Mike Shula Quotations

We're going to put importance on the depth chart through the jerseys. We talked to the guys who have the white jerseys on offense and the crimson jerseys on defense about how you have to fight every day to hold on to those jerseys. We want it on their minds. We want to create an atmosphere that we have more competition that we've ever had.

We felt like if we come out with a great attitude and get after these guys and play physical type football then we could move the ball.

We feel better about our offensive line now than when we first got here in fall camp. Especially the last 7-10 days, they've done a real nice job.

We know we're in for a tough one, maybe the toughest one all year.

We've got guys here that enjoy that, ... They want people looking at them and wondering what this team is all about.

We want guys here we've got guys here who want to have people looking at them and wondering what our football team is about.

We were hoping to get off to a start like this, ... We've played well at times this season, we've played inconsistent at times. The biggest thing is the confidence this win will give our team for the second half of the season.

She told me she wanted to meet the real coach Shula.

No, I couldn't have imagined that. Nor do I understand completely how it works. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to or ever want to. It's something you can't control, other than by winning each and every week.

One thing I remember growing up, we were always at a lot of banquets and we kind of all clung to each other because there were a lot of people around you. Unless you were used to it or liked it, you shied away from it.

One of the reasons we didn't turn the ball over a lot is we made good decisions last year and we didn't make a lot of dangerous throws, where you would have said, 'Oh, that was lucky it didn't get intercepted. Today, we probably had a few too many of those.

If we let ourselves start worrying about this and that, that's the quickest way to get yourself beat.

I don't remember anybody on our sideline complaining, no more than any other games.

He was very cool for a young guy playing. That was very, very encouraging. I felt very comfortable throughout the year.

He looks quicker and just seems to be more aware, which is what we're all going to have to have come Monday, defensively, especially, just great awareness.

He made some catches as an outside receiver, ... He made some big catches inside. He really is starting to come into his own. He's got to play like that every week and practice like that every week because he's definitely got the deep speed.

When he talks on the field, everybody listens.

He's a smart guy, he's very mature, he's got good hands, and I think he's going to make good decisions back there.

He's been a guy that's fought through a lot of injuries. He's much more experienced now. He feels more comfortable in what he's doing. He looks quicker and just seems to be more aware, which is what we're all going to have to have come Monday, defensively, especially, just great awareness.

He's doing OK. He knows it's going to be a long haul, and he's ready.

Keith worked really hard this summer. He had a good training camp. He's an explosive receiver. He's exciting to see because he's so fast. What I liked about (Saturday) night is once he caught the ball, he was going north.

I thought the tempo and enthusiasm from our guys was real good. We have a lot of positions that are open, nine positions specifically. We have to get used to reacting faster and playing better as a group.

I was a little nervous at halftime just because I couldn't tell where we were as a team, if we were a little bit down or flat, ... What I realized is we've got some veteran guys who weren't necessarily going to panic even though we didn't play as well as we thought we could in the first half. They just went out there and did their job better.

Our coaches felt like we could make a couple of little adjustments and get some good looks for certain runs and boy, they were good looks,

I think he could be ready to go at some point in June or July, if not earlier.

(John Parker is) a guy that every once in a while you have to get on a little bit, but he's like a punching bag. That stuff doesn't bother him, which is good. You like that in your quarterback.

We'll be out there and running their plays, but there's no way we can simulate their efficiency and speed.

We've got some work to do. I think we made a small step.

Two weeks ago, we were 9-0 and we felt like we were knocking on the door. Now we feel like we are trying to find the right address.

We didn't have our poise in the first half and that is something that if you don't have it against a good football team at home, it is going to be ugly.

We'll tell people that they can't watch practice. How else could you do it?

To be able to answer is big. It took the wind out of their sails after they had some.

When you go through some tough times together, you find out a lot about each other. There's a lot of different ways you can go, and this team pulled together. And this was the result of it: 10 wins.

We need to see the improvement and the consistency. I think we've seen some really good things from both guys, and some things that have been average.

We all hope that Brodie stays healthy because we think he's a guy that can do some great things for us this year,

There is a lot of talk about where we are compared to where Auburn was last year, but we think everything is right in front of us,

We had a good plan with getting him in there early. I think we'll continue to do that. Marlon's role will obviously pick up if Mark's hurt and can't go this week. That's one of the reasons we wanted to try him in there.

We've got a lot of guys coming back, but the guy pulling the trigger is going to be brand new. We have to continue with the improvement on the offensive line and create competition. We're still not there where there's competition at every position which is going to make everybody better.

What a way to win the game. Our guys hung in there for the whole game. Whenever it looked like things were going against us and nothing was going to go our way, our guys stepped up and made some plays.

We hit Keith on a quick screen and two of our linemen had to make some downfield blocks. Keith set them up great and not many people can catch Keith Brown in the open field.

Between the bull-riding and the two-stepping, our coaches showed their lack of talent.

There's some real good teams in the Big 12, and they're better than those teams.

Pro was excited about the letter, ... Was it unexpected? Probably. When his dad came in the room he said 'Dad, I got a letter from one of my buddies.'

Offense is what creates excitement. Defense just wins games.

Anytime it happens to any of your players it empties your stomach. Hopefully he'll make a speedy recovery. He had an impact on every game, even when he doesn't touch the ball a lot. He can open things up for the other guys.

That's why you play the games. There's always things that you've got to get lined up for. I'm sure they're working on their running game, and we've got to make improvement on our defense ... or all of a sudden a team like that could rush for 250, 300 yards.

You want their motors going because you want them to start fast. It's a concern. You just want them to realize things happen so fast, you might just have one opportunity.

You spend three weeks in April getting yourself lined up for spring recruiting. You're trying to evaluate as much tape as you can. If you don't know who you want by this time, you're way behind. Character is more important too. We're being held accountable if guys leave with the new (Academic Progress Report).

You really don't see your family from Sunday to Thursday, so this gives us a chance to spend some time together,

They are so efficient with their passing game. With a quarterback that makes good decisions and is comfortable with what he is doing and what he is being asked to do.

There is no way to simulate what they do by any means. You just try to give them the best look that you can with our scout team offense. We have tried to spend a little more time going against ourselves, our first teams going against each other. Not necessarily scheme wise, but just to keep up with the speed of the game.

They're going to move the ball. They're going to score some points. We can't panic. We've got to be able to play our game.

They're going to be ready to go, ... which is really helpful because of the way arkansas runs the ball and they like to bring in two tights.

It's a tough one to swallow. My heart aches for our football team, especially our seniors. We left everything out there on the field, but we didn't play well enough to win.

It's a big win because it keeps us undefeated and keeps everything out in front of us, ... There's so much attention paid to this game for a number of reasons, because it's a rivalry and the things that have happened the last couple of years. I think the most important thing is the game is for bragging rights. This year, anyway, it's our time to brag.

It's all going to depend on his mindset in the off season. It depends on how hard he works, in school and in football.

It just leaves a big hole in your stomach, for a lot of reasons.

That's really another spot that you'll probably see both guys on the field this week.

The biggest thing on the no huddle is you've got to get lined up quickly and you've got to communicate, ... It's hard to simulate that during the course of practice when you're holding up cards and still showing them plays but our defense has talked about it since day one of training camp. We've worked on it hard for the last 10 days.

They've worked hard to get themselves in this position, to have a lot of attention on this football team. Then again, you don't want that to take away from their preparation.

Not necessarily wholesale changes, no. We don't think that would be in our best interest.

After spring ball last year, I felt very comfortable that if Brodie had not been able to get himself healthy or stay healthy that we would have been a very good football team with John Parker as our quarterback.

The knowledge that his players have of the passing game and making adjustments are things that have always stood out.

Their guy does a good job and makes good decisions. He moves around and buys time. He can run with it.

I'm sure he was glad to be out of the hospital. I know he was glad to be out here. I think he even tried on a helmet.

I'm happy with the way we finished the game, ... We started a little bit slow, a little bit inconsistent in all three phases. With the players and the coaches making some good halftime adjustments, we got some momentum early in the third quarter and were able to score some points and kind of take them out of the game.

I don't know how we're gonna work all that out. We'll just see how we get it going.

I'd probably be about third or fourth team. I couldn't throw the ball that well. I did a good job of handing it off in Alabama's offense.

I feel better about our depth this year, and everybody who's been through tough times are seniors now. They're experienced and better players, and also better leaders, because of it. It makes you feel great as a coach to be around them.

He believes in running the football, and they're going to work as hard as they can on improving in that area. He obviously understands how important that balance is.

These kids have been through a lot, ... When everything around them was changing, they were the constant. Our guys hung in there again until the end. When everything looked like it was going against us, and when it seemed nothing was going our way, we found a way to make plays.

The effort was really, really good. I thought we looked real good on defense. We talked about getting to the ball and making plays. Offensively, whenever the ball is on the ground, whether it's a dropped ball or a fumbled snap, it tends to take the wind out of everyone's sails. I think that's what happened. We had a chance to make big plays and didn't do it and guys got frustrated.