Doug Nester Texas Tech Preview
Transcript
00:00 We have offensive lineman Doug Nestor.
00:03 Questions for Doug?
00:04 Doug, quarter way through the season,
00:06 just give me analysis of the whole offensive line.
00:08 Start with the line, then the offense as a whole.
00:11 What do you still need to work on?
00:14 Just as an offensive line, I think we've improved a lot,
00:16 even since last year.
00:18 I think we keep improving every game,
00:20 and that's what we got to keep doing.
00:23 I think we're playing very consistent up front,
00:25 and that's what we preach all the time,
00:27 is be the same person every day.
00:29 So I think that's really good.
00:30 And as offense, I think we're just producing
00:34 really well right now.
00:35 No matter if it's Garrett or Nico,
00:38 as you saw, he can come in and play just as well.
00:41 And just being able to produce on offense.
00:46 Blocking, I guess, a lot of heavy boxes,
00:48 how are you guys still able to run the ball
00:51 when you've got a lot of people up there?
00:53 Really, just we fall back on our training.
00:56 We've seen so many different fronts,
00:57 and we've run pretty much against everything.
01:01 We have a lot of experience in whatever Frazier calls,
01:03 we go with.
01:05 It's just pretty easy just to go off his calls.
01:09 A little tight end motion you guys ran behind.
01:12 Is that a little wrinkle?
01:13 You guys had that in there.
01:15 Used it quite a bit, effectively, against Pitt.
01:19 Yeah, it was more of a game plan deal, I think.
01:23 We've been working on it a lot, even since fall camp.
01:27 So, we've been practicing a lot.
01:29 Okay.
01:31 Is it one of them, you like that power game
01:33 that you guys displayed, just sticking it and going,
01:38 especially right up the middle?
01:39 Oh, yeah, for sure.
01:40 There's nothing better than being able to run the ball,
01:43 even though they know you're running the ball.
01:45 So, I think it's the best feeling in the world
01:47 when they're still loading the box,
01:48 and we're still able to produce yardage.
01:52 Doug, obviously, a good win last week,
01:56 but good teams have to put good wins to bed quickly and move on.
02:01 You're one of the older guys.
02:02 What's your message to the younger guys
02:04 about playing a team
02:06 that West Virginia struggled against last week?
02:08 Right. Yeah.
02:09 You know, this morning, we still watched film
02:11 from the game against Pitt.
02:13 So, you know, we're still in that Pitt mentality,
02:17 really, until we go out on that field today.
02:19 And then you have to be able to switch gears
02:21 and put that in the pass.
02:22 You know, that game's over with, done.
02:24 We celebrated it, and being able to move forward
02:27 and focus on Texas Tech now.
02:29 Mr. West Virginia, what did that game mean for you
02:35 Saturday night?
02:37 I mean, just seeing everybody there,
02:39 how much the fans loved it,
02:41 and being able to celebrate that with them.
02:44 And, you know, just being from the state,
02:46 you know, it was a really big win.
02:47 Haven't won against them since 2011.
02:50 So, it was a really huge win just for our program
02:52 and our state.
02:53 Are you a big social media guy,
02:55 or do you kind of tune it out during the season?
02:56 During the season, I usually stay away from it.
02:58 So, you didn't really get on there
02:59 and look at what people were saying?
03:01 No. Yeah.
03:02 Is that a message you kind of tell the other guys, too?
03:04 Yeah, I mean, that was our message today,
03:06 really, from Coach Moore.
03:08 You know, some losses, you know,
03:11 you try to stay off social media and everything.
03:14 And then, even with wins, you know,
03:16 trying to stay off there as well, keep all the noise out,
03:18 just because, you know, you can let it get to your head
03:20 so easily.
03:21 Are you buying into Nick's shame and rat poison stuff?
03:25 No. No.
03:26 We're obviously praised,
03:28 and you can go to your head a little bit,
03:29 that kind of thing. Yeah.
03:31 Is there any difference when you see a game
03:36 coming on ESPN Plus
03:38 as compared to being on a night game,
03:40 primetime network, I mean?
03:42 Do you respect the player at all?
03:44 For me, personally, no.
03:45 I don't pay attention to really what we're playing on,
03:48 what channel it's on or anything like that.
03:51 You know, it's just another game that we have to,
03:53 you know, lock in for.
03:54 I mean, I know it's bigger for the fans and everything
03:58 and easier to watch,
03:59 but really don't pay attention to it.
04:02 Doug, you've played against Texas Tech
04:04 a couple times now, right?
04:06 Has there been a common theme,
04:08 or has there been some things that have happened
04:10 that have caused you to lose those games, in your opinion?
04:13 Well, last year, for the offensive line,
04:18 we didn't play up to our standard.
04:20 So, you know, I think it's a big challenge for us.
04:22 You know, we have to come out here
04:24 and be able to produce
04:26 what we have been these first three games.
04:28 So, for us, they put a big challenge on us
04:31 just to be able to go out there and produce.
04:35 What was it?
04:37 Was it the way they did things?
04:38 Were they in wrong gaps?
04:41 No, they have, you know, two really talented interior guys
04:45 that have played a lot of football,
04:46 and, you know, they're big and long on the edges.
04:49 So, it was really just, you know,
04:51 we have to come out there and play better,
04:53 really, than we did last year.
04:56 What was the mood Saturday when Garrett
04:58 got hurt in the discussion amongst you guys?
05:00 And is there a difference when Nico comes in,
05:02 things you have to do a little bit differently?
05:07 So, we know that Nico's ready, and he can step up at any time.
05:12 You know, it hurt Gigi going down,
05:14 but, you know, just trying to get Nico in there
05:17 and, you know, realize that we got to calm down.
05:20 I know he was probably super excited to get in,
05:23 and, you know, just to calm his nerves
05:25 and let him know that we're still here
05:27 and we have his back.
05:28 Yeah, here.
05:33 Talk about the progression of the process.
05:35 I know you've seen when you got here to where you are now,
05:39 how different this is,
05:41 how much further it has advanced, et cetera.
05:45 Man, there's so much.
05:49 The offensive line as a whole has just gotten so much better,
05:51 even just, like, game to game, year to year.
05:54 And, you know, we keep developing,
05:57 you know, just the younger guys as well.
05:58 And we were all pretty young whenever we first started,
06:02 and I just think that has helped a lot
06:04 because we all started really young
06:06 or got starts as young players.
06:08 And just being able to develop and grow as those young players
06:11 until we're in our third seasons now together
06:14 has been, you know, just, I think, fantastic.
06:17 How important is the continuity?
06:19 I mean, the fact that you've got guys,
06:21 even though you've swapped positions
06:23 every other day, it seems like.
06:26 How important is that continuity?
06:28 Oh, it's awesome.
06:29 Not even just, like, on the field,
06:30 but just off the field.
06:32 We're always hanging out and everything,
06:33 and we know how we each other act.
06:36 And, you know, just not on the field,
06:38 but off the field as well.
06:39 And, you know, just playing next to somebody
06:41 that you've been playing to for years,
06:43 it's just easy to know how they're going to play
06:45 a certain player, what their technique is like.
06:48 How nice is it to have a free straight ball?
06:51 It's really nice not having to travel.
06:54 I'm sure you probably may or may not be aware,
07:00 you guys are underdogs coming into this week.
07:01 Does that surprise you a little bit?
07:04 You know, they got after us last year, you know, pretty well,
07:07 so it's not that surprising.
07:08 But, you know, Texas Tech is a really good team,
07:11 and, you know, we're just going to have to come out
07:13 there and prove it again.
07:15 Give me your thoughts on the young linemen
07:17 behind you guys that are coming up.
07:19 Give me your coach's hat on, you know,
07:22 what Sully and all those guys look like.
07:24 Sully's developing a lot, even through this season so far.
07:28 You know, each practice, we're still working on him,
07:31 body position-wise is his big thing.
07:35 Johnny is developing really fast,
07:38 a lot faster than I thought,
07:39 and he's doing really well.
07:41 Nick Cray and Cooper, I think, are also really talented,
07:45 and, you know, they got a little bit of way to go,
07:47 but, you know, them, even watching them
07:49 in Monday Night Football tonight or earlier today is,
07:53 you know, you can see the progression that they're having.
07:57 Did the crowd help you guys? Huh?
07:59 Did the crowd last week really give you guys a big boost?
08:02 I think so. Even just during the man trip,
08:04 just seeing how much everybody cared about that game,
08:08 and that's the most people I've ever seen on a man trip.
08:11 And, you know, just seeing our fans
08:13 and how much they love that game and that rivalry
08:16 is really something special to us that we all took in.
08:21 Doug, you've got three guys married on the offensive line.
08:25 Has the conversation changed to what the kids are doing,
08:28 what's going on in the married life, et cetera?
08:32 Yeah. You know, me, Fraze, and Yates
08:34 have a little bit of conversations like that,
08:37 but besides that, you know, this is kind of our,
08:39 you know, place to get away from all that,
08:42 so we kind of take in a different light here.
08:47 You get a fan meeting coming,
08:48 two of you together, want to get out some time?
08:51 Oh, yeah. Yeah, we'll go out to dinner
08:53 and everything with each other.
08:55 You guys sort of lived the frat house life
08:58 when you were all together, right?
08:59 Yeah.
09:00 So what's it like now, differently?
09:02 Oh, man, it's super weird not, you know,
09:06 this is my first time, you know,
09:07 pretty much living alone with my wife,
09:09 so it's very different having to,
09:11 you know, go home to that instead of,
09:13 you know, just having three other roommates
09:15 that are also football players.
09:16 It's a very different experience.
09:19 Food's cleaner, better, right?
09:20 Oh, yeah, for sure.
09:22 What's the challenge now that it's back
09:25 from a really big, emotional moment
09:27 like it was last year when it's been a big attack
09:29 and you're going back to Swin Valley
09:31 and you're going to be in the Cunnington Capitol
09:33 and things like that, and now you're turning around
09:34 and playing a Texas Tech or a Texas,
09:37 I mean, what's the extra challenge there
09:39 to have to kind of come back down
09:41 and work to get the big time again?
09:43 Yeah, so, like I said, you know, just today,
09:46 you know, being able to celebrate that win today
09:49 and then go out there on that field
09:51 and just being able to, you know,
09:52 walk back in, focus on Texas Tech,
09:54 here's what they're going to run,
09:55 here's what schemes they try to line up in,
09:58 and just being able to lock in
09:59 and focus on what they have to do.
10:02 Okay, anything else for Doug?
10:04 Doug, thereafter in the game,
10:05 what did it mean to you to carry the state flag around with you?
10:08 You did it as a full lap with it.
10:10 What did that mean to you?
10:11 It was awesome.
10:12 Some fan just happened to hand it to me,
10:15 and, you know, just being able to wear that state flag around
10:18 and then just celebrate that win over our rival was fantastic.
10:25 Okay, thank you very much.
10:26 Okay, thank you very much.