Q: How does it feel to finally get this thing going and get to the city?
Coach Whittingham:
“It’s great! It’s great to be here, our guys are excited. We’re coming in from a lot of different destinations so we’re not all here yet, but before the end of the night we should all be here and ready to start practice tomorrow morning.”
Q: How’s practice has been going so far up to this point?
Coach Whittingham:
“Really good. We got nine practices in Salt Lake City, sent them home for Christmas and we’ll get four more in at the site right here this week.”
Q: What’s the message to the team as far as it’s a business trip, but also let’s have fun?
Coach Whittingham:
“The message is you have to be able to differentiate when it’s time to go to work and when it’s time to have a good time. Traditionally our guys have been really good at that, being able to get dialed in when we need to for practice and meetings and when it’s time to have the bowl events and enjoy the city then they will do that as well.”
Q: Coach take us through what this day was like for you, waking up this morning probably celebrating Christmas and then traveling.
Coach Whittingham:
“We had Christmas and this morning and didn’t need to get to the airport until about four o’clock, so it was a great day to spend time with the family. And all the families were excited to get on the plane and get to our destination so it’s like having two Christmases.
Q: Why do you want to give the guys a couple of days off before meeting here?
Coach Whittingham:
“It allowed them to get home. Otherwise they’d be in Salt Lake City, away from their families on Christmas day. Our administration has been so supportive, we were able to fly all our guys home to their respective destinations and then fly them here. We’ve played in several post-Christmas bowl games in the past, and in the ones that we’ve had enough time to have a full week of practice, prior to the game we done to send them off.”
Q: What are some of the challenges that this Texas offense presents?
Coach Whittingham:
“They have playmakers. The quarterback, he’s the catalyst, he makes it all happen. Big strong kid, good arm, over 4000 yards total offense. They have a receiver that has over 100 catches, over 1200 yards. A couple running backs that are very productive, offensive line is playing well, so they’ve got a lot of things we have to deal with on offense. Defensively, their very sound, very solid, quarters-based team. With new coordinators things to change a little bit so there’s a few unknowns.”
Q: How excited are you to finally be here and get this thing going?
John Penisini:
“I’m excited, I’ve never been here before, so it’s nice to finally touch down and see what San Antonio is about, but I’m just grateful to be here.”
John Penisini:
Q: What was that like having a couple of days off to spend some time with family and friends before you came down here to take care of business?
John Penisini:
“Oh, it’s nice. We rarely get breaks but I’m from Salt Lake, so I go home every now and then, but it’s so nice seeing all the boys get to fly home and see their family.”
Q: From a player’s perspective, how do you balance, this is a business trip, but also I want to enjoy this and have fun and get to see a lot of stuff?
John Penisini:
“Coach told us to enjoy the experience but you when you have the chance to balance it out, watch film, always keep your opponent back in your mind and just stay focused.”
Q: What are some challenges you are going to face as you play Texas?
John Penisini:
“Aggressive O-line. They have playmakers on the outside, receivers, the running back is good, and the quarterback can run, and he has an arm. So, pretty much the whole offense, they’re really good.”
Q: How excited to finally get this thing going and get here to San Antonio for this business trip?
Zack Moss:
“It’s very exciting and it’s good to finally get into town. It was a great welcome downstairs and it’s going to be a fun experience for us.”
Q: How are you going to balance this week?
Zack Moss:
“Our coaches do a good job of helping us understand that this is a business trip at the end of the day, while also allowing us to have a lot of fun and downtime. We keep in the back of our mind that this is a business trip.”
Q: You’ve had some time now to see what Texas defense has done throughout the year, what are some of the challenges that they present for you?
Zack Moss:
“They’re very athletic, very long defense. It can create a lot of problems for us if we allow it to happen. That goes for any team that we play, but they are a very good defense.”
Q: What do you like about your offense?
Zack Moss:
“The guys want to continue to play for each other, we get another chance to go out here and do it one more time for our fans. I’m ready and very excited to see what we’re going to do this time.”
Q: How do you sum up your season as an individual?
Zack Moss:
“It’s not over yet. So, I’ll sum it up by saying I have a lot more things to do for this team and we can come out here and win.”