Neal Brown Baylor Postgame
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00:00 I have questions.
00:01 First of all, this is the third time
00:04 I've been in this press area
00:05 and this is by far the best feeling I've had.
00:07 So, I thought we had a chance here four years ago
00:11 when Matt was the head coach and a really good team
00:14 and then got worn out pretty good in '21.
00:17 And so, I wanna start,
00:19 I thought Baylor competed really, really hard tonight.
00:22 And I think that's a credit to Dave.
00:25 You know, when you have rough years,
00:27 and we had it last year,
00:29 and our kids really competed,
00:30 and we won our finale last year at Oklahoma State,
00:33 and won two of our last three,
00:34 and that really set the stage for us to kinda make a turn.
00:37 And went really young,
00:40 and that's what they've done too.
00:43 And they played a lot of really young players,
00:45 and I thought they competed really hard.
00:46 I thought that defensively,
00:48 they had a lot of answers for us in the second half.
00:51 And then offensively, kept us off balance.
00:54 Kind of bittersweet for me,
00:56 because a guy that was a student coach for us at Kentucky,
01:01 and then worked for us for two years,
01:03 he returned two kicks against us today.
01:06 And Tyler Hancock, who's their special teams analyst,
01:09 so I'll be happy for him at some point.
01:12 Not right now, but at some point I'll be happy for him.
01:14 But, you know, I think that when you look at this game,
01:18 we didn't play very well.
01:20 You know, we just did not play very well.
01:22 You know, offensively, we did some good things
01:25 in the first half.
01:26 Offensively, we really didn't play much, first half-wise.
01:28 You know, the two kickoffs were huge.
01:30 You know, we just got beat one-on-one blocks,
01:33 and that should never happen.
01:34 And so, can't explain it, we'll watch film on that,
01:39 but that's just not good enough.
01:40 That's not who we've been on special teams,
01:42 and that's not what we're gonna be moving forward either.
01:46 And then, in the second half,
01:48 offensively we got behind the chains, got some penalties.
01:52 And then, you know, in that last drive,
01:54 you know, we were able to save our timeouts.
01:56 We used 'em, and Garrett's really good
01:59 at the two-minute drive.
02:00 We scored two touchdowns tonight
02:01 with less than a minute and a half, both times,
02:03 with zero timeouts.
02:05 And he's good, his ability to run,
02:06 gets the ball down the field vertically.
02:09 I thought our protection, nobody's gonna talk about this,
02:11 but our protection, we five-man protected on the last play,
02:14 that we got Jaheim out, up the sideline.
02:16 And that's a play that we've been running,
02:20 going back to first week of spring practice,
02:23 and we haven't ran any game yet.
02:24 And we run it every two-minute drill in practice,
02:27 and so they hung in there versus a really good Blitz,
02:30 and picked 'em up, and we got the ball,
02:32 and Garrett made a great play.
02:33 So, really proud of our guys.
02:35 You know, good win, gets us to eight,
02:38 gets us to six conference wins, which I think's significant.
02:41 So, with that, I'll take questions.
02:43 (audio cuts out)
02:47 - (audio cuts out)
02:50 - Yeah, I really felt, coming in, you know,
02:58 they played well for three quarters last week,
03:01 and they had some drops, but they really got open a lot.
03:05 And, you know, sometimes when, for whatever reason,
03:08 when you have, you know, a backup has to come in,
03:11 like people rally around them,
03:12 and I thought they did that offensively.
03:15 And they were, they played with really good energy.
03:17 They had some, like I said,
03:18 they had some good defensive answers
03:19 versus us in the second half.
03:22 We didn't play as well, and, you know,
03:24 really, for the first time all year,
03:25 penalties really hurt us, and got us behind the chains.
03:29 You know, it's hard to operate
03:30 when it's second and 20-something.
03:32 You know, I thought one of the holding penalties
03:33 was absolutely not a hold.
03:35 The one that took the really long run,
03:38 yeah, the long run away, that was,
03:41 that was a really good block by Wyatt.
03:42 So, disagree with that one,
03:45 but that, hey, it's hard to officiate.
03:46 They're gonna miss some, too.
03:47 I promise you, I didn't have all the right calls, so.
03:50 But no, I never felt really comfortable.
03:53 I didn't feel comfortable at halftime, and,
03:55 but we found a way.
03:57 Yeah, we, I was just telling our staff,
04:13 we do these two-minute drills.
04:15 You know, if somebody else does them more,
04:19 you know, maybe so, but we do 'em a bunch,
04:22 and, you know, that's something that I learned
04:25 from Mark when I was at Kentucky,
04:27 is a lot of situational football, and we do it.
04:30 And Garrett's been around, you know,
04:32 and here's the thing, in practice,
04:34 there's a lot of mistakes in these two-minute drills,
04:37 but they're also learning points, you know,
04:38 and we kinda just let him play.
04:41 And, you know, I think that he's like my oldest daughter,
04:45 you know, like some lessons are hard,
04:47 and so you gotta learn 'em by doing 'em.
04:49 And so he's learned some hard lessons
04:53 in some two-minute drills in practice,
04:54 but those have really helped him become
04:57 kinda the two-minute guy he is now.
04:59 And so that's a real odd situation.
05:02 You got it on the one-yard line with 15 seconds to go.
05:06 It was first and goal, and so it felt like
05:09 we would have time to spike it off the run,
05:12 and so that's what we would've done.
05:14 Yeah, so, like, let me tell you something.
05:19 I can't say enough about Zach Frazier.
05:22 And so appreciative of him and his family.
05:27 And I think one play sums up who he is for his entire career.
05:32 And I just hope our fan base really understands
05:36 the young man from Fairmont,
05:38 I think he's the best center in college football.
05:42 But this is how smart he is and how tough he is.
05:49 So he had an injury that's significant.
05:52 Not something that's gonna be long-term,
05:54 but he probably won't play in the bowl game.
05:57 And, you know, he limps off because he knows
06:01 that's a 10-second runoff if he stays down.
06:04 And he's, like I said, he's got a lower leg injury,
06:07 and he limps off on one leg to avoid a 10-second runoff.
06:11 And I think that speaks to his intelligence,
06:14 how tough he is, and he's a great player.
06:17 I plan on doing this for a long time.
06:20 I don't know if I'll ever coach a center that's better.
06:22 I've had some good players,
06:23 but I've never coached one better.
06:25 So just really fortunate, kind of bittersweet, really.
06:31 We win the game at the end, but he gets hurt.
06:34 So my level of excitement is subdued because of that.
06:39 Well, it's kind of been the way the game's kind of gone
06:57 since we joined the conference.
06:58 You know, they've had a hard time winning at our place,
07:00 and we've had a hard time winning here.
07:03 You know, it's a little bit different
07:05 from a travel perspective.
07:06 You know, I think that's one thing.
07:09 The other thing, too, is the last two times we came here,
07:12 they won the Big 12 Championship and won 11 games.
07:14 They were pretty salty both times.
07:16 And so, you know, I can't speak before then,
07:20 but the last two times, they were just better than us.
07:23 And we gave them all that we could handle in 2019.
07:26 Thought we outplayed them,
07:27 but they got a field goal block there.
07:30 And then '21, they were just a lot better than us.
07:32 Yeah.
07:37 - Did they get the ball late?
07:38 Did coaches think that at all?
07:40 - Nah, we were better prepared.
07:42 You know, I mean, human nature is you think about that.
07:44 Don't get me wrong.
07:45 I was more worried about the kickoff than any Hail Mary.
07:49 But first of all, we were better prepared
07:54 because they were using their timeouts,
07:57 which helped them, but it also helps us.
08:00 You know, we blitzed this time.
08:03 You learn from your mistakes.
08:05 You know, like, you know, I don't,
08:07 I don't, people always ask about regrets.
08:10 I don't know if you ever have regrets,
08:12 but if you're in the same situation, you learn from those.
08:16 And we learned from them.
08:17 We, you know, we could have coached that better,
08:19 and we obviously should have knocked the ball down then.
08:21 But we pressured,
08:23 and I think that was the difference on that play.
08:27 - What do you miss?
08:28 - Well, you know, here's what,
08:31 here's what I believe is we've got really good push
08:34 all year, right?
08:36 And we've gotten it right in the A gaps.
08:38 And Mike Lockhart and Sean Martin just have a knack for it.
08:41 And so Sean Martin's really long.
08:43 He's 6'5" and he's got really long wingspan.
08:46 And so we've blocked three field goals this year,
08:48 but we really came close to a lot.
08:51 And so what happens is, you know,
08:53 they watch film and the kicker's got to change
08:55 their trajectory on their ball some to get the ball up,
08:58 especially when it's on the left hash.
09:00 And so I think that probably helped.
09:03 The first kick was a long kick, you know,
09:05 and the second one, you know,
09:08 I don't want to speak for him,
09:10 but I think that our pressure does affect.
09:13 And here's the other thing, man,
09:15 like it gets to a point where you're due a break.
09:17 You know what I mean?
09:18 Like, shit, how many years I've been here?
09:20 Like, we needed one.
09:21 Sorry, I didn't see Wren's daughter in here, but like.
09:25 Yeah, but like we were due one, right?
09:28 - Bowl game?
09:31 I don't know where, yes.
09:31 You can't schedule, but we have one.
09:36 - Yeah.
09:37 Well, I think nine wins is significant.
09:40 I'm preaching to the choir up here at this table
09:43 'cause both the left and right know a lot more
09:45 about the history of the program than I do,
09:47 but only won 10 games in 16.
09:51 Haven't gotten to nine since joining the league, you know,
09:55 so get the second most wins in Big 12.
10:00 I think that's significant.
10:02 You know, we go from 14th preseason.
10:04 I tried to tell everybody,
10:05 but picked 14th and we're going to finish,
10:09 we're going to finish fourth.
10:10 So we're going to finish somewhere around there.
10:13 And so that's, I think that's significant.
10:15 And then have an opportunity to get to nine wins.
10:17 And, you know, we'll approach the bowl game like this.
10:21 Is, you know, and other than bowl game two years ago,
10:24 we've done pretty good at them and we laid an egg then,
10:27 but, you know, we want to, first of all, we want to win.
10:30 Second of all, we want to make sure it's an enjoyable
10:32 experience for our guys, 'cause it's a bonus.
10:35 Next thing is, is we want to prepare for the next year.
10:39 And so we can do all those things.
10:43 But the goal is to get to nine.
10:44 (audio cuts out)
10:47 I was trying to keep it over there close to me.
10:57 You know, and I think, let me, before we talk,
11:02 let's talk about Hudson Clement.
11:04 Let's talk about Hudson Clement, man.
11:07 Like, was it two or three plays on that drive, you know?
11:10 And it's a kid from Martinsburg, right?
11:14 And Martinsburg had a big day today, too, I saw.
11:16 But, you know, he made some big plays.
11:20 And then Preston, Preston had to leave.
11:22 And so we'll know more about him, but made a great catch.
11:25 You know, I'm surprised it really hadn't caught more.
11:29 I've tried to talk about the kids from West Virginia
11:31 we have on offense, you know?
11:32 I don't know.
11:33 I ain't been reading what y'all writing,
11:36 so I don't want to speak too loud,
11:38 but, you know, we've been pretty good on offense.
11:41 You know, especially in our league.
11:42 Like, we've been really, really good on offense.
11:45 And look at the number of West Virginia guys we have
11:48 that are heavy contributors.
11:50 And again, I'll lean to these guys,
11:54 the guy on my left and right here,
11:55 'cause they know it a lot more,
11:56 but I bet you'd be hard-pressed to find
11:58 this many West Virginia guys
11:59 making a significant contribution like they are now.
12:02 All right, thank y'all.