Kansas running back Devin Neal answers questions from the media after the Jayhawks' loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
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00:00 my job, you know, to create a big, close play and, you know, got the crowd into it, got
00:03 the whole team back in it.
00:04 So it was a big feeling for me.
00:05 Right, so once you make that move, are you realizing like he's on skates now?
00:08 Or you just worry about getting the end zone?
00:10 You know, at that point, I was worried about, you know, I'll run a guy and get the end zone.
00:13 Thank you.
00:14 Yes, sir.
00:15 Devin, when Cole comes out there, what do you help him with?
00:16 I mean, did you have any words for him?
00:19 You know, honestly, no, you know, he was really calm going out there and, you know, in certain
00:23 plays I got to be better for him in pass pros.
00:25 So, you know, he, other than that, you know, he did really good.
00:29 I'm super proud of him.
00:30 And, you know, this type of guy he is and I've said it plenty of times.
00:32 It doesn't matter who's back there, you know, all those guys are ready to do their job.
00:35 And, you know, it's just a testament to what they're doing.
00:38 Coach Leipold talked a lot and has talked a lot about how well liked Cole is.
00:42 Yeah.
00:43 And it's not because he's been out there making plays.
00:45 He hasn't played.
00:46 Right.
00:47 What is it?
00:48 Why do you guys like him so much?
00:49 What is that?
00:50 You know, I mean, well, firstly, I just think that's just our team.
00:51 You know, we have such a tight bond now.
00:54 It's not like the old KU teams that many people talked about.
00:57 That's not close unit.
00:58 We're a really close unit.
00:59 And another thing, he just kind of has that natural leadership to him where people are
01:03 drawn to him.
01:04 You can feel it from him.
01:05 You know, like I said, when he came into the huddle, no one was worried.
01:07 No one was worried that he was not going to be able to do his job.
01:10 And everyone was still calm and there was no panic from him or anyone on the team.
01:14 So, you know, I just think that's just a testament to the type of guy he is and, you know, how
01:18 much work he puts in every season.
01:20 Does that surprise you, the boys?
01:21 I mean, you played in the same position.
01:24 You were a freshman.
01:25 Now it's a different position playing quarterback and running back.
01:28 I mean, think about it, right?
01:30 A freshman going out there doing that and in that moment with this team and all your
01:34 goals.
01:35 I mean, for me, I don't like me personally.
01:37 I don't think he was in phase just because of his background.
01:40 He's been he's been around some of the best, you know, just, you know, everyone knows.
01:44 So when you're around those type of guys, you kind of understand a little bit better.
01:47 But, you know, for him, you know, to go out there and just be so calm because I wasn't,
01:50 I surely wasn't, you know, and especially his position, you know, it's really impressive
01:55 to see.
01:56 You know, you can kind of sit back and be a little shocked, but, you know, I say it's
01:59 how I expected it.
02:00 Start of the fourth quarter, TV cameras caught Mason, the team around him firing, flashing
02:06 speech.
02:07 What did he say?
02:08 You know, he was just trying to get us, you know, motivated and, you know, keep on fighting.
02:10 You know, there was no lay down in us and, you know, that's not the type of team we are.
02:14 We're going to we're going to fight to the very last second.
02:16 I'm super proud of the guys, you know, as ugly as that game was for us, fighting, getting
02:20 back in that game and, you know, going down for as an offensive unit, kicking that field
02:23 goal as much as we wanted to touch down.
02:26 You know, it's a big feeling for us and it shows what type of team we are.
02:28 Up next, Sunflower Showdown, in-state rivalry.
02:30 They're coming to your house.
02:33 What are you anticipating?
02:34 You know, it's going to be a battle.
02:35 It's going to be a fight and I'm super excited to play those guys again.
02:38 You know, I have this game circled on my calendar, so I'm super excited to play it.
02:42 Thank you, Devin.
02:43 Thank you.
02:44 Just looking at how far this Kansas team has come, obviously tough loss.
02:47 Yeah.
02:48 Do you kind of look back and say, oh, this game, the OSU game, things turned a little
02:51 differently.
02:52 You know, it's going to be 10-1 right now.
02:54 Yeah, I mean, it's hard not to do that, you know, but at the same time, you can't dive
02:59 into that hole because, you know, we got a job to do.
03:02 We got to focus on getting better and focusing on the next week.
03:04 But, you know, definitely, you look back and you're like, those games got away from us
03:08 and those are easily games that, you know, we could be on the opposite side of.
03:10 So we just got to do better.
03:12 We just got to be better as an offensive unit, for sure.
03:14 We got to score more points than that to help our amazing defense.
03:16 They had a great performance today, you know, especially with the type of running back that
03:19 Texas Tech has.
03:20 So super proud of those guys.
03:21 We just got to be there for them.
03:22 Yeah, and that big touchdown run that kind of reinvigorated the crowd.
03:25 How did that feel and how did it kind of come about?
03:27 Yeah, I mean, it felt good, you know, we're just chipping away and keep chipping and,
03:30 you know, it was tough sledding at first, but, you know, it finally popped and, you
03:33 know, I had to take advantage of that situation and, you know, got everyone into it.
03:36 And, you know, that's when we started to roll a little bit.
03:39 But like I said, we just got to do better from the get go.
03:41 Did you see Doug giving you that block at the end?
03:43 Yeah, I did.
03:44 I did.
03:45 And we were all applauding for it.
03:46 And, you know, it was really good.
03:47 And, you know, just seeing guys like Doug, you know, wait their turn and, you know,
03:51 step up when they need to make them big plays even without the ball.
03:54 That's just the type of team we are and it was just really special to see.
03:58 Can you kind of walk me through that play where you threw the pass up there down?
04:02 Yeah, I mean, so earlier in the game we ran the same concept, but we actually ran it.
04:06 And so we down the goal line, you know, I think it was third, was it third down?
04:10 Yeah, third down.
04:11 Third and short.
04:12 So, you know, we had that play, it was a complimentary play of course, and we prepped it all week.
04:17 But, you know, Texas Tech did a phenomenal job covering it all.
04:20 And, you know, I just tried to give Jared a shot just on the back of the box and, you
04:23 know, it didn't work out.
04:24 So when's the last time you've taken a done a pass like that?
04:27 Early high school.
04:28 I still have faith in my arm, you know, being a baseball guy.
04:32 I still have faith in it.
04:33 Are you hoping to try again at some point?
04:34 I know last week you said you were wanting to do that for a while.
04:37 Yeah, I kind of hit it.
04:38 So yeah, I mean, you know, whatever Coach K needs me to do, that's just type of the
04:42 offense we are, you know, we're tricky, you know, we make it really hard for defenses.
04:46 But at the end of the day, you know, if he wants to give me another shot at that, trust
04:48 me, you know, I'll be ready.
04:49 You said you ran that play earlier.
04:51 You had a receiver out there too, or you just chose to run it or?
04:54 No, so no, we didn't have a guy actually running a route.
04:57 We had a guy, he was blocking.
04:58 So that was a complimentary play for that.
05:00 And, you know, they did a fantastic job covering it.
05:03 Between the first half and the second half, or even just as the second half progressed,
05:06 how did the sentiment in the offense kind of change as you guys got rolling?
05:09 You know, I mean, like I was saying, it was really tough at the beginning, you know, just
05:13 grinding out yards.
05:14 They were really physical.
05:15 They were playing really well.
05:16 And, you know, we're just grinding and chipping away in the run game.
05:19 So we just had to be better from the get go, in my opinion.
05:21 But you know, we came back in the second half, we made our adjustments and, you know, we're
05:24 able to run the ball a little bit better.
05:26 And we were able to hit the receivers downfield.
05:27 It was all complimentary.
05:28 So like I said, though, we got to be better from the get go and, you know, do better for
05:32 our defense for sure.
05:33 One more question.
05:34 After you score, how does the offense kind of pick up after that knowing it just needs
05:39 to score one more time?
05:40 Yeah, I mean, for us, we knew that we're in it.
05:42 We had some juice to us again.
05:44 And that's just the type of team we are.
05:46 But at the same time, we can't be an up and down type of offense.
05:48 We got to, you know, no matter what happens, we got to stay even killing and keep doing
05:52 our job and executing.
05:53 Thanks.
05:54 Thank you.