	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: OHIO STATE v TEXAS

January 2, 2009

Mack Brown

GLENDALE, ARIZONA

COACH BROWN: We've had a great few days so far in the Valley of the Sun. The people are great. You have a host for every staff member. The players are having a tremendous time.
And at the same time, they have enough functions that you can go in you want to, but they're not going to interfere with your preparation for the game. So we've had spirited practices, we've had physical practices, but the guys, again, they went to the Insight Bowl game the other night, they went to the block party. They've had a lot of fun. They will go to the Suns game tonight.
I think they have a great meal with a comedian this afternoon and as far as the week is concerned, this would be about Wednesday of game week. So they're having to gauge if they were back in Austin trying to make sure that they're fresh and that they -- they don't get ready to play too soon because of the respect they have for Ohio State. But they also will be ready to play fresh on Monday night. Questions?

Q. What kind of game are you anticipating? Many fans?
COACH BROWN: I think it will be a great game and a fun game because the two schools have so many respect for each other. The traditions, you feel like Coach Royal is not coming, but the two other times we have played Ohio State I think I see Coach Hayes and Coach Royal on the sidelines because that's what these two schools are about for many years. You go from Big Bertha, the Texas band, and the Ohio State band. You look at what Jim has accomplished in his eight years at Ohio State.
And we feel like we have got a real good team as well. We think it will be a great game. Two teams that still have a lot to prove and two that are excited about each other that haven't played each other -- have played each other twice and split, so this one is both important for both games.

Q. Defensive struggle? Shootout?
COACH BROWN: Who knows. I sit around and see 3-0. Who knows what will happen in a Bowl game. Oregon had a 3-0 game when they played Pittsburgh. I know both defenses are really, really good. And I know that -- I think we're first or second in the country against the run, but we haven't faced a running back like Beanie Wells and a huge offensive line.
You look at the progress that Terrelle Pryor has made since early in the year. They are a much better offensive team than they were when they showcased against Southern Cal at the first of the year. They are the best defensive team we played, and Jim does as good a job as anybody we have coached against.
I think it will be a real battle for us and should be a great game.

Q. When you are in a Bowl week, when you have done X amount of interviews almost every day, you have had to talk about the same game, is it almost repetitive in your head? You feel like you are repeating something you said two days ago word for word and not trying to talk yourself to death about one football game?
COACH BROWN: It is. You want it to be fair. You don't want it to get old and boring. You want to get the excitement. What you got with this one is you really got a month. We went through this in 2005 with a national championship. We had a taste of it with Michigan the year before. Jim is used to this because they have been to so many BCS games.
What you do, again, is you have to come up with a little different theme every day for your players to keep the edge because there has been a lot of talk since Ohio State played Michigan a week before we played Texas A&M. It will have been a month before we play another football game. That's a tougher situation because of the time off than you have for an opening game of the season.

Q. There seems to be a connection between you and Jim in terms of -- you both have programs (indiscernible). You arrive before he arrives (indiscernible).
COACH BROWN: I had not been around Jim very much when we played in 2005. It was funny, he and I both called each other the week of the game and said here's -- what about this, what about this? We play the next year and the same thing. What will happen here, will we have trouble getting in and that's unusual for coaches to hit it off and have that kind of relationship.
And at the same time, I can remember standing out on the field in the horseshoe, which was exciting for me; it was the first time I had been there. Jim and I were talking about coaching in the Capital, we were talking about the fan support, the passion, both schools. We were talking about the things you deal with off of the field. We talk about recruiting and there are so many similarities in the two schools it really kind of hit us that we are living in the same place, we just have different colors and different weather.
And at the same time, we have been able to follow up since that game, since we didn't think we would be playing again and share a lot of ideas. We talked about recruits. We've shared ideas about how we practice. They were even talking about we might visit some this spring after the game.
And I followed Jim for a long time because of his dad being a prominent coach and Jim winning all the games up at Youngstown when I was at Appalachian State. We had some similarities in our background as well.

Q. Have you had a chance to tour the stadium yet?

Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH BROWN: I would think it would have a tremendous effect on places. There will be another coach, Darrell Royal at Texas. He is the face of the program. He always will be. One of the good things I learned early, I am not chasing that legacy. I know it is there and I know it is not going to change. I.
Would think Jim will tell you the same thing about Coach Hayes because these are two men he and I idolized growing up. We are not sitting there thinking we will be him. When a coach said, I hope you break my records, I said, I will not be alive to break all your records, so don't worry about it.
It has been really, really fun for me. Unlike Jim, I have had Coach Royal with me. He is a great consultant and friend. I will call him while we are out here. He will not be able to come to the game. There is no doubt that when a guy wins three national championships and the guy wins 30 straight games that has impact forever in the program and that's the standard that's set in people's minds. Whether that's fair or not, that's the way it is and it is not going to change.

Q. Have you had a chance to tour the stadium yet?
COACH BROWN: We have not. We have walk-through the day before the game. On the 4th. So we've seen a video of the stadium. It looks just unbelievable. We have been able to play in Reliant Stadium that has the retractable roof in Houston.

Q. Traditionally this event is awkward with the Cardinals getting to the play-offs.
COACH BROWN: The Cardinals are playing the Falcons tomorrow, so it kind of screwed us up. We will see it on Sunday.

Q. You talked about Terrelle Pryor. Do you think he will stay in the hunt for the next couple of years?
COACH BROWN: We do. There have been similarities made between Terrelle Pryor and Vince Young. They are real tall and strong. They can make plays with their feet. They both have strong arms. The thing that Vince did is he continued to grow as a quarterback and then he made everybody around him better and he helps recruiting. I think Terrelle had that kind of publicity coming into Ohio State. Vince didn't play as a freshman. Terrelle has been very impactful for their program as a freshman and he will only help them in the future.
But I see him being a game changer.

Q. Terrelle has a long way to get to where Vince was.
COACH BROWN: I don't think anything is fair in comparison except when you go back and look at the same stage. I wasn't able to see Vince at this stage. Vince wasn't playing at this stage, so Terrelle is ahead of him in the same time frame. And we thought it was good for Vince to get a year of red shirt.
But I think potentially there is no doubt, Terrelle is the type of guy because he touches the ball every time. You have a trigger guy that takes you all the way, he can doing that.

Q. Personality-wise, how do they carry themselves?
COACH BROWN: I don't know Terrelle that much. He did not visit our school. We tried to get him to. He is a guy we followed, saw in the All-Star games and we have seen all the games he has played in this year with film. From what Jim says, he is very positive and a guy who has the magnetism that he can lead a team.

Q. Were you able to watch USC's game at all? Does that reinforce your earlier thoughts about play-off or ultimately the BCS?
COACH BROWN: It does. I think there are eight teams that deserve a shot at the national championship and maybe more. It is really sad that it is hard to say who is national champ when all these look so good at the end.
And there will be three or four one-win teams in the end, but probably should have a claim to look at the share of the national championship. USC is obviously in that group.

Q. Do you think the more this continues and the more these wins, something will come out of it?
COACH BROWN: I love the Bowls. You see Vanderbilt kick a last-second field goal and win their first Bowl game since 1955. It was emotional for me. I went there. My brother went there. It is good for them. I don't want us to take away a win for kids like that. I saw kids throw Gatorade on their coach and have never been happier.
We got something for the teams that can't get in the picture at the end. Right now there is so much talk about only one game that it seems like the ones that are in the BCS and not in the end are in the pressure. Everybody else has a Bowl game like it used to be.
I would like to see us get in or get out. Either go back to the old Bowl system and match it up where we have a real fun game for everybody and have a bunch of people to vote on whoever they want to be number one in the country or try to get a more fair way to figure it out at the end.
And I don't see play-offs coming. I really don't. Every year it is mentioned. We won't have a play-off in my estimation until somebody figures out the plan and we won't have a plan until somebody figures out the money. So until those get figured out, I don't think we will see play-offs.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH BROWN: It might not. You have a year for 2005 where us and SC were clear-cut undefeated teams, BCS was really lucky that year. Other than that, it gets tough for them.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297