October 21, 1997
Give us an injury report ...
"We haven't heard anything new on Dante (Hall). I talked to the training staff this morning, and he's making good progress. He's getting treatments. They removed 35cc's of fluid yesterday from his knee and that seems to have eased some of the pain. It will be a day by day thing to see if he plays. He definitely will not practice, will not suit out.
"We've had several of these guys who are missing practice. (Cameron) Spikes went to the doctor and they said he could do some limited things in terms of walking through practice. No contact and it will likely be that way until the weekend. There may be a case on Saturday where he could play, but he's not practiced in two weeks. I'd say he's doubtful at this time."
"Shun Horn has not practiced. He didn't practice yesterday and we don't anticipate that he will practice today. (Has this lingered on longer than you expected?) They said it was really bad when it happened. He is one, again, who could, if he keeps making progress by Saturday be ready to play, but he hasn't practiced in two weeks. Guys like that normally aren't very effective, coming off injuries and walking out there without having been in practice or around the mental part of it."
With the KSU loss and the injuries, what do you do to overcome that?
"I talked to the team about taking it one game at a time. We didn't dwell on the Colorado victory for long, we came right back to work on Monday. I think it's important to take the Kansas State game and put it behind us and get ready for this week. It's a new challenge and a very good challenge. We'll take the players we have on this team and go play the game. Anytime you have injuries like this, it creates opportunities for other players. A guy like Rex Tucker, who's been wanting more playing time, is put a role where he's in the lineup. He's excited about it and looking forward to it. So it is a plus for him. You need players like him to step up and take advantage of this opportunity. Andy Vincent has an opportunity this weekend. Sirr Parker now gets to spend a lot more time carrying the football. You try to make all those into positives and not dwell on the negatives."
"Injuries are an inevitable part of this game. You go into each year not knowing who it's going to be or when it's going to happen, but realizing that there are going to be injuries. We have tried to prepare for that by playing a number of players. I think that's to our benefit right now. We have players who have seen some action."
What about the KSU game didn't live up to the expectations you had for this football team?
"I've said all along that I haven't see us as an overwhelming dominant team. We've got enough ability and enough character that when we're playing together and got everything together, we can be pretty good on a given day. Anything less than that and we're pretty average and we fall back into the ranks of the very average teams."
Talk about Texas Tech ...
"Texas Tech looks to me like they always do and that's a compliment to them that always look the same. The quarterback, regardless of who they are, are very active, quick-armed guys who run around back there and make big plays. Their backs run hard and they have a good scheme on offense. Defensively, they have a similar philosophy to Kansas State. Different scheme, but they're going to play a lot of man coverage and they are going to give you more looks than Kansas State. They will have a large number of guys around the football when you snap it. They will be "manned-up" on your two wideouts and have everyone else in there on your running game."
Do you think you have to win this one to stay in the Big 12 South Division running?
"I would think so. You would really be fighting an uphill climb if you got yourself two conference losses this early in the race."
With both teams at 2-1 in the Big 12, then there is a sense of urgency on both sides ...
"We're in the same boat. It's a big game for both teams. We're both coming off losses. We have a number of games left to be played and you don't want to get that second conference loss this early in the race."
Does Texas Tech try to stay close to teams and then win in the fourth quarter?
"They do that because they play good defense. Teams that normally play good defense have the ability to keep it a low scoring game. I think they've done a good job of playing defense. Historically, they've been an explosive offensive team too. The last couple of games (between A&M and Tech) the defense have won the battle. The defenses won the game, but we've had some high-scoring games. I don't know how this one will go."
With some of the things Zebbie Lethridge does, does he remind you of Michael Bishop?
"He reminds me a lot of Michael Bishop because he likes to run the ball. They have plays designed where he drops back and then he finds a crack and takes off. He has ability to do that and it looks like he enjoys doing that."
Can you get a feel for how the team will respond to KSU loss?
"We had a good practice yesterday (Monday). I was pleased with the practice. Everybody came out and took care of their business."
Any change in the two quarterback rotation?
"No."
If one quarterback goes out and shows some sizzle against Tech, will they stay in there?
"That's true. I've said that from day one. If one quarterback demonstrated that he's playing better then there wouldn't be any hesitation from me, regardless of which one it was. You want to give yourself your best chance to win. If one guy gives you a better chance than the other, then that's the guy you want out on the field."