September 18, 2001
On the Aggie defense...
"I have not been pleased with the way we have played, and do not think they are either, particularly the older guys. The starting point is to recognize what a good performance is. I am a firm believer that your practice determines how you're going to play. You have to practice with an intensity that will carry over to a game. Your scout team is not exactly what you are going to see on Saturday, so you have to use your imagination to push yourself to get that high level of intensity and emotion. I have coached football for a long time and I know what it looks like when a player is not playing the way he should be. I have watched the tapes all week and it doesn't require someone to have to tell me when we do not play well. I know that better than anyone. It is also more frustrating to me than to anyone else, because I have a lot more invested. To me that is how I get my satisfaction. When you do not reach your standards you know you did not do a good job. As a coach that is what makes you tick, it is the challenge of getting it going and when it's not going it's frustrating. Then we have these open dates and they make for really long weeks because we really want to go back out and play the next day. I am disappointed in how we have played in the first two games. You will obviously never reach perfection, but there are different degrees that we can say we are doing pretty well. And this is not yet the case."
What basically are you most disappointed with in the defense?
"It is not any one guy or any one thing, it is just the overall intensity. The sense of urgency and getting things done. The drive after the half that McNeese had and letting them take the ball 80 yards down the field was something that I am not accustomed to seeing. I know the road is going to get a lot tougher starting this week, and we are going to have to play at a totally different level than what we've played at up to this point in order to be successful."
What have you seen from Richard Whitaker in his move to receiver?
"The skills he has at running with the ball after the catch show me that he has really made the adjustment. Last year we did some things with him as a receiver, so we saw some of it at that time. We just thought it would be a good opportunity to put a guy at receiver that is a playmaker. I believe he has the speed of a Sirr Parker. When he came to our camp (in high school) he ran a 4.45 40. He is not a track sprinter but he has good speed. He can catch the ball well and I think he will be a great player.
How about the Cowboys?
"They have good players on their team. They are an athletic team. Every year we play them they always play us a good football game. This one will be no different I am sure."
On OSU Quarterback Aso Pogi...
"I was shocked last year at how good he was, before we had not seen him. Once I got on the field I was amazed at how big he is. He is like a defensive lineman. He is difficult to take down. He is way bigger than any of those defensive backs and maybe even our linebackers. I was really impressed with him last year. He is someone to be reckoned with."
Emotions of your team after the tragedy...
"I do not know what to expect. This is so much a part of our lives with every newspaper, every news cast and every headline. This will continue now as the real life stories and personal tragedies are coming out. It is awfully sad and tragic. I have talked to them about taking the time when you're out on the field and tuning everything else out. There comes a time when you have to leave everything else and turn to football. I think that the atmosphere of the stadium will be charged and people will be proud to be at Texas A&M to see the patriotism by our students and our former students."
Comments on any ties your players have with people involved on Tuesday...
"There is no question that the feeling was very similar to the Bonfire (tragedy in 1999). There was a big uncertainty of what was going on. The players didn't know what we were going to do. We had a team meeting and I think that sometimes just talking about it helps. That day everyone was enjoying being with each other. As far as Jay Brooks we were in contact with the Red Cross to check on his mother. He was very anxious and all of his friends were anxious for him. Jay has no one here to share with, so he was kind of here by himself, with the exception of his family of teammates. I was very relieved to know everything was OK for him."
In practice how has Cody Scates been kicking the ball?
"It has improved. He had kicked well going into that game. I was concerned going into the Wyoming game, because that grass was the longest grass I'd ever seen before. I asked Shawn (Slocum) before the game if he was going to have trouble with it, because that has to at least psychologically have an effect on you. One-fourth of the ball is under the grass. I do not know if that had anything to do with it. I did not ask the kid because I did not want to spook him. He hit the ball decently before the game in warm-ups. In the game he hit the ball solidly, his leg was there. I think in dealing with kickers, you have to be very careful in how you deal with them. When a guy misses the ball by six inches up high on the upright you really cannot say much. He has a great disposition of any kicker and I love his mentality. He probably made the best tackle of that game."