Texas coach Charlie Strong addressed the media during his weekly press conference on Monday, and his players spoke afterwards. As you can probably imagine, the performance of this year’s defense remained a hot topic when Texas players were asked questions during Monday’s break out session.
Here are the highlights of safety Dylan Haines and defensive tackle Paul Boyette’s media availability:
- Haines said defensive coordinator Vance Bedford is doing a great job when asked about Bedford on Monday: “Cause I played under him for three years now. He always has us well prepared each week. He gives us everything that we need to know. Like he says, each week is a test, and he gives us all the answers, and I truly believe that. We get all the tip sheets. All the favorite route combinations, favorite plays and everything. If you take the time to study that, you can come well prepared into every game. We knew Chad Hansen, No. 6, was the guy to stop. We knew he had all these receiving yards. We knew he was the guy to stop. We knew every player, every personnel, the same routes they were going to run. We just didn’t do it. We were prepared. We were ready to go. We just didn’t execute.”
- When asked if the current defensive scheme was difficult to learn, Haines said, “It’s been the same since I’ve been playing for three years. If anything, the coaches have put it in a way that’s easier to grasp because we’ve had some young people that have had to come in and play. In my first year, there were a lot of older guys. I was probably the youngest guy out there and I was able to grasp it. I don’t think that’s the issue. I think it’s, like I said, execution."
- Haines said the biggest problem facing this year’s team is a lack of communication.
- In addition, Haines admitted there was a little confusion on the field at times. When asked how that could occur three years into a defensive system, he said, “It happens in every team. I think no matter how much experience you have, there’s going to be breakdowns sometimes. Obviously, the other night was a few too many. There’s no right or wrong answer as to why that happened. It’s just something we’re going to have to look at on film and see why certain people were thinking the way they were.”
- Like Haines, Boyette said there needs to be better communication: “Just have to have confidence, communication and straight focus. Preparation has to be on point. Everybody go out there and communicate. Go out there and compete. That’s all about what it is. Competing.”
- Here is an interesting quote about Boyette: “I wouldn’t say we’re down. We’re frustrated because of a lack of communication. I don’t think we’re down because we know we can go out there and compete at the highest level with any offense in the country. At the end of the day, it’s all about maturity level and confidence.”
- Boyette said the team arrived back in Austin at 7:15 a.m., there was a quick team meeting and players were dismissed.
- Boyette said players are allowed to give coaches input about things they see on the field. However, he did not say if their input influenced the defensive play-calling.
- In addition to communication, here is Boyette’s other key to a defensive turnaround: “We've got to play with relentless effort. We understood going in preparation for (Cal quarterback) Davis Webb how he’s a tall guy in the pocket. We understood (what we had to do). We did a good job of getting pressure on him. We sacked him three times. That wasn’t good enough. The Cal game is behind me. I understand what happened on Saturday. That’s behind me. The seniors understand that. We've just got to out there and get ready for Oklahoma State.”
Here are the highlights of safety Dylan Haines and defensive tackle Paul Boyette’s media availability:
- Haines said defensive coordinator Vance Bedford is doing a great job when asked about Bedford on Monday: “Cause I played under him for three years now. He always has us well prepared each week. He gives us everything that we need to know. Like he says, each week is a test, and he gives us all the answers, and I truly believe that. We get all the tip sheets. All the favorite route combinations, favorite plays and everything. If you take the time to study that, you can come well prepared into every game. We knew Chad Hansen, No. 6, was the guy to stop. We knew he had all these receiving yards. We knew he was the guy to stop. We knew every player, every personnel, the same routes they were going to run. We just didn’t do it. We were prepared. We were ready to go. We just didn’t execute.”
- When asked if the current defensive scheme was difficult to learn, Haines said, “It’s been the same since I’ve been playing for three years. If anything, the coaches have put it in a way that’s easier to grasp because we’ve had some young people that have had to come in and play. In my first year, there were a lot of older guys. I was probably the youngest guy out there and I was able to grasp it. I don’t think that’s the issue. I think it’s, like I said, execution."
- Haines said the biggest problem facing this year’s team is a lack of communication.
- In addition, Haines admitted there was a little confusion on the field at times. When asked how that could occur three years into a defensive system, he said, “It happens in every team. I think no matter how much experience you have, there’s going to be breakdowns sometimes. Obviously, the other night was a few too many. There’s no right or wrong answer as to why that happened. It’s just something we’re going to have to look at on film and see why certain people were thinking the way they were.”
- Like Haines, Boyette said there needs to be better communication: “Just have to have confidence, communication and straight focus. Preparation has to be on point. Everybody go out there and communicate. Go out there and compete. That’s all about what it is. Competing.”
- Here is an interesting quote about Boyette: “I wouldn’t say we’re down. We’re frustrated because of a lack of communication. I don’t think we’re down because we know we can go out there and compete at the highest level with any offense in the country. At the end of the day, it’s all about maturity level and confidence.”
- Boyette said the team arrived back in Austin at 7:15 a.m., there was a quick team meeting and players were dismissed.
- Boyette said players are allowed to give coaches input about things they see on the field. However, he did not say if their input influenced the defensive play-calling.
- In addition to communication, here is Boyette’s other key to a defensive turnaround: “We've got to play with relentless effort. We understood going in preparation for (Cal quarterback) Davis Webb how he’s a tall guy in the pocket. We understood (what we had to do). We did a good job of getting pressure on him. We sacked him three times. That wasn’t good enough. The Cal game is behind me. I understand what happened on Saturday. That’s behind me. The seniors understand that. We've just got to out there and get ready for Oklahoma State.”
