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Ward feels handling adversity, finding consistency key for defense

The Red Raiders will welcome Louisiana Tech to Lubbock this weekend for the final non-conference game of the young 2016 season.

Members of the defense spoke with local media members on Tuesday in anticipation of the contest, and I spoke with senior safety Keenon Ward about how the team has handled the Arizona State loss and why he thinks things can be different moving forward.

Q: First, what are your thoughts about how things went against Arizona State on Saturday night now that you've had some time to both watch the film and digest it?

"I felt like we had a chance to really put them away (early). D.J. (Polite Bray) got the fumble recovery, would've went up 21-9, but that's something we can't change. We've just got to bounce back from adversity, which if we'd done a better job of that then, we'd probably be sitting here at 2-0, but we're not. So, this week has been all about us putting ourselves in difficult situations. Once bad things happen, we've simply just got to bounce back."

Q: So you think when Breiden Fehoko got that big roughing the passer penalty that called back D.J.'s recovery, that was really the big swing moment?

"As hard as it is to say it wasn't, it definitely was. I saw some of our teammates just kind of give up, and that's something that us as seniors just have to enforce. We have to pick the young guys up. There's a lot of young guys playing. I feel like I put a lot of blame on myself, because I didn't stop it then when it happened. We came out today and just made sure it was about keeping on fighting when bad things happen."

Q: What do you have to do then? What do you do to prevent that mentality from creeping in. from telling yourself, "Welp, here we go again," and just letting it happen?

"I think it comes back to simply being consistent. We've shown flashes that we can be pretty good. We stops on three out of the first four possessions, and we would've had four out of five if we would've gotten that turnover. So, there are definitely periods when we play good, and I just feel like if we can stay consistent, we'll be fine."

Q: When you look back to the spring, look at the summer, look at fall camp, I know you guys felt confident about the progress you had made. So, right now, tell me this: This is a better defense because...

"I just think all around we're better. Our leadership is way better than it's ever been. We're flying to the ball, we trust each other. That's why we haven't lost faith at all. We've just got to prove that to the town of Lubbock and the nation on Saturdays. That's all we can do."

Q: What's it been like with Coach Gibbs this week? What's been his message of what you need to do?

"He just said a lot of what I've said. We just have to stay consistent, keep forcing turnovers. When you go 90 plays (against Arizona State) and don't get any turnovers, that's a bad deal. So, if we can get three or four this Saturday, that'll be good."

Q: Coach Kingsbury said that he thought the Tuesday practice was maybe your best of the year. Do you agree with that?

"Yeah, I do agree. Coach came in yesterday and told us that he has our backs, that he knows how good we can be. He wasn't frustrated, just built us up to let us know that we're still fine. One game doesn't define us. So yeah, we came out today and definitely had one of the finest practices that I've ever been a part of around here."

Q: What is it about Louisiana Tech that sticks out on film to you?

"They're just experienced. Outside of their quarterback situation, they've got some good skill players that play together. They're good. Their special teams are really good, too. So, what we're going to do is try to give the young quarterback something he hasn't seen and kind of set him up."

Q: Going into this weekend, what do you think is the most important things for you all as a defense to do?

"Be consistent, cause turnovers, and just control the run game."

Q: So when you look back to the SFA game, do you think you all did those things?

"A lot of people say it was just SFA, but we really did play a lot better of a game. We were fitting our gaps, were controlling the run game, getting turnovers. If we can play like we did against them, we'll be fine."

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