I'm just trying to let myself be shown in practice and doing whatever I can to make an influence on the coaches.

There's 22 practice days between [today] and our first game [Nov. 12]. You would like to lay the foundation, like you would with a house, and the success of your team depends on what you build those 22 practice days. Last year, we were never able to get after it because of those situations. I don't see that as an issue right now, cross your fingers.

I am grateful to have had Tom Udall as my mentor in the practice of law.

He's been a great leader. Competing with him has made us younger guys work even harder to catch up with him.

There's always pressure. You had Neal Philpot and Andy Majors, both great quarterbacks, great players. But you always have to step up and fill the shoes. It's a tough challenge comparing to those guys.

There wasn't a trail that led to an assumption of (Nevin) trying to influence anything.