Oklahoma Football: DC Zac Alley Temple postgame

hey guys how are you all yeah fired out to be here yeah it's good how was it just your your first iname being at overa how did you feel you know awesome I mean we were com out of the com out of the tunnel right there and uh right before the team came out just get a chance to be back at this level and uh the fan support the people I mean it was awesome just the energy everything about it and uh gave me goosebumps it it was incredible you know just proud of them uh we a lot of work goes into this first game I mean you you hit each other for eight months you know and you finally get to go out and play somebody and all the things you work on the things you preach whether it's the the turnovers the disguising the multiplicity the just the effort that it takes to win a game the toughness um just to get to see that on display tonight you know more than anything I I felt like we played a game where man no matter who it was that got in had an opportunity man they played hard they tried to play disciplined and and we did a really good job of of attacking the ball almost the build up to the game is almost good that you lose a point toss and get to play defense first I always want to play defense first if anybody's everever asking me I'm i' like to get it over with to get on the field like go set the tone right now let's go out there get a three and out uh you know let them know how the game's going to go and and move on from there said that you were given the game B in the Lo room afterwards what was that like for your first game here that was pretty cool uh I got lifted off the ground afterward and thrown up about seven times about flipped on my head um but no just amazing uh I mean our players are just just incredible um everything that man they've been through the last uh the last eight months to grind of the summer and just getting ready for this moment um you know it really wasn't me doing anything special it was all them uh you know out on the field and they make the plays and I'm just there to help them along so it it was awesome to to get to experience that with them and and to get to celebrate we've talked to a lot of your players in the last eight months and they've told us a lot about you and the one thing that they always talk about is how much they relate to you and you relate to them because of your age can you talk about those relationships you've built with them during these last eight months yeah you know I I grew up in social media era I I had online classes uh so similar to to how they experienced things throughout you know their college career I've been a part of that more recently than a lot of guys have um so it's just creates a natural bond an understanding of kind of what they're going through and uh what it looks like so um man we just got what a what a great room I've gotten the linebackers and the whole defense as a whole um to just get a chance to be around them is is awesome you talk about the defensive line just you guys Ed a ton of guys a lot of rotation and just how confident you are whether it's the first second third man you know coach Chavis and Coach bat do an unbelievable job of getting those guys ready to play every week um man we're we're deep when it comes to to the defensive line we got a lot of guys that are really good players uh and we want to be able to roll them cuz man them the 300 Pounders are better when they're when they're fresh um so just the ability to to play a lot of guys and get them out there man we we want to do that as much as we can to you know just help them get off and and create sacks opportunities because fresh guys are usually better than tired guys BR said that uh you called the defense tonight I'm wondering how much does he get involved we know he's a vocal guy loves to have his hand in the mix how much is he in your ear maybe giving you suggest I mean that he's been the best defense coordinator in the country for you know 20 plus years and so uh he's just sees the game you know it's slow for him he can see it all before it happens and so just the opportunity to to have him on the headset and talking to me the whole time you know just about hey this is what I'm thinking this where we are uh you know that's always a uh a benefit no no doubt about it and every now and then he'll be like that was a good call and I always feel good about that so that means he agrees so it was it was good really enjoyed it spending so much time t l like when you your guys knock them back quite a few times did you feel like you had a good tackling I did I felt like early we you know first time you're in real live game action we missed a couple easy ones couple layups in the first you know two three Series where I was like man we could have knocked that guy back for three and we kind of challenged him to that on the sideline and then the rest of the night man we we did a great job of of really striking we got a physical uh you know attacking type of mindset as a as just a defense as a whole and you know that shows up when they get on the field after spending so many years withon what's it been like Feels Like Home you know I mean he's like my second dad and uh you know I I know everybody says I sound like him I don't know if I agree with that but you know hey uh I love him to death and and I am so appreciative of him um and just he just makes everybody around him better he's just one of those guys that man you you love him because of how he holds you to a standard and then loves you the same way and so it's just been a a phenomenal experience and and I'm just looking forward to the future it like for you those few years just being able to kind of Branch out and you know learn on your own a little bit too than yeah I mean just it builds confidence you know that that we were we were a really good team last year on defense where I was and you know getting to come into uh a situation where they have turned things around man and just to get to take over and and enjoy the process of getting better uh I think it it gave me great perspective um and appreciation for the opportunity here at Oklahoma the familiarity with coach Bates and Coach JIS and just all the assistant coaches as well help you out getting up the speed and getting going right away a ton I mean you know we speak the same language fast they've been around me I've been around them I I know how they react on game day I know how they you know operate day-to-day in their in their practice sessions and their film sessions and um you know we got some really really good coaches on this staff and man I I rely on them as much as anybody else to come up with great ideas execute and get their players to play at a high level this is sort of a 8mon old question but take us back to when Brent called you and said hey you want to be my defensive coordinator what was that like for you it was awesome um obviously you know it's a kind of a dream come true type of type of idea you know I mean Oklahoma is one of the the the greatest historic programs in the country um you know and just the opportunity to come and to have a chance to just be part of that Legacy is is amazing and that to do it with somebody that's you know basically I owe my career to throughout the years that man gave me my first job gave me the start when you know he didn't even know me uh uh I'm such appreciative of that and it's kind of fun to to come full circle back to it always around unique personalities uh you get to work with one of the most unique personalities as a linebackers coach what's you like with Danny oh man I love Danny uh he's so funny um and just brings a great light-hearted spirit to the room um you know he's you can tell he's a Wy veteran cuz he'll cut you he'll cut a joke right at the right time and every laugh at coach Ally and that's a good thing um you know keeps it light but man just a then you get on the field and he's just an absolute Alpha you know every sense of it man he's a leader he cares he holds everybody to a standard he's always trying to do the best for the team and not just himself and uh those are those are rare to find and when you got one man you got to love and and you got to help help grow and promote that as as a group Jaren getting that today I know on special teams but what can that do for him and some of those reps that guys can get on special team oh all everything you know I mean first off I was so excited I mean that was just awesome because Jared's such a such a great uh great player and a great kid and so it was fun to fun to watch him have success and man everybody everybody knows that you know at this level and the next level you got to play on special teams if you want a opportunity to make a team and the NFL and those things and so we promote that culture here you know on the staff man you know you're going start on defense you better start on special team somewhere um so he just does a great job in all phases for us what is it about Dolby that you guys like so much he's clearly guy that his stocks Rising seem like every day but what is it that you guys like about him so you know he's just he's really physical um you know he he he might not be uh he might not be the tallest longest guy but man he's he's small But Mighty you know when he's trying to come in there and knock your head off and and an elite coverage guy out there in the slot and can can lock down anybody in the country and uh we get to play great competition obviously every day in practice and you you watch him just be consistent and he he does it and so I'm just proud of him and his development his growth you you don't have to adjust that cheetah position just you talked about his size right he plays bigger than his size but a lot of most of the Isaiah Simmons as the Roy Williams type of Siz guys do you have to adjust kind of how you use that cheetah or you can you just use it as know I think that just no matter what position it is on the team you're always trying to play the guy's strengths you know and so whether it's the cheetah the Mike the will the defensive end whoever it is you know what they're good at is what we want them to do uh you know and so will we we don't have a necessarily a scheme where you say man we're going to this is what works all the time we're going to do it no we're trying to base it around our players we're going to put them in positions to be successful and to have an opportunity to do what they do well you know I tell them listen if you're a good rusher in rushia if you can't cover in man we probably not going to play man you know we'll do something else so uh I think just as a whole we always try and put guys in the best situations possible you know for whatever their talents are this is another eight-month old question for you but what did you know about the Oklahoma football program other than obviously Brenton some of the guys on staff here but what did you know about just OU football you know I just I'd watched a couple games um you know over the years just when it was on TV had an opportunity and um you know I didn't know a whole lot about the most recent era uh I knew a lot about Coach V's time here because of being at Clemson and I mean we still got film from Rufus going out there and smoking guys at linebacker so I've seen a lot of that um but recently just watched a couple games and you know always thought man that uh you know if coach V ever had an opportunity he could he could really be come back and make a defensive bwatt out of out of Oklahoma and I think that's what he he wants to do and we believe we're we're working towards that you know every day just trying to get incrementally better what was your thoughts when he took the head coaching job here I was excited you know I mean he's just it been a long time and um he just found the right fit you know coach V is definitely not somebody that that jumps at every opportunity that you know he's going to do things for the right reasons um all the time um that's just how he is as a man as a foundation of of who he is as a person and so uh when he got the opportunity to come here I was like man that's the right fit you know obviously being here for a long time and he knows the people the community all those things and uh so I was just really excited for him and and was happy to see him get a chance to to be a head coach because he's really good at it Zach do you remember the first time you met Brent and what your initial impressions of him were I do actually so I was a student assistant at Clemson um he had got there uh like three or four days after we got back to school that January and I walked in the room and and shook his hand and he probably thought I was a player at the time cuz I looked like it and said hey I'm a student assistant and I'm just volunteering I'll move chairs for you you know whatever you need and and he gave me opportunity to to stay around and um obviously I don't know how many years later but here we are you the job in Oklahoma did you feel like there's a possible chance for you to come over you know first go round back in 2022 I mean I thought that Coach V you know he was going to make the best decisions at the time to be successful you know and I believe everything happens in in God's timing it does and you know I think that me being here now is exactly what my path was supposed to be and you know God had a plan that's always better than my own and and I'm just thankful for it now Zach the guys said that after the uh you got the game ball tonight uh they wanted to lift you up in the air you were hesitant to do that but they did it anyway oh they got me up there I thought I was going to flipped on my head about halfway through they were trying to lower me down and I was I was I was vertical backwards for a minute but uh I think B Sharp caught me uh lowered me back to the ground so it was it was good it was fun awesome you done anything like that before no I I've never crowd surfed so that was the first time um my second life maybe if I become a concert you know go out there be a rock star I can I can try it one more time anything else for z sound scary Z I ask you about Grayson Hall and how big some of the things that he did tonight could be for his development moving forward the confidence absolutely I mean Grayson's a great player and and he's going to continue improve every day um you know I think nobody's where they want to be ever I'm not I know that uh we all want to be improving all the time but uh just to see him go out there and execute it's what we thought would happen you know it wasn't like oh wow how it came out of nowhere no like that was a plan you know and and he's been tremendous in Camp and uh he's performed when it mattered and he did again today a lot of the players talked to they've said that you've really kind of helped them understand the the Venable defense and everything do you do you see that from guys like kind of like an aha moment for them or kind of like the light bulb going on like a lot of Pro that from these guys this year you know I think from from when I got here to now obviously we're a lot better we're a veteran group so uh you know the guys that that have been playing here for a long time the Danny stman Ethan DS Billy Bowman they were you know great players before I ever showed up you know they did a great job and I just try and help them every day to to understand it better and hopefully you know communicate maybe in a way that's different than might one of the other coaches or help them see it some way uh that helps them feel more confident you know and and remember it or execute better and you know always trying to find little things like that to to be right thank you Z thanks guys