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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 27, 2012Bryan HarsinTHE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Harsin. Q. Talk about deserving the top seed. BRYAN HARSIN: First of all, I'll say, this all of the quarterbacks, all those guys have done a tremendous job in fall camp, and you know, the battle between Case and David continued from spring through summer into fall camp. You could see the growth that both quarterbacks had made throughout the summer and I always felt like that was a big area for a quarterback to take tremendous strides was in the summer. Because they are on their own, you'll kind out what kind of work habits they have and both guys did a tremendous job. David did earn it. He did a great job. David played very well and case played very well and it was a tight battle and that's what you want in that position and really every position. You want to come in there and nitpick one or two things that separates players. We are very excited about David. We are looking forward to having him go into this game and play well and just do what he's been doing. He's done a tremendous job in meetings. Right now that's where we are and Case continues to be a guy we feel comfortable with putting in a game at any time and he can play. He's done a great job; his leadership has shown this entire camp, and his maturity and his age and all those things. We are really fired up about both quarterbacks right now. Q. You mentioned one or two things; what was it? Was it the command of the huddle? Was it accuracy? Where did you see the difference? BRYAN HARSIN: It's funny, it's a day‑to‑day deal, whether it's command that particular day or that particular situation or that particular drive. You know, what's funny is both guys had opportunities with the ones, and they both did well. And what we looked at, we had opportunities with the twos going against the one defense; what did they do. You know, that's where you're getting yourself backed into a corner and how do you operate. Both guys did well. David did some good things in those type of situations of leading the team down and putting ourselves in scoring position in some of those tougher situations. So you know, one or two things came up day‑to‑day, and I think just overall, when you look back at it, both guys have studied hard and both guys understand the system and both guys are doing their job. And David was a guy that continued to progress day after day, and really felt like he was making good decisions in keeping the ball in our hands in certain situations that we put them in. That's really the bottom line. We know the turnover thing here is huge and we have got to preach that and we are going to continue to preach that, and I thought he did a good job of that. Q. You and Mack have said all along the plan is to promote the play, is that going to be by feel on how things are going Saturday night? BRYAN HARSIN: Yeah, I think at the quarterback position, you always want to go into a game and you hope that you're in a situation where both quarterbacks have an opportunity to play. And when we went into the Bowl game with the same scenario, the same situation, you know, that game was tight; that game, the flow of the game, didn't allow us to do that. And so you know, does it mean that we don't want to have that situation come up? No. But the flow of the game is going to tell us how we are going to rotate our quarterbacks, and also how our offense is playing with those guys out there on the field, as well. That's something we plan for and prepare for with both guys. They know the offense and what we are doing. So if there is a change, we don't have to stop what we are doing. We continue with the flow and now we may get a spark in that situation, but that's what we are planning on doing. It's really going to be dictated by the game. Q. You have a lot of depth, a lot of names‑‑ based on how challenging it was with running backs last year, if this goes as you plan for the next few games, how many faces would you like to get into the game? BRYAN HARSIN: I think you would like to get in as many as you can, all of the faces that are going to have opportunities to play. I think that's an ideal situation for any team. You want to be able to get obviously your starters in there, significant reps and you want to let the backups or young guys get in there and have a role in that particular game and get their feet wet out there in front of 101,000 people staying in a stadium in a real situation. Those are ideal situations for us. If that can happen, then things are going well for us. But, we'll have packages and we'll decide that towards the end of the week of how much each player will have to play. As you look at as the week goes on, if you look at, okay, how many reps does this guy get and how many opportunities does he have to touch the ball, is there something in there‑‑ or is there too much, do we have to spell with him with somebody else and all of that will come up on Thursday. We'll decide that personnel‑wise, but as the week goes on, everyone is getting an opportunity still, and the starters are getting more reps but the backups are having the opportunity to come in and spell them. If they do well in those situations, that might be his play to help out some of the starters and keep fresh legs out there. So we'll make the personnel decisions of how many plays and who is going to play come Thursday. Q. Inaudible. BRYAN HARSIN: You know, right now, not as of right now. That's still something that's up in the air. That's still subject to change and it is obviously based off personnel and based off injuries in some certain situations, too. But you know, guys have got to have a significant role. They have got to be able to come in there and contribute X amount of plays on offense for special teams, somehow, some way. So if that's not the case, then we won't put them out there for just one or two plays, we'll be smart about that. But if there's a role that we feel like he can get seven, eight, nine, ten plays in a game, then we'll do it. Q. Inaudible. BRYAN HARSIN: Yeah, I think he does. I think he understands that. You know, last year, the situation that we were in, playing both guys and both guys needed to play; the way it worked out, and right now, there's more depth at that position than we had last year with Connor Brewer and Jalen Overstreet. So right now, I do. I think he feels like, yeah, I've got to go out there and just do what I've been doing. That's why I had the opportunity now to roll out there in the first group and be the starting quarterback is because I've done my job through camp. I've done what I've been asked to do. I've made good decisions. And that's really all I have to continue to do. If he does those things, then that's all we are asking from him at that position. Q. Seeing a lot of formations and plays‑‑ how do you determine‑‑ BRYAN HARSIN: Yeah, well, it can be at any time, I can just say that. It's one of those‑‑ it's one of those plays that really works well anywhere, and with the right people in there, and how we have utilized it, I think the effectiveness that we have had with it and we have gotten better at it; it's something that we feel like we can use anywhere on the field at any time. Last year what Fonsi did is provide a big spark for us, we used it in the red zone, kind of a high red zone area there and we needed something to happen, he would burst through there and get 13, 14, yards and created some momentum for us. It's one of those things we have in our back pocket and can utilize at any time and we'll roll with it then. Q. With the coaching changes at Wyoming‑‑ BRYAN HARSIN: Yeah, I think so. I've always felt like the first three games, you know, any team is trying to identify themselves a little bit. Even a veteran team. You try new things in fall camp, you went out and professional developed with other coaches and you're going to have new ideas and you'll have those wrinkles in the first three games and then once that's done you start to settle down and figure out who you are. Obviously this situation with the new D‑Coordinator coming in there, and they have done several different things in the past on defense; we just have to kind of plan for everything, what we hear about, what we prepare for in the fall camp. We have seen a lot of different looks now. Our defense throws about everything at us that we can possibly get, so it's just a matter of playing fundamental football and being able to communicate to each other, this is what I'm getting and adjust to this and just be ready to make those adjustments and treat it like you do through fall camp in a lot ways. You have to be able to adjust; you have to be able to adjust on the run; you have to be able to come back and communicate what you get and make adjustments on the sideline and put something out there that's going to help them. Q. What has Joe done to separate himself? BRYAN HARSIN: Both guys. Joe and Malcolm, those two guys, they are so close in so many ways. You're talking about‑‑ I don't know if it's one or two things. They are so close when you put them out there and watch each one of them run and they both do things very, very well. Joe has done a nice job. Joe, he's a bit back, he's been really physical I think at camp, just with his running, getting his bad level down. Seeing holes even quicker on some of our zone schemes and things like that, just sliding through there. He's elusive for a big guy, as well, inside the tackle back there. And that's just kind of been consistent through camp. Malcolm has been the same way, both guys, just from a year of experience, you can see how those guys have comeback and understand the offensive line and understand the run game and understand we are trying to hit with the run and so I've been pleased with both guys. I think they have been tremendous through camp. The other area, not just running the ball, but in protection, as well. Both guys, they understand it more. We ask a lot of them in protection and they have done a good job. Q. Joe seems a little different off the field, more flamboyant‑‑ BRYAN HARSIN: I never talk to Joe off the field for that reason. No, I don't know. You know, Joe is fun. Joe is a fun guy and I enjoy him in practice. He's smiling. He's a tough guy. He's got great personality, especially for that position and when it's time to go, he can flip the switch and I really like that about him. I just think he's got a good personality for that position and what we ask of him, and I've always enjoyed being around him out there. Q. Do you feel good about the tight ends? BRYAN HARSIN: I do. That's one‑‑ again, one of the things about our tight end position, we ask a tremendous amount from those guys and we have not backed off on that one bit. And so where are we going to put them, at receiver, at tight end, are we going to but them on the backfield; they move all over the place, so they are the Jack of all trades. Those guys have really‑‑ I think this year they understand that better. I think last year might have been‑‑ not really and all of a sudden they are in these different spots and now I think they really understand that. They have taken to that, and I think they continue to get better. I think Greg Daniel has been a great addition to that room. He's a guy that we felt like had a great camp and looking forward to him having an opportunity to go out and play in live bullets and see what he's got. But those guys continue to get better and those guys continue to be a huge asset for us offensively and what they can do. Q. Can you talk about the difference from a year ago? BRYAN HARSIN: Yeah, I think it's amazing. It's like a player, you watch a young guy go from year one to year two, and just I think all of the anxiety of the unknown, that's what really gets you. I mean, even for a player in practice, you walk out, where do I go for drills, where do I go with my group, and they understand all that. The same thing for coaches, how you work together, what's the schedule, when do we do run game, when do we do pass game, what are some of my tendencies when we call plays; are we going to take a shot here, are we going to run it here, and it's things like that. It's different; it's different in that we have all been different places and guys have done different things. Well, once you start to work together, you start to figure out guys tendencies and strengths and how to build on that. It's no different than a player. I think we have done a good job of that and I think that in the springtime, after going through the entire season together, going back, looking at it, analyzing, goods, bads, uglies, whys and things like that; then really starting to put things together for spring, and it just started to click in spring and through summer and now the fall camp. And now talking about adjustments; it's already done. It's already thought out like, well, yeah, we are not going to do that because of this, you don't have to sit there and have a five‑minute discussion about it. The guy has already got it right now, don't forget this, we have to do that. That just speeds things up. It calms everybody down I think. You just feel more confident. And so you know, I think that's where we are at. We understand the system better. Our players understand it better and we are able to get into some more of the details and really the fun stuff when it comes to just the coaching part of it when everybody around you gets it. Q. Mack talked about you wanting to come out and be aggressive; can you just express how you want to come out and be aggressive? BRYAN HARSIN: Well, I think the mentality on both sides of the ball is to be aggressive. You know, obviously you want your defense attacking and you want your offense attacking. By no means do we want to sit back and let things happen. That's offensive football, you want to be aggressive and you want to attack. Now, does it mean we are going to throw in four verticals every time? No. It doesn't mean that. But it means that if you're running the ball, you're attacking running the ball. Your mentality is really to come out there and be aggressive in whatever play call it might be. I think that's just the whole mentality of the team. And so, you know, the offense through fall camp, we felt good about just the understanding of where we are at and I think the guys are playing faster because of that, kind of like we talked about. And so we want to come out there with that same mind‑set like we have had through camp; and go out and do our very best from that standpoint and defense to come out and do the same thing. So that's the an overall team mentality. Q. Do you sense a confidence‑‑ that they are legit and can be one of the best receiving course in the nation? BRYAN HARSIN: I do, I think from the quarterback standpoint, from the receivers standpoint, those guys have a chip on their shoulder and they have done a nice job in camp and they have really worked over the summertime together to come into camp and be prepared and show the timing and the accuracy and all that is there for them to be successful. But I think‑‑ I just think overall, again, on both sides, and obviously for the offense, but there's a chip on their shoulder at all times. I think no matter who you are, you have to have that type of attitude out there; run game, Bowl line, running game, pass game, wide receivers, quarterbacks, tight ends, backs, anybody that's going to have an opportunity to touch the ball, there's got to be that mentality: There's something to prove, each and every week. You know, I just think that's something that overall, offensively, that that's a mentality that we have got to come out there and fight and play as hard as we can and play to the standard that we have set for ourselves and don't let down on that, and that's really what we are trying to do. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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