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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 21, 2011Emmanuel AchoQ.  It would be real easy to lose a little faith in this offense after a game like that. How does the defense feel about going into this game and knowing the struggles that they've had? EMMANUEL ACHO: We just have to‑‑ we have to as a defense continue to get better. We have to make sure we limit our next opponent to as few points as possible, knowing that our offense could pick up, they could heat up at any point in time. We don't know when and we don't know by how much, but we have to do our part and we have to do our job, and we as a defense haven't done that lately. Q. Talk about the A&M offense. Obviously they bring a lot of weapons to the field. You've seen them now several years. EMMANUEL ACHO: Yeah, I mean, they're very balanced. That's one thing about them is they're very balanced. They can both run and pass very well, and their quarterback does a great job of getting the ball around. We know what we're up against, we just have to be prepared for it. Q. What does this game mean to you, because it is a special game, especially for fans. EMMANUEL ACHO: You know, it's going to be fun. It's going to be just crazy. I know the atmosphere is already hectic, but with this being the last regular season one for a while, it's going to be extremely loud, extremely rowdy, and just for me personally, just trying to make a good memory. We have no regrets, leave nothing out there on the field and just try to make sure we go out with a W. Q. What are some of your favorite memories of it? EMMANUEL ACHO: I think the '09 game, the year we won the championship, it was just wild because both offenses were on fire, seemingly couldn't be stopped. They had the first play of the game a 70‑yard bomb, and they couldn't be stopped from then on out, and thankfully our offense pulled it through. That was one thing that really taught me a lesson about the game of football. You never know what phase of the game is going to do it on that day. You've just got to hope for the best. Q. Is it different playing there than anywhere else? EMMANUEL ACHO: A little bit. The crowd is just ridiculous. Credit A & M for that. It's crazy, it's wild, and throughout the course of the game they stay that way. They never lose their emotions. It just makes it more fun as a player. Q. What's your favorite part of this week? EMMANUEL ACHO: Just what all goes into it. Everybody talks about the game, everybody talks about the three‑hour period that night, but the game is won and lost today, tomorrow and Wednesday. That's when the game is truly won and lost. But the game will be talked about only on that night. Really now that I'm older, now that I'm a little bit more mature, I understand where the battle is really fought, and it's fought in the film room, it's fought in the weight room, it's fought on the practice field. Q. You guys are used to people putting hopes on you guys; it's about more than just a game. Is there maybe no bigger example than this week because it is the last time? Do you feel a sense of responsibility to fans and the school and all that? EMMANUEL ACHO: You know, I always try to pay my respect back to the fans just for‑‑ as much as they support us, as much as they support the team and as much as they support me as an individual, I always try to play my heart out for them, and I know this one like you said being the last time is going to be crazy and I know they're going to remember that scoreboard. It's my job, it's our job as a team to make sure we make it a good memory for them and for ourselves. Q. Have you paid attention to their second‑half troubles? Does that give you confidence? EMMANUEL ACHO: You know, along with their second half troubles we don't talk about‑‑ in order to have second half troubles, you have to have offensive greatness, and they're plus 167 against their opponents in the first half, and that's really the stat that needs to be talked about is how fast they get out and how fast they start and how great they are early on. So we have to make sure that we weather that storm. We have to make sure we brave that and then just play the game. Q. What worries you the most about their offense? EMMANUEL ACHO: Really just their ability to catch fire. You never know when Tannehill gets hot, he's hard to stop. They have great playmakers outside, and they have a great running back now in Cyrus, so they have the ability to catch fire, so we have to make sure that we're hitting on all cylinders at all times. Q. What are your thoughts on that little guy Quandre Diggs? EMMANUEL ACHO: He's a beast. He's a little man, but he plays huge. I love playing with him. I'm sad I'm only going to be able to play with him for a year. I know the future for him is incredibly bright. He's a heck of a player, and he's a heck of a person. Q. Did he go a little stone cold on that guy the other day? EMMANUEL ACHO: He did. He set the tone. Coach Diaz said before the game, Kansas State will make sure everybody is ready to tackle, and I think we proved on the first play that we were ready. Q. I know you talked about limiting the other teams and how you guys haven't done that. With the offensive struggles, does that just take on even more importance for the defense? EMMANUEL ACHO: We have no margin for error. It's not enough to shut them down except for just a couple big plays because a couple big plays is going to be the difference in this game. The defense has no margin for error, personally I have no margin for error, and that's the standard I set for myself, and that's the standard we require of this defense and we require of ourselves, so that's how we're going to practice all week and that's how we're going to prepare for this game and that's how we hope to play. Q. You know A&M was supposed to be playing for a Big 12 or National Championship this time of year. You guys were 6 and 2 at one point. If it had worked out that way, do you think that's taking away from the players' standpoint? EMMANUEL ACHO: Definitely not at all. There's something about this game. It doesn't matter what you do before the game, it doesn't matter what your record is after the game, but during that three‑hour span, it's all about the game, and that's what I love. It's going to be high intensity, going to be high emotion, and whichever team executes the best is who's going to come out on top. Q. Does it surprise you both of teams were in close to the top ten this year and now (indiscernible)? EMMANUEL ACHO: That's the thing about college football. You never really know what's going to happen, and that's the crazy thing with us again. That's why you love the game, that's why you respect the game because there's no really disparity anymore between the two teams, it's all great teams in this game, and that's why you love it. Q. What does Thanksgiving mean to you? I think all the kids that you work with and people you work with, they're thankful for you. EMMANUEL ACHO: It's really just a time to reflect on first and foremost all that God blessed me with, all that God has blessed me with in this life, and just reminds me to give back, as I try to do often, but just be thankful for the parents, be thankful for my brother who really has shaped me into the person I am both on and off the field, and just everything I've been blessed with. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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