Football

Q&A: Quarterback John O’Korn says it’s “back to basics” for UH football

After a devastating season-opener against UTSA and a shutout victory over Grambling State, quarterback John O’Korn says UH football looks to go back to the basics for remainder of season.

|  Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

After a strong freshman campaign, sophomore quarterback John O’Korn believes he can replicate the success. | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

The calm and collected sophomore sensation says everything that comes with being quarterback has been “a blessing and an awesome experience.” Although coming out flat in week one, he says it served as motivation for himself, his teammates as they look to redeem themselves. For him, the pressure to succeed and complete plays on the field comes with his position; his job is to get guys the ball and allow them to do the rest.

“If I do that I think we have a good chance of winning each week.”

The Cougar sat down with O’Korn to talk about the team’s past and upcoming games.


 

The Cougar: Looking back at game one, were you nervous at all going into the TDECU Stadium opener?

John O’Korn: No, I wasn’t nervous, and I don’t think any of us were nervous. I think we just underestimated them and came out flat. That’s what happens; you can’t really underestimate anyone in college football. If you do, you’ll get beat.

TC: Do you feel pressure to succeed and complete plays on the field? How do you, or how have you dealt with such pressure?

JO: I think pressure to succeed and complete plays on the field comes with the quarterback position, and that’s something that I have to do a better job with. The first game I didn’t handle the pressure too well. We’ve gotten a lot better these last two weeks, so I’m really looking forward to the game this Thursday.

TC: What did you take away from the loss in terms of things you could potentially improve?

JO: It was definitely a wake-up call, not just for me, but for all of us. We’ve worked a lot harder since then. We know where we’re at now, and it really is helping us to improve in all three phases. I think you saw that last week, and I think you will continue to see that throughout the season.

TC: During Saturday’s game, many different players contributed to the team’s success from Greenberry to Greg Ward Jr., Kenneth Farrow and so on. How were you all able to regroup and perform as a cohesive unit? What did Coach Levine say to keep you guys on track and focused on the next game after game one?

JO: We just had to go back to basics, we knew what we had to do, we didn’t execute very well in week one and we just had to go back to basics and play our game and get everyone the ball and let our playmakers make plays and they did that last week.

TC: What is your relationship like with your receiver core? How have you benefited from them?

JO: Those guys are such an amazing group. I would take our group of receivers over any other group in the country. They’re just so talented, and it’s so easy for me to just throw a ball behind the line of scrimmage or five yards downfield and just watch them make a play and they continuously do that. It’s a lot of fun to play with those guys.

TC: You completed 14 passes against Grambling State, with several short passes. Are you comfortable with the deep pass or are you just performing as instructed?

JO: That was really our game plan this week, just get the ball out and get our playmakers the ball with the short passes and just let them do the rest and they did a great job

TC: Saturday’s game was only game two, but a blowout game nonetheless. How confident would you say you are going into Thursday’s game against BYU?

JO: We are fired up and ready to go. Going back to last year we, lost that game by one point. This week that taste came back in our mouths so were ready to get back out there. We have a big challenge. They’re a really good team, so we are excited to get back out there and play this game.

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