October 12, 1999
On the Rest of the Schedule:
"Well it might get tough this week (against Kansas). From a coaching standpoint, when you watch the tapes, they've had some guys hurt, and it sounds like they might be getting some of those guys back. You are never good enough where you can look at a game like this and say we'll be OK this week, and then it's going to get tough after that. It would be very foolish for us to do that."
On the Conference Race:
"We're in the race right now and we've got one strike against us already, and if we're going to stay in the race, it's going to be a week to week battle. This is a conference game this week, so it counts as a big one. You either take a step up or you take a big step backwards. Everybody is still very much in this race. A few are a little ahead of the others, but we're in for a fight every week, but that is what championship teams are made of, they find a way to grind it out through the course of the season. I think it is to hard to tell who is the favorite, but I think somebody in the next couple of weeks will start to move forward."
On the Baylor Game:
"We played a little better on Saturday. We rushed the ball better; we made some plays in the passing game, and played pretty good defense. We allowed some big plays on defense, and that is something you never like to see. I don't think I know much more about where our team is than I did before the game. Every once in a while you reach a point where you say that we're really playing well right now. We've got most of our guys healthy and we've had solid performances on defense and solid performances on offense. Every once in a while you get like that, but in most cases you are trying to get better each week and you have some concerns coming out of games. We are still not a championship caliber team. We've got a lot of places that we need to shore up if we're going to stay in the race and have a chance to be a champion."
On the Health of the Team:
"We've got a lot of people hurt. We lost Shea Holder for the year, and then Tango McCauley, who plays the same position, got hurt. On Saturday, Andy Vincent got a concussion in the game, and likely will not play. Dante Hall has not practiced, Tiki Hardeman has not practiced, and I don't expect either of them to practice in today's workout. Jason Glenn was on crutches yesterday with a sprained ankle and he's not expected to workout. Those things take away from some of your consistency, and they take away from some of your production."
On the Running Backs Stepping Up With Dante Hall Out:
"I was really pleased with Eric Bernard, after all he's been through, to come back and play like that. I'm happy with the contribution that he made to the team, but I'm also very happy just for him as a person. I thought Joe Weber did a good job when he was in there. Ja'Mar played fullback and tailback, and he had a good game. Stacy Jones stepped up and was a lifesaver because he allowed us to put Ja'Mar at tailback some."
On the Depth in the Backfield:
"We've got a little more depth this year than we did last year. We're fortunate because you can see what happens. All the sudden we had two backs out for this ballgame, but we do have some capable guys coming off the bench. Eric is a guy who has played, Joe is a mature freshman who is capable of playing, and Stacy Jones has been a real surprise to us. He is a great blocker. He'll go find those linebackers and go get them. That is his job, and he understands that. You'll give them the ball every once in a while to keep them happy, but they're not guys you go into the game thinking they're going to be part of the running attack."
On Ja'Mar's Biggest Improvements This Year:
"I think he is a little bit better at blocking. We've worked hard on that, but I still think he has a lot of work to do. He still is not what I would call a good blocker, but he is working hard on that. He had been a tailback in high school and had not blocked, but now he is in a position where he has to do a lot of it. He has been getting to line up at tailback some and he really likes that. We would like to do some more of that as the year goes on. He really likes that, and I think it is effective, especially in between the tackles."