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Is Quinn Ewers declaring for the NFL Draft? · The Craig Way Show

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Back to the Craig Way Show.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: Connect with Craig through the Text life by texting Texas
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: to eight one five three zero followed by your message.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Standard message and data rates may apply.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: It's a Monday afternoon, which means it was a Long
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: Worns Monday, probably our final Long Worns Monday of the season,
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: because looking at the calendar, there will be more news
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: conferences if the Long Horns win on Saturday against Clemson,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: but it might not be on Monday the way the
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: calendar has fall. So anyway, Longhorns Monday. And toward that end,
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: we brought it to you live this morning Long Wrns
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: head coach Steve Sarkesian's weekly news conference and we recap
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: it during this program. And so that brings us to
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: perhaps the most intriguing question of the day.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: And UH.
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  Speaker 2: When Terry Middleton of Horns Illustrated is asking the question,
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  Speaker 2: it could be rather intriguing.
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  Speaker 1: UH and UH.
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  Speaker 2: His question had to deal with UH if you he
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: helped me out here, cam. He he started off by
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: talking about it being the holiday season, right, and.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: UH, gift giving, gift buying Christmas.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Gifts, buying Christmas gifts, and then he said, if you
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: were to gift your players to one NFL.
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  Speaker 1: Team, Who would you give them to?
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Where?
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  Speaker 1: And why?
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  Speaker 2: Your sparks response.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know, you know, I've got a ton of
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  Speaker 3: I got it a hell of question. By the way, Terry, Uh,
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  Speaker 3: you always come with some doozies.
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  Speaker 1: So this is a this is a good one, you know,
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  Speaker 1: I'll say this.
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  Speaker 3: I've got a ton of respect for a lot of
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  Speaker 3: coaches and gms in the NFL, and and there's very
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: few times where I sit and think, gosh, that's not
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: a great fit for him. You know, I see where
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  Speaker 3: our guys are going off the last year's draft and
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: two years ago. I see sometimes when coaching changes get made,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: like I was so excited for Beijon when Raheem became
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: the head coach of the Falcons.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: Is I knew that would be a great fit for him.
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  Speaker 3: Thought Xavier going with Andy Reid would be a great
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  Speaker 3: fit for him, Jaywitt getting with Sean McVay would be
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  Speaker 3: a great fit for him.
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  Speaker 1: So but again, you know.
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  Speaker 3: That's the beauty of the NFL, right, It's different than
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  Speaker 3: college that they get chosen and they got to go,
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  Speaker 3: you know, and it's like, you know, do you pack
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  Speaker 3: a convertible to LA or do you pack a Parker
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  Speaker 3: for Green Bay. You just don't know where they're gonna go,
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  Speaker 3: and and their lives change in that instance from where
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  Speaker 3: they're gonna go, and so, but I do think we
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  Speaker 3: try to prepare our guys to go wherever's needed. But
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  Speaker 3: I got so many good friends in that league that
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  Speaker 3: I think do a fantastic job. Very rarely does a
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  Speaker 3: guy get drafted off our team. I think, oh, that's
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  Speaker 3: not a good fit, you know. I just think they
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  Speaker 3: do enough research and enough homework, you know, from a uh,
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  Speaker 3: from a personal standpoint, a player standpoint, that they're generally
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  Speaker 3: not going to draft somebody who doesn't fit their organization.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's good response to that, to like I said,
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  Speaker 2: a unique question that Sart got there on it all
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: right now some other ones. He was asked about the
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: fact that Anthony Hill was not on the SEC first team.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Herea's leading the SEC and tackles I guess and said,
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  Speaker 2: how do you do? How do you how do you
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  Speaker 2: reconcile that in your mind about and Hill not being
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: on a SEC first team.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, both those blew my mind.
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  Speaker 3: Alfred Collins another one, and I, I, uh, how I
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: rationalized it. They gave the buck Kiss Award to Jalen
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: Walker from Georgia, and I think deservedly so. Jalen Walker
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  Speaker 3: Walker was on the second team All SEC team with
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  Speaker 3: with Anthony Hill as well. So you know, maybe they
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  Speaker 3: shouldn't have us coaches vote for who's on what teams
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  Speaker 3: that they're that the guys are on. So I think
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  Speaker 3: maybe they should keep letting you guys do that kind
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: of stuff.
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  Speaker 2: It's one way, one way to go for there, because
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  Speaker 2: remember that's a coaches vote.
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  Speaker 1: Is the way that that worked?
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  Speaker 3: All right?
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  Speaker 2: Next, he was asked about the fact that thinks this
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  Speaker 2: is our colleague and friend Roger Wallace who asked this question.
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  Speaker 2: It's not a it's a home playoff game for Texas,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: so that makes it different as it's a playoff in
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  Speaker 2: the season could end after this, but advances if they
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  Speaker 2: do win. So does that bring about anything extra special
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  Speaker 2: in terms the emotional element of it and the preparation
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  Speaker 2: or is it business as usual?
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  Speaker 3: Hopefully lean into what we've done the last two years,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Roger, like we've last season we had to
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  Speaker 3: go win every game to get into the Big Twelve
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  Speaker 3: championship game, and we had to play Tech here on
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  Speaker 3: a Friday night on a short week after Thanksgiving, and
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  Speaker 3: so we were kind of in that arena, and I
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  Speaker 3: thought we were mentally prepared to go do that, and
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  Speaker 3: thought we played a good game.
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  Speaker 1: This season was no different in the SEC.
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  Speaker 3: When we lost to Georgia the first time, we had
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: to win every game to get into the SEC championship game,
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  Speaker 3: all the way until at Kyle Field at night in
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  Speaker 3: that environment, and I thought our guys handled that really well.
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  Speaker 3: So we're gonna just kind of lean into our experience
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  Speaker 3: on that of how we get prepared to play in
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  Speaker 3: these types of games that it's kind of winner go home,
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  Speaker 3: and we've it's gone pretty well for us in the past.
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  Speaker 3: So I'm it's kind of like grandma's cookies, you know.
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  Speaker 3: I'm not really going to kind of change the ingredients
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  Speaker 3: on this one. I'm going to kind of follow suit
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  Speaker 3: with what we've done.
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  Speaker 2: By the way, kirk Boll said the next question, and
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  Speaker 2: he asked what flavor were those cookies, and Sar quickly
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  Speaker 2: said oatmeal. He really likes oatmeal cookies and his grandmother
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  Speaker 2: made really good ones. That's a fact that actually is
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  Speaker 2: the case. So all right, continuing with some of Sark's
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  Speaker 2: fielding of the questions. And it was Kirk Bowles who
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  Speaker 2: followed up the flavor of the cookies by asking. He said,
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  Speaker 2: point blank, as Quinn, you weres told you he is
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: going pro, And then he asked, have you figured out
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: the cause of your offense being in a bit of
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  Speaker 2: a funk of the past couple of games?
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  Speaker 3: Don't I don't ask any player on our team are
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  Speaker 3: you turning pro or not?
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: Because I just I tell them all.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: Even that A couple of guys I met with last
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  Speaker 3: week was focus on what we're doing right now. And
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: I do that with someone because the guys, because they
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: want to know and they're hearing from agents and all stuff.
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  Speaker 3: The best thing they can do for their future, whether
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: they decide to stay or leave, is to play really
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  Speaker 3: good in the college football playoff because those would be
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  Speaker 3: the games that will get evaluated by the NFL anyway.
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  Speaker 3: And so I haven't had that discussion with Quinn, but
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  Speaker 3: I haven't had it with Kelvin or anybody quite frankly.
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  Speaker 3: It's just been focus on what you need to do
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  Speaker 3: right now, and we'll have that discussion.
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  Speaker 1: When when the season's done.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I think The biggest thing for us offensively
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  Speaker 3: that stands out is one. You know, the turnovers have
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  Speaker 3: been a problem. And that doesn't mean we can't fix it,
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  Speaker 3: you know, but that's been an issue. And it's not
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  Speaker 3: been one guy or two guys, but it's just been
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  Speaker 3: a little bit of a rash. Each year, you have
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: your issues, and so we spend more time.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 3: It's I always say, you guys heard me say at
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  Speaker 3: numerous times. You get what you emphasize, and so we're
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  Speaker 3: we've been hammering home the football here for the past
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  Speaker 3: few weeks and you know, we've seen some benefits of that.
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  Speaker 1: We've seen some times where it hasn't been so good.
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  Speaker 3: But we're gonna need to take care of the ball
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  Speaker 3: better if we're going to try to make a run
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  Speaker 3: in these playoffs than we have, and we're gonna need
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  Speaker 3: to have a balanced offensive attack. That's when we're at
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  Speaker 3: our best. And I'm not saying it's we got to,
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  Speaker 3: you know, throw for three hundred and rush for two
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  Speaker 3: hundred every game, but we've got to we've got to
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  Speaker 3: make sure that we have balance so that our opponents
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  Speaker 3: have to defend all of our offense when we become
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  Speaker 3: one dimensional. Like any offense, you're just easier to defend,
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  Speaker 3: you know, Like we strive to make offenses one dimensional.
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  Speaker 1: That's what we're trying to do every week.
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  Speaker 3: But we have to ensure that that we keep and
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  Speaker 3: maintain our balance and that the ball is getting spread
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  Speaker 3: to our playmakers so that they go make.
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  Speaker 1: Their plays all right.
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  Speaker 2: Next UH for Sark asked about the UH this Clemson
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  Speaker 2: team and what Daboshweeney has done throughout the course of
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  Speaker 2: the year and what what he's done with this program
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  Speaker 2: has them back in the playoffs. Uh, even with Dabo's
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  Speaker 2: perspective being what it is on the portal and not
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  Speaker 2: wanting to take transfer. How about what does it say
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  Speaker 2: about Dabo here is back in the playoffs.
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  Speaker 3: I think it speaks volumes to who he is as
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  Speaker 3: a coach.
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  Speaker 2: You know.
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  Speaker 1: I've always said.
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  Speaker 3: It took me all the way to getting to this
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  Speaker 3: job to really know who I was and what I
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  Speaker 3: believed in and in the foundation of our program.
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  Speaker 1: And I learned that a ton of that from.
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  Speaker 3: Coach Saban, And obviously I had to go back and
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  Speaker 3: reflect on my time with with Pete Carroll and what
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  Speaker 3: that looked like.
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  Speaker 1: And I think dabos.
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  Speaker 3: Knows who he is and knows what his program stands for,
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  Speaker 3: and he stands on that, and the players that choose
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  Speaker 3: to go to Clemson believe in that. And so when
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  Speaker 3: you when you, when you do that, you don't have
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  Speaker 3: to vary too much. I think the programs that can
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  Speaker 3: get themselves in trouble, it's one day or this the
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  Speaker 3: next or that Clemson knows who they are and and
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  Speaker 3: they and they play to their strengths and they and they,
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  Speaker 3: and that's a byproduct of Dabbo knows who he is.
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  Speaker 3: And so a ton of credit to him of getting
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  Speaker 3: their team into the playoffs and uh, fighting through some
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  Speaker 3: of the adversity early on in the season and and
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  Speaker 3: earning this opportunity and uh, like I said, it's it's
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  Speaker 3: gonna be a heck of a challenge for us, but
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  Speaker 3: a lot of credit to to he and his staff
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  Speaker 3: and their players to earn this opportunity.
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  Speaker 2: Next, he was asked, with this schedule being like it is,
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  Speaker 2: with all the extra games that will be put in,
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  Speaker 2: could play as many as four more games here in
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  Speaker 2: the postseason, do you pretty much stick with what you
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: have or do you have more time to install a
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: couple of things you.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: Know, naturally, as the season goes on, you start to
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: gravitate to the things that you think you're doing well.
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: And but at the same token, we know we're going
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: to need some other aspects of our game that we
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: need to keep working at and and hopefully they start
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: to come to life for us.
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  Speaker 1: And some of those things have held true to us.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: And and then we're always trying to find something new
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  Speaker 3: that that can that can help what we're what the
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: other things that we're trying to do. And so I
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: wouldn't say that, you know, we're not trying to reinvent
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: the wheel here, but we're always gonna have some new
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: wrinkles and twists and things to to what we're doing.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: And and that's again I think a credit to the
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: staff and the players of being open to those things.
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: From a player's standpoint. That's really what we did last week.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: You know, I brought them in Monday morning to review
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: the game, and then we really did no football with
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: them on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: After that. They did some stretching strides, they lifted.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: On Wednesday, but I wanted them to get away from
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: football for a few days, and then we brought them back,
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: and we hit it pretty good Thursday and Friday, and
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: we got into the game plan and the coaches were
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: dialed and ready to go on that. And then I
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: gave them this Saturday and Sunday off. They needed the
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: buye right and that we earned a bye essentially, and
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: then we'll get back to it again this week.
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  Speaker 1: And so I do think there's.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: A balance act that is needed as you as you
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: navigate your way through this.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: You know, this has been a long.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Season, and if we want to go do what I
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: think we're capable of doing, and and and that's be
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: playing January twentieth, trying to compete for a national championship,
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  Speaker 3: that'll be our seventeenth game, and that our first game
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: was July thirty first, And so this has been a
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: long journey and one that I think we've done a
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: nice job of navigating of where I don't feel like
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: our players are burnt out. I do feel like we've
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: got a ton of energy. I do feel like they're hungry,
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: you know, I want them looking for more food. I
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: want them you know, I don't want to be force
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: feeding them, and they definitely are feeling that way. You know,
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: our guys are around the building. They're they're, they're, they're,
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: they're bumping around, and we didn't overload them with information
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: last week. We've saved some information intentionally for today and
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: for this week so that we can continue to build
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: towards Saturday.
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  Speaker 2: All right, And then one more from coach Shark to
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: wrap up the press conference. He was asked, what makes
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: Quinn yours as well suited as he is to have
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: the ball in his hands as much as he does
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: in these big games.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: I think he's comfortable in that environment. I think it
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: doesn't never feel too big on him. I think in
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: a perfect world, I would not like that to be
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: the case. You know, Oklahoma State was a little bit
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: of a different dynamic of what the game plan was.
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: You know, the first game here, you know, excuse me,
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: go back to the Washington game last year. We fell
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: behind and especially you know, we were running the ball
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: really well in the first half of that game. We
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: had two turnovers, two fumbles I think in our first
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: nine plays of the second half, and it became a
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: two score game where we kind of had to throw
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: to maximize our time to get back into it. The
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: Georgia game here, naturally, you know, we fell behind twenty
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: three to nothing at halftime, and so now you have
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: to adjust to what you do in the second half.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: And then this past one with Georgia, part of the
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: plan early on was to throw it, but then we
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: just couldn't get the run game going into a place
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: to where it felt comfortable. You know, I want to
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: run the ball on first down, but I definitely I
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: don't want it to be second and eleven either, you know,
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: And so sometimes you try to find a ball controlled
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: passing game to augment or to offset a lack of
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: having the ability to run it. So ideally, you know,
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: fifty times is probably too many. Mid thirties maybe to
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: forties probably more realistic in these types of games, because
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: I think he's more than capable of handling that.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: All right, there it is long Worn's head coach Steve
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Sarksian from the news conference, We've got some more things
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: coming up next on sports Radio AM thirteen Under the Zone.