Kansas Jayhawks tight end Mason Fairchild talks with the media about the leadership of Jason Bean, the impact of this victory over the Oklahoma Sooners and his journey with the team.
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00:00 like, "Coach Lapwood, you gotta dance, you gotta dance."
00:01 And, you know, he didn't do it, but he was, you know, he obviously, he obviously told
00:05 us how, you know, how proud of us he was.
00:07 >> If you just beat the top ten team, how can you not dance?
00:10 >> [LAUGH] Like I said, you know, we had this just gigantic circle of, you know, just a
00:15 bunch of, you know, like a wall of humanity just over here, just dancing going crazy.
00:19 I think it was probably a business decision to not get, you know, in the thick of it.
00:22 >> What do you think of Jason asking to talk to the team after the game?
00:25 >> I mean, you know, it just accords to how great of a guy he is, how great of a leader,
00:29 you know.
00:29 There were a lot of days, you know, we talked about, I talked about, you know, the uncertainty
00:33 sometimes and there's definitely been a lot of uncertainty for him, you know, deciding
00:36 to come back and, you know, just so proud of him, the way he responds to all these situations,
00:41 you know.
00:41 He's just, you know, a great guy and a great leader.
00:44 >> Has he done something like that before, after a game?
00:46 So, I mean, were you surprised at all or did you think maybe in the moment that that made
00:50 a lot of sense?
00:51 >> You know, I think last year I wouldn't have expected it, but to see, you know, how
00:55 much Jason has grown as a leader and, you know, how thankful he is, how humble he is,
00:58 you know, it's not surprising this year to see that.
01:01 >> Does it kind of feel pretty cool, I mean, you guys lost 83 times to OU ahead of the
01:06 SEC.
01:06 Does it feel even better because you're leaving them with an L as they leave?
01:10 >> Yeah, absolutely, because, you know, there's probably going to be a long, long time for
01:14 OU plays KU again to get that last one, you know, especially for me, you know, losing
01:19 them four times and getting that last one, it does feel pretty sweet.
01:22 >> In the locker room, is there any talk of wanting to play that in a couple years again?
01:25 >> No, I think everyone's pretty caught up in the moment.
01:28 So, yeah, everyone's, you know, pretty excited about right now.
01:31 >> And I mean, just the monument to this of what happened, Lance said, one of the biggest
01:38 wins in Kansas history.
01:39 Do you agree with that sentiment?
01:40 >> Absolutely.
01:41 >> Yeah.
01:41 >> You know, especially in recent Kansas history, because, you know, there have been a lot of,
01:45 you know, there's been a lot of losing here.
01:47 >> Yeah.
01:48 >> And so to get, to get on, if not just a fluke win, to, you know, be going in the right
01:53 direction, this is a statement win.
01:54 >> Yeah, and just, can you talk about everything you've seen since you've arrived in Kansas?
01:58 Like, just, you've seen this transformation, you've seen this program really put itself
02:02 on the map.
02:02 How cool is that to be a part of that and just see that underground?
02:07 >> Yeah, you know, especially as a Kansas kid, you know, you kind of see what KU was
02:11 doing during those, you know, those 15-something years and to come in, you know, right away,
02:15 not to necessarily see success, but then with Coach Leipold coming in, you know, seeing
02:19 the blueprint being laid down to see the team, you know, continue to grow over and over again,
02:23 you know, year in and year out and to really see us taking off now, you know, it's, it's,
02:28 you know, such a blessing to be a part of.
02:30 >> What's the, do you think, the biggest growth point from last year's team compared to this
02:35 year's team?
02:35 >> Leadership.
02:36 >> Leadership.
02:37 >> We have so many more leaders than we did last year and, you know, I think that's gonna
02:40 really help us down the stretch to, to keep us focused and keep us, you know, going.
02:44 >> That probably feeds into my question, actually.
02:47 How do you guys stay up with all the stop and starts and all the, you know, big plays
02:51 back and forth from both sides of the ball, from both teams?
02:54 How do you guys stay ready for those huge plays that keep coming, you know, kind of
02:59 sporadically throughout the game?
03:00 >> You know, Coach Sleeve and Coach Leipold, they do a really good job of putting us in
03:04 adverse situations, especially during the offseason, to make us respond, to see, you
03:09 know, kind of like that leadership I was talking about, to see that leadership grow.
03:12 And so, you know, it's, you know, a couple years ago, maybe, you know, something happens
03:16 like that and we start freaking out.
03:17 But we have so many guys, so many leaders that are just, you know, keeping us steady,
03:21 keeping us going.
03:22 So, you know, I mean, compared to last year, it's, it's, it's crazy to see the leadership
03:28 change.
03:29 >> Yeah.
03:29 And then you kind of talked about, you know, your experience with Kansas before you even
03:32 got here.
03:33 At what point did kind of the expectations change where these are the types of games
03:38 you guys are expecting to play in as opposed to just kind of hoping that you get there
03:41 at some point?
03:41 >> Yeah, you know, I think we had, you know, a positive mindset, Blyth holds first year,
03:45 but I think definitely after that Texas win, it's like, hey, you know, we're putting this
03:48 thing together.
03:49 We can play with anyone.
03:50 And then to finish that season the way we did, and then obviously the hot start last
03:54 season, but then, you know, slipping toward the end of the season.
03:56 But we knew coming into the season, we had a chance to be really special.
04:00 And, you know, the leadership that we've developed is, like I said, it's been keeping us on
04:03 track.
04:03 >> You know, given circumstances where you're at.