Event: TCU Team Arrival
Persons Quoted: Head Coach Gary Patterson, cornerback Ranthony Texada, and running back Kyle Hicks
Head Coach Gary Patterson
How have the last few weeks been with school and practices?
“Well no time off, we had finals. And then we went straight here. So it’s pretty normal for us. They don’t let us practice during finals. So we’ve gotten 9, 10 practices in, and we’ll have another 3 down here.”
A day or two before you were down here last is when your AD (Chris Del Conte) took the UT job, so I just want to get your thoughts on losing him?
“He was great for us. It was no change. So we just moved a guy up and so we got Brett. We wish him the best and it’s time for us to keep going. “
How’s the bowl week schedule now that you get here and the balance between the workouts and getting ready for the game.?
“The way we do it, we’ll be in shells and shorts. We’ve been doing hard practices, that’s the way we do it. So we’re down here. Tomorrow we’ll have a shells practice, and our other two practices we’ll be in shorts. So basically all of our hard work is done.”
How does it feel to be back in San Antonio?
“We’re glad to be in San Antonio and be at the Alamodome, against a great opponent. Our kids are excited. It’s one of those things we got here a little early and so we’ll go out and take a picture at the Alamodome as a group, and then go to our practice site, and then go down and go through a meeting, of the do’s and don’ts, of how we do things down here. Because you always have freshmen that have never been here before, never been to a bowl site, how we represent TCU, and then getting the rest of the night off, getting up in the morning, having meetings, and getting ready to go.“
Do you show your crew that game from two years ago to relive the moment?
“We’ve played a lot of football games. We’ve played 24 or so games since then. For us, we’ve got to be ready to go. It was a different opponent, a different time, different QB, a lot of things different.”
How excited is your team for this game?
“We’re excited. There’s no bad bowl game. So for us, a chance to stay in the state of Texas, come down to San Antonio, be apart of the Valero Alamo Bowl, it’s awesome. You couldn’t ask for anymore.”
Ranthony Texada, Sr., Cornerback
What do you remember about the game two years ago?
“I do remember it. I didn’t play, unfortunately because I was injured. But I just remember it being crazy a game, something I’ve never seen before. So hopefully this one’s just as exciting.”
What’s the general mood about this game?
“Everybody’s still excited you know. It’s another game we get to go out there and play for this university and we’re excited to go out there and play hard.”
What do you see from Stanford? They got off to a slow start, but they’ve been rolling pretty good the last couple months.
“They’ve been playing really good football and we’ve got to come out here. It starts this week, a good week of practice and they’re going to play hard and we’re going to play hard. So it’s going to be a great game.“
What’s your first thought when you see a guy like Travin Howard?
“Hard worker, smart football player, can really do it all. He’s the leader of our defense. He brings the energy and that’s just the kind of guy he’s been since he’s been here.”
Kyle Hicks, Sr., running back
From your perspective, what kind of a season was it for you guys?
“I think it was a really good season for us. We had a lot of young guys grow up and they also did the best job to give the seniors the best season possible which is the goal. I think we had a pretty good season and now we’re back here at the Alamo Bowl ready to go and take the game.”
How does it feel to be in a top 15 matchup?
“It’s definitely going to be a great game. Stanford has a great team and we’re looking forward to this matchup. Like you said, they’re a top 15 team so we’re ready to play them.”
