Audio from @W. McKay and transcribed by @me...
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What did you think of the scrimmage?
Cantrell – I thought it was good, the defense was competing and they have been doing that every spring. They have definitely been coming out every day, getting turnovers and battling on those 3rd and 4th down competition days. The offense, we started out pretty slow and then started picking things up during the position stuff. We finished strong after halftime, started moving the ball, but I was impressed by the defense today.
First touchdown catch today, caught it over hometown guy Desmond Smith – how was that?
Cantrell – I mean, the quarterback have confidence in us to go up and make a play. Des has been killing it all spring, and he’s a tough defender and has gotten a lot better with more experience under his belt. It just goes both ways sometimes.
For the offense to not score a touchdown in the first half, that’s unusual for you guys of course. How much progress do you feel you guys need to make to be what Texas Tech expects defensively?
Cantrell – I think we are fine, a lot of that stuff was situational and we only had 1-2 live drives. We were moving the ball, so I think we are fine. The OL got in there with a lot of young guys and this is still their second time to go live at the college level. I think we settled down and came out to have a better second half.
What did you think about the way Nic (Shimonek) played?
Cantrell – He is just that guy who is tough and is going to do everything to put us in the best situations. I know he was getting pressured at some points in the day, so we are going to have to get used to that, but he can make every throw out there so we are going to be in good shape.
After a full off-season of working with Nic, what is the biggest difference between working with him and Pat?
Cantrell – They both have great arms, me and Pat had obviously been together for quite a bit longer, but that comes with repetition and getting our timing down. I know that he’s one of the hardest workers on the team and he gets us out there working on extra routes. After spring ball, we will just run a lot of routes on air and with the defense to get our timing down as best as possible.
After last season, what is the feel in the locker room?
Cantrell – We are fired up, it was obviously disappointing, but there was so much upside to it because we were right there in 5 of the 7 losses. We just have to figure out how to finish out games, and that is why I was happy we finished stronger in the second half. We have to do that in the season, finish in the second half. We are working on that every day and competing every day, getting better and the defense is getting better.
Do you like playing these scrimmages away from campus?
Cantrell – Yes, it is awesome to come out here and see the different fans. We owe them a lot, they are so supportive of us no matter what. Next week we are going to Frisco, and I haven’t been to the new facility so that will be awesome. I know they sold that out and it should be really fun. Then, we have a Saturday night game in Lubbock and will get to play in front of the hometown fans.
What have you thought of Payne (Sullins)?
Cantrell – He is one of those guys that works hard and has gotten a lot better. He came out here and did great with the twos, led them down the field. He is only going to get better, all of those twos, there is not a solidified depth chart. I thought him and all of those guys came in and made plays, so I’m excited to see them get in and compete and continue to get better.
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How did you feel about the scrimmage?
Shimonek – We started a little slow, but we picked it up and the offensive line just had to get settled in. Everybody had to get settled in, myself included. Once we did that, I feel like we got in a rhythm. The defense came out and played well, which is encouraging. As much as I want to win, as much as I like to compete, I cannot get mad at them for continuing to improve and get better every week. I think we had a good day, obviously it’s fun coming out here and putting on a show for the fans.
Does the complete absence of turnovers surprise you?
Shimonek – Well, we turned it over quite a bit on Thursday, so Coach Kingsbury was harping on all of the quarterbacks to protect the football. Take the short passes, don’t try and score a touchdown on every play. In the beginning, we just have to settle down as a unit. The receivers, we had a couple of drops and I missed a couple of throws, but once we settled down then we got in a rhythm. We moved the ball pretty well for the rest of the day.
How nice is it to get some big weapons back, you got Jonathan Giles and Justin Stockton, guys like that?
Shimonek – It’s awesome, just knowing that I could throw a ball behind the line of scrimmage and it could go for 70-plus yards for a touchdown. Huge confidence for me being able to flip it out there to Giles, Keke, Cam and even Zac Austin. Then you have the bigger guys on the outside, Derek, Dillon, Quan, TJ and those guys. Obviously having the more play makers the better, and we have a lot right now. I’m ready to get this thing going.
Do you credit the defense for the slow start or were you guys just not as sharp as you could be?
Shimonek – Yeah, they were doing some stuff, blitzing more than they usually do. Plus, we just need to settle down. I don’t know if we were nervous or something, but we missed a couple of assignments. As I mentioned, we dropped some passes and I missed some throws, just collectively we weren’t dialed in. I called everyone up and had a talk, once that kind of settled in with everybody, we got acclimated to the environment and got in a rhythm.
Are you starting to fall into a leadership role?
Shimonek – Definitely, last year I did what I could with Pat being the guy. I didn’t want to be so much in front, but this year I’m the guy and I’m trying to be more vocal. Things in the weight room, the film room and things like that. Also, getting onto guys when they need some positive reinforcement.
What is it like being ‘the guy’ at quarterback?
Shimonek – You know, it’s awesome being at Texas Tech where everything runs through the quarterback. Coach Kingsbury puts a lot on our shoulders, so you are either the hero or the zero. That is how it works, which I’m fine with, because I kind of grew up like that with all of the sports I played. When we played sports in high school, I was always somehow the one to blame, so I’m kind of used to that.
What is it like seeing all of these fans outside of Lubbock?
Shimonek – It is awesome, having support from everywhere. It is really good for us to come out here, because not everyone can drive a couple of hours to come and watch us practice. We go to Frisco next weekend and it is good to be able to touch fan bases in different parts of the state.
What do you think of the challenge of playing in 3rd down situations?
Shimonek – It was tough, there were some 3rd and longs in there that were a little tough, but that is going to happen in the game. 3rd and medium, we did pretty well and we did good in 3rd and short as well. Those things are going to happen in games, so it’s good to get out here and practice in those scenarios.
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What did you think of the scrimmage?
Cantrell – I thought it was good, the defense was competing and they have been doing that every spring. They have definitely been coming out every day, getting turnovers and battling on those 3rd and 4th down competition days. The offense, we started out pretty slow and then started picking things up during the position stuff. We finished strong after halftime, started moving the ball, but I was impressed by the defense today.
First touchdown catch today, caught it over hometown guy Desmond Smith – how was that?
Cantrell – I mean, the quarterback have confidence in us to go up and make a play. Des has been killing it all spring, and he’s a tough defender and has gotten a lot better with more experience under his belt. It just goes both ways sometimes.
For the offense to not score a touchdown in the first half, that’s unusual for you guys of course. How much progress do you feel you guys need to make to be what Texas Tech expects defensively?
Cantrell – I think we are fine, a lot of that stuff was situational and we only had 1-2 live drives. We were moving the ball, so I think we are fine. The OL got in there with a lot of young guys and this is still their second time to go live at the college level. I think we settled down and came out to have a better second half.
What did you think about the way Nic (Shimonek) played?
Cantrell – He is just that guy who is tough and is going to do everything to put us in the best situations. I know he was getting pressured at some points in the day, so we are going to have to get used to that, but he can make every throw out there so we are going to be in good shape.
After a full off-season of working with Nic, what is the biggest difference between working with him and Pat?
Cantrell – They both have great arms, me and Pat had obviously been together for quite a bit longer, but that comes with repetition and getting our timing down. I know that he’s one of the hardest workers on the team and he gets us out there working on extra routes. After spring ball, we will just run a lot of routes on air and with the defense to get our timing down as best as possible.
After last season, what is the feel in the locker room?
Cantrell – We are fired up, it was obviously disappointing, but there was so much upside to it because we were right there in 5 of the 7 losses. We just have to figure out how to finish out games, and that is why I was happy we finished stronger in the second half. We have to do that in the season, finish in the second half. We are working on that every day and competing every day, getting better and the defense is getting better.
Do you like playing these scrimmages away from campus?
Cantrell – Yes, it is awesome to come out here and see the different fans. We owe them a lot, they are so supportive of us no matter what. Next week we are going to Frisco, and I haven’t been to the new facility so that will be awesome. I know they sold that out and it should be really fun. Then, we have a Saturday night game in Lubbock and will get to play in front of the hometown fans.
What have you thought of Payne (Sullins)?
Cantrell – He is one of those guys that works hard and has gotten a lot better. He came out here and did great with the twos, led them down the field. He is only going to get better, all of those twos, there is not a solidified depth chart. I thought him and all of those guys came in and made plays, so I’m excited to see them get in and compete and continue to get better.
----------
How did you feel about the scrimmage?
Shimonek – We started a little slow, but we picked it up and the offensive line just had to get settled in. Everybody had to get settled in, myself included. Once we did that, I feel like we got in a rhythm. The defense came out and played well, which is encouraging. As much as I want to win, as much as I like to compete, I cannot get mad at them for continuing to improve and get better every week. I think we had a good day, obviously it’s fun coming out here and putting on a show for the fans.
Does the complete absence of turnovers surprise you?
Shimonek – Well, we turned it over quite a bit on Thursday, so Coach Kingsbury was harping on all of the quarterbacks to protect the football. Take the short passes, don’t try and score a touchdown on every play. In the beginning, we just have to settle down as a unit. The receivers, we had a couple of drops and I missed a couple of throws, but once we settled down then we got in a rhythm. We moved the ball pretty well for the rest of the day.
How nice is it to get some big weapons back, you got Jonathan Giles and Justin Stockton, guys like that?
Shimonek – It’s awesome, just knowing that I could throw a ball behind the line of scrimmage and it could go for 70-plus yards for a touchdown. Huge confidence for me being able to flip it out there to Giles, Keke, Cam and even Zac Austin. Then you have the bigger guys on the outside, Derek, Dillon, Quan, TJ and those guys. Obviously having the more play makers the better, and we have a lot right now. I’m ready to get this thing going.
Do you credit the defense for the slow start or were you guys just not as sharp as you could be?
Shimonek – Yeah, they were doing some stuff, blitzing more than they usually do. Plus, we just need to settle down. I don’t know if we were nervous or something, but we missed a couple of assignments. As I mentioned, we dropped some passes and I missed some throws, just collectively we weren’t dialed in. I called everyone up and had a talk, once that kind of settled in with everybody, we got acclimated to the environment and got in a rhythm.
Are you starting to fall into a leadership role?
Shimonek – Definitely, last year I did what I could with Pat being the guy. I didn’t want to be so much in front, but this year I’m the guy and I’m trying to be more vocal. Things in the weight room, the film room and things like that. Also, getting onto guys when they need some positive reinforcement.
What is it like being ‘the guy’ at quarterback?
Shimonek – You know, it’s awesome being at Texas Tech where everything runs through the quarterback. Coach Kingsbury puts a lot on our shoulders, so you are either the hero or the zero. That is how it works, which I’m fine with, because I kind of grew up like that with all of the sports I played. When we played sports in high school, I was always somehow the one to blame, so I’m kind of used to that.
What is it like seeing all of these fans outside of Lubbock?
Shimonek – It is awesome, having support from everywhere. It is really good for us to come out here, because not everyone can drive a couple of hours to come and watch us practice. We go to Frisco next weekend and it is good to be able to touch fan bases in different parts of the state.
What do you think of the challenge of playing in 3rd down situations?
Shimonek – It was tough, there were some 3rd and longs in there that were a little tough, but that is going to happen in the game. 3rd and medium, we did pretty well and we did good in 3rd and short as well. Those things are going to happen in games, so it’s good to get out here and practice in those scenarios.
