Brandon Yates Oklahoma Preview
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00:00 So, Brandon, so much was expected of this offensive line
00:03 at the start of the year.
00:04 Have you guys lived up to those expectations, do you think?
00:08 I think we definitely improved every game.
00:13 I think every game minus the Houston game,
00:15 we played to our expectations.
00:18 I think every week we kind of took it as another challenge
00:22 because every team is looking at us like,
00:24 "Oh, this is the game they're circling."
00:26 A lot of teams are looking at our offensive line like,
00:27 "Oh, they want to compete,"
00:29 and showed that they're NFL guys,
00:30 so everybody's going to play their best game.
00:32 So we kind of took that and prepared every single day,
00:35 every Tuesday, Wednesday, our hard practice,
00:36 and practiced really hard.
00:38 So I guess that's kind of how we pride ourselves on
00:41 working hard and being hardworking on the offensive line.
00:43 What happened when you got injured,
00:44 and were you scared that it was more serious than initially?
00:48 Yeah? Yeah.
00:49 I mean, one play, I was just going up to the linebacker,
00:51 and I got hit, and then I tried to put my weight back on my knee,
00:56 and it just kind of just gave out on me.
00:59 Yeah, I was definitely scared, but, you know,
01:02 I'm thankful that it wasn't really serious,
01:04 like, any season-ending injuries.
01:08 It's just -- I'm just glad I'm in good health right now.
01:12 Bryce probably saved you, right?
01:13 Oh, yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:17 You flopped around right side, left side.
01:19 You played some center this week.
01:21 So is it hard right, left?
01:22 I mean, it's a different step, different stance.
01:26 I mean, I've been doing it for a little bit while now,
01:28 so it's kind of getting easier for sure,
01:31 but it's definitely -- it's kind of just --
01:34 the hardest part is about just flipping the plays
01:36 inside your head, like where you was, where you had before,
01:39 but it's definitely easy.
01:41 When you play center, you kind of know how to play left
01:43 or right, you know what I mean?
01:44 So it's not that big of a difference.
01:47 This team has put up a streak of --
01:50 I think it's 12 straight games now, 140 yards.
01:52 Yeah.
01:53 With a lot of different guys up front.
01:55 I mean, you guys have mixed and matched.
01:56 I don't know if you play multiple games together intact.
02:01 What's that say for the group
02:02 to be able to produce the way you produced?
02:05 I think it definitely shows our depth and our chemistry.
02:08 I think we got at least four or five guys
02:11 that can play four of the positions off the line.
02:14 We got three guys that can play all five.
02:17 We're deep.
02:19 Our front, like our seven deep guys could all play for sure.
02:23 High division one guys.
02:25 I think it just comes down to our depth
02:27 and that we all take this game very seriously.
02:29 It comes down to practice Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
02:32 working hard.
02:33 Everybody works hard in the weight room.
02:34 Everybody works hard in the film room.
02:35 Everybody just knows their assignment.
02:36 I think we just know how to do our jobs.
02:39 You said four can play all the positions?
02:41 At least four of us can play.
02:43 Well, four -- I think three people can play all five.
02:46 Okay.
02:48 And then four can play about all four positions.
02:51 So Coach Moore talked about a lot in the office.
02:54 His literal plan was to be able to make that the case
02:57 by rotating a lot of guys and practicing and things like that.
02:59 Yeah.
03:00 So where would you say the depth
03:03 is in being able to play different positions
03:05 is now to before that?
03:07 Like, are there guys, even yourself included,
03:09 that would not be able to do this
03:10 if it wasn't for the off-season work?
03:12 Or --
03:14 With that, yeah.
03:18 So, like, recently before, like, we had --
03:20 it was more like the depth was the biggest problem.
03:23 How much did the off-season work?
03:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:25 So, like, how off-season kind of worked out,
03:27 it was like we all kind of, like --
03:28 the way Coach Moore kind of works it out,
03:30 it's like some years, he'll have guys, like,
03:31 completely work in a completely different position.
03:33 So, like, I was starting out --
03:34 like, I came in my freshman year, I was a left tackle.
03:38 Sometimes we moved to right guard,
03:39 something completely different.
03:40 But that would make my brain work,
03:42 and then we'd work harder, and make it work on that stuff.
03:43 So I'd be able to work on that type of thing,
03:45 and be able to kind of look at things kind of differently.
03:47 And he always flipped guys off-season just back and forth
03:51 just to kind of get guys to think about it differently
03:53 and build that depth.
03:54 So as years came on, we got more --
03:57 more guys able to do more and more and more.
04:00 And now, like, we're in, like, year five.
04:02 So now guys are able to play four out of five,
04:04 and some guys are able to play five out of five.
04:07 To that -- what you were saying about versatility,
04:08 obviously the one position's center, right?
04:11 So the three that can play all five,
04:13 you, Zach, and who's the other one?
04:15 I would say Doug.
04:16 And Doug? Yeah.
04:17 Okay.
04:19 You guys made a big deal out of being picked
04:22 14th in the off-season.
04:23 I've asked several players so far today about that.
04:25 That chip on your shoulder, how did you use that in the summer,
04:29 and how is that carrying through?
04:31 I think as soon as we saw that --
04:33 as soon as it came live on the Internet,
04:35 we all kind of was like, "Oh, wow."
04:36 Like, they clearly don't respect us at all.
04:39 Like, we're returning a lot of production
04:41 on offense and defense.
04:42 We're getting a lot of guys good out of the portal.
04:43 We're getting -- we have a great offensive line.
04:46 Like, there's no way that they can look at us
04:48 and say we're a 14th team in this conference,
04:52 and it doesn't make sense to me.
04:54 And we all kind of was like, "All right, cool."
04:56 Like, okay, they don't believe in us.
04:57 I mean, we believe in us. It's kind of a thing.
05:00 It's West Virginia.
05:02 No one believes in West Virginia,
05:03 but all the people that believe in West Virginia
05:04 is people in West Virginia.
05:06 And we know how much we had to work,
05:07 and we know how this state has prided itself on hard work,
05:12 blue collar.
05:14 We're not looking -- I'm an offensive line.
05:15 We don't go out there looking for recognition.
05:17 I don't go out there looking for pictures and videos
05:20 and being number one in a conference poll.
05:23 I don't care about number one conference poll.
05:25 It all depends on who's going to be number one
05:26 at the end of the season.
05:28 And, you know what I mean?
05:29 I think we're proving everybody wrong that --
05:30 I mean, don't look at these news and these outlets.
05:35 Look at that work and look at what we can put on the field.
05:37 Like, I mean, you watch the film, turn the film on,
05:39 you see who is 14, really.
05:42 You continue to use that even now?
05:44 Oh, for sure, sure. That never changes.
05:46 That's -- we're 14 until proven otherwise.
05:50 That's never going to change.
05:51 They're going to look at us as 14.
05:52 Every team looks at us as 14.
05:54 I think we should go out there and prove people that we're not.
05:57 How do you view this game coming up this weekend?
05:59 I mean, here's an Oklahoma team that was 7-0
06:03 and was looking at the playoffs.
06:05 They've lost two in a row, so they're either going to be upset
06:08 that they lost those two games down,
06:10 or they're going to be mad and want to come in.
06:12 And, of course, you guys beat them last year.
06:14 So how do you approach it as a player going into that game?
06:17 Oh, yeah. I mean, you look at Oklahoma.
06:18 Like, they had years of them being successful.
06:23 This year, they had some successful,
06:25 and then the last couple games, I think they're going to,
06:28 for sure, come and play their hardest.
06:29 Like, they're a great team.
06:31 Their defense is pretty good. Their offense is pretty good.
06:33 Like, nothing's going to change with them.
06:34 They're going to continue to play hard.
06:36 The thing with us is we just got to play harder.
06:38 You know what I mean? We just got to understand that.
06:40 Like, they were projected number one.
06:42 We were projected number 14. Like, that's the dynamic.
06:45 We got to -- It's all about who wants it more, you know?
06:47 So, yeah, it comes down really to that.
06:49 Part of the shuffling on the offensive line,
06:51 the one constant has been Zach in the middle.
06:54 What's it been like as he's kind of been the leader
06:57 of this group and playing with him?
07:00 With him being a leader, like, he's kind of, like,
07:02 kind of at the heart of the line.
07:03 Like, he's kind of our leader.
07:04 And he kind of talks, and we all talk about it,
07:06 and we all kind of -- I think we're all getting older from --
07:09 You know what I mean? I've been with Zach
07:10 since my freshman year. You know what I mean?
07:11 So, we've all gotten older.
07:13 We've all kind of developed together.
07:14 So, we all kind of just bounce off each other.
07:16 We have great chemistry in the room.
07:17 Like, all of us can talk to all the young guys.
07:20 So, the oldest guys can talk. You know what I mean?
07:22 It's just really just a good development
07:24 from the top to the bottom.
07:25 The chemistry is just really, really good.
07:26 So, I think we all bounce off each other,
07:29 especially Zach can bounce off all of us as well.
07:31 Thoughts on that clip I saw posted of Zach,
07:34 that CJ run in the end zone to the bow-end side
07:40 where he took his man and ran him all the way to the end zone
07:42 and just body-slammed him.
07:44 You know which one I'm talking about?
07:46 The one just recently? The BYU game.
07:48 Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure.
07:49 Was that one of those where you're all going, "Whoa"?
07:51 Yeah, for sure.
07:53 Yeah, we just watched it.
07:55 It's just crazy that he drove his guy, like, almost --
07:58 he almost drove into the band.
07:59 Yeah, always to the band.
08:01 So, it's always great to see that type of stuff.
08:03 How often does Coach Moore play those?
08:05 Does he play the screw-ups more than the body slams?
08:09 We always watch the negatives first.
08:11 We always watch the negatives first,
08:12 and then we get into the good stuff,
08:13 but it's always the negatives first.
08:15 I'm sure yours in front of Nico made that roll this week,
08:18 didn't it? Say again?
08:19 I'm sure your block in front of Nico --
08:21 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
08:23 Yeah, yeah, yeah. What does that feel like?
08:25 I mean, it doesn't matter who the opponent is or whatever
08:28 when you just win a play so completely.
08:31 Yeah, I mean, with this game, our biggest thing,
08:36 it was what Coach Brown was kind of talking about,
08:37 was we were just kind of striving to play our best,
08:40 and we just wanted to play our best.
08:41 That's all we really wanted to do.
08:44 Win, lose, or whatever the circumstances,
08:46 we just wanted to play our best.
08:47 That's what our team wants to do.
08:49 We want to play hard. We want to play our best.
08:50 We want to turn that film on and leave no doubt
08:52 that who came out there and played the hardest
08:55 and had the most effort and had the most strain,
08:57 the most discipline and all that.
08:59 One other thing.
09:00 You all, in the past two or three weeks,
09:02 have gone unbalanced, extra linemen,
09:04 you know, brought Nick in as an extra guy.
09:07 That might change where you are.
09:09 You're not at guard.
09:10 You are maybe two guys in instead of one or even three
09:13 when you go to that unbalanced line.
09:15 Does that change your path, your approach, what you're doing,
09:19 or are the plays kind of geared that,
09:21 hey, it's still guard techniques or tackle techniques,
09:24 whatever it is, no matter where you're lined up?
09:27 I think it really just -- I don't think nothing really
09:29 changes.
09:30 It's just our techniques are still going to be the same,
09:31 regardless of where I am.
09:33 We're still going to have the same --
09:34 double teams are still the same techniques.
09:36 Everything's pretty much the same.
09:37 Keep it very simple. Nothing changes.
09:40 We just kind of just play it the same,
09:41 regardless of where you're at off the line.
09:44 Do you get a reaction sometimes out of the defense
09:46 when you come out and you've got that huge front,
09:47 that huge surface, that they're like,
09:49 "Whoa, man, there's a lot more gaps to cover here,"
09:51 and there's a lot of big guys there?
09:53 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:54 I mean, a lot of teams got to see that and notice that.
09:56 Like, we got a lot more guys on the line.
09:58 So, I mean, it doesn't really change anything.
10:01 Just teams just try to play it.
10:03 But what it comes down to is if they can stop it.
10:05 So if they can't stop it, we're going to keep going to it.
10:08 What is it you and the hammer guy?
10:10 You're right. Yeah.
10:11 How do they determine that?
10:12 How many times have you done that?
10:15 That was my second time. I did it TCU.
10:17 We was away.
10:19 How he determines it, that's a Coach Mike type deal.
10:23 I don't know how he picks it, but he's kind of just --
10:25 it's based on being the hammer instead of being the nail,
10:28 being the aggressor instead of being the guy that's taking it.
10:32 You know what I mean? You want to be that?
10:34 Those are the guys that probably had the most dominant week
10:36 or been being the most dominant, just -- you know what I mean?
10:40 Married guy? Yeah.
10:42 So do you marry guys?
10:43 There are a bunch of you now on that offensive line.
10:45 You guys hang out more together as a group with the wives,
10:49 and what's it like being a married college
10:52 student football player?
10:54 I mean, you know, the wives hang out,
10:56 so they kind of drag us where -- you know what I mean?
10:58 So even if we want to go home and sleep,
11:00 they don't allow us, so you know how that works.
11:02 They kind of just pick us up and drag us,
11:03 but they all hang out.
11:05 They have their group chats,
11:06 and they all coordinate their outfits
11:08 and all that stuff like that.
11:09 We kind of just like -- we don't really care.
11:13 Are the guys that get married first, it seems?
11:15 Um...
11:18 Field forever. Oh, yeah.
11:20 Them and the wideouts and all that, the DBs,
11:22 it really comes down to knowing what you have.
11:25 You know what I mean?
11:26 So you kind of just stick with what you have,
11:28 and you just know.
11:29 Us big guys, we got many opportunities, you know,
11:31 so we got to keep what we get, you know?
11:35 The other guys look at you.
11:36 There's the old dudes, man.
11:37 Their wives are going to go out and play bridge or cards
11:39 or trivial pursuit, and we're all hanging out.
11:42 Yeah. They view you that way?
11:44 Yeah, yeah, they definitely look at us as the old guys,
11:45 but I kind of tell them, like, hey, man,
11:47 you know, slow down sooner than later,
11:50 you know what I mean?
11:51 Your taxes look better, you know what I mean?
11:53 So, you know what I mean?
11:54 Health insurance looks kind of good.
11:56 Everything's kind of good.
11:58 Bank account looks -- yeah,
12:00 bank account looks a little bit better, you know what I mean?
12:05 Okay. Thank you, sir.