Event: Stanford post-practice
Date, Location: Dec. 23, Alamo Stadium
Persons Quoted: Head Coach David Shaw and running back Bryce Love
Head Coach David Shaw
How much better do you expect Bryce to be having had this chance to rest?
“Hopefully a lot better. Hopefully we get to see what we saw earlier in the season. Now he hasn’t been slow by any stretch of the imagination, but he just hasn’t been 100%. And there’s a difference. When he’s 100%, I mean that guy got to 1000 yards in four and a half games. Just never seen that before. This is a great defense; this is a great run defense in particular. So hopefully we can have him as close to 100% as possible.“
How close are you to settling things on the coaching hiring front?
“We’re moving in the right direction. A lot of hoops we have to jump through. We aren’t in a rush necessarily with this week being game week. But I’m getting close. We’ve narrowed it down to a few guys and I feel comfortable where we are. “
TCU profiles as a really good defense, but they have been hurt by big plays. What is something you’ve seen on film from them?
“The thing is they’ve been hurt by big plays, but they’ve also made a lot of big plays. These guys hit the QB, these guys get tackles for loss, these guys get turnovers. You can’t underestimate the heart with which these guys play with. And the more you watch film, the more you see it. You’re looking at a team that played a really good Oklahoma team really, really well. And Oklahoma kind of pulled away at the end but it was tough sledding on both sides of the ball. That’s all you can do, watch those two games, and you’ll get a lot of respect for this group.”
Bryce Love, Jr., running back
How did everything look at practice today spirit-wise?
“It’s like game week. Everyone’s up and excited to play. And like I touched on yesterday, everyone’s excited to go out there and compete.”
How do you prepare the younger guys on the team for the bowl week experience?
“The coaches did a great job leading it out for me, and I know for me during my freshman year going to the Rose Bowl and having people like Blake (Martinez), Christian (McCaffrey), Kevin Hogan, to lead the way for me and show what Bowl Week is was really great. Kind of like how you touched on, it’s a fine balance between having too much fun and going out and competing but touching the football is fun in itself. Just having the opportunity to compete is really something we enjoy and to be in a place that some of us have never been to and having the opportunity to play a team we usually don’t get to play or ever really play again is something we look forward to.”
What are you most looking forward to outside of practice and the game itself about being in San Antonio?
“I’ve heard a lot about the Riverwalk. I can’t swim, but I enjoy seeing it from afar. A lot of people go down there and tell me about it so I’m looking forward to seeing that.”
How would it feel to have a 10-win season with an Alamo Bowl win as opposed to a nine-win season finish?
“That’s obviously one of the goals we have going into the season. In reality, it is just a one game difference, but there’s something about that tempo that we set our minds on and knowing that we’ve won that many games is kind of a standard we’ve been upholding year in and year out since my freshman year. We just want to uphold that tradition and stay locked in on that.
What’s the best thing TCU does on defense?
“Their speed and athleticism. They fly around all day and do what they’re taught so well. Everyone has their own responsibility on defense and they’re all out there making plays and sending blitzes from deep. They all come down the field as if anyone could be making the tackle. That physicality really stands out.”
