COLT SEZ
Here are the excerpted comments Colt McCoy made during the players press conference. You can see them all at mackbrown-texasfootball.com:
On his thoughts going into the game: Our focus is about us. We know what is at stake for us; we know that ever since the Oklahoma game we have talked about finishing, we’ve talked about being committed to one another and fighting to the end. I think that we have showed that throughout all the games since then.
On if there is extra motivation going into this game: I think for this team we have a bad taste in our mouth. We lost the opportunity to be able to play for the Big 12 championship and who knows what happens after that. I think it’s big for us to go down there to finish this season.
On not being able to finish the game last year how he wanted: It was a challenge last year to play, and this year I feel healthy, I feel strong and I feel confident. I think that will be big for us as a team.
On if he had spoken to Kellen Heard: He actually wrote a letter to the school. I never talked to him. I don’t even really remember what it said. I think he was just competing and fighting for his team. Both teams wanted to win and he was doing what he thought was best for them to win. I wouldn’t really consider it a cheap shot. I know it looked like one, but it’s not any motivation in itself. I have enough motivation knowing that we lost the game last year 12-7 at home and that is big enough for us to go down there. That was big enough to put a bad taste in our mouth.
On the bye week: I think the bye week will be a big advantage. It will give our bodies time to heal. We have played 11 straight games and that is tough in itself. I’m not sure very many other people do that. I think it’s coming at a crucial time for us.
On what he’s going to do this weekend: I think I’m going to go home. I think I’m just going to relax. I may watch a little bit of football and probably do a little bit of hunting. Obviously, I’ll watch some A&M tape to kind of start to get an edge on them.
On how this game affects the state: Even as a little kid I can remember waking up the day after Thanksgiving and being with the family, I have a lot of family that are A&M fans, so it was a big deal growing up and I’m sure it still is today.
On the atmosphere at Kyle field: I think the noise can be tough. I think that you have to handle the noise and be sound in your audibles and hand signals and the team has to be.
On being able to look back and see how far the team has come: I think you can look back a little bit, but at this point, all of our focus is looking forward. I think there is a time for looking back, but right now we started yesterday strong on A&M. We are going to be prepared, we’ve watched film, we’re having team meetings, we’re staying in the same routine that we would if we were playing this week.
On QB Stephen McGee: I have known him in high school. We went to some camps together. Obviously, I knew him through Jordan (Shipley). Jordan and I were friends. He is a great guy, a great friend and it’s always fun to compete against him. He played tremendous last year and I give him a lot of credit for that. We have a good relationship.
On both quarterbacks being able to play for the team they grew up rooting for: Guys who grew up loving a school, watching a school as kids and dreaming someday of playing there; we were lucky enough and God blessed us enough to be able to play quarterback at those respective schools. It’s fun and it’s exciting. It will be a great Thanksgiving treat for a lot of families; especially mine.