Takeaways: Kingsbury pleased with team's energy leading into Texas

Coach Kingsbury and select defensive players spoke with members of the local media on Tuesday to discuss how the week of practice is going leading into the final home game of the season against Texas on Saturday...

-Kingsbury was first asked if he liked the intensity and energy of his team so far in practice this week:

"I think it's been good. I think we gained some confidence in the fashion we ended that game (against TCU). Not really playing well throughout, having a lot of mistakes, and still finding a way to win. We hadn't done that yet this year. So, I've sensed that, and I hope it carries over into Saturday."

-I asked Kliff if they'd do anything to change up the Saturday morning schedule since they've had some trouble starting in 11 a.m. games over the last two years:

"Like I've said, we've changed it up pretty much schedule wise since that game, so we may make an adjustment here or there to try and do something, cause anything is better than what we saw that day, so we're still working through that. But, I'm sure we'll tweak something to do with that morning schedule the day of the game."

"Gotta find an answer, and hopefully we can tweak something and get them fired up, cause the stadium will be awesome. The atmosphere will be awesome, and we know that, so there won't be any excuses."

-Kingsbury was asked for his thoughts on Texas linebacker Breckyn Hager's comments about QB Pat Mahomes from earlier in the week:

"That kid plays hard, and he apologized, so I think it's a non-issue."

-Kliff was asked about how much they heard during his playing days in college, noting that the lack of social media led to players not hearing a whole lot:

"We didn't hear as much. Now with social media they hear a lot more than we did. You'd hear it from like somebody's ex-girlfriend or something, so it's a little bit different now."

-On if he thinks Texas will mold some of their defensive strategies around what TCU and West Virginia did:

"They kind of do what they do, but with the success TCU had, I wouldn't be surprised if they changed it up and gave us some looks, so we'll have a plan for that if that's the case."

-So, what does the head coach think will be the biggest keys in limiting Texas running back D'Onta Forman?

"I think just gang tackling. The first guy never gets him down. He's always physical, very agile for a big guy, and their O-line is playing at a high level, so I think we all have to get to the football, and gang tackling is going to be the key."

-Kliff noted that they're currently rotating Tony Brown, Antoine Wesley, and Derrick Willies at X receiver right now. Willies is still taking it a little slow, however. They don't want to rush him back if they don't have to.

-Kliff on Tony Brown's performance with more reps in the last few weeks:

"He's done a good job. He's been solid. I know he wants some more balls to come his way, and that'll happen, but he's a guy that's always working on his techniques, his fundamentals, does the right things on and off the field, so you know you can count on him."

-Kingsbury noted that junior defensive end Gary Moore and senior X receiver Devin Lauderdale were not at practice with the team on Tuesday:

"They are not in the building today. So, we're still on that protocol," he said. "I would just say that it's a coach's decision that they were not in the building today."

-The head coach said that right tackle Justin Murphy was limited on Tuesday and that they were just taking things one day at a time on if he'll play against Texas this weekend or not.

-Kliff's thoughts on how fullback Mason Reed has performed in the last two weeks now that he's receiving quite a few reps:

"He's done better. He's a physical kid, which you like. We've got to get him a little more football savvy. If the picture changes -- he struggled a little bit last week. But, as far as toughness, athletic, not being scared to stick his nose in there, those are all things he has, and we can work with that."

-Jenkins on what the defensive performance against TCU did for the defense as a whole:

"It's a giant confidence booster, but we're not going to be satisfied or complacent with it. We're just going to keep it rolling and continue to get better every day."

-So, does the senior believe the game against TCU was the best performance for his unit so far this season?

"No. Linebacker-wise it wasn't our best performance, but we fought and performed the whole game, and we helped the defense out. But we didn't really play to our full potential like we were supposed to," he said. "The D-line and secondary backed us up a lot this last game."

-Jenkins is admittedly juiced for the Texas game on Saturday:

"Senior night, my last home game as a Red Raider, big rivalry game. I think everybody is hyping it up. The fans are gonna be there, sold out crowd, and on defense we're ready to get this rolling. We know they're going to run the ball. Offense, we know they're gonna score. We're going to continue to do what we gotta do, and if it comes down to it we're going to make sure the offense has the ball at the end of the game."