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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE


August 27, 2012


Kenny Vaccaro


THE MODERATOR: Questions for Kenny Vaccaro.

Q. Do you think Wyoming‑‑
KENNY VACCARO: I mean, hopefully they watched a little bit of film and earned respect for the team‑‑ but, I'm sure.

Q. Sounds like a lot of trouble this weekend, is the defense as hungry‑‑
KENNY VACCARO: I mean, going into the game, Coach just said he really wants us to set the tempo early in the year and play hard and play physical. It won't matter just if it's Wyoming, that's just how we are coming into this year.

Q. How excited are you to go out there and hit somebody who isn't wearing burnt orange?
KENNY VACCARO: I'm really excited. It was a long grind, and hitting each other is not pleasant all the time, so I'm ready to hit somebody else.

Q. Anxious to play?
KENNY VACCARO: Yeah, I'm ready to go. I get butterflies just thinking about it.

Q. What will you say to the freshmen before they run out? Anything that you can tell them that will calm them down at all?
KENNY VACCARO: I mean, they are going to be nervous regardless. I remember my freshman year, I was on the National Championship team, and actually I was nervous. And I'm nervous to this day every game day. I don't know how I can calm their nerves. I just tell them to know their role; that's the thing I'd try to preach this whole game, is just know your role, because you can contribute to the team in every way.

Q. Is Saturday about pride? Is it about earning respect? Is it about letting everyone know that Texas is back?
KENNY VACCARO: I mean, it's a step. It's not‑‑ one game is not going to ultimately tell our whole season, but I think coming out strong would be a good thing for us and I think that's what we want to do.

Q. How much momentum is the win in the Holiday Bowl over Cal heading into this year?
KENNY VACCARO: Like Coach Brown said at the end of last year, it's a lot of momentum. It's confidence; it's a new team minus a couple seniors we lost. I think it just built steam up for the season and we'll continue to use it.

Q. How do you guys avoid all of the hype surrounding the defense?
KENNY VACCARO: You really just have to keep your head out of magazines and online and all of the comments on Twitter and Facebook, people saying all of these good things about you, because ultimately we have to play the snap as this new defense and we need it come out every game and prove that we are the defense that everybody is talking about.

Q. Inaudible.
KENNY VACCARO: Oh, yeah. Just explosive, because you can't‑‑ they have been around a lot of great defenses. My coach, he said he doesn't know if it gets much faster than our defense, as far as our linebackers, their skill set. Demarco is as fast as anybody on the whole field.

Q. Do you think a shutout‑‑ the defense sending a message?
KENNY VACCARO: Yeah, I mean, every team‑‑ you want to shut down every team and everybody knows that's not going to happen in college football, especially in the Big12, offensive teams. But yeah, we want to keep the scoring to a minimum and help our offense out.

Q. Inaudible.
KENNY VACCARO: On the field or‑‑ I think the whole defense is really vocal. We don't have that many shy guys on the defense and so I think we have a lot of emotion. Me and AP, yeah, he talks, but he's not just saying stuff he doesn't need to say.

Q. That's a good thing, though; do you like that attitude, that you guys have character?
KENNY VACCARO: Yeah, it makes it fun. When I look over and guys are showing emotion, it makes me want to play harder for the guy next to me and that's our whole concept for me is just to be men for others.
I think Nate Boyer stretched that pretty camp, because he was in the military and he stressed that in order for everybody to get home safe, you have to backup the man right next to you and that's my motto as a defense; just be a man for others.

Q. What do you see from Joe Bergeron‑‑
KENNY VACCARO: Yeah, he runs hard. He's a big back.

Q. What have you seen from him?
KENNY VACCARO: I think he's running harder. I think he's running harder than when he first got here. I think he understands that he's a big power back that can move the ball and I think he's running like that with an edge to him. I think he understands a lot of competition in the room; so he needs to bring it every week in order to sustain that starting role or whatever he is.

Q. Inaudible.
KENNY VACCARO: Yeah, Joe is a different cat. But he's my teammate and on the field, I love him. (Laughter) I love him off the field, too, but he's a different cat.

Q. You're not going to‑‑
KENNY VACCARO: I mean, I think he likes rollerblading.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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