October 20, 1998
Can you talk about the significance of the Texas Tech game in regard to the Big 12 South standings?
"I think the team that wins this one will definitely have a plus in the race. Whatever team wins...somebody is going to have to overtake them.
"You're always just dodging hand grenades and hoping some one else hits one."
Texas Tech has won three in a row against A&M. Not many people have put together three straight wins against you. What have they done to be successful?
"First of all I think they've done a great coaching job. I really respect Spike and the job they've done out there. They haven't just beaten us, they've beaten other people too. Every year they're a good defensive team and they're a very productive offensive team. Part of the problem is they've done a good job. The other part is we've had some turnover problems and some injury problems. Last year we went into that game without our two starting offensive tackles and starting tailback. That usually affects you a little bit. We went out there after the Colorado loss (in 1995) and had some bad things happen to us in the ballgame. We had a couple of touchdowns called back and had some things happen like that. Just been kind of a strange deal and we've ended up losing three games by a total of 13 points. It's been really disappointing."
Speaking of turnovers, you haven't had many this year. How important is that stat?
"A lot of people will tell you that it's the single most important stat. It's certainly one of the most important. It's hard to win if you turn the ball over. If you turn the ball over and your opponent doesn't, then it's really hard to win ballgames."
What has Randy McCown brought to your offense the past few weeks?
"I think Randy brings a lot of intangibles. There is an upbeat tempo, upbeat something that you sense. He's brought a little excitement. But just in terms of production, he's made some excellent throws and some big-time scrambles. He's turned some negative plays into positive plays. If he doesn't do that, he's probably going to be sacked. So instead of it being a sack or an incompletion, he runs for 10 or 15 yards or 30-something yards against Nebraska. The other night early in the game there was a play where he should have been sacked but he scrambled out of it and has the awareness to find a receiver downfield and throws for a big first down in a long yardage situation. He's actually doing things physically that are helping, but he also helping with the chemistry."
A&M's players really seem to have rallied behind McCown...
"I think Randy's demonstrated some of that reckless abandon and that's what leaders do. They get out front and lead by example. They show that we're in this and we're going to let it all hang out. I think he's done good job of that."
When WR Chris Taylor signed with A&M, you told us this was a case of the coach knowing more than the recruiting services...
"Chris Taylor is good player and he's a young guy too. I liked everything about him in high school. I think at too many times you get seduced by those lists where a guy is rated this or rated that. Here's a kid from a small town. He's a high school quarterback. He's a track guy. He's got a good family. He's a good student. You say, "Shoot if you're going to coach somebody... The guy's an athlete, you can see that. I watched a bunch of tape of him. We (the coaching staff) watched some tape, and then I went back myself and watched some more just trying to dig him out. I wanted to see him play defense. He's a quarterback so you don't know if he can catch or not. What if a guy's got 'board hands?' They just put him in on defense every once in a while, but I did see him on an interception. He went up and caught it with pretty good hands. So I said let's take him. There was some discussion on whether we should take him."
Is this the most versatile A&M has been on offense in a long time?
"I've said for a year or two that I thought our receivers were getting better. A lot of what you do depends on what you can do. You can talk about throwing, you can talk about doing a lot of things, but if you're not good or don't have a lot of capability to do it then you're probably better off not doing it. We've got some people to work with now. The more you do that, the more successfully you do it, then the more you try to do it. It snowballs a little bit. It's interesting when you get to the point that you can do that. We had eight or nine guys catch balls for us against Baylor."
Is that where the trick plays came from?
"I've always liked trick plays myself. And that goes back to my defensive background. I know that if you run one the first week, then the defense has to get ready for it the next week. If you've seen them play three games and they've run one in every game, now there's three you have to get ready for. You figure by the eighth game of the season, if they've run one or two a game, that you've got a large portion of your practice devoted to those trick plays. So you're working on every one of them, and the other team probably hadn't worked on that play in five weeks. But you don't know which one they're working on, which one they're keeping alive. (A&M all-time leader rusher) Darren Lewis threw about (four) touchdown passes when he was here, but first you have to have someone who can throw the halfback pass. You need to have a good reverse runner, that's a part of it, and now we have a couple. Chris Cole scored on a reverse and Chris Taylor scored on a reverse. Now we're looking for another Chris."
Rex Tucker and Andy Vincent started against Texas Tech last season because of injuries, how have they developed over the last year?
"That was a tough place to break in last year. There defense is hard anyway, and then for a guy to break in against that defense was a real challenge. We didn't do that well. They would have presented problems anyway even with the starters, but when you go out there with new starters at tackles and new starter at tailback, then that's a chore."
How far have Tucker and Vincent come since then?
"I think both of them are getting better every week. Rex is a guy that we see as a real talented player that has really improved at the quick tackle. Andy is a guy that we felt good enough about to move Cameron Spikes inside to guard. When we made that move we were betting that Andy would come on and be a player for us and we've been pleased."
They've really got their hands full with Montae Reagor...
"No question. Montae Reagor is really good."
Is there a psychological thing about not beating Tech in three years?
"I don't think so, because we think we should have. We came out of those games frustrated. We had the deal out there (in 1995) where we had two touchdowns called back. We felt really concerned about that. Then we throw an interception on the last play of the ballgame (in 1996), and that's a frustrating thing for you. That's not to take anything away from Tech. They put themselves in the position to win those game. Last year the backup kicker kicks a (47)-yard field goal that bounces through the uprights. Last week at the Baylor postgame press conference, someone brought up that (Tech) had dominated us. I said, 'I don't know if they dominated us. They beaten us three games by a total of 13 points.' I don't think it's domination and I don't think our players do either. I have, and our players have, a healthy respect for Texas Tech. Tech has been ready to play us. We'll have to beat them this weekend. They don't beat themselves. I think they're extremely well-coached and I'm very respectful of what he's done with that program. For years they changed coaches every time you turned around. Either some guy would win a little bit and leave them, or they'd run him off. Spike's weathered a few storms out there and now they have one of the most consistent programs in the Big 12 Conference. It's real credit to him and his coaches the job they've done."