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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 3, 2011

Keenan Robinson

Q. Keenan, is this one of those games that you came to Texas for?
KEENAN ROBINSON: It definitely is. This is a game that I've been watching since I was a kid so it's definitely been some good moments there watching and playing. It's definitely one of the reasons why I came here.

Q. What is the difference between watching and playing?
KEENAN ROBINSON: The difference you is don't get to feel all of the emotion of playing when you're on the sidelines. It's just crazy because the coaches and the fans, everybody acts differently.
It's just something that feels like a championship or a National Championship or something like that or a Bowl game. Everybody plays at a higher level and the way that the coaches coach is just -- they are all -- coaching the right plays and making sure that they do everything they can to put you in the right position to win the game and give you the best chance to win the game.
And the coaches just make it so much better because they know that you are going to come out prepared to play and you just feed off of them and you trust your teammates and you hopefully put together a great game and come can off with the win, and we have done that two-out-of-three times that I've played.

Q. Is it also extra special for you, from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and coming back?
KEENAN ROBINSON: Yeah, I'm a guy that's from the Dallas area, so it definitely plays a big role, because one, my family gets to watch the game. And even if they don't get to go to the game, they can see it on TV, and it's definitely one of those games that I look forward to playing every year.
And the fact is that this year happens to be a really big game because every plays everybody in the Big 12 and they are the No. 1 team and that plays a big role. This game has a very important effect on the season. So we need to prepare to win this game, because it can really open some doors later on down the season for us.

Q. How does being 4-0 --
KEENAN ROBINSON: It makes that much better, makes it that much more important. If you were to ask us in the summer or during spring, if you could do anything to be 4-0 and have a chance to knock off the No. 1 team in the nation, OU, and all you've got to do is several things -- I would take the opportunity.
This is something you look forward to. It's easier to say than do. Right now, we are 4-0 and played four pretty good teams and we have been able to win some pretty dominating games. But the fact is now our season could be taken to the next level, because we could beat a team that is No. 1 and has been the No. 1 in the past couple of weeks.
So we have an opportunity to do something other teams in Texas haven't been able to do and have a chance to go to 5-0 and maybe get ourselves to the Top-5 in the nation after this week.

Q. Can you talk about the up-tempo offense they run and how different it is?
KEENAN ROBINSON: It's different because Iowa State ran up-tempo a little bit, but their offense is like A&Ms, so much faster. The coaches and players, they kind of know what they are doing to do before the next play.
So when you get back to the line of scrimmage, the quarterback is making a check to make sure they are in the right place. And once they do that, they can get you with either knee pads or a quick comeback or like a stretch of the boundary on the field. They have a pretty good offense, and the up-tempo makes it that much better.

Q. With the blitzing, is it harder to prepare for a team like this?
KEENAN ROBINSON: We have been preparing all season actually because we knew that later down the season we were going to have to face teams that run up-tempo.
So we have been doing drills and little things so it's not a surprise to us when we play them. We have been preparing ourselves mentally, physically, condition-wise. We have been ready for this even before we have won. So we just have been preparing ourselves and I think that the early preparation is going to pay off on Saturday? -

Q. What drills are you doing -- Coach Brown said that last year you were looking at wristbands while they running down the field.
KEENAN ROBINSON: This year we don't have wristbands anymore. Coach Diaz is going to be calling plays from the sidelines.
The drills we do, basically tempo drills before we start practicing. We go out there and get lined up and Coach will call a play, we'll chase the ball here, everybody tags off, and we have to run back to the next play, has to be snapped. So we have to run back, we can play some the sidelines, and within about 15 seconds or so, we are snapping the ball again and running the next play. We do that about a couple of times, four times and then the ones will go and the twos will go and we'll switch and do it again. That really helps because it gets you tired, gets your blood flowing and ready, and it sets the tone for the rest of practice.

Q. As a defensive guy, how hard do you think it is for opposing defenses?
KEENAN ROBINSON: I feel like it's going to be tough, one, because if you try to -- you're not going to stop what they do. So if you go, okay, these three plays, we have to stop something they can do throughout the game -- power, zones and all that. So as a defense, if I was to play them, I would make sure that I study the stuff that they do well and the stuff that they run the most, and then maybe spend a little bit of time stopping trick plays because trick plays can hurt you, but only if they can set them up with the simple stuff.

Q. How much better is Landry?
KEENAN ROBINSON: I feel like he's gotten a lot better offensively because of experience, but he's a guy that if you let him, he'll hurt you, and I say, if you let him, because if you give him time to get back on the field and give him time to make something happen, he will make something happen. He's not a guy that will throw the ball away or give the ball back to the defense. He will hurt you if you give him time.
So just like last week, crushing the quarterback, getting him out of the pocket -- he's able to scramble even though he didn't make too many big plays but it's the element of him being able to do that and bring it to the game. Landry stays in the pocket more like a professional quarterback and keeps the guys -- definitely getting pressure from all sides and we need to make sure we can get off him early in the game and force him to make turnovers overs.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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