Opening statement:
"Hey everybody. I am glad to get out of that one Saturday. That was a good one to get done with. I was proud of the way our team bounced back in the second half. I was disappointed that we started as slow as we did. The defense kind of hung in there and kept us in the game in the first half and then I thought KB (offensive coordinator Kendal Briles) and the guys did a nice job and players offensively adjusting at halftime and we came out and did some really, really good things. We still didn't play as well as I think we're capable of, but you have to give SMU and their coaching staff some credit. Chad (SMU head coach Chad Morris) and his coaching staff I thought did a good job and they did some things that gave us some problems and that's to their credit, but I also am proud of our guys for bouncing back and getting the job done. A lot of teams last week that didn't bring their best didn't come away with a win. So it was nice for us to maybe not be hitting on all cylinders and still find a way to win."

On the plan with NB Patrick Levels and NB Travon Blanchard, with the recent play of Levels while Blanchard has been out:
"Yeah. I think Travon obviously is special. I mean, he's not only a really good player, but he's a spark plug for us back there and the good thing about it is Pat has played really, really well in Travon's absence. So we have to have Pat on the field, whether we keep him behind Travon or move him around. I think what we're trying to do now is continue to find the best 11 to put out there so I think Coach Bennett (defensive coordinator Phil Bennett) and the defensive staff... It's a blessing if you've got more than 11 that can go out there and win for you and I think we do on defense so I think keeping guys healthy and fresh will be a point going forward and as long as they're playing good we'll try to find snaps for them."

On the ongoing process of getting the young receivers to run the routes and line up correctly:
"Yeah, I think absolutely. With all young guys, not just the receiver position, but all the young guys tend to make mistakes and you have to keep teaching is what we have to do, but I think what Tate Wallis (wide receivers coach) was a little concerned about is sometimes our splits weren't good and that throws routes off. You know if your splits are a little tighter or a little wider than you want them to be now they're not necessarily in the area where the quarterback thinks they're going to be. I think (quarterback) Seth (Russell) would tell you he was little off starting out, but I think our splits were maybe a little bit shaky at times especially with the young guys so we have to work on that and at times our protection wasn't great, forced the ball to be released a little quicker than we wanted it to so I think it was a team effort offensively. It wasn't just the quarterback or the receivers or the running backs or the O-line. I think everybody can kind of be a thumb pointer instead of a finger pointer and say 'I have to play better.'"

On S Orion Stewart being named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week:
"I think we knew going in that he has to play well, the older guys have to play well, and whenever you're challenged whenever it's crunch time you need the old guys to step up and make plays. And what a good thing to see him play the way he did and the thing that usually happens, I shouldn't say usually, but a lot of times with defensive backs they might be good in coverage but they usually don't catch the ball. Orion made sure that I knew that he played both ways in high school and he was a receiver in high school, but to reach up with his hands and pluck the ball the way he did and of course the one in the red zone, I don't know which one you would say was bigger, the one in the red zone was huge and then of course whenever you have a pick for a touchdown that's a game-changer. So he played really, really well and had a good amount of tackles, was a good leader back there, and kind of calmed some of the younger guys down and it's always good when the young guys see the old guys step up because it kind of encourages them to play better."

On 26 penalties in first two games and what he's told the team about being more disciplined:
"Well just that as we go through the season we'll be in some games that go late fourth quarter and when we get into those situations penalties may be the difference. You know, it's usually things like kicking game, turnovers, hidden yardage in the kicking game, penalties. When you play a game that goes right to the wire those are usually the difference so as we go forward we have to get better than that. One of the things that's a little bit of an issue with an up-tempo offense is syncing the quarterback with the O-line and with the wide receivers because Seth knows that we really want to press the pace, but the problem is if you press the pace too quickly sometimes the O-line isn't set, sometimes the wide receivers, because they're moving on and off based on the formation that we've called. So part of it is just playing more playing, playing, playing so that we get used to the tempo, we get used to a quarterback that's trying to push it and play fast and I think at times if the offensive line gets a little tired they have to still be disciplined and get set. Same thing with the wide receivers, and you know, it will be good for Seth to kind of glance around and make sure we're all set before we snap that ball. So I think it's just really an offensive deal where we have to play together and then defensively we've really been pretty good. The things I don't like are offsides penalties, they drive me nuts like procedure penalties do on offense. Those are things we can eliminate. Sometimes the real aggressive plays you're going to have instances where you and the receiver get tangled up, might be interference, offensively you might lock up a guy and drive him off the ball like (center) Kyle (Fuller) did the other day and you get called for lineman downfield because we have some run-pass option plays. Some of those kinds of things are going to happen, but when they're aggressive penalties, not over the line penalties, but just aggressive penalties I'm ok with it. I want us to go play like our hair is on fire and play aggressively. You just don't want to do the silly stuff, the procedures and offsides stuff that will drive you nuts."

On anxiety about seeing how the team responds in a road game:
"Anxious would be a good word, probably, yeah. Especially our young guys. Those are the guys you worry about when you go on the road the veteran guys have been around the block a couple times so they're used to playing on the road. Besides playing in a hostile environment it's just getting young guys to focus. You're in an unfamiliar setting, you're in a different hotel, you're liable to find the youngest guys out in the hallway throwing ice at each other and running up and down the hallways and doing crazy stuff. So yeah, I think getting them to focus on winning is your key and that's why you need the older guys to set a good example and I'm sure our coaches will work really hard to let these guys know that this is a business trip. We are not going on vacation, it's not spring break, we're going to play football."

On if this past week a good sign that WR KD Cannon is getting back in the groove coming off the preseason injury:
"I think so. I think the thing that I like is it looks like he's starting to run his routes better and he's starting to catch the ball. He looks comfortable catching the football now. I think the biggest problem for KD was that he had so much time off that when he came back in the mix everybody was in good shape and everybody had been playing for a while and I think that threw him off a little bit. But I think that if you look at what he did Saturday I think he made big improvements from Northwestern State and then I think going forward, I'm not sure he's 100 percent yet, I have a feeling you're going to see him get a little better each week."

On what has been seen from Rice in their first two games on the road:
"Well the problem is I can't imagine starting the first two games of the season on the road, especially against good teams. Western Kentucky is really good and they had to go open with them and then Army has surprised everybody, it sounds like they have a really much improved football team from last year. So it's hard to evaluate because I don't think anybody wants to start on the road in the first two games and I think from watching the video I think they've played really good teams so I think Rice is well-coached. I think (Rice head coach) David (Bailiff) does a great job with his staff. They've changed some things a little bit, they're spreading it out a little bit more, they're picking up pace offensively so I think they're doing some different things that will probably show up better down the road. I think early games if you're trying some new things it's hard to really be as sharp as you want to be, but I think they're goal is just what our goal is, to be better in the third game than you were in the first two. So we know watching them that we have to be ready to play when we go down there and I'm sure they'll be fired up to play their first home game."

On how important getting off to a fast start on the road at Rice will be:
"It's huge. Going to an atmosphere like that, just on the road, it's stacked against us. We have to be able to start fast. That's what we've always preached. Start fast, stay fast, and finish strong. We didn't do that this past game, a lot of that is my fault just not making the right decisions, not executing at a high level. For the most part, we watched the film and we got better from it and we're going to execute better this upcoming week."

On how challenging it has been to get in a rhythm with the young receivers:
"We're just trying to get on the same page. We have some young guys out there. (Denzel) Mims, got in there and kind of got thrown into the fire. I didn't expect a whole lot from him just because he's new and fresh to it all. But he did a good job for what he knew, but for the rest of that we have to be on the same page and that's just where a lot of offenses can get in trouble when you try to do too much, try to put the ball in the right place rather than just throw it to them and expect them to catch the ball. I think I was pressing a little bit just because it was a tight game and I knew we had to make some big plays to get the ball moving. I left the ball low on several throws, which is hard with receivers going over the middle of the field, leaving it low is a tough catch. I've tried to do it and I can't do it. That's just something we'll work on. I'll bring the ball up a little bit more and I'll make the ball a little easier to catch for sure."

On what he would attribute the many procedure penalties to:
"I think we were pressing a little bit. We were kind of confused as to why we weren't scoring so a lot of guys were trying to do more than what they needed to do. Especially on my part, I tried to do too much rather than just get the ball to the playmakers. The procedure penalties, we can't have those. Those are going to be huge in big games. We can't start off a drive on a first and 15. You just can't. SMU has a fantastic defense, you're not going to face a much better defense than that."

On the ups and downs of the SMU game and communicating with the youngers receivers after film study:
"I think it's good we faced adversity early, for sure. To see how the guys reacted and how they responded to it all and how the defense was going to respond to it, and they stepped up. They definitely kept us in that game for sure. I feel that they won the game for us. We can teach those things now, we probably played one of the worst games we've ever played, first-half wise, and we still came out with a win against a really good SMU team and I feel that it just shows how dedicated we are. Even if we only score six points in the first half, it's not going to keep us down. We're going to continue to fight and we're going to continue to put more points up on the board."

On how important his running ability is to the offense:
"It just opens up another avenue of attack. It makes the defense stay more based if they get too aggressive. Then I can always throw it out to our playmakers, and then if they get real soft then I can get yardage running the ball six or seven yards. If it's third and long, I can make it fourth and manageable depending on where the ball is set and what not and depending on what the down and distance is. It just adds to it. Having two running backs rather than one is always a good asset to have."

On where he gets his steady, even keel emotions from:
"I feel like I got that just from family going through tough times. Everybody goes through tough times. God gave you that ability to choose how you handle things and I feel like with me nothing can go as bad as what's happened over the past year or so (with his season-ending and career-threatening neck injury). I kind of look at it like it's still a close game, it's 6-3, 6-6, it's still close and it's still manageable. If it's 50-0, then it would be a little different. I might be a bit more emotional for that part but I have to keep the calm head. I'm the quarterback, the guy everyone is looking at, I'm reading the defenses. If I'm emotional, and if I'm making emotional decisions that's not going to be the right decision. As long as I keep a cool and steady head and trust the guys in front of me and the guys around me we can do a lot on offense for sure."

On if last week was a sign that WR KD Cannon is coming around the corner from his injury:
"Definitely. During camp he didn't really go full speed, I guess to say. I know the first week he dropped those couple slants where he hadn't run that fast. It's just a game-like thing you have to get reps with. This past week he did a really good job being smart on some plays. I overthrew him a couple of times. Just tacky things like that I just have to make it easier for him. He's being a leader, he's not emotional, which is great. He's been a guy who's been pretty steady these past couple of games and I know the younger guys are looking up to him, like how is he going to react, is he going to throw his helmet, because if he can throw my helmet than that means I can throw my helmet or something like that. But he's done a really good job getting to the sideline, kind of being to himself, and knowing that if he did mess up he's going to fix it and he's done a great job so far."

On what NB Patrick Levels brings to the defense:
"He brings a lot of energy. He's just a ball of fire. He likes adversity and likes to be put in tough situations. He wants to be able to make great plays and be in tough situations where he can make great plays. He's one of those guys who brings energy to the field for sure. We get NB Travon Blanchard back this week. It's going to be a tough call on coach because they're both fantastic players. Pat did a really good job stepping up and doing the things he needed to do, rushing the quarterback, getting the ball on the ground for the most part. He's just a ball of fire for sure."

On no drop off between NBs Travon Blanchard and Patrick Levels:
"No, not at all. Pat has played really well the last couple of weeks. Both of those guys bring a lot of energy to the field so it'll be exciting to see what we do this week with Travon back and Patrick available as well."

On the defense having good depth and how much it helps:
"It does. Normally, we just have the starters and that's about it. This year being able to bring those guys in there, and give them experience just makes it such a bigger deal and allows us to have more depth and more experience on the field at any time that they need to be called up."

On the unique personalities at linebacker and how it helps them as a unit:
"It makes it a lot better. We can bring a lot of different personalities out there. We can each cancel each other out a little bit, and calm each other down when we need to or bring the energy when we need to. It makes it a lot better out there and gives us a little bit more of a variety of what's going on."

On Rice being pumped up hosting its first ranked opponent since 1997:
"For sure. I know that they will be. We're excited to go down there and to continue just to get better this week. We have a lot to improve on as a defense. As well as we thought we played, there are always a lot of improvements to make, so we're excited to go out there as a team and just to get better."

On the coaches' tough decision to get all the defensive playmakers playing time:
"It's good to have competition. We want to have that throughout the season so no one gets comfortable, but we're a team and Travon and I work together well, so however coach flips it we'll be ready to go."

On what he likes about the nickelback spot:
"It really gives you the opportunity to do everything. You get to cover, tackle, and blitz. I'm pretty well rounded with all of them so it gives me an opportunity to not just cover all game, or just be specifically hitting, but also be able to rush the quarterback and that's big for us."

On if he thinks he and NB Travon Blanchard bring out the best in each other:
"Well, we look at as if we are a team. It's next man up. He's been supportive of me this whole time. He's been talking to me. He's my roommate, so he was asking me how are you feeling are you nervous, is there anything you want to go over, and keeping me grounded and keeping me level-headed so I can just go out there and play my best."

On if there is a scenario where he and NB Patrick Levels would be on the field together:
"There are a few packages that Coach Bennett likes to run. I'm not going to go too far in depth with that, but there are a few packages where Pat and I are on the field at the same time."

On biting at the bullet to be back out there after his preseason injury:
"Yes, sir. It was my first injury ever and first surgery ever. I'm very happy to be back. I was cleared last week, but Coach Grobe decided to sit me for one more week but I'm very happy to be back."

On if he was nervous about having surgery for the first time:
"Yeah, I was scared. I've never had surgery in my life, and I've never been injured in my life. That was all a very new process for me. I've had plenty of teammates and coaches who have had surgery and they talked me through it. Thank God I was able to heal very quickly. I'm just very happy to be back."

On how he feels about the team after two games and heading into road game at Rice Friday:
"I think we saw a lot of stuff we needed to see, being down the first time this year. It was pretty intense going into halftime being in a dogfight and it felt good obviously getting the win because that's the most important thing. It was good to see whenever the pressure was on guys stepped up."

On if there was a little confusion or were guys pressing a little bit vs. SMU:
"There might've been a little bit of pressing, possibly. It wasn't confusion. We had a great game plan going into this week. We executed it pretty well, but the first couple of drives watching the film yesterday you say to yourself, 'what was I doing, what was I thinking.' Everyone kind of had that feeling. I couldn't say there was a single receiver that felt 100 percent about the way they played. There was a bunch of little mess ups here and there. It's as easy as you take this step to the left or this step to the right. It's all what it comes down to. Our offense is based on clicking together and we weren't in the first half."

On how tough it is to learn where you need to be as a receiver:
"First of all, I jumped offside once. That's kind of one of those deals where I was trying to get good spacing but instead the ball was snapped and I was in the middle of moving and we're first and 15 now. With the younger guys you have to know it's kind of a down and distance type of deal. First down, try and get eight yards if you can. Whatever it takes so it's a second and two. What I've noticed this year so far is we haven't been just throwing the ball out. We've been trying to get that first first down. That's what Coach B says when we get in the huddle. From there, things just kind of role. We put together a 20-play drive, that's pretty uncommon, I don't know if we scored that drive but that's a big deal for us. We're definitely a different offense than we were last year. Last year, we threw the ball as far we could and Corey Coleman was going to get under it. This year, we're really aiming for first downs and I think that's really going to help us in conference play."