Jahdae Barron, Alfred Collins, Andrew Mukuba, and Michael Taaffe speak to media before the Cotton Bowl

Defense was on the media docket today for the Texas Longhorns in anticipation of its upcoming College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with Ohio State at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10th, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tx. Here’s some of what they had to say on Sunday.

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Texas DT Alfred Collins (speaking on Zoom)

On Will Howard: “Excited to go against him again. He’s a great player and I’m ready for this challenge. We’re ready for this challenge.”

On the Ohio State O-line: “I feel like they’re very good as a unit. They’re very good at what they do. We’re going to have to do our job to shut that down.”

On being a betting underdog: “We really don’t pay attention to what they say. We know what we’re doing in our building. When the time comes, we’ll be able to showcase that to the world.”

On Ohio State’s counter play: “They’re very good at what they do. That counter play is a big play for them. We’ve just got to all do our job, and we will be able to stop that.”

“The key to (goal-line) stands starts on Monday when we start practicing. Getting things locked in. It starts with the preparation throughout the week because whenever the time comes, you’re ready. If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready, so that’s how we take those short yardage plays.”

Texas S Michael Taaffe

On the Ohio State wideouts: “They’ve got an impressive group out at receiver. They’ve got four or five guys that are really dangerous. Obviously, Jeremiah (Smith) is really good. Obviously Emeka (Egbuka), is elite. (Carnell Tate). (Brandon Inniss). They’ve got guys you’ve got to respect out there.”

On Jeremiah Smith: “He’s very talented. There’s no way he’s actually 18 (joking). He’s a dog, and I’m ready to go compete against him.”

On playing at AT&T Stadium: “I go by the motto of big-time players make big time plays in big time games. Whenever you’re in AT&T Stadium, that’s always a big-time game.”

“Thank God for Quinn Ewers checking the protection on 4th and 13 and delivering a nice ball on a good route by Matthew Golden.”

On Ohio State’s ability to throw to set up the run: “They love to throw, but they have two talented running backs, too. They’re a pretty complete offense.”

“You have 15 games on tape of what type of schemes you run. I think with every defense, there’s always a beater to a defense. That’s why defensive coordinators are always on the sidelines throwing their headsets down because there’s always some type of beater to every defensive scheme.

When you have that much tape out there, all the games that we’ve played, and 10 days to get ready for that, and to scheme a defensive back group, I think that happens. Is it okay? No, it’s not okay at all. We’ve got to do whatever it takes to hold people to under our standard of yards given up and then touchdowns given up.”

He says his parents and three older siblings were at the 2006 Rose Bowl, but that he was left with the babysitter in the hotel in Los Angeles.

Texas S Andrew Mukuba

On Malik Muhammad and Gavin Holmes: “They’ve played exceptional. They’re a big part of the reason why we’re successful as a defense, especially in the back end. Those guys, they come in day in and day out, and put in work.”

On Ohio State’s running backs: “They’re different, but they’re both special guys who can do so much with the ball. Very special with the ball in their hands, can make plays. As far as (Quinshon) Judkins, I feel like he’s a hard runner, runs hard. Got speed on him. I believe TreVeyon Henderson, he’s more of a guy they’re going to try to get him in space and give him the ball, let him do what he does.”

On playing football with Taaffe and Barron: “Having all three of us here, that means a lot to us because this is something that we talked about multiple times. Now seeing it come to reality, it’s even crazier. Us doing it this big with Jahdae winning the Thorpe and playing some of his best football, and Taaffe playing some of his best football, it’s literally everything we’ve talked about and it’s happening in front of us. We’ve got a bigger goal to reach.”

“If they got us as the underdog, that’s fine. If they don’t that’s also fine.”

“With these added games, I feel like it gives you a different switch, a different mentality knowing that one of these games could be your last game. We try to go out and prepare like this could be our last game or else we’ll keep going. It’s just a mentality to be honest knowing that we’re in a situation if we lose, we’re going home. If we win, we keep playing. We’re in a position where we’ve got the national spotlight on us. This is what you want.

For a guy like me, this is what I’ve wanted. The more games we play, the better it is for us as a team to have the opportunity to reach our goal. As an individual, it’s the opportunity to go on the big stage and showcase your talent.”

Texas DB Jahdae Barron

On the 512 DB trio: “We all work hard. We push each other and the level of bond and trust that we have, I wouldn’t want to say we have a better trust level than with everybody else on the team, but we’ve obviously known each other for over a decade.”

On Ohio State QB Will Howard: “That’s a veteran quarterback there. A lot of ball, a lot of experience on him. Hat’s off to him. Not downgrading his receivers at K-State, but he has a better group of receivers here, a better group of people to get the ball to. He’s a fighter. He’ll run the ball if he has to and things like that, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

On Jeremiah Smith: “It’s going to be an amazing opportunity to go against him. That kid can ball. He’s a big baller. Strong, strong ability. He’s a deep threat, and they love to get him the ball. They love to create opportunities to get him the ball. It will be a great challenge on him and then also for the other receivers they have. They have a great receiver group, so it will just be a great challenge for us DBs and the back end to play against those guys.”

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On Bert Auburn: “Bert, he’s made a lot of amazing kicks for us in the past. He’s going to come up big when we need him. If he can just block out the noise, he knows we’re riding with him and got his back. That’s what the culture is here, no matter the ups and downs we’re always going to pick someone up.”