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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 11, 2013Kerry HyderQ. Can you talk about after the game and yesterday? Surely there were some deflated spirits? KERRY HYDER: We understand that the last game we didn't play well on defense. I feel like we did a better job in the second half, but the first half we let them get too many points on us. We definitely didn't do a great job stopping the run. So we understood that. We understood that we have to play better on defense, and we have to be able to stop the run. The teams being able to throw the ball and run the ball, it's not going to equal the win. We understand if we play better, we can get off this losing streak. Q. Why do you think it is that three weeks in a row you guys have teams coming at you, pounding the ball, running the ball? Why do you think it is that you guys can't stop it? KERRY HYDER: I know it probably sounds repetitive, but we're making the same mistakes. We're not tackling well. We're having too many missed assignments. So as a defense, if we can clean up those things and tackle better, we can definitely cut down on this large rushing number we've been giving up the past three weeks. Q. Do you attribute that to the pressure that Jace was just talking about or is that just not being focused? KERRY HYDER: I'd say not being focused. We have guys that are fully capable of making the plays. But we're not making plays when it's time to make them. We're in the right positions, but we're not tackling well. Or we're not in the right position and they're going to break a long one on us. We're giving up too many yards after contact, and we have to tackle better in the next couple of games. Q. What do you tell your teammates if they miss an assignment or miss a tackle? KERRY HYDER: I don't try to get down on them too much. I let them know we have to play the next play. But we can't let these mistakes pile up. Somebody has to step up. After while it's getting repetitive. We're giving up too many yards and too many plays. I have to let them know that it's not acceptable. Too many mistakes is not acceptable. You have to let them know to make the next play and play harder the next snap. Q. How have the coaches been balancing it? You've been beat up and banged up. How have they balanced working on tackling, and hitting, and letting you get your legs back? KERRY HYDER: They've done a great job with it. We're supposed to put ourselves in position to make the great tackle. Plus being in college, we definitely don't need to be banging every day like that. But guys know how to tackle. It's about the will. We've got to be more willing to throw our bodies in there and make the tackles and wrap up. It's really fundamental things. Things that go back to playing in the school yard. We've just got to get back to the fundamentals of football, and that is tackling better. Q. No easy task coming Saturday with some of the other runners that Baylor has. What will you do in practice this week to try to improve on those missed assignments? KERRY HYDER: Just practice with more urgency and getting to the ball. As a group, we've got to surround the ball carrier especially with the talented runners they have on their side of the ball. So the key this week is to be gang tackling and definitely getting a lot of hats to the ball. If we can do that, hopefully we can slow down this offense. Q. What does Seastrunk do? Does he do something differently from other running backs that makes him stand out? KERRY HYDER: He's a good back. He's fast. He gets the hole and he breaks tackles. Any running back that's able to do that, they're a good back. So we try to get as many hits as we can on him and try to gang tackle him. Q. What have you seen from Baylor offensive line? KERRY HYDER: They're a good group. They protect their quarterback well. Seastrunk I think is averaging around 8 yards a carry or something like that. They're doing a good job in the run game also. It's not just pass blocking. I know it will be a big task for us and everyone on defense is up for it. Q. From the players standpoint, you won't be here after this year, but from a player standpoint, did you enjoy what you've done in Dallas? KERRY HYDER: I definitely liked playing in Cowboy Stadium. It was exciting. But I felt like with how intense the games are, I feel like we'll be more playing games at each other's stadium would definitely be something amazing for fans and mazing for college football if we can get that done. I understand they have a new stadium they're building out there. It will be nice to get a chance to play in Waco for once since I've been here. Q. (No microphone)? KERRY HYDER: Yeah, definitely. Definitely get the fans involved. The fans definitely make the trip, but there is just something about playing on each other's campus. The atmosphere is definitely different. Q. When it comes to all the event that's took place in this past game for the Lone Survivor, what is something special you took away from all those events? KERRY HYDER: Just having them be with Marcus. He's really an American hero. You see these superheroes and stuff on TV growing up, and that guy is a real hero. Just being in his presence is definitely a blessing this past weekend. Q. How much time did you spend around him? KERRY HYDER: I know we watched a movie with him and he spoke to us after the movie. I got a chance to see him on the sideline and stuff like that. He definitely‑‑ a lot of guys, it just is amazing. Everything he's been through, it's really amazing. Q. What was his message to you all? KERRY HYDER: Just fight for the person next to you. When you're out there on the field, when you start worrying about yourself and you're feeling down or you're hurting, just look at the man next to you and know you're out there fighting for him next to you. Q. Is that something that you guys as a defense can take into the next couple games, what you heard from him Marcus and his stories to keep on pushing through these next two? KERRY HYDER: Yeah, definitely. We're going through some hard times right now losing three in a row. But we understand that we have another chance to play a big‑time college football game, and that we have a chance to play again with our brothers, play another game out there on the field. Our players are ready for the game, and we're going to fight for one another on the field. Q. Jace said he felt like there were times that the quarterback and maybe others on offense were trying to do too much and pressing. Do you get that sense that it's the same way for the defensive unit? KERRY HYDER: Yeah, we're not letting the plays come to us. Guys are popping gaps and trying to do too much. It's hurting when they're popping gaps and able to gash us for a run. If everybody can focus their job and play their technique, everything will come together. We're doing too much right now. We're trying to make things happen that's not happening. So hopefully everybody just needs to do their job and everything will work out for the best. Q. That's different from what's going on earlier in the year. Can you figure out what might have changed? KERRY HYDER: It just goes back to guys just losing focus a little bit. Just trying to help out another guy. We're fighting for our brothers out there and we're trying to help him out a little bit and stuff like that. We end up giving up something. It goes back to focus. If we can really focus what we need to do, play in and play out, things will work for us. You see in the second half we played much better on defense. What is the difference between the second half and the first half? We've got to carry that same focus we had in the second half over to the first half of the game. Q. Who is in charge of focus on the field? KERRY HYDER: It's a group thing. We're telling each other focus on this. Make sure you do your job, even the coaches. We're constantly preaching that. It's going to get through. We've got some younger guys out there right now and they're getting used to the game right now. They're playing well. I feel like they definitely can play better. I feel like this game, they'll be ready for.    FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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