Defensive Player & Coach Quotes

Curtis Lofton

About last year's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
What happened last year is last year. It's a whole different year and whole different team. It's seems like every time there is something on about college games they always show Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. I'm getting tired of seeing that. I can't wait to play this game and get rid of that memory. It's not about our comeback. It's about who wins the game. They won the game and they deserved all of the credit.

About Oklahoma's secondary
Losing Reggie (Smith) and Lendy (Holmes) hurts a little bit but the young guys have been in at various times during the season. I think Dominique (Franks) has come along well.

About West Virginia's offense
It's a very unique offense. They can score at a snap of the finger. It makes us be very disciplined and we'll have to tackle them.

About the hospitality of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
We got a 20-inch flat screen TV, a $300 Best Buy gift certificate. It's always great to come out here to Arizona and get out of Oklahoma because it was pretty cold out there. There's tons of things to do out here. There's not too many times you see mountains and stuff. It's great out here. I don't have a problem with being back next year.

Auston English

About being sick most of the week
Hopefully get out there and practice later this afternoon. I've been staying in the hotel the whole time watching film. I'm feeling a lot better now. I was looking forward to getting out here and getting a good jump start.

About facing West Virginia's offense
We've seen this scheme a lot. West Virginia has great athletes in the backfield. They definitely add spice to it I guess. We just have to play fundamental football. You just have to play your assignment.

Nic Harris

About losing to Boise State in last year's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
We know where here to win. It would be a big relief to get that off of our back. Everybody has to come out and play hard-nosed football. How could you not (have seen highlights of last year's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl). They played them all year. It doesn't necessarily make me mad, but it gives me a bad feeling. It's a bad taste in your mouth. You've got to take the good with the bad.

About Oklahoma's depth
We bring in great athletes every year. We have guys that are waiting to play those positions. Every year, we know that the second team can play just as well as the first team.

About the team's mentality heading into the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
We can finish what we started. We had two games where we lapsed and we didn't finish they way we needed to finish. We know we need to come out and play well. We've got to finish. It has to come from within us. It's a mentality that we developed within ourselves, that we have to come out and finish each and every day.

About what impresses him with West Virginia's offense
How talented they are and what they do. They try to scheme you with the straight zone, the option, the option keep and the option pass. We have to make tackles and play great.

About West Virginia QB Pat White
He can beat you by himself. And that's one thing we can't let him do.

D.J. Wolfe

About defending against West Virginia's offense
It tests the character of your defense. I think we are trying to take on the challenge as best as we can. Just prepare to do well come Wednesday night. A lot about having success in defending spread offenses is being able to make tackles in the open field. It's on us to be prepared for that. They run it better than any spread offense we've seen all year.

About being ready for West Virginia's passing game
As a defense you have to be prepared for both. Going into the play, you can't just look for the run. They'll hit you with play action.

Coach Venables

About West Virginia's offense
West Virginia has more skill across the board than what we've seen. Starting with the quarterback. When I say more skilled, I mean faster and more explosive with game changers at the skill positions than what we've seen throughout the year.

About West Virginia QB Pat White
Every snap, the ball is going through him. Whether you put an end on him or a linebacker on him, or sometimes you try to put two on him. I think the test of time has shown that he is better than most guys most of the time. The challenge will be trying to contain him and not allow him to get into a great rhythm of having success in running the football.

About defending West Virginia's offense
Everybody recognizes that this team can expose you with one guy. This team has the ability to expose you on any given play when one guy is out of position. You say that every week but this team is just different. It's difficult because of the run game and the skill at that position.

Coach Wright

About DE Auston English
Mostly for him is to knock off the rust a little bit. The main thing for us with Auston is just getting him well. He's struggled with an injury and then we got him well from that. He came into the Big 12 Championship game and played well. Now we get out here and it looks like we are going to have him healthy and then he gets sick. He's been in the hotel room sick for the last three days. This is actually the first day he has been out. Getting him over that is going to be the biggest thing. He's been a starter for us all year long. All he needs to do is get this thing behind him and get a few reps in and he will be fine.

About West Virginia's offense
West Virginia is probably more efficient at running this offense than anybody that we've faced. Nobody runs it to the efficiency that West Virginia does. Any offense that you run where you are averaging 300 yards a game rushing the football, you're doing a heck of a job running the football. I have a tremendous amount of respect in what they're doing with this offense. It all goes through Pat White. He's the catalyst. Everything starts with him. He is also their leading rusher on the team.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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