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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 8, 2012Alex OkaforQ.  This game is on a whole different level. Can you talk about that? ALEX OKAFOR: It's my senior year, man. I know that my games are limited, and it's just a sense of urgency for me right now. I've got to make sure every play I give it my all, you run to the ball, and I just give everything because essentially I'm not playing that many games left. Q. Do you worry some of your defensive teammates don't have that same determination? ALEX OKAFOR: No, no, I think we're all on the same page. It's just an analogy that our coaches make a lot. A lot of the younger guys, a lot of the freshmen, they're playing with house money because they know they have so many years left, and I'm not. Essentially all my money is on the table and I'm laying it all out every single play. Q. How frustrating is it for you as one of the elder guys to see you guys make some plays that come out‑‑ for example, like after Marquise' fumble, come out and next thing you know West Virginia is in a 3rd and 27, then you turn right around and you have a drive like you did at the end of the game. How frustrating is it to see you guys can make big plays but you really give up a lot of stuff, too? ALEX OKAFOR: It's frustrating because it also gives us hope, man, because we know at certain times we can make big plays, we can make big stops. Consistency is just what we've got to stick to. We've got to build upon that and do it every single play, and if we can, this defense and this team can be really good. Q. Can you talk about the inconsistency of the youth on the team? ALEX OKAFOR: It's not necessarily the youth, it's just our mindset right now. We're probably just not focused every single play, and we've just got to lock in every play and take every snap just as serious as the last one. We can't take any plays off. Q. (Inaudible.) ALEX OKAFOR: We just played so many prolific offenses right now, so many pass‑happy teams right now. These guys go through so much through the air that we focus on‑‑ we spend a lot of focus trying to stop them through the air, and it's kind of pick your poison. You've got to pick something to stop, and they kind of switched it up on us and exposed us through the run game. We've just got to be able to play an overall solid game and try to do that from here on out. Q. It was nice of you to knock the ball out and let Jeffcoat get all the glory. ALEX OKAFOR: We're on the same team, we're a tandem, and usually in the sack one of us will get it, the other guy will get it. This time it was fun because we both could get some of the glory. Q. You've gone up against Landry Jones all four years you've been around. How has he changed from that freshman year when he came after Bradford? ALEX OKAFOR: He's just grasped the scheme so much better as he's gotten older. The tempo is so much faster. He just makes his reads a lot quicker and he gets the ball out of his hands a lot quicker, and that's going to be difficult for us, especially up front, that he's so fine‑tuned with the offense. It's going to be a great challenge this week. Q. Can you compare him to any other quarterback? ALEX OKAFOR: I mean, I wouldn't compare him to Geno, but just mentally he knows his offense, kind of like Geno Smith did this past game. They know where to go, they know who's going to be open and who he expects to be open. We've got to got to throw him off his rhythm a little bit. Q. What was he like his freshman and sophomore years? ALEX OKAFOR: He was still a good player. He was young, but like I said, he was holding the ball a little bit longer his freshman and sophomore year than he does now. Q. Gave you more time? ALEX OKAFOR: Exactly. Q. How would you describe the Texas‑OU game? ALEX OKAFOR: To me it's the best game in college football. This is why you come to Texas. This is why you want to be a Longhorn. To be able to play in this game, I think it's every Longhorn fan's dream. Q. What did they tell you your freshman year before you played this game? ALEX OKAFOR: I mean, they told me going into it that it was crazy, it was wild. You've got one side that loves you and one side that literally hates you. It's just different being there. You can't put it into words, and just to believe able to see that split in the stadium from burnt orange to red, it gives you chills, man. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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