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CITI BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TEXAS v ALABAMAJanuary 3, 2010Tre' NewtonJordan ShipleyAdam UlatoskiPASADENA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up for questions. Q. For Jordan and Adam, because you came in and had been in the program as long as you've been, who gets the most grief about being the older one, and who gives out the most grief about that? JORDAN SHIPLEY: I don't know, I think it's probably we're both pretty even as far as getting the old man jokes on the team. I did get to give him some grief at the football banquet; they asked me to speak, and I clarified really quickly that Adam was definitely the oldest guy on the team. So we had fun with that. ADAM ULATOSKI: I guess I deserved a little bit more, but he's been in the program a little bit longer, so I think he might deserve a pretty good amount, too. Q. Tre', there's a general feeling from some, especially Alabama fans, that Texas is not going to run the ball. They can't run it effectively. Your thoughts on that, and how important is it to run the ball on Thursday night to open up your passing? TRE' NEWTON: It's extremely important to have a balanced attack, and that's being able to run and pass. Our coaches have laid out a great game plan for us, we're just going to go out there and try and execute that game plan to the best of our ability. Q. Jordan, first of all, your thoughts about your relationship with Colt McCoy, and what have you guys talked about going into this game? JORDAN SHIPLEY: Obviously Colt and I have a great relationship. We've known each other since we were kids and been roommates throughout college. You know, it's been a fun time to get to prepare for this game, and kind of one of those things that you dream about as a kid. We've just been talking about how fun it is to be out here and how much we're looking forward to the opportunity to get to play in the National Championship on Thursday. Q. Jordan, are you aware that you're not -- you don't look like the prototypical return guy, you don't look like the prototypical speedster, you don't look like the prototypical receiver, and do you kind of enjoy proving people and that stereotype wrong? JORDAN SHIPLEY: Well, you know, I don't know as far as what everybody considers prototypical. As far as a slot guy, I think there's more and more guys that look like I do that are playing, and also, with the return stuff, I'm just fortunate to be in the spot I am and having a lot of fun and just excited to get to be here and on the stage like this is pretty special way to end my career. Q. Adam, as you look back on the film, what went wrong against Nebraska for the offensive line, and is there much you'd change between how you approached Nebraska and how you'll approach Alabama? ADAM ULATOSKI: I don't think we executed as well as we could have. I think that was probably the biggest fault in the offensive line. You know, Nebraska and Alabama both have very good defensive lines, but I don't really consider them the same line. They're very different. And so we have a good game plan going in, and we're going to go out there and try and execute as best we can. Q. How are they different? ADAM ULATOSKI: Nebraska kind of read -- their defensive line, they read and kind of made plays on their own. The Alabama line really takes up blocks and frees up space for the linebackers to go make plays, and they have great linebackers back there with Rolando and all that stuff. There's a great defense. Q. How do you guys keep yourselves from being defined by the last game? It seems like everybody has the mindset of Texas being in one box because of your last performance and Alabama being in one box because of their last performance. How do you keep yourself from being defined by that one game? JORDAN SHIPLEY: Well, I think as a team we've done a lot this year, and to be undefeated to this point says a lot. We're just looking forward to the opportunity to finish hopefully the right way, and if it does work out, we'll be extremely excited. And if not, we'll move on and we'll have a lot of great memories. And so I think for us it's just a matter of just enjoying every moment of it, and I think it'll work out the way it's supposed to. We're just excited to have the opportunity. Q. Jordan, it seems, and correct me if I'm wrong, but the passing game has got a lot more people involved the last few weeks. Can you talk about whether that's accurate or not, and also against Alabama's secondary, against their defense in general, how important it is that you guys don't rely on one target as a favorite target all the time? JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think the great thing about our offense is we've got a lot of guys that have stepped up and made plays. All the receivers have been playing really well lately and making huge plays, and obviously our running game has been good. And so when you've got all those things working together, then you're obviously a lot harder to stop. So the more guys we can get involved and the more guys that step up and make plays, the better for us. I think it's been happening the last few games, and we look forward to continuing it to happen this game. Q. Jordan, can you reflect on -- looking back on your career at the University of Texas you had the knee injuries. Mack Brown has talked about how no one has persevered more than you have, and now to cap it all off with a National Championship opportunity. What's your thoughts about the way this has all played out at the University of Texas? JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think for me having the first two years being sidelined and mostly didn't even get to really practice or anything like that, I came out to the Rose Bowl for both of those first two years and kind of dreamed about what it would be like to come back here, and especially for it to be for the National Championship, I don't think you could have scripted it any better. I'm just so thankful for the opportunity, and I think it -- I couldn't have -- like I said, I couldn't have planned it any better, and hopefully we'll finish it off the right way. Q. Tre', there's been some questions about how things have played out and that sort of thing. Going into the start of the season, there were other running backs mentioned other than you obviously and different guys who had different opportunities. Given your patience and the way that you've worked, could you have envisioned this when practice started, when the season began? Could you have envisioned the position that you'd be in now to contribute as a starting tailback in the National Championship game? TRE' NEWTON: I wouldn't say I envisioned it. I just went into the season trying to do the best that I could do and help my team out in any way possible, whether it be in special teams or the running back position, so that was really my mindset going into the season, trying to do whatever I can to make myself as good as I can and help the team out whichever way I can. Q. Adam, I was reading Sports Illustrated about a week ago, and they had a story about ways Texas can beat Alabama, and one of the lines was, "You give Greg Davis a month to prepare for any team, and he will find a way to beat that team." Do you agree with that? ADAM ULATOSKI: You know, in my experience it's been true. We've won every Bowl game since I've been here, and we have a lot of faith in Coach Davis. He does a great job in game planning. It's just our job to go out there and execute his game plan. Q. Jordan, I know you're very close to Colt being roommates and all. Have you ever been to his hometown, and is it as small as they say? JORDAN SHIPLEY: I've been to his hometown, and it's really, really, really small. Actually I lived out in a little town close to there for a little while. My dad was a coach, also. And so we went to track meets there every once in a while. I mean, it's pretty amazing thing if you go back and look at his high school field and the stands that he played in there and then compare that to Memorial Stadium and some of the places that we've played in now, it's pretty unbelievable. And I think he's been obviously incredible over his career, and I can't say enough about what he's been able to accomplish. Q. This is for Tre'. Early in the season you had some success, and then you were injured for a couple of games. How bad were you hurt, and how long did it take you to get back to where you are now? TRE' NEWTON: You know, I just had a little concussion, so you have to go through all the procedures before you can come back from that. With any injury, you just have to put it behind you and just work hard to get back to, I guess, the level you were at. You know, that's just what I tried to do, just tried to get back on the field and help the team out. Q. Adam, can you describe your relationship with Greg McElroy, former high school teammate? ADAM ULATOSKI: Better person might be Tre'. I never really played with Greg, so I don't really have much of a relationship with him. Q. Go ahead, Tre'. TRE' NEWTON: I was a sophomore in high school when he was a senior, and we played together. He helped lead us to a state championship, so that was a good memory I had with Greg. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. End of FastScripts |
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