Kansas quarterback Jason Bean and wide receiver Lawrence Arnold answer questions from the media after the Jayhawks defeated the Iowa State Cyclones.
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00:00 >> To LJ?
00:03 Yeah, it's just a play we worked on all week.
00:08 I feel like our game, we've kind of been baiting them to come down low enough for
00:13 us to get past them on the play.
00:15 And we did, LJ got behind him, and I delivered him the ball, and he hit the brush.
00:20 >> Jason, you were here two years ago, and LJ, you were too.
00:24 What does it mean to you guys to get this win,
00:26 especially considering what happened here from yesterday?
00:28 >> Yeah, it's huge, playing in a place like this.
00:31 This is a great college environment, and
00:34 it's a tough environment for any team to come in and play.
00:37 I think after that game a couple years ago, we kind of understood the severity of
00:42 the environment here and how much it can affect us.
00:45 And I feel like we worked hard all week, and we came out fighting.
00:51 >> Bean, what happened when you went down and had to go out for a play?
00:55 >> Yeah, he just kind of fell on my leg, and it just kind of scared me.
00:59 >> Sure, yeah, did you know you were fine running off?
01:02 >> Yeah, once I stood up, and I put some weight on, I was all right.
01:05 >> Sure, Lawrence, what are your thoughts in that moment,
01:07 especially with Jalen out here and
01:09 knowing it's a freshman who's never played that would have to go in if he stayed down?
01:13 What goes through your mind when you see that?
01:15 >> I mean, as a receiver and just the chemistry that we have with Jason,
01:19 a lot of mixed emotions start to go in at that point.
01:22 And hopefully he's okay, hopefully he'll come back.
01:25 But I trust every quarterback that Coach Tooth put out there.
01:28 We get rips with all of our quarterbacks.
01:31 So if Bean went down, it was up to Cole to go out there.
01:34 And I mean, he's gonna have to get the job done.
01:36 And I don't got no choice but to trust him.
01:38 So I put my trust into him, just like I put my trust in the Bean,
01:42 just like I put my trust in Jalen.
01:43 So wherever he come out there, I trust him to get that job done.
01:46 >> Your perspective on the big touchdown, what are you seeing?
01:50 Did you know he was gonna uncork it like that and you gotta go get it?
01:53 >> Yeah, I knew he was gonna throw it like that,
01:55 especially when I seen the drive before then, when he threw me the ball and
01:59 I dropped it.
02:01 I seen the safety had just got out of there real fast and
02:03 it wasn't even like a fake run or anything.
02:06 It was literally a pass, but he shot down.
02:09 So when we caught that play, and I seen him shoot down, I knew, yeah,
02:13 he gonna hit me on this cuz the whole defense flowed down.
02:17 So I knew that was gonna be over.
02:18 >> Lawrence, what's it like on the sideline for that play?
02:20 Obviously, I have stated just scored.
02:22 So what's it like when you guys are in the huddle right before you go on cue?
02:25 >> We keep our composure at any moment.
02:27 We don't get too high, we don't get too low.
02:29 And so when they went down to score, we just like, all right,
02:32 we're finna go full speed, we're finna go score.
02:36 Then defense gonna do what they need to do so we can get the game over.
02:38 So it was just keeping your composure, just making sure we went at it and
02:41 we did what we had to.
02:43 >> That composure, how do you think that has evolved since you guys were here
02:46 two years ago?
02:47 >> It's evolved a lot cuz I know when we first got here,
02:50 it wasn't really we keeping our composure.
02:54 It was more so like, finna point the finger, who did this, who did that.
02:57 But now, the leaders we got, the coaching we got, just how we're together as one as
03:02 a team, the way we communicate with each other, we know we got each other better.
03:05 >> Being on the ball to Skinner, where he caught that on the sideline,
03:08 falling down, falling backwards, what do you see there?
03:12 I mean, you're just giving him a chance to make that play, and
03:15 you obviously have a lot of trust in him, hell of a catch though.
03:17 >> Yeah, yeah, for sure, hell of a catch by Skinner.
03:20 I trust those guys with my life, and
03:23 I gave him a chance and he came down and made the play.
03:27 >> Jason, you were the beneficiary of a couple of aggressive play calls,
03:30 going forward on fourth down and then going over the top to LJ.
03:34 Late for that touchdown,
03:35 how does it feel to kind of be empowered to go downfield in those situations?
03:39 >> Yeah, well, Coach K trusting us and we trusting him.
03:42 We got each other back and we prepare each week like that.
03:46 And I feel like it was just meant to be for us to make that play.
03:51 >> How big was the defensive play in that first half?
03:54 Fourth down stops, the pick six by Dotson, just how big of a boost did
03:58 they give you guys having all that happen in the first half?
04:02 >> It's huge, it kind of gives us a little sigh of relief,
04:05 knowing that the defense is gonna go out there and play their tails off.
04:08 It's huge for them, it's a good thing for
04:10 the NBC to be able to play like that in an environment like this against a team
04:14 like that, I mean, I feel like it's huge for them.
04:16 And I think they can only get better from this and
04:20 just see that they have the potential.
04:23 >> LJ, Coach Leipold was just in here, he said between Kobe and Mello,
04:25 it's quiet confidence and then maybe not so quiet with one of them.
04:30 What have you seen from Mello?
04:31 I mean, two pick sixes in two weeks is pretty incredible.
04:34 What do you make of his game and how he's playing right now and
04:37 just him in general?
04:38 >> I love the way Mello play, he real composed when he play.
04:42 Him and Kobe have two totally different playing styles.
04:45 I love the way both of their playing styles are, but when it comes to Mello,
04:49 he's composed at all times.
04:50 Like if someone catches the ball on him, he's still composed.
04:54 Like he never gets out of character.
04:56 And so just seeing how he can go back and
04:59 he can catch two back to back pick sixes in the game,
05:02 like that's something that we see in practice.
05:03 The way he practices is exactly how he plays.
05:06 So for me, being a receiver and going to these DBs every day,
05:09 that was something that I wasn't, well, not I wasn't used to, but
05:13 it's something that I see every day.
05:14 >> Sure, you get some free points on that pick six.
05:17 I mean, how big is that for an offense?
05:20 You don't have to go out there, even snap your helmet,
05:22 you just get free points like that.
05:24 I mean, how huge is that?
05:25 >> Yeah, it's huge.
05:27 But once I get to be a spectator, just watch, be excited for my team,
05:30 making plays.
05:32 I think it's big for Mello, just that he knows he can make those kind of plays.
05:36 He's done it two weeks in a row now, so I think that's huge for his confidence.
05:39 And I mean, I think the defense as a whole,
05:40 their confidence should be through the roof right now based on the way they're
05:44 playing.
05:45 >> What can you say about your performance?
05:46 You had clipped the century mark,
05:48 receiving yards on just three catches against a talented secondary.
05:51 What can you say about your performance?
05:53 >> I'd say what I did was, I feel like it was just a taste of what
05:58 more I can do in this offense.
06:01 Just the passage from Dean, him setting me up in the right position,
06:06 Coach K putting me in the right position.
06:08 Just wanna shout out to them, cuz without them I wouldn't be able to do this.
06:11 And I feel like going out, we already had a plan how everything was gonna go,
06:16 how the game was gonna go.
06:18 And we tried to execute what we had put down on paper.
06:22 >> Time for one more.
06:23 Kansas clinched its first winning season since 2008.
06:26 What does it kinda mean for you guys overall?
06:28 >> I'd say for me it means a lot.
06:30 Just getting here in the last mile here, when I got here we didn't win any games.
06:35 And then the next year it was kinda rough.
06:37 So now that the program's turned around, 90% of us came here for a change.
06:44 And now that the program is on the way to turning around, it means a lot.
06:49 It kinda hit different for us that have been here and
06:53 went through those storms and those bad days, bad nights.
06:56 And hearing everybody say, you guys, this is a basketball school and
06:59 stuff like that.
07:00 So now that we're turning the program around,
07:02 it gives us a lot of spirit and a community.
07:05 >> All right, thanks everyone.