Tuesday Media Luncheon Quotes and Audio

October 09, 2007

Coaches and players met with the press on Tuesday at the weekly football media luncheon, held at the Bright Complex on the Texas A&M campus.

The Aggies (5-1, 2-0) are preparing to travel to Lubbock to meet Texas Tech (5-1, 1-1) at Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (CDT) and ABC will televise the game on a regional basis.

Audio clips are available in MP3 format to the right.

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TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL

Tuesday Media Luncheon

Head Coach Dennis Franchione comments

COACH FRAN: How y?™all doing? Well, we?™ve made it through half the games; and we certainly have our work cut out for us here as we go through the next half of the schedule with four of the teams in the top 25 and both of the next two very close to being in the top 25 and they have a chance to be there before the end of the season. I think (Texas) Tech?™s got a good football team. Obviously going to Lubbock has been a chore for us the last several years and their offense is playing unbelievably well. (B.J.) Symons was pretty good that first year but Graham Harrell is really playing excellent right now. He just seems to have such a presence about him about where guys are and coverage and timing and things. They change faces, they?™ve got a lot of new people out there; but they?™re still putting up big numbers. They don?™t have a lot of seniors on offense. Fifty-two points a game and 600 yards a game are unbelievable numbers. (Michael) Crabtree is certainly playing great football, outstanding athlete and he just learned the system and he?™s doing well. I think sometimes their defense gets overshadowed because I see them getting better defensively and they play solid and aggressive defense. I know they made a change a couple of weeks ago and that really was not a scheme change. It was maybe more of an attitude, enthusiasm energy change if anything; and they are playing hard and things like that. Tech always seems to play pretty good in the kicking game. (Alex) Trilica is a good kicker; he has a great leg. You don?™t know how well they?™re punting the ball because they?™ve only punted 11 times in six games so that?™s kind of an unusual number right there. The return game always seems to be pretty good. So I think it?™s a good solid club. We?™ve got our work cut out for us. We are going to have to make them miss some turns with our defense and we are going to have to be on offensively and move the football. We had about the perfect script working for us last year and we didn?™t get it finished and get it done. We have to do it just a little bit better.

THE QUESTION: Coach, can you talk about why Lubbock has been such a tough place for you guys to play? I know before you got there, (Texas A&M) had a long losing streak (in Lubbock) but since you?™ve been here?...

COACH FRAN: Well, I think first off they?™ve been pretty good since I?™ve been here. They have been scoring lots of points. I think that?™s always a big part of it. I know from just reading a little bit I?™ve heard they probably will have a sell out and a large student crowd. Their crowd is always as much into the game as anywhere we go. I really think their stadium has created a nice atmosphere for the home team and a lot of energy there is provided for their team and I think their team feeds off of it very well. It?™s a combination of a lot of things that have probably made it tough. It?™s tough to go on the road in the Big XII Conference. We did it very well last year and we?™ve got to find that unique blend of being able to do it again this year because we?™ve got those tests coming up.

THE QUESTION: Coach can you talk about the big picture of where you think this team is at and is it ready to take on the challenges of four of the next five games being on the road?

COACH FRAN: You like to think that it is because we?™ve been tested pretty good here in the first six games. We?™ve had to come from behind, we?™ve had to try protect the lead, we?™ve gone into overtime, we have been on the road once, it wasn?™t very pretty certainly. A lot of these guys were a part of that group that was undefeated on the road last year. We?™re playing four really tough road teams in this stretch and that always has something to do with it. I think we?™re as prepared as we can be. The key is always taking a good team on the road and hopefully we?™re going to take a team that?™s good enough and can master and manage. I don?™t know if master is the right word. Manage is more the right word. The intangibles it takes to go play in settings like this, and they?™ve done it. I think sometimes when you?™ve done that it gives you some confidence and knowledge how to do it and that you can do it and so hopefully that will help us.

THE QUESTION: Coach you just got done talking about how good Tech?™s offense is. How important is our offense and running game going to be and controlling the time of possession?

COACH FRAN: It?™s vital. I think one of the things that happens when you play a team that can score points like them is that you have to be very efficient and you have to sustain and finish things and when you get red zone opportunities you have to make the best of them. The long pass doesn?™t mean quite as much maybe last year at the end of the game if we don?™t have to settle for a field goal prior to that. You can?™t trade threes for sevens and you can?™t turn the ball over and you can?™t have many three and outs. You just can?™t do that. What we?™re saying basically is that you have to play team football to manage the game like this.

THE QUESTION: Coach Darnell talked a little bit about not giving up points in spurts. That has kind of been a problem this year and against Tech is that even more of a concern and how do you stay out of that?

COACH FRAN: Well we have to play good and, yes, it is a problem because they?™re in a spurt about every snap it seems like sometimes when you watch their film. You just don?™t take any deep breaths until the game is over when you play those guys. That come back they had last year in the bowl game was phenomenal so you just have to play one snap at a time and keep playing and focus on that. You just understand that you play until 00:00 and hopefully survive those things and not have too many of them during the game and run to the ball and make them earn everything.

THE QUESTION: Coach, I know they?™ve been as good offensively as any team in the country the last five, six, seven years; but the only have seven sacks and seven hurries in 350 pass attempts. Is that as efficient of offensive line play and the quarterback knowing the system as any time you?™ve ever seen?

COACH FRAN: It is. That?™s pretty phenomenal when you look at it and obviously you have to give their line and backs some credit for their ability to manage and pick up pressure. I think their quarterback has a great sense of how long he has to hold the ball and Graham (Harrell) is a little bit more mobile maybe than some of the guys they?™ve had and so once in a while he will move around a little bit. That?™s not what they wanted to I don?™t think but he?™s bought himself some time and things like that. I don?™t think you can go into the game against Tech and measure sacks. You have to measure hurries or making them throw a little out of rhythm as much as anything because they don?™t give up very many sacks. Today in college football if the quarterback sees you coming he?™s going to throw it away and I think that?™s more vivid than ever before unless the rush just encompasses you before you really have a chance to get set. For the most part if they see it they?™re going to get rid of it and they have great built in things to manage if the rush is coming and the system is obviously very good. They?™ve been able to sustain it, the faces change but the numbers don?™t and that?™s a credit to their coaching staff.

THE QUESTION: Coach, can you talk about the growth of Danny Gorrer during time you?™ve had him and how critical he?™s become to your defense.

COACH FRAN: Well, you know Danny in ?'05 probably had to play before Danny was ready to play. There were a lot of guys that year that probably did that. We suffered because of that. It was growing pains but those were experiences that helped Danny improve in ?'06 and improve this year and I think because of that it?™s probably made him a guy that?™s played at a reasonably consistent level for us. When you play out on the island sometimes you have to have a special mentality to be able to do that and sometimes when you have a tough year in pass defenses like we did in ?'05 it takes a while to come back but Danny always kept believing in himself and I think that was as big a factor coupled with the experience that he got that?™s helped him get to where he is today.

THE QUESTION: Coach, you mentioned you can?™t trade field goals for touchdowns. Does a game like this force you to go for it on fourth down when maybe you wouldn?™t ordinarily?

COACH FRAN: Well, it does make you have an anticipation of that. I think going into the game, some thoughts because you need to find ways to sustain drives and so as a result, yes, it can do that to you.

THE QUESTION: How did Jordan Peterson handle that play last year and how has he adjusted?

COACH FRAN: I couldn?™t have been prouder of a young man through that whole process. We all as coaches were concerned and hoped that we would deal with it as he did. Jordan?™s a very intelligent, mature young man and I think he was the epitome of how to deal with something that happens like that. I don?™t think he let it affect his play and his focus or his confidence or any of those kinds of things.

THE QUESTION: On the conference call yesterday someone was asking coaches about all the upsets around the country. Without getting into the scholarship limitations Ron Prince said he thought it had a lot to do with spread formations, and of course Texas Tech is one of the best at that (spread formations.)

COACH FRAN: I think Ron?™s right. I think that had something to do with it. I definitely think the 85-scholarship limit has had an impact. When I first got into college coaching a long time ago, I?™m showing my age here, you could have 105 then it went to 95 and what would happen is the programs that were suffering with attrition they would get low in numbers then with the 25 counters they couldn?™t hardly get back to 95. My first year at New Mexico after our first recruiting class, I?™m going to quote this close only, I think we had 60 to 65 guys on scholarship. That?™s how low we had gotten on numbers. Or 68, something like that. Well, the numbers while I was there dropped to 85 in my fifth or sixth year and we finally got to 85. I think it was maybe my fifth year. That certainly is not that way anymore. You hardly can sign 25 now with the 85 limit. And if you make some, you know, common mistakes of maybe somebody?™s not quite capable of playing like you hoped or if you have an academic casualty or if you have career ending injuries or transfer or whatever it may be you get thin at a certain position and you?™re kind of reeling a little bit trying to catch up from that. I think that with what?™s happened with the spread offenses has certainly made impact level on the field of college football.

THE QUESTION: With the style of offense that Tech runs they don?™t win time of possession very often. Is a better barometer of that aspect of the game is total number of plays for each offense?

COACH FRAN: Well, the first barometer is points. In our case plays or time is probably correct. In their case, I think you?™re probably right; it?™s probably plays or points first then plays. I?™ve seen them have three or four play drives and they can do it quick sometimes and plays may not even be as big a factor. Hopefully we can make it be a factor though.

THE QUESTION: You said that you had nearly the perfect script against Tech last year. Can you talk a little more about the things you did so well?

COACH FRAN: Well, we kept our patience. We got behind in the first half but we were able to maintain our patience. We weren?™t always scoring points but we were changing field position and we hung in there defensively. I don?™t remember the time of possession or anything but I know it was kind of lopsided probably in our favor and I think we might have got them a little bit out of rhythm with that and, as it worked out we had the drive to go down and tie and then the drive to go ahead. It?™s like Oklahoma State, when (Brandon) Pettigrew scored. I was watching that game on TV and when they made that fantastic play to Pettigrew that went about 55 for a touchdown, I said you did it too soon and of course they drove it the length of the field and went down to the last play and I think that?™s what happened to us. We left too much time on the clock and it doesn?™t take much for that team when they?™re on.

THE QUESTION: Also, is there anything that you can do to simulate that environment? Can you pipe in crowd noise?

COACH FRAN: We are. The turf that they have in their stadium I think is relatively new since we?™ve been there so I think our indoor turf will match up with it and then to facilitate crowd noise that will be good. When we do go indoors this week we?™ll do those kinds of things.

THE QUESTION: Will you have assistants throw tortillas at your team?

COACH FRAN: (Laughs) I haven?™t thought about that but we may need to prepare for those kinds of things.

THE QUESTION: Coach Koenning talked about controlling the clock, four yards at a time at a clip. Does that mean this game is tailor made for Jorvorskie (Lane) to get 25 carries or something like that? Can you talk about the kind of weapon he is and all the things you can do with a 270-pound guy?

COACH FRAN: Well, I think you?™ve got something there. Obviously controlling the clock is nice but we have to get points because we know they?™re going to get points. I think we all came out of last Saturday night?™s game into Sunday saying the J-train?™s a pretty valuable player on this team. His ability to make yards, throw the ball like he does, the guy?™s got fantastic hands. He does things that you just don?™t think a guy his size is going to do at the level that he does. I think it was last Sunday or Monday he said, ?Coach, I can punt, too. He said just don?™t put me outside the 50-yard line but he was telling me he could punt the ball. I don?™t doubt it. I?™ve learned that if ?J? says he can do something, you just need to book it because he is a unique athlete and he is certainly somebody we need to have a good game. I don?™t think you can ever diminish the fact that Mike Goodson has an element that is special to us, too; but certainly Jorvorskie?™s impact and like last Saturday?™s game and what he can do is, I think you?™re right on.

THE QUESTION: To follow up you know obviously you?™ve had one of the greatest running backs of our current football generation with LT (LaDanian Tomlinson) but does Jorvorskie give you certain ways to come up with things that other running backs can?™t do because of his size, obviously Jorvorskie can?™t do what LT does but, do you know what I?™m saying?

COACH FRAN: I know what you?™re saying. I think today in college football you deal with people that try to overload the box sometimes and put one more guy in than you can block and the natural inclination for an offensive coach is to find a way to neutralize those numbers and sometimes Jorvorskie can neutralize them himself. Oklahoma State did that to us a few times the other night and he barrels through the hole and knocks one guy down and makes two or three more yards and puts you in a decent down and distance situation. I hate to bank on that all the time. I think you can get yourself behind the chains if you bank on that all the time but there is a point in time where he can wear down a defense and make plays that can kind of almost go against what you?™re offensive thinking is once in a while.

THE QUESTION: If you look at your scoring breakdown by quarters this year so far every quarter you?™ve scored more points than the previous quarter. What do you make of that? Is that the sign of a team that may be a little mentally stronger to score points late in the game like that?

COACH FRAN: You could have something there about that. Sometimes getting a feel for what you?™re up against, the speed of the game, the opponent, we?™ve played some new people this year early and so it?™s not like right now the last two weeks we?™re playing people that we?™ve played every year with the Big 12 south team. Next week we play Nebraska, we played them last year but last year at this time it was the first time to play them so sometimes I think you can go through a little bit of getting used to that guy. You watched him on tape but it?™s not quite the same as playing against guys year in and year out and conditioning has something to do with that. I think our guys have been in good enough shape to get better as the game goes on. I mean, even when we ran 100 plays in the game on one side of the ball or the other they?™ve been able to manage it. In the Fresno (State) game that was as tough a day to play football as you could ever ask to play in and they did a great job of managing that. It was a challenge for them, for both teams.

THE QUESTION: Texas Tech students have come out with t-shirts that say Vick-Em. Have you heard about these Texas Tech t-shirts at all?

COACH FRAN: I don?™t have time to worry about t-shirts right now. I got to try to slow them down.