July 25, 2002
Head Coach R.C. Slocum and seniors Sammy Davis and Mark Farris were in Houston on Thursday, meeting with reporters from around the region and country at the annual Big 12 Football Media Days held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel.
Houston is the site of this year's Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game, set for Dec. 7 at the new Reliant Stadium. The two-day event was attended by coaches and student-athletes from all 12 league institutions.
Click on the links below to listen to the press conference in its entirety.
SELECTED QUOTES FROM BIG 12 MEDIA DAY (from www.big12sports.com)
Head Coach R.C. Slocum
Outlook on this season: "I am very excited about this season. I feel good about this football team. We won eight games last year and had to play a lot of freshmen who will have a lot more experience this season. Over time, their experience from last year will make us a much improved football team. We have got a challenge ahead of us, but we?â„¢re hungry."
On his team being underdogs in the Big 12 South Division race: "There are pluses and minuses to it. The coaches and players take this (being picked to finish fourth), as a challenge. We also like being the favorites too. We?â„¢ve had it both ways. It really doesn?â„¢t matter where we are picked to finish once we get started."
On what will be the strengths of this year?â„¢s team: "Our defense will be a big strength. I have no questions about Mark?â„¢s (Farris) ability to throw the football. I am very confident in his passing ability. Our ability to improve the offense will depend on how much better we can run the football than last year. We weren?â„¢t very good in that area last year."
On whether or not he plans to redshirt freshman QB Reggie McNeal: "Reggie is a very talented young man but I haven?â„¢t made a decision on him yet. With all of the young guys, we bring them in and see if they can help this team this year and if they can?â„¢t, we redshirt them. The coaches can usually tell if someone will help us after a few practices. It?â„¢s very, very unusual for a freshman quarterback to come in and play right away at this level and in a conference as tough as the Big 12."
On why his team had so much trouble running the ball last season: "If you are good at running the football, you have a good tight end. Last year, we had to run the football without a tight end. We had a lot of injuries there last year and had to move a freshman over from the defensive line."
Senior Quarterback Mark Farris
On how the team has improved from last season: "First of all, the freshman did a great job last year. I think that it was probably asking too much of them, especially with that many freshman having to come in and play on that side of the ball. They did as good of a job as we could expect, and some of them did an even better job than that."
"There?â„¢s a lot of stuff that goes into it - a new offensive system, three new offensive coaches, and, at the same time, I have to play better. Everybody on offense has to play better. I think that?â„¢s what we concentrated on this spring. There?â„¢s nothing we can do about injuries. There?â„¢s nothing we can do about having new coaches. We just have to go out there and do the best with what we?â„¢ve got."
Senior Defensive Back Sammy Davis
On playing tough conference opponents: "We come into the season knowing that both Texas and Oklahoma are going to be the top ranked teams in the nation. We?â„¢re in the division where we?â„¢ve got to come in and play both of them. It will be two great games and two great opportunities for us to shock the world. With them being ranked that high we want to go out and prove ourselves."