Saturday, January 2, 2016
Gary Patterson
Ty Summers
Derrick Kindred
Aaron Green
Bram Kohlhausen
TCU Horned Frogs
TCU 47, Oregon 41, 3 OT.
THE MODERATOR: Coach Patterson, if you could start with a comment on the game.
COACH PATTERSON: Well, obviously first half we didn’t play very well defensively. Third down, everything goes on. Second half, Vernon goes down, really kind of equals the playing field. These guys fought back.
I told them we had an opportunity in the second half to show them what our program was all about. We’ve had to do that before. Kansas State, I think we were down 35-10, turned around and came back.
It’s just been one of those teams. They’ve never really quit. They’ve kept creating opportunities, doing what they do. Really proud of them. Proud of all the TCU fans that came down and were part of the game tonight. Gave us a lot of energy in the second half.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. Coach, are you ever going to wear any color other than purple?
COACH PATTERSON: I did the same thing at Ohio State. I started in black, we were down 21-0. I will never wear black again.
I’m trying to look thinner. You’re not in as good of shape. To heck with that. At least that’s a good excuse.
Q. Expand a little on what the defense showed in the second half and how y’all were able to contain them to something like 20 yards before the overtime.
COACH PATTERSON: You know, really didn’t do much different except we tackled. We couldn’t get our hands on Vernon very well in the first half. Turned the guy loose, guy came out of coverage.
It’s one of those things where I quit trying to create things and let the defense do its work. They did a great job, I thought. We got the fumble on the kickoff return. I thought that was kind of a changeover. Got some momentum.
Even they punt, take two or three minutes, you’re probably going to be short some time to come back with those numbers.
I give those guys credit, they did a great job of playing leverage.
Q. Bram, is it fair to say this is going to be a night you’ll remember forever?
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: This will be one I’ll tell my grandkids. I mean, this is a night I thought would never happen. But I honestly just dedicate it to Tre. He’s the one who showed me how to play like I did tonight.
Q. Talk about what you saw defensively from them that was able to open up your game in the second half.
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: In the first half, we were shooting ourselves in the foot, penalties. Every time we got something going, we had a holding or unsportsmanlike conduct. In the second half, we got it together and were able to get rolling, pick at that 31 points.
Q. What was your halftime speech to get them to flip the switch?
COACH PATTERSON: I think people give coaches too much credit. About the same thing I’ve always told them. Go back to our roots. Our roots are we’re a proud program. That first half was not what we were about. Settle down inside the play.
If they decided to play, they’ll give themselves a chance. No matter what the score was going to be at the end of the ballgame, bottom line is TCU is always known for playing hard, playing for four quarters, doing the things we needed to do.
There’s no magic to that. You give yourself an opportunity if you go and play. Some of these fifth-year seniors, you look around, the guys that are here, Aaron, these guys have been doing it for a long time.
If you look at really our season, I was watching our highlight film at the luncheon yesterday, that gave me chills because basically it was storyline after storyline after storyline of catching the ball at the end of the game at Texas Tech, Kansas State, you keep going. Stopping on fourth down against Baylor.
You go down the list of plays that guys made at the end of the ballgame to give yourself a chance to win. Going for two points at Oklahoma. Bram goes and scores the touchdown. Six inches higher, you might be sitting here at 12-2, 12-1, 13-1.
For us, it’s always a game of inches, always has been. Just like the play that our guy made tonight at the end of the ballgame on the fourth down. He knocks the ball away. Six inches the ball is caught, we’re talking about first and goal.
Q. Aaron, talk about getting this win in San Antonio, what that means to you in your hometown.
AARON GREEN: I mean, it meant a lot. But most importantly it meant a lot for me to win my last game in purple with my teammates, with my brothers.
We’ve gone through so much. We’ve been through terrible seasons. We’ve been through people getting kicked off the team, we’ve been through distractions, injuries. We’ve been through a lot, man.
Just to be a part of us turning this around in the Big 12 means everything to me. So, man, these last three, four years that I’ve been here, it’s definitely going to be something I am going to remember forever.
Q. Bram, why were you having so much trouble in the first half? Short notice? One practice?
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: We weren’t having any trouble really moving the ball except for the penalties. Once we got it together, we fought back in the second half. I mean, we’ve been doing this all year. We come back second half. Nobody had a doubt that 31 points, we could come back. Ended up being a three overtime game, got a W.
Q. Bram, did it feel like OU earlier on in the second half when you started to come back?
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: OU was an example we were running off of tonight. I don’t think anybody walking out of that tunnel in the second half really had a doubt that with their quarterback out, 31 points, we get something on the board, we get a couple turnovers, defense plays well…
I mean, 31 points was easy.
COACH PATTERSON: I don’t know about easy, but I’m going to stick with him because he did it.
Q. Coach, how much did you guys enjoy coming here to San Antonio? How much of an impact did your San Antonio kids have on this team?
COACH PATTERSON: Number one, every great team we’ve ever had has always had a San Antonio guy on it. Coming here, as I said before we got here, one of my bucket lists was to play in the Alamo Bowl. Cotton Bowl, obviously in Texas, you’d like to play in the home state bowls one time before you were done.
This is our 16th bowl in 18 years. Obviously would like to be able to go down in New Orleans and play in that one one day.
To be able to be here, our kids had an unbelievable time. One of the things I think that’s coolest about this, when you play in your state, so many more of their friends, family and relatives get a chance to be here. They get a chance to ride home with them. Some of them are going on the bus, but they’re going home with their friends and their family.
To me, every minute you get a chance, because these guys work hard. It’s a 365-day-a-year job, college football is, if you want to be good anymore. If they get a break, be able to do that in their hometown…
For Aaron and Derrick, you have a group, a chance for them to wake up in the morning here in San Antonio, to be able to enjoy it with family.
I don’t know. I can’t speak for them, but I would have to say there can’t be a better experience because they’re going to remember it for the rest of their lives.
Q. Derrick, about the defense, you held them to 18 yards on 18 plays in the second half. Could you feel the game turning?
DERRICK KINDRED: The defense, we never really get down on ourselves. We had a terrible first half. Everybody was looking sad and things like that.
We got to the locker room, had a great speech. We just made a lot of plays. It just felt good playing on this defense tonight.
Q. When you see Bram dive basically head first and get flipped over, put everything on the field, what does that do on the other side of the ball? Does that get you riled up, ready to go?
TY SUMMERS: You should have saw the sideline. Guy is to go and sacrifice his body for the team, that’s something you have to respect. We appreciate him stepping up and doing what he did. Couldn’t have done it without him.
Q. You had a lot of stuff going on with your dad. What kind of emotions were spurred by that?
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: Honestly, I was just focused on this win. When I saw my mom after the game, I bargained with a guy to get her down on the field. Just gave her a hug, started crying with her. I’d love for him to be here to watch this happen, but I know he was watching upstairs.
Q. Ty, you’re sitting with a bunch of seniors, you’re the only guy coming back next year. How does this set the tone for next year?
TY SUMMERS: You have to appreciate the leadership in these guys’ head. There’s some big shoes to fill. I think we have guys that are going to be ready to fill those shoes the upcoming season.
Q. Derrick, with everything that’s gone on this year, pulling out this game today, what do you think that says about your coaching staff’s ability to make things happen with you guys?
DERRICK KINDRED: Just shows that we have a lot of great players on this team. As you’ve seen all season, we had a lot of guys go down. Coach P did a great job of growing up the young guys. Also the seniors on this team, we did a great job of talking to the young guys, things like that.
It just shows a lot of heart, time put into this program.
Q. Why did you decide to stick with Bram?
COACH PATTERSON: He said it earlier. It was more penalties and things. We dropped some balls. I told the defense they weren’t having any fun. I mean, there were a lot of seniors, played a lot of defense, played the best in the league. Not anything good was going to happen if they didn’t have fun.
Offensively to me it started with the very first drive. I thought we started running the ball more. Took it off, went to play-action. I thought Bram made a couple of unbelievable plays as far as throwing it and running with the ball. He had the option play, we all looked at each other, he went down the sideline in overtime.
To win a ballgame like this to come back, you have to have a bunch of plays that happen for you. Kind of like in the first half, they had a lot of plays that happened for them. We block a punt, it goes forward. They pick it up, get a first down.
Second half, we caused a fumble on the kickoff return. We got a couple plays. You look at yourself, the one time we kick two field goals, put ourselves in a situation. You’re thinking it’s fourth and seven, should you go for it? But the odds weren’t in your favor.
They do a great job of dropping eight, rushing three when they get inside the 15-yard line. It’s tough to be able to get the ball that far down inside.
You just took things, made some plays. Probably if I was going to tell you I made a mistake, because they were struggling, we had two timeouts, we tried the on-side kick. We could have stopped them there. We get the ball on the 30, 35. I think we ended up with the ball on the four- or five-yard line after a penalty. Really our offense dug us out of a hole there, got a first down, did some things.
We were ready to fake a punt if we needed to. We came into the ballgame knowing we were — obviously they did, too, with the fake punt. A great job by the safety coming over and knocking the ball away to help the corners.
Again, you just have to have some of those kind of plays to get things done.
Q. Bram, twice in the game you went out with injury. What happened? What are the initials on your wristband?
BRAM KOHLHAUSEN: First time I went out, I did a flip, landed on my neck. I had a previous injury from high school with my neck. I didn’t know what was going on at the time. Got like chills down my arm.
I knew Foster was able to come in and play. He was as prepared as I was. Instead of getting the snap, fumbling that, I was trying to take care of the ball when we were on the goal line.
Second time I got hit in the ribs. I needed to go out for a play, catch my breath. I knew Foster was ready to go again.
Initials on my wristband are for Trevone. As sad as it is, anytime I read anything about him, it brings tears to my eyes. This one is for him. He’s the one who taught me how to play like this because he’s the most fearless guy on the field.
Q. Aaron, when you think about this season, the comebacks, players you lost, Trevone, then being down 31-0, what will you tell people about this year in a few days?
AARON GREEN: Just relentless, man. There’s just a point in time in this season when it seemed like nothing was going our way. I’ve never been on a team where we had so many injuries.
I just think that it shows how well our coaches are. I don’t know if I would be able to coach a team with this many injuries, still have these guys prepared to win every week, how many freshmen we played.
This is definitely one of my favorite years of playing football, one of my favorite teams just because of the adversity and the trials and tribulations that we have had to overcome to have this successful season.
I mean, like I said, man, this season, this game, Texas Tech, Kansas State, all of that, man, this is something I’ll be telling my grandkids 50 years down the road, man. I just love it, man. It’s taught me a lot, man. I’m just humbled to be a part of this TCU legacy.
COACH PATTERSON: Glad to hear both of them are going to get married someday.
AARON GREEN: Hopefully. Don’t have a girl yet (laughter).
Q. Coach, Aaron says he doesn’t know how he’s going to coach on that. Given the injuries, the freshmen playing, setbacks, where do you rank this on your years of coaching?
COACH PATTERSON: Every year is different, obviously. I told them about the middle of the season that I probably was going to remember this season even more than I was going to remember last year just because of everything that this group had to go through.
Really, we ended up playing 30 freshmen, 15 and 15 tonight. You lose an All-American wide receiver, you lose your best corner early in the season. There’s a lot of players we had out. Probably our best pass-rusher, James McFarland.
If you look back on it, it’s one of those things where you know it’s a program, you’re doing the right things. In the locker room, they’re talking about, I’m a senior, there’s no more Colorado circuit, it’s one of the drills they do in the off-season, to gain toughness.
It makes me know as a head football coach we’re doing a lot of things right within our program. Even though we’ve changed offenses, playing with young players, we’re getting guys to be able to fight through adversity and do the things they’re doing.
Still going to always have to tweak things. Knowing we had 21 guys graduate, I think you got guys that are going to get an opportunity to leave and have degrees, go out and do something with their lives.
Here is the thing about fighting through adversity. It’s not just about the football game. It’s about the next 40 years. You teach somebody when they get up in the morning, they have to fight for a living, be something in life, don’t let anybody tell you you can’t be something. If that’s the most important thing you’re trying to get accomplished, I think that’s what you get out of our program. You get all that.
You get an opportunity that if you’re smart about what you do, you work hard, you work smart, you’re always going to be able to put food on your table.
I don’t think they can ask any more from a program.
Q. Ty, can you walk us through the second half for you, the experience you had, the comeback, overtime, celebration.
TY SUMMERS: Well, I think it’s just a pleasure to be a part of this defense, this team in general. All our guys just encouraging one another throughout all the obstacles we faced this season, this game. We just found a way to rally back.
Like I say, it’s been a pleasure to be a part of it. I wouldn’t ask to be a part of any other team, any other defense.