Four guys for the offense and defense. Grant Calcaterra and CeeDee Lamb. Curtis Bolton and Robert Barnes. No availability Tuesday and no Riley on Wednesday. This is it for the week.
Grant Calcaterra
Playoff atmosphere this week, win or go home?
Yea, I mean there's a lot of pressure around the game. Obviously it's high stakes. Two of the better teams in the Big 12. We know that we need to win this game if we want to accomplish the rest of our goals. It'll be a big one.
Short week?
Definitely changes up our schedule a little bit. I think we have to focus on getting our rest and getting in the film room and just trying to get everything done early, and just be more prepared than you would be a normal week.
What did you see in Kyler last year?
I think probably just his work ethic. Playing two sports is ridiculous. I'm just barely making it playing one sport, so the fact that he can be so dominant in two sports, and be at football and give his all and be a leader. I kinda expected it. I didn't know that he was that shifty, making those kinds of plays. You don't really know until you see it. He surprises me all the time but he's obviously a great player. I knew he was gonna be big-time for us.
Is Kyler as valuable to this team as Baker was last year?
Yea, I would say so. Obviously, he's a huge playmaker for us just like Bake was. They have different skillsets, but I think he's probably just as important as Bake was to us.
You feed off Kyler?
Yeah absolutely. I don't know, I feel like I can just always count on him to make a play. I feel the same way about Bake, but I think with Kyler, when a situation or a play is busted, I can always just be like, oh, he's just gonna scramble and do something ridiculous. I can always count on him to make the big play when it matters and I can feed off that.
***
Robert Barnes
Why was KU able to run so well?
A lot of the time we were in the right position, but we just didn’t make a lot of plays we had been making in the run game the last few weeks. Basically, with West Virginia, it’s focusing on what we need to do to make those plays so that a five-yard gain doesn’t turn into a touchdown.
WVU offense?
We know going in that West V. is definitely going to air the ball out with their talented receivers. But at the same, you have to into the game plan, we have to be ready for everything. We have to be ready for the run. We have to be ready for the pass game. Going into it we’re trying to make sure we have all the right schemes and right alignments so that we can go in there and compete.
What short week changes?
It’s always different playing a physical game and having to wake up and go to practice the next day. We all know what’s at stake here. We all know what we have to do to come out on top in this game. We all woke up yesterday with the right attitude, focused and ready to go to practice.
Why still confident?
For me, I know the guys I’m playing with. I’ve been grinding with these guys all summer, all fall camp and all that. I’m very confident that when we step out there, it’s going to be more physical. We’re going to make those plays. I have utmost confidence that everybody on that field, me included, will do their job. We’re going to come out and win this game and the defense will play a lot better.
Notice any dips in confidence during the game when things start faltering?
Honestly, I would say that isn’t the case because being on the sideline when something negative does happen, I think we do a pretty good job of rallying around those guys that it happened to or something where we weren’t on the same page or something. We have that mindset of forget it and drive on. It’s continuously the next play, next play mindset.
Players only, 'come to Jesus' type of meeting?
I’ve always believed that if you have to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting, then it’s a problem. I think everybody knows this isn’t how we want to play. This isn’t the defense we want to put out there. I think, for sure, the leaders in practice – we’re starting to step up. There’s no missed tackles. There’s no loafing. There’s no doing some of those things we’re seeing on game day. I think, for the most part, from the older guys to the younger guys, we all have that same mindset that we came here to change this defense. We came here for a reason, and we’re not going to leave here until that happens.
***
Curtis Bolton
How frustrated with tackling vs. KU?
I thought we were moving in the right direction in that aspect of the game. We came out and didn’t tackle well. That goes back to what we have to during the week. Now we’re focusing on tackling, not that we didn’t focus on that last week or the week before that. That wasn’t the biggest issue that we needed to work on and obviously after last week, it’s still an issue that we need to work on.
How to fix that internally as players since coaches can’t help you?
I’ve always said that tackling is a byproduct of hustling team ball. At the end of the day, we have to hustle to the ball better. Tackling … a lot of form issues, but we need to run to the ball better before we start talking about form tackling. That’s second-hand. Of course it’s being said. But that’s being said after running to the football. We have to do a great job of policing each other. You see a guy not running, say something. I’m not going to tolerate that. Every play that I line up, I’m trying to make a play and I expect nothing less from the other 10 guys out there.
Will Grier?
The maturity. You can tell he’s a polished quarterback by the way he runs the offense, the way his guys rally behind him. Just like any other quarterback that’s considered to be in the Heisman race. He’s a talented guy. He knows how to throw the rock. He knows how to check. He knows how to … he reads pretty well. He’s a good quarterback. I like what I see from him on film. At the end of the day, we have to disrupt that somehow. Disguise and get after him, that’s what you have to do against a good quarterback like that.
What keeps this game exciting for you and the defense?
It’s an opportunity to go play. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know a lot of guys out there don’t take it for granted. Everybody outside of us has everything to say about us. At the end of the day, we’re going to line up and play ball. We have to play better, yeah, but no one plays football this long without loving the game. I love it. I just look at it as another opportunity to go out there and play.
Is defense really getting better compared to first half of season?
I do. I think Coach Ruff needs some time to get everything in order. I feel a difference. I see it. I see the troops rallying. It’s not showing up now. I don’t know when it will show up. It will eventually show up. Something’s different about that man. I’m just going to keep showing up and trying to play through him, trying to get my brain wave on the same wave that he’s on. Just preach that to the people. If we can do that and get all 12 people, 11 people on the field and Coach Ruff on the same page, it will be a beautiful sight.
Need turnovers?
You have to prepare for it. We just go to put ourselves in better position to make plays like that. You can’t just sit there and say they are going to come and they don’t come. That’s not how it works. We’re trying to do things. It’s something that every player has to do, a conscious job when they are out there on the field. Not trying to just play, but play to win, not play to lose.
Final question to Bolton... and it was a doozy.
Can this defense get any better?
It’s tough to answer that question because I can’t promise you anything. I can promise you one thing and then go on the field and do another. At the end of the day, I’m telling my guys to line up and play ball. Good or bad, I’m going to rock with them because I see the potential in them. Like them, they’re young, they have time. I don’t. I can’t sit here and preach how I’m going to change the defensive culture because I can’t. I can just line up and do my job and try to coach these young guys. But a lot of that goes into the offseason. Not saying everything is going to change in these last three games. We don’t play well, but we play good enough to win. As bad as that is, as bad as it is to watch on film, that’s what happens when you have the best offense in the country.
Grant Calcaterra
Playoff atmosphere this week, win or go home?
Yea, I mean there's a lot of pressure around the game. Obviously it's high stakes. Two of the better teams in the Big 12. We know that we need to win this game if we want to accomplish the rest of our goals. It'll be a big one.
Short week?
Definitely changes up our schedule a little bit. I think we have to focus on getting our rest and getting in the film room and just trying to get everything done early, and just be more prepared than you would be a normal week.
What did you see in Kyler last year?
I think probably just his work ethic. Playing two sports is ridiculous. I'm just barely making it playing one sport, so the fact that he can be so dominant in two sports, and be at football and give his all and be a leader. I kinda expected it. I didn't know that he was that shifty, making those kinds of plays. You don't really know until you see it. He surprises me all the time but he's obviously a great player. I knew he was gonna be big-time for us.
Is Kyler as valuable to this team as Baker was last year?
Yea, I would say so. Obviously, he's a huge playmaker for us just like Bake was. They have different skillsets, but I think he's probably just as important as Bake was to us.
You feed off Kyler?
Yeah absolutely. I don't know, I feel like I can just always count on him to make a play. I feel the same way about Bake, but I think with Kyler, when a situation or a play is busted, I can always just be like, oh, he's just gonna scramble and do something ridiculous. I can always count on him to make the big play when it matters and I can feed off that.
***
Robert Barnes
Why was KU able to run so well?
A lot of the time we were in the right position, but we just didn’t make a lot of plays we had been making in the run game the last few weeks. Basically, with West Virginia, it’s focusing on what we need to do to make those plays so that a five-yard gain doesn’t turn into a touchdown.
WVU offense?
We know going in that West V. is definitely going to air the ball out with their talented receivers. But at the same, you have to into the game plan, we have to be ready for everything. We have to be ready for the run. We have to be ready for the pass game. Going into it we’re trying to make sure we have all the right schemes and right alignments so that we can go in there and compete.
What short week changes?
It’s always different playing a physical game and having to wake up and go to practice the next day. We all know what’s at stake here. We all know what we have to do to come out on top in this game. We all woke up yesterday with the right attitude, focused and ready to go to practice.
Why still confident?
For me, I know the guys I’m playing with. I’ve been grinding with these guys all summer, all fall camp and all that. I’m very confident that when we step out there, it’s going to be more physical. We’re going to make those plays. I have utmost confidence that everybody on that field, me included, will do their job. We’re going to come out and win this game and the defense will play a lot better.
Notice any dips in confidence during the game when things start faltering?
Honestly, I would say that isn’t the case because being on the sideline when something negative does happen, I think we do a pretty good job of rallying around those guys that it happened to or something where we weren’t on the same page or something. We have that mindset of forget it and drive on. It’s continuously the next play, next play mindset.
Players only, 'come to Jesus' type of meeting?
I’ve always believed that if you have to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting, then it’s a problem. I think everybody knows this isn’t how we want to play. This isn’t the defense we want to put out there. I think, for sure, the leaders in practice – we’re starting to step up. There’s no missed tackles. There’s no loafing. There’s no doing some of those things we’re seeing on game day. I think, for the most part, from the older guys to the younger guys, we all have that same mindset that we came here to change this defense. We came here for a reason, and we’re not going to leave here until that happens.
***
Curtis Bolton
How frustrated with tackling vs. KU?
I thought we were moving in the right direction in that aspect of the game. We came out and didn’t tackle well. That goes back to what we have to during the week. Now we’re focusing on tackling, not that we didn’t focus on that last week or the week before that. That wasn’t the biggest issue that we needed to work on and obviously after last week, it’s still an issue that we need to work on.
How to fix that internally as players since coaches can’t help you?
I’ve always said that tackling is a byproduct of hustling team ball. At the end of the day, we have to hustle to the ball better. Tackling … a lot of form issues, but we need to run to the ball better before we start talking about form tackling. That’s second-hand. Of course it’s being said. But that’s being said after running to the football. We have to do a great job of policing each other. You see a guy not running, say something. I’m not going to tolerate that. Every play that I line up, I’m trying to make a play and I expect nothing less from the other 10 guys out there.
Will Grier?
The maturity. You can tell he’s a polished quarterback by the way he runs the offense, the way his guys rally behind him. Just like any other quarterback that’s considered to be in the Heisman race. He’s a talented guy. He knows how to throw the rock. He knows how to check. He knows how to … he reads pretty well. He’s a good quarterback. I like what I see from him on film. At the end of the day, we have to disrupt that somehow. Disguise and get after him, that’s what you have to do against a good quarterback like that.
What keeps this game exciting for you and the defense?
It’s an opportunity to go play. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know a lot of guys out there don’t take it for granted. Everybody outside of us has everything to say about us. At the end of the day, we’re going to line up and play ball. We have to play better, yeah, but no one plays football this long without loving the game. I love it. I just look at it as another opportunity to go out there and play.
Is defense really getting better compared to first half of season?
I do. I think Coach Ruff needs some time to get everything in order. I feel a difference. I see it. I see the troops rallying. It’s not showing up now. I don’t know when it will show up. It will eventually show up. Something’s different about that man. I’m just going to keep showing up and trying to play through him, trying to get my brain wave on the same wave that he’s on. Just preach that to the people. If we can do that and get all 12 people, 11 people on the field and Coach Ruff on the same page, it will be a beautiful sight.
Need turnovers?
You have to prepare for it. We just go to put ourselves in better position to make plays like that. You can’t just sit there and say they are going to come and they don’t come. That’s not how it works. We’re trying to do things. It’s something that every player has to do, a conscious job when they are out there on the field. Not trying to just play, but play to win, not play to lose.
Final question to Bolton... and it was a doozy.
Can this defense get any better?
It’s tough to answer that question because I can’t promise you anything. I can promise you one thing and then go on the field and do another. At the end of the day, I’m telling my guys to line up and play ball. Good or bad, I’m going to rock with them because I see the potential in them. Like them, they’re young, they have time. I don’t. I can’t sit here and preach how I’m going to change the defensive culture because I can’t. I can just line up and do my job and try to coach these young guys. But a lot of that goes into the offseason. Not saying everything is going to change in these last three games. We don’t play well, but we play good enough to win. As bad as that is, as bad as it is to watch on film, that’s what happens when you have the best offense in the country.
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