Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone. As we continue
to work our way through our three of The Craig
Way Show. If you missed any of it, go back
and listen to the podcast version of the show. You
listen to segments free on the iHeartRadio app. Okay, So
this Saturday is senior Day. It is going to be emotional.
(00:22):
There's going to be a lot of tears shed. There's
also going to be a lot of football being played.
And the question was led to a given to coach Sarkeesian.
How do you deal with all of the different emotions?
How do you work your way through the different emotions
of the players. How do you work through the emotions
that you might be feeling? This is cut number five,
(00:44):
Sark five? How do you temper the emotions on a
senior day?
Speaker 2 (00:48):
The majority of these guys either came to this program
prior to me getting here and or signed with the
University of Texas and December, and then I got hired
in January, and so they were kind of stuck with
me as their head coach at least for one year.
But in this day and age of college football and
(01:09):
the transfer portal, when all of these guys had plenty
of opportunities to go to other schools. They believed in
what we were doing, and they gave everything they had
to this program over a four year span, and they've
been part of this evolution of our football program. Because
when you're five and seven, they all could have left,
(01:30):
you know, when we were eight and five and maybe
they weren't starters, they all could have left, you know.
But in year three, they're Big twelve champs, they go
to College Football Playoff, and then they all really became
leaders on this year's team.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
And when I talked about how.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Many leaders we have now, the bulk of those guys
are this class of players that are going to come
out of the tunnel and get recognized Saturday. And so
I'm very grateful for those guys and what they've given
to the program. But I'm also proud of them because
it's a different journey that they've been on compared to
you know, decades past of college football, because they really
(02:09):
believed in what we were doing.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So we're gonna honor them.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
In pregame, I try to get some of the emotional
stuff out.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Of the way today.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
So we did that today, you know, post practice, and
I had a nice discussion with them, and then the
team celebrated them coming off the field, and I recognize
this with them too. I said, hey, I want you
to make sure you take in Saturday and you have
your moment, But the best memory you're gonna have from
Saturday of your senior day is playing really well in
winning the game. And so that's the best way we
(02:38):
can honor them. But that's the best memory they're going
to have for themselves, right, is going out and playing
good football and trying.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
To get a victory.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
And so you know, we use that adage, right, We're
gonna play with emotion but not emotional, and so it's
not something new that we have to create, but but
we have to. We have to believe that and we
have to we have to adhere to it.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
That is something i'd go on a T shirt. We
need to play with emotion but not emotional. A lot
of college football coaches have a lot of different sayings.
That is one that I would one hundred percent adopt
if I was a college football coach. We want to
play with emotion, we don't want to play emotional. But
clearly that is going to weigh on a coach. That's
going to weigh on a staff. There's twenty three guys
(03:19):
from my understanding, on this Longhorn roster who will be
honor tomorrow for Senior Day. But there's also guys who
are going to be playing their last game at DKR
because they decided to go to the NFL Draft, or
they decide to go in the portal and go somewhere else.
There's going to be a lot of guys who this
is their last game in Austin, Texas as a college
(03:40):
or as a University of Texas football player. And to
those guys, I have to say thank you, right, I
think that's what a lot of Texas fans have to
be saying right now, is thank you for helping us
get back to this point that I grew up with.
There's older fans who remember how great this team was
back in the Southwest Conference, right, There's guys who remember
(04:02):
how good this team was in the nineties. My first
recollections of Texas football was the mid two thousands with
Vince Young and Cole McCoy and getting to that level
of going to national championships and winning Big twelve championships.
That was my first recollection of Texas football. So I
have always said, Okay, that is my standard. I can't
(04:23):
hold you to a standard that I don't know. My
standard is this, And it feels like we finally are
kind of back to that level. But a lot of
coaches have to make up storylines. We talked a little
bit earlier on the show about how as a head coach,
you don't want to put your foot in your mouth.
You don't want to say something that becomes bulletin board
material for another team. You don't want to give Kentucky
(04:44):
any extra motivation that they already have. This is a
stark number seven as a coaching staff. It's great that
this group doesn't need propped up fake storylines.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, I mean I love that that they're self motivated
that way. And like I said, Wednesday, really Tuesday, when
they started getting feisty and then into Wednesday, I, in
a weird way, I.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Kind of enjoyed it.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
I don't know if that's a little sick of me
to think that, but but I kind of enjoyed that
because to your point that they're still very hungry. So
the same hunger that I talked about all off season
and in training camp, this group is still very hungry.
But you know, when we lost the Georgia game, we
put ourselves back in the same scenario that we were
(05:35):
in a year ago. And if you recall a year
ago Senior Night we were playing Tech, we had to
win that game to get into the Big twelve Championship
game the way the tiebreaker was gonna fall.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And so we've been in this scenario before.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
It's it hasn't been new to where Okay, now we
have to go take care of our business because two
years ago, you know, we senior Night we played Baylor
and beat them, and then we had to sit on
the couch and watch Kansas play Kansas State and cheer
for the Jayhawks because if they would have won, we
could have got into the Big twelve Championship game in
case State beat them. And so we just don't want
(06:10):
to put ourselves in position where we're relying on anybody
else to help us. That we can control our own destiny,
and the best way to do that is to focus
on it one game at a time. You know, be
present today, be where your feet are, focus on the
task at hand, and not get caught up looking too
far down the road.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Just focus on what's right in front of us.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
You can't look too far down the road. That is
the truth for the University of Texas. Some other coaches
in the state may be already thinking about the final
game on their regular season schedule because it could be
the biggest game in their program's history, because this could
be the first time that they can kind of get
out of the shadow of let's call it, the flagship
brand in the state.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I don't know who I'm talking about, right.
Speaker 1 (06:50):
Steve Sarkushan has done a great job this year as
a creative head coach. He's somebody that can get different
players in positions to succeed. One of those players is
jen Blue. Blue this season came into a very rough
running back room, a very deep running back room. Since
that Georgia loss, Texas has really counted on him in
(07:13):
the last three games forty seven yards, sixty yards, and
eighty three yards in those performances from Blue. Coach sarkisha
was asked about as an offensive coach, what have you
learned about Jaden Blue this year?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, He's obviously a really versatile player for us. You know,
his ability to run the football, get on an edge,
and when when you can get him in the open field. He's,
you know, the first guy just we were joking with
him about it today and it doesn't ever get him
on the ground, but he's such a weapon in the
passing game as well, in the yardage that he gets
us in the passing game and in the red area,
(07:49):
things of that nature. So I think the more that
we've grown with Jaden has been, you know, finding multiple
ways to get the ball in his hands, especially when
we can get him the ball in his hands in space.
He's just a really tough matchup and he's obviously got
elite speed.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
So head coach Steve Sarkisian listening to him from media
earlier this week as he talks about his running back
guy who's gonna get a lot of touches in this
game against Kentucky. The Kentucky defense this season has been
relatively good against the pass and the top half of
the conference against the past.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
In the rush.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
However, rush defense wise, they have struggled, giving up one
of the worst yards per game in the conference. But
what is the relationship with Quinn? You weers like and
this feels like a question. We've been beating it all
season long, But in a game like Saturday, where it
could be Quinn's last game. In fact, it looks more
and more like it will be Quinn's last game at
(08:47):
the University of Texas. What is that relationship like and
how rare is the relationship with Quinn viewers.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
It's not so unique to me as maybe it is
around the country, you know, like the guys that have
really come into our programs, whether it's been here or
the other stops that we've had, we've we've kind of
had that continuity with the players, whether they were backups
early on and then in their career then became starters
or or starters and remain starters.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And so.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
I enjoy that process because I think you learn and
grow with that person as we evolve as an offense,
as his game continues to develop, and you start to
try to play to their strengths and what they do well,
you start to feel their presence and their leadership. And
I think that that's with Quinn exactly what it's been
from where he was year one to where he is today,
(09:39):
to the rapport he has with his teammates, to the
to the mental and physical toughness he exudes for us.
I think you think is one that's admired in the
locker room, and so I think there wasn't a more
fitting play for him than the fourth and two last
week against Arkansas, you know, where we called a zone
read with him, and you know, he decides to try
(10:02):
to run the safety over to get the first down
to seal the victory. And I just think that's who
Quinn is, and a lot of times that doesn't come
out in kind of his personality off the field, but
internally we know the competitive nature that he has, and
so for that to for that to play out that way,
I thought was a really cool moment. It was a
cool moment to see him show some excitement, and obviously
(10:23):
all of us on the sidelines were excited as well.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
So I've been proud of Quinn.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
You know, I really feel like he's as healthy as
he's been now today that he that he was earlier
in the season. And that's always the challenge of playing
quarterback and playing football in general. November, you're generally not healthy,
and he obviously endured a pretty tough injury early on,
but he is making some really you know, big plays
for us to critical moments.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
The love fast between Steve Sarkisian and quinn Ewers is
admirable it is. To have a relationship like that between
your your coach and your quarterback is important, especially at
the most important position on the field. But the love
fest between coach Stoops and coach sark this year, or
this season, or this week, I should say, has been
very interesting because both coaches have a ton of respect
(11:11):
for the other one. Stoops is the all time winning
this head coach in the history of Kentucky Wildcat football.
Is also one of the longest tenured coaches, in fact,
the longest tenured coach at in the SEC. He's also
made it to eight consecutive Bowl games, where he is
four and three as the head coach of the Wildcats.
(11:34):
But Coach Sarkisian really broke it down. I think the
best with this is the best quote we have from
him this week talking about what to expect on Saturday.
What do you expect from the Kentucky Wildcats.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Well, they just play.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Really good defense, you know, they minimize the explosive plays
they can bog you down. You know, I think think
Old Miss scored seventeen points against them. I think, you know,
Georgia scored thirteen points against him. I think Tennessee got
a couple scores late to get to twenty eight, and
(12:13):
so they can kind of control the game that way.
And then then offensively, they're they're run first offense that
can control the clock. Uh, and then they get yards
in the return game, and that both returners are excellent players,
and so you've got to play sound.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Football against them.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
We've got to find explosive plays on the offensive side
of the ball. We've got to minimize the return yards,
and then we got to make sure that we get
off the field on defense. You know that if they
start bleeding the clock because they're getting third down conversions
and extending drives, that then the game can get shortened.
And now you're in one of those types of games
in the fourth quarter with them. So you know, we've
(12:53):
got to work cut out for us for sure.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone Andrews a fill in
for Craig Way as we can continue through our three
of the show. So all signs point to this being
a defensive battle. The University of Texas's defense is one
of the best in the SEC, one of the best
in the country. Kentucky's defense is good, and that that
(13:16):
are good on the passing side of things, rushing side
of things kind of questionable. I've said from the beginning,
I'll say it again. Texas is not the type of
team that takes the blinders off. They are going to
be focused for this game. They're going to be locked
in for this game. It's senior Day. If this game
was in Lexington, I might have a different vibe. But
(13:36):
I feel very confident with this team at home this year.
I'm going Texas thirty five to ten. We'll keep the
show moving. Coming up after the break, Indiana versus Ohio State.
Winner of this game gets a playoff spot. Loser might
not make it to a college football playoff game. We'll
get into it next right here on the Craig Waves Show.
(13:57):
Andrews Im will filling in on Sports AM thirteen hundred
The Zone