October 31, 2000
Head Coach R.C. Slocum
Talk about keeping your team on an even keel after losing to Colorado and beating Kansas State?
"I talk to them all the time about the game of football being a lot like the game of life. I think it's a great laboratory setting for these young men. If they learn one thing, then this whole experience will be worthwhile. That one thing is what life's really all about. One day, you think everything's going good, and the next day you have something come along. A lot of those things you can't escape from. If you just keep hanging in there, you're going to live. Football is just like that. Stay steady, keep working and stay positive. I talked with the team at length about that after the game on Saturday. The same people who three weeks ago were writing you off all have you winning out. You have to see through both of them. I think some of what you say as a coach does sink in."
How much has your offensive line improved in the last couple of weeks, and how much of that is a factor in the way the team's improved?
"I think our line's been getting better all year. One of the big challenges we've faced is that they haven't been on the field together in a game or practice. Consistency comes from practicing and doing the same things over with the same people. You get a feel for each other. Earlier in the year, we had some plays where everybody was doing a good job except for one guy who maybe didn't execute like he should. On offense, that play is a bad play. They've continued to work and get better. The big thing was we haven't had the same guys practicing together the whole time until now. We're still getting a better feel for what's good for us and what's not."
Over the years, it seems like you've wanted to build toward this type of offense. You've had a very successful program for years now, but was it frustrating not being able to get the weapons you wanted and needed in the past for this type of offense?
"It was very frustrating. I knew it wasn't a case of us not knowing the pass routes or how to coach the passing game. It wasn't that at all. It was very frustrating after the Cotton Bowl against UCLA. The difference in that game was the two or three plays (Cade) McNown made. Now he's playing in the NFL. Other than that, we would have won that game going away. If you don't have the quarterback, it's hard to get the receivers. If you don't have the receivers, it's hard to get the quarterback. Then it looks like you don't want to throw or you can't throw. It's like a cycle that's hard to break. It becomes part of your identity. I like to throw it and I like to win. You keep working till you have some of the tools. Mark Farris is a guy that gives us a chance to do that. We've started that over the past couple of years with Steve Kragthorpe and Ray Dorr. I think we've gotten better even before this year. We were making some progress, but it just didn't show up. I could see progress being made a year ago. We just weren't far enough along in doing it for it to be something you could really identify as an outsider."
Do you see this season being pivotal in the sense that now you know you've got the quarterback for the next two years that this will self-perpetuate?
"We've gotten a couple of good commitments from receivers already, and we've got several other guys we think are really good who are looking hard at us. We're going to get a couple more good receivers. You've got people who come in and watch you and identify with what you're doing. They see you're throwing the ball. It's exciting, and there's no question from a fan's standpoint it's exciting too. They like the idea and I like the idea of throwing the ball. We're showing more balance this year. We've another step toward what you need to be a good offensive football team."
Talk about the play of the defense over the last three games.
"At the start of the year, we lost Rocky Bernard for the season and that was something we had to deal with. He was a leader on the defense. Terry Nichols was a guy that everybody identified with and he had some leadership. Then Michael Jameson got hurt and he missed the first part of the year. We were down quite a bit in terms of experienced guys we had coming back, and we were playing all young guys in the secondary. It's the youngest we've ever been back there. I've been pleasantly surprised that we have not had more problems than we've had with the youth in our secondary. The guys are getting better, and we've played a bunch of pretty good passing teams. They've held their own pretty well. Our front's getting some pressure. Jason Glenn is really having a good year."
From an offensive perspective, a lot more goes into keeping your quarterback from being sacked than what the offensive line does.
"A lot of it is having a quarterback who has a quick release. Having a guy who can get rid of the football has a whole lot to do with it. Then, all the formations have something to do with it. That option play we run helps a lot. If we're in the shotgun and you're running a blitz on the other side, then you're risking a lot. There are some plays we run like that which have a deterrent effect upon defenses. You better pick and choose when you blitz, because you may hurt them but they may hurt you, too. So with the formations we run things out of, you can make it harder for people to run certain blitzes because of the way you line yourselves across the field. Right now, you don't know what formation you're going to get down-to-down playing against us."
Talk a little about the role the tight end plays in this offense as it has evolved.
"You can't throw it to everybody. You've got backs and receivers you're trying to get the ball to. There are times when you've got to have a tight end in there for your running game. (Michael) De La Torre has been hurt, and he's missed a bunch of time. RoDerrick (Broughton) is a good, steady guy, but he's not a guy who is going to burn down the field and threaten people deep. So, we don't try to do that."
A lot of times when you have a guy like Seth McKinney who is as consistent as he is, he kind of gets overlooked. Seems like he's done a good job for you.
"He's a great player. He just does what he's supposed to do every week. He makes very few mistakes. He plays hard and he's a quiet, kind of unassuming kind of guy. You don't hear much about him. He just goes out there and plays well every week. You can't be good unless you have a good center. He's been a great player for us."
Talk about Harold Robertson and the role he has on the defense with the nickel package and so forth.
"Harold would have been a much better player up to this point had he been healthy. He's missed a tremendous amount of practice time, and then because of that he's been unavailable to play. He's a guy that can run. He has a lot of football savvy. He really does a good job with as much nickel and dime as we play. He plays the adjust or cover linebacker. He does a lot of displaced covering and does an excellent job of it."
Is getting to Kansas City for the Big 12 Championship game more realistic now with Kansas State behind you?
"I haven't talked much about it at all. At the beginning of the year, I talked about taking it one game at a time. Weeks ago everybody had it all figured out, but now their figures aren't exactly like they were at that time. As a coach, I've tried not to get into that because you still can't figure it out. The thing we can do something about is getting ready for Oklahoma State. All that other stuff takes care of itself. Let's not worry about getting to Kansas City. Let's worry about getting to Stillwater and playing that game. Then we'll have another big one in here. Obviously, the goal for any team in the South or the North is to get to the championship game, and we're still in the picture. We control our own destiny. To keep that, it happens on the field. We have to perform this week to keep it. There's an old saying I've used before - Remember November. In football, you either get to a point where you're looking forward to the games in November with anticipation and excitement or you're saying how many more weeks of this until it's over. With our team, it's been the case almost every year that we've still been in the mix about this time. It adds to your motivation in practice. You can't wait to play the next game, and you're anxious to see what's going on. This time of the year, the teams you're playing usually have that too."
Talk about Oklahoma State and the rumors that this might be head coach Bob Simmons' last year.
"I think Bob Simmons is a good man, and has done a good job coaching and managing his team. I imagine his team respects him and feels strongly about him. Normally, that brings out the best in teams when they hear those kinds of things."
You have been around a long time. As far as recruiting goes, do you like having so much of it done early or has it become a necessary evil because of what others are doing? Are you further ahead than usual this year?
"We are further ahead than normal. I credit a lot of that to all the recruiting services and the phone calls they make. They legislated us out of it where the coaches only get a call a week. But there are no limits on all the other people who can call. It just gets to be such a hassle that I think kids and their families get tired of it. Hopefully, it's going back around to the point that this is a business decision. Right now, we've got a limited number of scholarships, and those are great opportunities for kids here in Texas to come play in a successful program and get a college education."