can tell your teammates that's going to be different than it was last week at the Rose Bowl?
BLAINE IRBY: It's going to be -- I think the crowd is going to be a little more of a factor. I think they're going to be real loud during the -- especially during the beginning of the game. They're going to try and step up and really get after us, and I think that's something that we have to control, and we have to stay after them for four quarters.

Q. Mack talked about this team, as young as it is, was kind of full of itself about midweek last week. How do you maintain the confidence level, the high that you had off the Rose Bowl, and carry it on and go to a road game?
BLAINE IRBY: I think it's just during practice, the competition, if you get full of yourself in practice you're going to get your butt kicked by the opposing guy. We definitely saw that. I thought this week a couple guys that might have done well or they thought we've accomplished something, they might have just kind of stepped down and been a little flat during practice, and it shows, especially during film the next day. Coaches will get after that.
But just got to realize we're only three games into the season right now. We're 3 and 0, and that's great, but now we're starting to get into conference and these are the games that really matter.
I just think every day in practice we've got to just compete, and if you come out flat during practice it's going to show. We've got to try our best during practice, and that really helps us out during the games.

Q. Do you think the bye week came at a good time?
BLAINE IRBY: Yeah, I thought it did. We divide the season into little phases, and we just got out of the first phase. I thought a lot of guys that have bumps and bruises or are injured got a chance to rest this week. The next three games I believe we have another bye week. Bye weeks are always good just because you get to kind of relax and rest up. But it's always -- I guess it just bumps up the anxiety. You just want to play so bad. I'm just glad it's over and we have a game week this week.

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