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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 7, 2013Jace AmaroQ. Talk about the quarterback. Baker isn't able to bounce back. You're all pretty good with whoever is back there? JACE AMARO: Yeah, I think Coach Kingsbury has done a great job with whoever is out there. Regardless of the quarterback, it's just whoever is out there is going to make the same plays as the next guy. I think we've done a great job of that to adjusting to whoever is out there. It's not such a big adjustment because it's the same scheme. It's the same type of‑‑ I mean, it's not missing a beat. We run the same plays. We do the same exact thing whether Baker is in there, Davis is in there, or Michael. So it's not anything that anyone should worry about. Q. It seems like you're kind of the safety blanket, the go‑to guy when things get out of hand a little bit. Do you take pride in that being open for those guys and being there for them when they need you? JACE AMARO: Definitely. Coach Kingsbury has always had a big part in me in the passing game and running game. Baker has done a great job of getting me the ball. I'm open. I know sometimes it looks forced upon, but some of those plays are designed to go to me, and I was his first read and he felt like I could catch the ball. Regardless of whether there's a couple guys on me, I'm expecting to make the play. If the ball's thrown to me, I'm expecting to catch the ball. So I take a lot of pride in that. They're throwing me the ball no matter what, regardless of the coverage, regardless of the situation. Q. Have you talked to Baker? How's he feeling? JACE AMARO: Yeah, he said he plans on going this week. He said he's going to find out today what's wrong medically. So we'll see what happens later on. Q. (No microphone) you've taken a few hits. How does your body feel? JACE AMARO: It's football. I mean, I've taken harder hits than anyone especially from last year. I'm not scared to go down the middle. Just getting tackled is another thing for me. My body is holding up pretty well in practice, and they're doing a good job of getting us prepared for the game and getting us a hundred percent healthy. Q. Would you ever like to catch one on the sidelines so you don't get (Indiscernible)? JACE AMARO: Yeah, I think Coach Kingsbury is going to do whatever he has to do to get me the ball wherever he can. Like I said, regardless of how many people are guarding me, I'm expecting to catch the ball even if it takes getting hit a little harder than usual. Q. What do you weigh? JACE AMARO: Probably 260, 265, somewhere around there. It kind of fluctuates. Q. A lot of teams are trying to take you away as the focal point of the offense. What have you noticed about how teams cover you differently this year? JACE AMARO: This past game they kind of tried playing me, not actually letting me go inside or outside. They double teamed me with two safeties, especially two‑by‑two. They're really trying to take the long ball away from me. That's kind of why I've just been able to catch five‑yard balls and seeing what I can do after that. They're really not allowing me to go too deep on them. They're trying to keep everything in front of them. They're throwing a lot of bracket coverage at me. It really opened up Eric last game. Eric and Jakeem, and they did a great job of adjusting to the man‑to‑man side on the left side. If that's what it takes, I'm just going to‑‑ especially since we're running the ball a little bit better now, that's going to help me with the coverages that they throw at me. Hopefully they'll start falling away from that. Q. The Iowa State game last year was one of your first breakout games. What do you remember about that game and about Iowa State team? JACE AMARO: I just remember that stadium was one of the best stadiums I've played at. I thought their team was one really sound on defense. I thought they did a great job of not busting assignments, just being very sound. It was a very exciting game for me because it was my first Big 12 start. They did a great job, they're very well coached, and I've already watched film on them. They did very similar to what they did last year. I know they don't have the same linebackers as they did. But those guys are still very good, so we'll see how we adjust off that. Q. When you hear the term that you're a match‑up nightmare, how does that make you feel? JACE AMARO: I don't really look into those things too much. I just try to go out there and relax and have fun and just play. I know that there's going to be a little more pressure on me than usual. I'm just going to go out there and play as hard as I can. Regardless, they're going to throw different coverages at me. That's why I try not to think about that too much. Q. Going back to the last time Iowa State was here in 2000, what do you remember most coming off that game and having a tough game against Iowa State? What do you remember about that game? JACE AMARO: I just think we didn't understand how to win that year. Probably the most fun game I've ever been a part of being at OU and Norman, and then next week was just disastrous. I specifically remember that no one was ready to play that game. In warm‑ups, everyone was dropping balls, just easy, pat‑and‑go drills. I just know that that's not going to happen this time. Q. (No microphone) as an athlete, do you think those guys are maybe more fired up this week (No microphone)? JACE AMARO: You know, it's kind of hard to tell. I think everyone adjusts to that differently. I think they've had a pretty long season so far losing a couple tough games like that. I know it's really heartbreaking to lose games like those and lose them when you probably should have run that game. I think they're going to be a little more fired up just to try to see how well they can come out and play against us. I'm sure they think they can beat us because they beat us here last time. So we're just going to prepare for them the same way we do against every team and we're not going to take it any different. Q. The student section is on pace to break (No microphone). What do you think the difference has been compared to the first two years? JACE AMARO: I just think there's a lot more excitement. You have to tip your hat off to those guys because we were up there in Kansas and maybe Kansas student section had maybe a little less than my high school student section had. It was pretty incredible how many people come out there even before we're warming up. I know it gets us fired up and it really helps us get ready for the game. It psyches the other team out. It's incredible to see how many people are out there every game. Q. (No microphone) what do you think he's been through the last couple of months? What's it been like for you guys? JACE AMARO: I've been in that same ride. I've done the same thing, and it's really frustrating because you just want to go out there and play. He's done a great job still staying positive and being on the team and being on the same page as everybody and keeping everyone encouraged. He's just really excited to get out there and finally get to get going. I know he's as competitive as anybody on our team. I think once he gets back out there he's really going to bring another level and another aspect to our offense that we don't really have here yet. Q. (No microphone) how long do you think it will take him? JACE AMARO: I thought he looked really good in practice last week. That was really his first couple practices he had since really since the first week of two‑a‑days. I think he'll be fine. He just needs some game action. He'll be a little excited and a little antsy. So I think maybe a couple of drives and I think he'll be perfectly back to normal. Q. Iowa State's coming up on a Thursday game, and Tech has had a few weekday games on Friday and Thursday. Is it nice to be on a weekly schedule? JACE AMARO: Oh, yeah. I think it doesn't make a difference for us. You just get one extra day off. I just like it a little more because it's a little bit more smooth. You get back into your rhythm a little better. Good thing we have really tough games coming up, so I think that's going to really help us out that we don't have to break our stride and changing up our schedule too much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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