Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I had to play the cards that I was dealt to get better mentally, physically, and push myself to limits that I didn't think I was capable of.
I easily could've gone to a place like Florida Atlantic, but my dad pushed me to realize that my dream was to play somewhere big. He was right.
You need to be competitive, but a lot of that you can internalize and use that as motivation to drive you. You do not need to show it all the time.
You come to Oklahoma to beat Texas. I was born and raised in Austin. They didn't recruit me. I grew up 15 miles from their campus. I can't stand them.
I'm not ashamed to speak my mind. What you see is what you get. You're not going to get a two-faced person who is going to say one thing and mean another.
Having been through some adversity, starting from different points and having to work through the depth chart on many occasions, it's definitely helped my story.
Anytime you get a better competition level, it's always better for you because you want to get the best out of yourself, and you want to compete against the best.
Everywhere I look, someone is telling me, 'You're not good enough,' or, 'You can't do this or that.' You can only hear that so many times before enough is enough.
It doesn't matter what cards you're dealt. It's what you do with those cards. Never complain. Just keep pushing forward. Find a positive in anything and just fight for it.
When you can have a relationship that's like that to where everything is out in the open, you are up front, and there is open communication, it makes for a great relationship.
People will have their guesses and opinions on my character, but anyone that's actually sat down and talked to me knows that I don't have any character issues, any off-the-field issues.
You can focus on the few things that give people a negative image about me, or you can see the other things I've done, or talk to people in my inner circle who know more about who I really am.
I was the undersized underdog who people never gave a chance. From that, the motivation to prove people wrong just grew and grew... Looking back now, I'm glad I didn't hit puberty until later.
At an early age, it was always trying to root for the Sooners. When Jason White won, it was awesome running around my living room like I won it. I've always had fun watching the Heisman ceremony.
Football is a violent, competitive game. That's the way it was always meant to be played. You are supposed to play with an edge. You are actually supposed to impose your will on the other person to win.
Before the game, getting guys in the right mindset and confident - you play well when you're confident. People can say 'cockiness' or whatever, but there are results when you play with a confidence and you believe in yourself.
I always have that in the back of my head - the idea that I've been spoon-fed because of where I'm from. I think that's one of the main things that drives me to work harder to show that, in reality, I haven't been handed anything.
I say it all the time: Texas high school football. It's no joke. It's a big deal. And when you get good coaches like I had at Lake Travis, and then you play other good programs, it develops you very quickly, and it gets you going.
I set the bar high, and I'll do anything, whatever it takes to win. I care more about this game than most people ever will. When you mix a lot of those things with a winning mentality, it's a good thing to have as a franchise quarterback.
The best thing - I say it all the time - what happened at Oklahoma was sitting for a year after I transferred. To sit there and be able to focus on the physical parts of my body. You know, develop, and then the mental side of the game, learning.
TCU - they told me they were going to offer me a scholarship and kind of drug it out. I told other schools I wasn't interested because I thought I was going to be there. They disappointed me and kind of hung me out to dry right before signing day.
Teams ask me about my character, but until you sit down and talk to me directly, you might have image that's portrayed in stories or headlines. But I love the game, I'm up front and honest, I know exactly what I'm about, and that's the most important thing.
That's the biggest difference from college to NFL. Everybody's so talented at this level, the difference is knowing the game - knowing where to go with the ball in my position, knowing how to execute your job to the highest level. In college, you could just get by playing ball.
If you can grab a ball and throw it, you can grab a ball and throw it. I don't care how tall you are, either. I'm not gonna see over a 6-foot-7 left tackle. You've gotta find lanes; you've gotta know where your guys are. It's not about the height: if you can win ball games, you can win 'em.
I appreciate all the kids who come up and enjoy my play at OU. But everybody giving me their opinions is where I draw the line. If it's someone who hasn't been there before, I really can't handle it. It's 'Slide more.' 'Don't take as many hits.' 'Get out of bounds.' I know they have my best interests at heart. I just have to remind myself of that.