COLLEGE PARK, Md. --

Maryland Interim Head Coach Matt Canada
Opening Statement:
"Tremendous win by our players. Just a tremendous job. Was a back and forth game, great credit to Texas – very good football team. Obviously we jumped out on them early and they came back, then we made some mistakes and did some things that didn't go quite as well as we wanted them to go. Great credit to their football team and what they're going to do. And then obviously, tremendous credit to our players for hanging in there, doing everything they had to do to win the football game. I just can't say enough about our players, everything that they've been through, and the way they stuck together. It was a great way to honor Jordan [McNair]. We presented the game ball to Jordan's locker. We're going to put it in his locker and we'll give it to his parents on Senior Day. But this was a win for Jordan and we're certainly proud of our team, proud of our program. Everybody in our building stuck together. We're proud of everybody. We have a lot of people who pack our parachutes in our building. Our food's always prepared, our training room's always ready, everybody is always working. We're proud of everybody and it was a heck of a win."
 
On what the team was able to take advantage of from the weather delay:
"I think our guys did a great job of staying focused. Again, great credit to Texas. They did some things that were different. We were stopping ourselves a little bit. We made some unforced errors at times, I've got to do a better job of calling some plays. Our kids just kept believing. I thought the one drive - I can't pull it all back exactly what the time was – we had a false start, I think Jeshaun [Jones] had a false start. We overcame that and got a first down. Then we took a shot on first down and gave up a sack so it's like second-and-18. We overcame that, went for it on fourth down and converted. Obviously, when you're playing offensive football, it's 11 men doing their job. And the fact that we had two unforced errors in my opinion - one we jumped and one we didn't block the guy and we still ended up getting a touchdown. That was impressive. And that's the sign of a team that sticks together and believes. Very easy to start pointing the finger and they're not doing that."
 
On what it was like to manage this game because of the delay:
"The first quarter was the longest quarter I've ever been a part of... and I've never, I've always called it from upstairs. So I was just starting to think maybe I'm just old and out of shape, but it was a long time standing down there. Really, the delay was a part of it. We've all gone through those. Our kids did a great job. For me, it was different. Calling it from the field, talking about the thing I was the most worried about, it was calling the game from the field. I've never done that. I didn't want to screw that job up. That's my job. I'm the offensive coordinator and I call the plays. Sometimes I'm good at it and sometimes I'm not but I was concerned about that. Our staff did a great job, the guys upstairs did a great job. Going into the game, that was my biggest concern. Our guys, they have their pregame routine. They were going to do what they do. Our staff, we all know what we're going to do. I just got out of the way, which I always try to do on gameday."
 
On the versatility of Freshman WR Jeshaun Jones:
"He is versatile. He's a very good football player. Obviously the jet sweeps are a part of our offense, a lot of guys ran it, his popped. And then they made some adjustments. We missed some opportunities on that. Obviously the pass was special, what he did after the catch was special. And then obviously the trick play down in the red zone, we had it, we kind of auditioned it. We had three or four guys throw it in practice, his was the best, and you're only going to do it one time. He won. That's how it went. He did a great job. It was really good for him, good for our football team."
 
On if he thinks his playcalling may have been too conservative following the two turnovers:
"Yes and no. I took a shot there and we had a personnel deal on the fourth-and-an-inch, so we were jumbled there and Kasim [Hill] was rushed and I should've called timeout. So that was bad. So after that I didn't want to do anything, our defense was playing well, and I didn't want to do anything to hurt us. The dart coming across there, the ball just got tipped, I think we'd have got a first down there. We had a couple other jets, obviously we were trying to use the clock. The last time we had it, certainly we wanted to get them to use all three timeouts. Our special teams and defense were great. They got a little more on that punt than we wanted, but every other one, we did a great job. Yeah, maybe. But then if I'd have thrown a pass that'd been incomplete and they'd have had more time, you probably would've asked me why you did that, right? I'm just saying that was in my mind, I was going to make him use all three timeouts, we thought we had a shot to get a first down, we ran the one jet and just fell off. I don't think so. Since we won, I'll stick with it."
 
On the thinking that led to the quarterback/offensive line by committee:
"At quarterback, Kasim and Pig [Tyrrell Pigrome] are great players. They're both really good. I've been part of that one other time when I was at Northern Illinois with [Chandler] Harnish and [Jordan] Lynch and we did a little bit. Certainly Chandler was the primary player. But there's things that Pig brings to the table. He had a couple good runs and he took a shot to Avery [Edwards] in the red zone and we just missed it. But it was a good play. I feel like it adds... quarterback runs are something that defensive staffs don't like to see. So with that, and all the other things we do, I think that helps us. At tackle, Derwin [Gray] was ready to go pregame and then he just didn't feel right. Obviously he's coming off an injury, he's practiced all week, he just revved it up and didn't feel like he could go. So then Marcus [Minor] had to play, which was great. We were prepared for that. Marcus Minor has had a tremendous spring and fall and is a very good football player. Then he got nicked up a little bit, so he came out because of that, and then he went back in the game. So that's what happened there. We had the six-lineman package going, Ellis [McKennie] was playing tight end some, and we didn't get to do that as much because we ended up going down guys there. The tackle part wasn't quite what we planned, but we were prepared for that."
 
On what he thought the difference was defensively at the end of the game:
"Our players weren't going to be denied. Great credit to our defense. I put them in a bad spot on the sneak, on the 40-yard deal, and really we put them in a bad spot when we put it on the ground on the safety and we didn't punt it very well after the safety. So they had two short field touchdowns there. They played very, very well. They played together and they found a way to get it done. I don't know what was different other then that there was a real focus on this football team to win this game. We talked about our room, our building, and everybody else outside of our building really doesn't matter. They really don't matter. And that's how we plan, that's how we focus. That's not being mean or however you want to spin that. Only people that knew how we were going to play were the guys in our building. And I think they had no doubt they were going to win. They convinced me; I can get nervous about just about anything. They convinced me."
 
On what he meant by packing parachutes:
"That's something we talk about with our staff and with our program, who packed your parachute. It's something we've done for a few years around where I've been. Just talking about the people who are in our program that do so much for us. Football is the greatest game in the world. It takes so many people. We come in, our food is ready. Only time we don't notice that something is wrong in there is if it's not ready when we walk in. Trainers are ready, strength staff is ready, academics are ready. Everybody is there for our players. And having them acknowledge that and understand that, they're the stars and they should be. They do all the work. But it's been really good. A lot of them wrote letters to them thanked them for what they do for them, then we had some posters that they all signed. They really got into it. They talked about it, so I'm proud of them for that. There's a lot of people involved in this deal."
 
On who took care of the defense on the field and who called the defensive plays:
"They worked together, they worked on this plan for a long time. We knew we were playing Texas for a long time, right? So all of them as a staff worked together. Coach [Matt] Barnes was on the field kind of doing that, but then if it's third down with special teams, he would get pulled away. So Jimmy [Brumbaugh] and Aazaar [Abdul-Rahim] were both helping on the field too. Chuck [Heater] and Andy [Buh] were upstairs. I listened but I didn't do anything else. I just listened once in a while."
 
On if he watched the whole game or concerned himself primarily with the offense:
"I don't ever normally watch the defense at all because it just gets me mad. Either way. Either they stop them and we don't score so I'm mad. But obviously I felt like I had to. We had a timeout we needed so I had to pay attention. But I was still trying to stay out of it. I'm focusing on the offense. I've met with the defensive players, they know where I'm at, care about them, they know where we are. That's the general message of our football team. But I'm focused on the offense and those guys did a great job."
 
On how important it was to the team to run out onto the field and line up with 10 men:
"Very important. Thank [Texas Head Coach] Tom [Herman] for that, for allowing us to do that and they obviously declined the penalty and that was a class move by Texas. That's something that those guys wanted to do. They wanted to go out there and make sure Jordan was remembered. We did that, and that was all on our players. Everything we've done to honor Jordan is from our players. They're the ones who decided it, talked about it, and that was special. It was emotional. It's emotional right now just talking about it. Proud of our players."
 
On QB Kasim Hill's performance and the first scripted series:
"[Laughing] Oh, I don't know. I don't know about that. We scored which is good. Kasim... he's got it. I've said it a lot, Kasim's got it. And talking about quarterbacks, what is 'it'? I don't know. Some guys have got it and some guys don't. He's got a great knowledge of the game, he made a couple mistakes. He was a little late on the safety play there, which is too bad, I think we had a shot at a big one. But it's not like he came over and threw a fit, he was frustrated, he came over, he came back and played. We talked about the question about rotating. Some quarterbacks would have an issue if you're going back and forth. Those two guys want to win. They both want to play, like everybody. We've got six backs who all think they should carry the ball 40 times a game, we've got wideouts who all think they should have 40 catches a game. We've got a lot of good players and there's only one ball. But the way Kasim – and I'm going to give it to Pig too – and Max [Bortenschlager], Max started a lot of football games and now sitting there – those three kids are sticking together and they're special. But Kasim did a nice job. He's a pretty cool dude. He missed a throw, he came off and got bumped up a little bit, came out and went right back in and I'm proud of him."

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Maryland Graduate Wide Receiver Taivon Jacobs
 
On how it feels to open the season with a win over a ranked opponent:
"Of course every win is great, but the team stuck together through the course of everything that has happened. That was our motto and we stuck by it. From the players to the coaches and staff, everybody in the building that pack our parachutes – we all just stuck together. That's the result of today."
 
On if today felt the way they expected it to feel:
"Our motto was to stick together and the result of today was us sticking together. Day in and day out during camp and even now. That was the result." 
 
On how the team stayed prepared during the weather delay:
"We just stuck together and remembered what Texas said prior to the game. We used that as our motivation to go forward in the fourth quarter. Before and after the weather break, we were using that as motivation and we were just sticking together."

Maryland Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Kasim Hill
 
On how it feels to open the season with a win over a ranked opponent:
"We're a really close-knit family. Everything that has happened this summer has brought us closer together and this is the closest I've been with my teammates and coaches. It was great to get a win and to be back out there. It's been a long time since we've played a football game and it was just fun to be back out there with everybody."

On how the team was affected by its emotions throughout the game:
"Before any football game there is going to be a lot of emotion. There are a variety of different emotions. You have your hype people and you have your chill people. But I think everybody was just happy to be able to play a football game. Like I said, it's been a long time since we've played a football game and I think it was just good to be out there with your brothers and to go against other people and not bang your head against your teammate every day. It was good to go out there, play against a good opponent and get after it."
 
On returning after missing most of 2017 with an injury:
"For me – I wouldn't say sometimes you take things for granted – but it was different not being able to go out there with your brothers and play a football game. I think today it was fun to be back out there with everybody. [There are] things that you miss on the sidelines like all the emotions and conversations and the flow of the game. Just being out there with those dudes, that's the love of it right there."
 
On Matt Canada as a head coach:
"Well, like I said before, it was great to be able to come back out there and play with everybody. I don't really know Matt Canada as a head coach, I know him more as Matt Canada offensive coordinator. It was good to go out there with everybody and run our new stuff, compete against a ranked opponent and come out with a victory. The win is all that matters."
 
On how this year's win compares to last year and on the play of Jeshaun Jones:
"I think anytime that you get to go against a big opponent liked Texas – and a ranked opponent – a win against them solidifies everything and feels good. I think all the young guys have done great since they got here, whether it was the winter or when they got here in the summer. Obviously Jeshaun had a great game today and I'm very happy to see that. But I think all of the young guys are doing a great job of learning the playbook, executing and going about their business. I think that's hard as a young guy coming into college with all of the distractions that you can have."

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Texas Head Coach Tom Herman
Opening Statement:
"Injury update – (DB) Davante Davis, I believe with a sprained neck and then, towards the end there, Brandon Jones, high ankle sprain. He would have not been able to go back in, so we'll evaluate that when we get home. Really weird game, it was even once we got settled in after the first quarter, it was an even game. We were turnover free, unfortunately, so were they. We struggled stopping the jet sweep and we prepared for it, we adjusted for it. Hats off to them, they did a really great job. Our last three possessions down by one score we turned the ball over. A lot of people are going to want to say this feels a lot like last year. It doesn't to me. We've got a lot to learn in terms of how we have to go out after an hour of rain delay and finish but there was not, after the first quarter, which, again, that's on me, the slow start is on me. I'm trying so hard to be perfect because they wanted this so bad and we have to find a way to relax our guys coming out of the tunnel and make sure we can play loose and not play so tight. We have to find a way to do that. I thought that second and third quarters were the way we were supposed to play and then even in the fourth, we made a lot of plays on offense. We left some out there and then obviously to end the game with three straight turnovers, it's not good. It gets you beat, and obviously it did today."
 
On his anger level with the three turnovers:
"My anger level is at myself. We've got to do a better job of putting ourselves in – I'm just telling you we do so many two-minute drills in practice and we've been great versus our defense, which is really, really good defense. I'm not angry at our players. I thought they played really hard. We have to find a way as coaches to make sure they play smarter."
 
On how he makes the team stay loose:
"If I knew that, I would have done it. We've got to figure that out, we have a week to figure that out. Again, if you had asked me pregame if we were loose, I would have said yes, but then the ball got kicked off and I can sense that guys were trying to be perfect. Guys that are normally very reliable were trying to do too much. Just doing our job, our specific job on one play and then worry about the next play when it comes up."
 
On a tough loss after working on development in the off-season:
"I think we did see a lot of development. I would not say that we failed in that area. We have to learn how to finish better. That was a big mantra of ours and we lost the fourth quarter. When you play a really good team on the road, you have to win the fourth quarter. We came out of the rain delay and it was a field-goal game, and our defense gives up a field goal in the fourth quarter and we can't find a way to finish and win. We have to back as coaches and figure out why, and evaluate that."
 
On not playing RB Keaontay Ingram after his touchdown:
"We thought (RB) Tre Watson was running really well, so we went with the hot hand. Other than it was a tight ball game and true freshman, and I felt like the fifth-year senior who was playing at the time was the right guy to have in there."
 
On veterans making big penalties:
"I'm not going to comment on officiating. Aggressive penalties are some things, as coaches, that happen. You're rushing the passer and you jump to try and tip the ball and you happen to go into him. I don't know what to tell (LB) Gary Johnson, I don't. There was a guy that was clearly going low at the runner and he passed the point of no return going at the target he was going at and that target changed. I get the rule, I really understand the rule for player safety, but I don't know what to tell him, I don't. To get back to your question, I would have been much more upset if there were multiple false starts or offsides or non-aggressive. Those happen, they're not acceptable. I'm not excusing them by any stretch of the imagination, trust me, I would rather have to pull the leash a little bit than have to kick them in the butt, but we have to pull the leash a little bit."
 
On turning the team around after playing poorly in the first quarter:
"I knew where we were and I knew what needed to be done, and again, the people whose opinions matter the most to me are my bosses, Greg Fenves and Chris Del Conte, my family, and the people in that locker room, the coaches and players. We know the task at hand, we know the difficulties that lie ahead of us. We know how much better we are now than we were probably at any point last year. We didn't show it in the first and fourth quarter."
 
On battling back in the second quarter and if the thought process at halftime was positive:
"Not on the road, nope. I didn't think so. We talked about momentum being an illusion. It's an illusion of control or a lack of control and it doesn't really exist and that was very obvious. They were up 17 and we came right back. You would have said they had the momentum, but it's an illusion and you have to go out and do your job every single play regardless what you have battled back from. Each play is its own entity and each situation is its own situation. So, did I think we were playing better and to the level of our ability? Certainly. You're playing a good team on the road that's certainly galvanized by a horrific tragedy. We knew we were going to be in for a four-quarter fight."
 
On handling the rain delay:
"Like we have in the past. We relaxed, we knew we only had 14:25 left to play so your possessions are going to be limited. We did not get great field position in the fourth quarter. I think we started minus 15 or minus ten. A couple of those drives, that's disadvantageous when you talk about percentages of scoring but we had a game plan, both offensively and defensively. The kids rested, they ate and then you wait and you go get loose. You talk to them about what has occurred, what you need to do. You communicate with the team on what we need to do in that fourth quarter and then you go warm-up and play."
 
On if this loss is a setback:
"Not very. Our goal is to go 1-0 each week and our long-term goals are to compete for a Big 12 Championship in November and December and we certainly showed that we were capable of doing that. But this is one game and you have twelve of them guaranteed to you and you have nine guaranteed conference games so as much as we've grown and gotten closer from year open to year two. I think you'll see a growth and development and a learning curve here from week one to week two."

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Texas Sophomore Quarterback Sam Ehlinger
On if today's loss feels like last year
"No, because I feel like in the middle of today's game we showed the team we can be. Last year it would have been a lull the whole game. Obviously losing doesn't feel great, but I think we can learn from it and all of our goals are still on the table."
 
On his performance in Texas' final possessions:
"It's awful. To have three turnovers in the last three drives – the first one my arm got tipped, the second one was a fumble and the third one we had to take a chance – obviously, we need to protect the football in order to win. But, before that, we never should have been in that situation. We should have taken better care of the game from the beginning. We started off too slow and hesitant. I think this is a great learning point for us."
 
On coming up short after spending the offseason emphasizing finishing games:
"It definitely is very tough. We focused on finishing, but you always have to focus on starting. And we didn't -- we didn't start well. We need to finish that, but we should have finished the game earlier and there are a lot of things we need to clean up. We'll learn from it for sure."
 
On his own play:
"I think my own play was embodied by how the whole team did. I think we started kind of slow, picked it up in the middle of the game and kind of found our stride. Obviously in the end we would have liked to finish better in moving the offense down the field."
 
On the up-tempo offense:
"Like I said, that was kind of where we found what we have been doing for the last two months of camp. We finally picked it up and played football instead of evaluating. I think we'll learn from that and understand that if we want to be really good, that's how we have to be all of the time."
 
On the difference in the running attack in the 2^nd and 3^rd quarters:
"I think we were going fast and we weren't letting them get to their calls we wanted to make because we were going fast. They couldn't dial up the perfect defense for that formation. We also did a great job up front of finally getting some movement and then we hit it where we needed to."
 
On what Coach Herman said to the team:
"What you would expect. We started slow but he was proud of the way we responded at the way of the first half, but we have to finish the second half."
 
Texas Senior Tight End Andrew Beck:
On the message to the team:
"Obviously it was not the result we wanted. But, I think our biggest thing right now is two fold: one, all of the goals we've set up to this point – and from this point on – are still attainable. Two, we really from this point cannot let Maryland beat us twice. It happened, we have to learn from it tomorrow, and then we have another game in seven days."
 
On Sam Ehlinger:
"Those are tough spots for any quarterback so it's going to be evaluating tomorrow and seeing what we can do. I'm not a coach, so we'll see what they think."
 
On what the offense did well:
"I think we went up tempo and that was really good for us. As the game went on we ran the ball better. We started a little too slow and that is what it boiled down to."
 
On the difference in their running success throughout the game:
"It could be a culmination of things. It could be the first game of the year and getting guys moving. We had some young guys helping us out and getting used to playing college ball. Older guys waking up and realizing we have to go and they aren't going to come out here and lay down. It was just a culmination of things."
 
On not closing the game out in the fourth quarter:
"That's always going to be frustrating. We were in a good position – a position we wanted to be in and we've practiced for a multitude of times. Like I said, that's a frustrating spot."