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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 10, 2011

Fozzy Whittaker

Q. How do you put this one behind you and move on to Oklahoma State?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: You know, this was a tough loss for us. We had five turnovers offensively, three of them which were returned for touchdowns. This is one of those things where we didn't show up, and basically we had to just go back yesterday, look over film, correct the mistakes that we did make and were able to correct, and basically put it behind us. We have a 24‑hour rule that we always live by, whether it's a win or a loss. After 24 hours you correct the mistakes, see what you did wrong and focus on the next opponent.

Q. You guys play with a chip on your shoulder from the result of the season last year. So far losing has motivated you guys overall. How do you kind of take it, turn it around and use it this week?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: You know, ultimately losing is not what we want to do. That's one thing that has been a motivator for us is last year's season, and that ultimately this past week would be a motivator for us, basically never to feel that way again. So that's one thing that we'll take, making sure that we're ready and prepared for anything that Oklahoma State has for us and making sure that we'll handle it next week.

Q. Do you ever have a stretch where you get such a good team and then another really, really, really good team back to back?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: You know, actually in 2008 whenever we went through a long stretch with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and then Texas Tech. Missouri also was in that stretch. It was one of the most rigorous schedules that I have been through. This is similar to that type of atmosphere, it's just going against Oklahoma, top‑five team in the nation, and then coming back against Oklahoma State, who I feel is also a top‑five team in the nation.
It'll be a great test for us to see how we bounce back from last week.

Q. Is there any advice or anything like that you pass along to guys who have not been through a stretch like that?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: You know, ultimately every guy on this team, they're a competitor, or else they wouldn't be playing this game. They know exactly what it feels like to lose, how they don't want to feel. So just the advice that I would give is make sure that they learn from the mistakes that were created in the game and use that loss as motivation and fire to fuel you next week.

Q. Have you talked to Ash or Case at all, or will you?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: I actually talked to them right after the game. It was one of the things when we were walking into the locker room. I always tell them keep their heads up. Everyone has a bad day every now and then, but it wasn't just their fault. You can't place the blame on just them. Those guys are in a new atmosphere, hostile environment against a great team, and I just had to make sure that they knew that this could be used as a learning curve for them. Next year they'll be better prepared for what to expect from a team like that.

Q. Mack told us this was one of your best games. Can you speak to that and what Saturday was like for you personally?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: Ultimately I just felt like I just tried and did everything that I could ultimately. That's what I do every game, every week. I just lay it out on the line for my team because I know that's what they're doing for me. Just contributing any way that I can, whether it be through special teams, offensively, wherever the coaches place me is my job on this team, because I owe it to them basically.

Q. Can you talk about the kick return?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: Ultimately just on that kick return, it was a time where we were down. We needed a spark, and the ball was kicked right on the hash mark where I am, and I caught it. Ultimately the ten guys on the kickoff return team, they laid it out for eight seconds, just holding the block, long enough so that I could just run up the middle. I've got to give the credit to them just because they put in all the hard work. All I had to do was just run right up the field.

Q. You still had to make a move on the kicker.
FOZZY WHITTAKER: I did, but without those other guys, it wouldn't have been possible to make that move on the kicker if they hadn't put me in that situation.

Q. Have you ever had a kickoff return for a touchdown?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: I have not actually in my whole life, I haven't. So that was pretty exciting just being able to contribute to the team any way possible and just returning a kick.

Q. It was No.Â†1 last night on Texas SportsCenter.
FOZZY WHITTAKER: (Laughs.)

Q. When you have an offense on the other side that is so high‑powered, do you guys think about that; we've got to eat some clock, we've got to take some time? I know you want to score, but also keeping themÂ†‑‑ your offense can be the best defense in some cases.
FOZZY WHITTAKER: That is true. We always want to take care of the ball. That's our number one goal and priority is making sure we first off don't create any of the turnovers to give a great offense a short field or any type of possibility to score very quickly, and also we always want to control the ball. Time of possession will be key, and those two things are like our number one goals what we look at in order to defeat a team like this.

Q. Are there games where it's more important or do you have to do what you guys do?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: It's all throughout the year, that's our main goal is taking care of the ball, eliminating turnovers and just controlling it.

Q. It seems like you've been on the road forever.
FOZZY WHITTAKER: I know it seems like a long time coming. I know it'll be an exciting atmosphere. Our fans here are always great. I'm sure it'll be a full house, so we'll have the fans behind us and have the whole stadium rocking.

Q. Do you think their defense may be underrated just because their offense gets so much attention scoring the ball?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: No, I don't think their defense is underrated at all. They're top five in the nation across the board, and they specialize in creating turnovers. They have 17 forced turnovers this year, guys have a lot of interceptions, they're creating those turnovers, so I feel like their defense is just as high‑powered as their offense.

Q. Have you talked to Malcolm and told him to be patient as he goes through this Big 12 football season?
FOZZY WHITTAKER: You know, I talk to him every game. He and I are roommates whenever we're in the hotel, so I just tell him it's another game. It's nothing more, nothing less. It's what he's been playing since he was in little league, playing Pop Warner football. It's just a game, just take it as much. Enjoy the experience, but ultimately just enjoy the game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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