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UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDIA CONFERENCE


November 5, 2012


Nate Boyer


Q.  Obviously you served or great nation and our great country.  What does Veterans Day mean to you in this week leading up to this game?
NATE BOYER:  Honestly, I don't know if it's the same for other soldiers, but it's not that the day doesn't have a lot of meaning as far as obviously remembering guys that have lost their lives and guys that are over there right now and still fighting and all that.  But, for me, it's something that's constantly on my mind anyway.
I think it's important to remember that stuff, because it's something that I was a part of and still am really a part of.  I fully intend last summer going back and going over and fighting this summer too.  I'm going to do everything I can to get back there, because that's why I came in the military.
Yeah, those guys are something that‑‑ for instance, every time we come out on the field and come out were the flag, that is the main thing I'm thinking about.  We'll go down to the north end zone and take a knee and pray.  It's like, yeah, I'm praying about everything in general.  I want God's will to be done out there, whether it's good or bad for me and my team and the other team.  But there's always a prayer for those guys too.
I remember being over there and watching football games when you could.  It's just something that there's nothing more American than college football.  It's something that we all had in common‑‑ well, not all of us, but most of us had in common that we enjoyed and something to bring you back here mentally when you physically had to be over there.

Q.  You have friends over there still, obviously.  How often do they communicate with you based on them knowing what you do on a Saturday afternoon in college football?  Have you had a lot of conversation with them?
NATE BOYER:  Yeah, definitely.  It's funny.  There are a lot of guys that maybe I wasn't even super close with but that I knew, and we were over there at the same time fighting.  Even guys I've never met that have contacted me and said, you know what, guess what.  I'm in this unit and doing this.  Yeah, getting my close friends on game day.  My phone's always blowing up.  I just have to turn it on and read them all afterwards.
But it's cool.  They're all just like, man, it's so great what you're doing and we're really proud of you and good luck and what not.  It's cool.  You've really got to take a step back and just think about what day it is today and what they're going through.  Maybe they're just back here in the states right now, but they could have just gotten back from overseas or they're about to head back over there.  That's a much bigger game, I guess.
Yeah, everybody in America focuses on Saturday is college football day, but it's important to remember every day for those guys over there.  It's just a different thing.  It slips my mind even sometimes, and I feel terrible about it because I get so wrapped up in football and whatnot.  I love that, but at the same time, it's important to remember what these guys are doing right now.

Q.  This is just back to regular football stuff.  But do you‑‑ because you have such a unique position and unique function and unique job, can you tell if you get better at what you do during the year or is it repetition to make sure you're doing the same thing?  The only way you know you're not getting better is if the snap doesn't go the way you want it to go?
NATE BOYER:  Yeah, it's one of those jobs where you kind of are definitely in control of your environment.  If you don't let the outside influences get to you, it's a lot like shooting a free throw.  You should do it the same way every time.
I've equated it to shooting a pistol.  When you're train to go shoot a pistol, every step you take and every move you make‑‑ no (laughing).  Every step is like a very controlled, slow process that you start with.  That goes with driving and all of that, and do you it the same every time.  The key for pistol shoot something to aim small.  They say aim small, miss small.  It's the same thing with that.
I think I do better during the game, because I think all that crowd noise and the excitement of the game and all those endorphins or whatever just helps me zero in and focus on that little spot I'm looking at on the holder's hand.
Yeah, I definitely know that I've gotten better, but I've still got a long way to go that I think I can get a lot better than I am right now.

Q.  So firing a snap back to Cade is very similar to squeezing off a round at the pistol range?
NATE BOYER:  It really is in a lot of ways.  It really is.  If you start to get lazy and you aren't paying attention, you're letting the outside factors get in the way, I mean, common theme they say, pistol shoot something just front side post.  You stare at that front side post.  That's it.  You don't look at the target because you've already acquired the target.  You stare at the front side post.  Then the rest becomes mechanical.  It's very similar, yeah.  I'm looking for the signal that he's going to give me that he's ready and I just go.  I don't think about the movements after that.  I'm just staring at one spot.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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