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Wednesday, October 3, 2001
Jammer Diary: Time to talk about OU
By Quentin Jammer
Special to ABC Sports Online
This season, Texas cornerback Quentin Jammer is writing a weekly diary for ABC Sports Online. Jammer and the fifth-ranked Longhorns play No. 3 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout this Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas (ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET). Jammer and his teammates are hoping for a better outcome this year after last year's 63-14 loss. The Longhorns enter the game 4-0 after crushing Texas Tech 42-7 last week.
|  | | Ivan Williams rushed for 152 yards and 2 TDs in the Longhorns' rout of Texas Tech. |
Last week was a lot of fun and really a great experience for me as a player. The entire team played well, we won a big game and I proved something to myself. For the first time since I've been here, we played a game where we were primarily in zone coverage. It took some getting used to at first, but now I think I have it down and playing zone is helping make me a more complete corner.
Playing zone is a lot of fun because I get to come up and hit people more and you have an opportunity to make more interceptions. In zone coverage, you have a chance to read the quarterback's eyes and break on the ball better than you do in man coverage. I'm still a big fan of man-to-man, though. I'd rather play that because I enjoy the challenge of matching up with receivers and going one on one. But I like playing zone too because you can cover your space and then come up and pop someone.
The Texas Tech game was special to me as well because of the comments that coach Mike Leach made about me before the game. He got me riled up. I was out to try to make him eat his words. I think I played my best game and probably gained his respect.
I was really impressed with how Chris Simms played. It's amazing from the first game to this game how he has grown up and developed. He's making all of the right decisions and making plays. I love watching our offense because they have so many weapons and they are really exciting to see. We have great players at every position on offense. It's special to practice against them because they are one of the best in country. They help prepare us for teams like OU every week because they are so good.
I'm glad that game is over. Now I can honestly say it was real hard to keep the OU game in the back of our minds. Last year's game was so devastating and it's always such a big rivalry that it is hard not to look ahead to the Sooners. It's here now and I don't have to downplay it or wait anymore.
Every year the rivalry is a big deal, but now that OU has become such a great team, won a national championship, and our program is doing so well, it makes it even more exciting. People say it's like a bowl game, but it seems even bigger than a bowl game because you're playing with the atmosphere of a big-time bowl game against your most hated opponent.
OU's offense is really tough to prepare for because they are so poised. They make it tough to shut them out of their game plan. You can hit or knock them out and they keep coming. They stay with their plan.
Their running back Quentin Griffin is the guy we need to watch out for. He is the type of player that can beat you. Whether it is draws, screens or a passing route, he does a great job and runs really hard for a little guy.
I'm looking forward to Saturday because it's going to be a fun game. There is always a lot going on around the stadium for the Texas-OU game, and with it on national TV and with the GameDay guys there, it will be cool. But the most important thing is that we continue to grow as a team and play our best game of the year. I hope to have a lot of family there watching. I can't wait.
Jammer's Texas Statistics
|
Year |
G/GS |
Tkl |
TFL-Yds |
INT-Yds |
PBU |
FC-FR |
| 2001 |
4/4 |
18 |
3-13 |
1-0 |
9 |
0-0 |
| 2000 |
11/11 |
43 |
2-12 |
3-11 |
20 |
4-0 |
| 1999 |
1/1 |
3 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
1-0 |
| 1998 |
11/11 |
81 |
1-8 |
2-18 |
12 |
3-2 |
| 1997 |
11/3 |
13 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
1 |
0-0 |
| Career |
38/30 |
158 |
6-33 |
6-29 |
42 |
8-2 |
Click here to go to Texas' official web site.
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