September 25, 2001
On Notre Dame being 0-2...
"They're a good team. They're a talented team. It is misleading, because if they had played the schedule that we play or other college teams play then they'd be undefeated."
Are they a more dangerous team at 0-2?
"I don't expect anymore or any less. Had they won both of those games they would be fired up to play us anyway. They have eight senior starters on offense and nine senior starters on defense and they are a big physical powerful team. They got off to a bad start against Nebraska. I have seen some pretty good teams go into Nebraska and lose. I thought after the first quarter they really settled down and played pretty good football. Against Michigan State it was 10-10 at halftime and then late in the fourth quarter they hit a slant pass on a blitz and a guy missed a tackle and made a touchdown. Most that do not follow college football assume that because they are 0-2 and they will not be a great opponent this weekend, but from a coaching perspective and looking at them on tape I have just as high regard of them as I did before the season.
Can you explain what Bob Davie said about Jamaar Taylor during the transfer?
"He thought that Jamaar was worth a scholarship. He was a guy that he did not know a lot about, because he was injured. He said he just did not know. He felt the jury was not yet out on whether he would be a player or not. He told me he would be worth the gamble. We have not really talked about him this fall."
How do you feel about playing Bob Davie back here in College Station and the heat he is catching this year?
"We had so many shared memories over a nine-year period. We traveled and recruited together, we shared some great memories and some not so great moments, so you develop a real closeness with him and his family. He and I hit it off good when he first came here and it was more than a working relationship. As far as the heat he is catching, it is not any worse than what goes on around here or any other college football arena. It is no more than the heat Joe Paterno is catching right now or Bobby Bowden. No coach is immune to that, and most coaches understand that. Last night I watched Green Bay play Washington. Marty Schottenheimer is a very dear friend of mine. I know he is a great coach and I like him. He is a very good coach. He had a bad night last night, his team did. Marty Schotennheimer is not any worse coach today than he was two weeks ago or even two years ago. The public says this week a guy is a great guy and then the next week like this week Bobby Bowden is probably old and has been passed up. You just have to deal with that."
If you could clear the hurdle and beat Notre Dame this week what would it mean to your season?
"If we can beat this team, I think we are capable of beating anyone in the Big XII. I have that much respect for their coaching and for their players. It is a challenge for us because we have not played a team as good as Notre Dame this year. We will have to play much better in all areas than we have in order to win this ballgame. If we can do that then I'll say we are making progress as a team and if we continue to do that then we'll have a chance to grow into a real good football team."
During your past dozen years is there one team that stands out as on that got better throughout the season?
"I thought the 98' team. We played Florida State and then struggled in the rain in Southern Mississippi and barley won. The we came back and opened conference in Kansas. We just misfired a lot all day and ended up down late in the game. We took the ball 80 yards down the field to win the game and we were ugly. Then we had Nebraska coming the next week. I can remember telling the team, we got it done, it was ugly but you found a way to win and I have to give you credit for that. Next week we played Nebraska and I think they were ranked #2 in the nation and probably took the week off after they watched the Kansas tapes. We beat them and that gave us a shot in the arm, and we continued to get better and won 10 straight games that year. We played Kansas State when they were #1 in one poll and #2 in another and beat them to win the championship."
Do you see any parallels with this team and the 98' team?
"Well not yet, it is too soon. If we beat Notre Dame then I'll say, yes maybe we've got the makings of it. This past week we made some improvements, but still the pattern is not quite there."
Could you tell us a little bit about Carlisle Holiday?
"Carlisle is a bright young man. He is a very talented young athlete that can run and throw. He is a guy that I looked at when he was in high school. I thought he was the best quarterback in Texas. I went in his home and went to his school and recruited him hard. I think it got down to Nebraska and Notre Dame."
Does winning this week get you ranked or is that important?
"It is important I guess, but we've still only played one Big XII game. If we continue to win and if we're a good team then we'll have plenty of opportunities to get ranked. If you end up the year and have played well in the Big XII, then you'll be ranked. And if you don't then you won't be ranked."
Is this the type of week you look forward to as a coach, playing a friend in front of a record crowd?
"This whole week things have been screwed down. We have never relaxed at all since Sunday. We have been grinding the football. You just run on nervous energy all week. Saturday it just intensifies with the crowd and the exciting atmosphere. That is the fun part of this job is being involved in something that just consumes you.
Can you give us the growth of Jamaar Taylor in your mind since he has been here?
"First of all in high school he was a quarterback so he was a projection guy at receiver. He went to Notre Dame and got hurt. Then he came here in the fall and was a scout team guy. Then he has muscles pulled and is hurt a lot so he missed a lot of practice time. So we looked at him and did not feel that excited. Then in the spring we went through the same kind of thing in the spring so I called him in and said you might not be a football player. Some guys bodies just are not made to be football players. Maybe you are one of those guys, but at some point you have to be honest with yourself. If in fact you are hurt all this time like you say that you are. I did not know if he was hurt, so as a coach so I had to ask him. If you are going to play here and on scholarship I need you to be on the field. You have to decide if you are hurt or not. Then Spring Training rolled around and he showed a glimpse of talent, but then he was hurt again and this time his grades were bad. There comes a point where you just have to say enough is enough. So I sent his mother a letter and told them I was not renewing his scholarship. I told him that he had to take care of his grades over the summer and that I would decide in August if he could be on this football team. So to his credit he worked very hard academically and did not miss one summer workout. I was honest with you about his short comings and I will be honest with you about what he has done. He has worked very hard this fall. He has done everything I have asked of him in practice and he has played well in the games. I would not have ever predicted this."
What is the tailback situation?
"We will go through this week and evaluate practice and arrive at a starter by game time. We are not quite to the point where we can decide on who that one guy is. We'd like to get to where one guy gets the bulk of the playing time, but I do not think, due to Keith's injury, that I am in the position at this time to make that decision. Farmer is in the mix. All three of them are in the mix."
How has the defense held up in practice?
"We had a good workout with no pads on. It will be a big test today, because we will have a real long one. It will be by far the most physical game we play. They are a team that will line up and test us on the options on the perimeter and they will test us on running the ball right at us."