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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 12, 2013Bradley MarquezWill SmithTCU – 10 Q. Talk about how that third stop kind of pumped you guys up on defense? WILL SMITH: We like that a lot, you know. It just reinforces how we all try to stick together and get out on that third down. So that whole environment, the crowd getting loud with us, just makes us feel like we've got to make this play right now and get off the field. Q. How tough was it limiting Boykin? WILL SMITH: Once we took care of our responsibilities, it wasn't too difficult. But it got a little difficult towards the end when we got a little winded and they were getting calls in late. So that was the only big thing about it. But once we were finally settled in with the calls and able to lineup, it was pretty good defense to stop them. Q. Talk about the defense in the fourth quarter? WILL SMITH: It helps us a lot. We're trying to set a standard every time we play. I felt like we did a pretty good job tonight. We've just got to get better from here. Keep making turnovers and causing all kinds of things to happen, so it's a good deal we've got going here. Q. Did you think that was the best defensive performance you've seen at Tech so far? WILL SMITH: I would say so. With the past couple years, we had a pretty good amount of turnovers tonight and a lot of players had a lot of tackles. So, I would say so, yeah. But I feel like we've got plenty to improve on. Q. Coach Wally emphasized aggression for you guys, and you guys really shooting the gaps and getting there and tackling. WILL SMITH: Yeah, we just put that from the jump last week, making sure we were aggressive all day because we heard a lot of things from other teams talking about TCU. So they're just making it a point to get after the ball a lot. And Coach Wally, his mind's on full attack, everything. He's always at full speed. So with a coach like that, you've got to play full speed every down. Q. Can you talk about stopping the Horned Frogs on third downs? WILL SMITH: That was really big. Once they get going, they're a pretty high octane offense. So I felt like we did a pretty good job with that tonight. Other than that, we've just got to get the calls in faster so we can lineup and really stop them on every third down. So other than that, we did pretty good. Q. Could you talk about Terrance and his ability and how he sets up? WILL SMITH: I felt like Terrance did a great job tonight. They came at him one time, and he stopped it. They went away for a little bit and they came back at him multiple times in a row. He did a great job of stepping up and knocking the ball down. His confidence, you know, his confidence is always high. So I always have full trust in that guy. Q. Was there a lot of talking among the players tonight along the line of scrimmage? WILL SMITH: Yeah, there was a lot. I mean, that comes with the trenches. Dogs in there fighting every down, so with that, it was just a real backyard brawl right there. We've got Coach Haverty used to be over there, so he filled us in on some things. Things got a bit heated, but we've just got to focus up and take care of responsibilities. Q. (No microphone)? WILL SMITH: Oh, definitely. They were very excited tonight. It was a student sellout, so, yeah, they did a great job coming out. We love when our fans come out and support us. Q. Did you like the uniforms? WILL SMITH: Oh, yeah, gray is one of my favorite colors, so walking in the locker room I was like, "Oh, [Expletive]. I apologize (laughing). Q. Did the blackout have any affect? WILL SMITH: Oh, yeah. When our place is completely black, it's an exciting environment. It's like walking into a black hole. You just vibe off the surrounding people and everything, so we like that a lot. Q. Did coaches say anything to you guys about keeping your composure? With all the penalties TCU had, you guys had your share of penalties, but it seemed you were able to keep your composure. Was that talked about at all? WILL SMITH: It was talked about a bit. Going into halftime how we almost got into a little altercation out there. But other than that, we knew what we were supposed to do, and that is calm down, take care of our responsibilities and make plays. Q. What will it be like going to school tomorrow (No microphone)? WILL SMITH: Oh, man, that's going to be a tough one. We've just got to get up and take care of your business. We come here to go to school anyway. So we have to make sure we do our thing in the classroom. Q. Can you talk about the offense? WILL SMITH: They did a pretty good job tonight. They got stopped a couple times, but I feel like they responded well and took care of business at the end and scored a game‑winning touchdown. Q. TCU has a lot of respect and rightfully so. But you guys matched their game tonight, slowed it down. What's that say about Texas Tech defense? WILL SMITH: Texas Tech defense, this year we're trying to make a statement that we're out here trying to play defense too. It's not just an offensive school. We do play defense and we're going to play defense here, so that is the standards we're trying to set from here on out. Q. What's this say about guys like Bruce (No microphone)? WILL SMITH: Oh, they definitely are knockdown guys. I've got full confidence in both of them. They may be short, but they're a bunch of feisty little guys. They get after everything. They're not scared to come down and run up on a 230‑pound running back. They're out and playing for each one of us. BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Sorry, I'm sick. Just had a go called, and was able to get a beat on them and keep them on my back shoulder. Just a beautiful ball by Davis Webb, and those kind of balls you don't drop. So I just had to make a play when it came my way. Q. (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: I would say this far is pretty big, definitely. It was good to get some momentum going back our way, and being pushed back and needing to make a play at that point in time, I'm just glad that my number was called and I was able to do that. Q. You guys got the first down (No microphone) how big a spark did he bring you? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: A big spark. He was prepared for the situation and it's credit to his preparation to be able to come in there at that point in time in the game to be able to come in there and do the job that he did. You know, there was no falloff, and definitely a spark for all of us and for him to control the game for us. Q. What are you sick with? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Just congestion, cold, all that type of stuff. Q. Can you talk about that shirt? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: This is Under Armour Alter Ego Superman. So it was nice that we got these. Everybody got them. Under Armour hooked us up pretty nice this time. It was nice to able to rock them. Q. Talk about how you came out overall? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: I thought we came out fast. We pride ourselves in coming out fast and getting it going early. We were able to do that, but, after that, we had a little falloff and weren't able to finish plays and just us stopping ourselves with penalties, holding calls and things of that nature. So kind of went into a funk for a little while, and definitely able to make plays at the end of the game to close it out. Q. You also had a couple of key blocks. Kind of talk about them. BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Yeah, definitely. We pride ourselves on that. We're not all about just going out there and catching passes. Obviously it would be nice to. We'd love to catch balls. But when a ball is not coming to us, we're able to make plays away from the ball, and that is our whole receiving corps. We take pride in that. Guys like Eric Ward like that instill that in us and an older guy with the stats that he has, he goes out and blocks as hard as anybody out there. It's just something that we all just feed off each other and we want to help our running backs get in open space. We definitely take pride in blocking. Q. Did the defense inspire the offense tonight? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Absolutely. It's nothing like seeing our defense getting stops today. Just giving our offense that confidence and that boost that they're going to continuing to out there and perform the way they did tonight, it was big for us as we went into that little funk. It was big for our defense to continue to play the way they did. Q. At any point, were you afraid that you (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: I don't know if that crossed my mind. It definitely did. With their offense being so quick and so fast, it may not give our defense enough time to rest, but we're all conditioned really well. We take pride in it, and they've gone against us throughout all the fall camp. So they're conditioned really well, so we weren't really worried about that. Q. (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Definitely. I feel like it's my time and I'm happy to be out there and being able to make plays. This game has been taken away from me before for many games, so to be able to come out and perform the way I have these first three games, I'm just humbled and blessed by it. Q. (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Yeah, I mean, he was on my back and kind of pushing forward. But I hit the ground, but I don't think there was a camera angle to see it because we were so close together or whatever. I felt it hit the ground, but the camera angle didn't see that. So that was something that I just had to forget about and go out there and make plays. Q. Is there something that you do on the sidelines (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Definitely. Just getting the crowd up and everybody behind them. It's big for them because they're in the trenches, like they say, and they're working as hard as anybody out there. So, just trying to get the crowd pumped up. Get them behind them. It's 60,000 plus and the noise it all for you. So it's something that we're all for each other. We're like a chain link. We love to see each unit do well, special teams, offense, defense. Definitely just get the crowd into it and get them behind our defense and obviously make it hard for the offense to hear and things of that nature. It's just big as a team to just be behind one another. Q. As a team (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: It's big. We've been looking forward to this game and just glad we can get the W. Just enjoy it as much as we can, you know, and just move on. Our goal of the season isn't to be 3‑0, so we've just got to keep going and continue our performances. Q. (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: I would say a game‑winning touchdown thus far. I don't think I've had a walk‑off hit. Been a part of them, but definitely game‑winning touchdown. Q. Talk about the atmosphere tonight with all the students here tonight? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: Absolutely, yeah. They came out in force today. We were expecting that. Big credit to our fans tonight to help us and be behind us, especially our defense and everybody. It's intimidating to go out there and see all black and all those rowdy fans. So they came out in big numbers, and set a record of student section. It's big. For them to be behind us and into the game the entire game mand they stayed out there. It's a big win for all of us. The fans, the coaches, everybody were into it. They love this program and want to see this program be successful. So it was just something that is good for all of us to be able to enjoy tonight. Q. (No microphone)? BRADLEY MARQUEZ: It feels great. Like I said, that's not our main goal. We've got some more work to do, but it's definitely great to be in that position right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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