October 13, 1998
How do you avoid the big letdown after a big win like the one Saturday (Nebraska)?
"Well, it challenges you to do that. That's clearly one of the things that we face anytime you have a big win or a big loss. Either way, you have a challenge the next week to put that one behind you. One of the things that helps is that we've got a team (Baylor) that if you look at on paper, they are a talented team that has a couple of close losses. I don't think we'll have any problems with our players realizing that we have our work cut out for us."
Did you mention the fact that N. C. State beat a No. 2 team (Florida State) and turned around the next week and lost to Baylor?
"Yeah, we've got a whole list of things like that."
Last week, you were the one trying to break Nebraska's streak, now you know how Baylor feels getting ready for you. They're the ones trying to break it (the streak of seven wins). Being on the other side, does that give you something to talk to the kids about?
"Streak or no streak, I'm not any more concerned about Baylor than we would normally be. It's an individual thing. I think this is a pretty good team, a talented team. They've got good team speed, excellent running backs, and they are a big, physical team. All those things become secondary to what you see on the tape. All that other stuff is a sideshow -- we're coming off a big win, they've got a streak or we've got a streak."
How will the Nebraska win influence recruiting?
"I think it remains to be seen. One of the most things is that we had a number of recruits there, and they got to see a team from Texas beat a team with the long-time status of credibility. We had a great crowd and a great atmosphere. You couldn't ask for a better atmosphere. Without me having to say it, all those kids were saying 'you know what, this is great place to play.' So a whole lot of the arguments that we had been trying to make for some time to recruits about staying and playing in Texas and what the benefits of that may be were answered. In my opinion, that might be the most significant outcome of the game. Whether they come here or go somewhere else (in Texas), I think you can make a legitimate case that if we keep some of those players here, we would be really good. There were some guys in that crowd that if we keep here, you could make the argument that we're not light years away from being able to be very good and winning a national championship. I told those kids that if they stay here in the state of Texas that we can have that here. I've said for a long time that there's no reason why we couldn't have several teams in Texas (competing on a national level). In the state of Florida, you have Florida State, Florida and Miami -- all pretty competitive football programs. There's no reason why you couldn't do that here in Texas. I think a game like this could be a turning point."
"(The recruitment of Ja'Mar Toombs) came down to Ohio State, Florida State and A&M. They, along with all the other out-of-state schools, were hammering him. 'If you want to play in big games, you have to go out of state.' He came here and in the first game of his career, he played in the same game that Florida State was playing in. Last weekend you saw him starting for a team that beat the No. 2 team in the nation, and probably more important than all that his mother was watching the game in person. Those other teams were asking him to leave all that. (Other schools recruiting him wanted him to) say goodbye to your mother who's been at all your Little League games, junior high games, high school games. One of the most proud moments of her life is sitting with friends and watching you play. Are you're going to now leave and go play halfway across the country? And with television with regional coverage, every once in a while she may get a glimpse of him. He got the best of all that. He got a great atmosphere. He played a big-time football game and he's got his Mom here. I told those kids that's serious stuff when you start doing that."
Talk about Warrick Holdman's (Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, National Player of the Week by USA Today Online and College Sports News.com) development...
"Warrick Holdman is playing pretty well. He's turned it up. I saw a marked difference in his intensity level in the Southern Miss game. He's always made plays. Against Baylor two years ago he had a heck of a game (12 tackles, eight solos, two tackles for losses in 1995). We've talked to him a lot about turning it up and playing with a greater intensity level. I've told him that if he could play with the intensity that Dat (Nguyen) has, he would be every bit as big-time of a player. I think it's just part of the maturity process. He's starting to sense that his senior season is going by."