Clemson Press Conference Quotes on Sunday |
Q. When you were growing up, are you more of an
NFL fan or a college fan, and either way, when you finally got to this point, did you ever dream that you'd be in a playoff game in college? Deshaun Watson: I grew up more college. A little bit of NFL just because the Falcons are right down the street. Just a bigger college fan because that's the video game I liked to play, just growing up seeing that and playing the game. I didn't think that the playoff committee was going to become a part. I didn't think I was going to see another playoffs until the NFL. But hey, it's here, and I'm enjoying it so far. Q. What teams did you play with the most when you were playing the college video game as a kid? DESHAUN WATSON: As a kid probably Florida. I used to love playing with Tim Tebow, and then as the games, as I got older, I started playing with Oregon a little bit more. I just liked to spread the teams around and do the up tempo little things. That was probably the main two. Q. From an outsider's perspective, what do you see in Baker Mayfield? DESHAUN WATSON: Yeah, he's a special player for their team. You know, he does a great job because without him they wouldn't be in this position. It takes a special guy to lead a great team, and they're pretty good, and they wouldn't be here for no reason. Q. The Oklahoma defense, does it remind you of anyone you've played this year? DESHAUN WATSON: No, not really, just because they're their own style. They have their own way of doing things, and they have their own they're their own team. When I go to play different teams I don't compare them to no one else. I respect everyone, and they're very good. They wouldn't be at this point for no reason. We just have to go out there and play. Q. Have you talked to Chad much throughout the season leading up to the big game about what he's been doing and what you've been doing? DESHAUN WATSON: Yeah, we keep in touch all the time, but it's not really about so much football. It's just about checking on the family and checking on each other, and just regular conversation. Whenever we talk football, it's very brief. We just talk about how we're doing, and hopefully we get to see each other soon. We've always had that great relationship. Q. Given the role that he had in getting you here, he was one of those first guys that was recruiting you and obviously paid a lot of attention to you to make sure you ended up at Clemson. Is there any part of you that's kind of sad that he's not here with you, or when he decided to leave was it difficult? DESHAUN WATSON: I mean, it was hard, but at this level I understand what this role and what this business is, and he had to take the next step. I knew during my recruiting process that some day he would be a head coach. God don't make mistakes. It was just time to move on and take that next step. We talked, and it wasn't really hard for me because we had that relationship, that chemistry, that even though he's going to leave we're still going to have that bond and communicate. I'm his biggest supporter and No. 1 fan, and whenever we're not playing, I'm going to try to watch SMU and support them. Q. How is Coach Swinney's personality different than what you expected coming in? DESHAUN WATSON: Nothing really. I mean, everything he showed in recruiting has been true ever since I've been here. He's probably the realest coach I've ever talked to and been around, and he's going to make sure you're a great citizen first before football player, and then make sure you get your degree. Everything he sells in recruiting is the same thing he brings out whenever you get here. Q. Is your mom going to be at this game? DESHAUN WATSON: She will. Q. What has that meant to you to have her at all these games? DESHAUN WATSON: It's a blessing to have her in the stands and just to have her see her son achieve the dreams that I always dreamed about, and every time when I was a little kid I told her I wanted to play college football and be at this stage, and now I'm here. So being able to have her in the stands and support me is great. Q. How is she doing? DESHAUN WATSON: She's doing good. Q. Some of the Oklahoma defenders are saying they have to keep you in the pocket, that if they let you out of the cage they're going to have a big problem. What do you think about that? DESHAUN WATSON: You know, it's on them. They're going to have a scheme and try to contain me, but I've still got a job to do. Either way, if I'm outside the pocket or in the pocket, I've got to do my job. We just have to see what happens, and they have their strategy and we have ours. Q. Do you feel like you're more dangerous when you are able to get out of the pocket? DESHAUN WATSON: I feel like I'm dangerous either way. I would say I didn't throw 3,500 yards for no reason, and they weren't always outside the pocket. Either way I feel like I'm pretty dangerous, and that's just the confidence I have in myself and my teammates. Q. Coaches have said that the deep ball is your specialty. Where did you develop the penchant for throwing it like that? DESHAUN WATSON: It just started back in high school, and my coach teaching me how to really control the ball while it's in the air. Just over time practicing it and just working on my craft, that's what I did, and just learning tips and different ways of throwing the ball. As I grew up, and I'm still trying to master that position and throwing the deep ball and learn from other guys. You know, it's still an oncoming thing, but it's just one of the gifts that I'm happy to have. Q. What are the nuances of throwing the deep ball? What are some of the things that Coach Perry drilled into you back then? DESHAUN WATSON: You know, just really placing the ball, and it starts with your feet and eyes. You know, whenever you throw the ball you don't take your eyes where the ball is, you take the ball where your eyes are. It's kind of hard to explain. It's really better if I actually show you. But that's probably Q. Can you talk about the importance of ball security in this football game? DESHAUN WATSON: I mean, yeah, it's hard to win a game if you don't take care of the ball. Last year we took care of the ball, and I don't think they did. I can't really remember. But that was probably the biggest difference in the game. I mean, every game, whoever has the ball most, especially in this game, is going to probably come out on top. We want to control that and make sure that we have every opportunity we have to make points. Wayne Gallman: Man, they have everything from TVs to memory foam mattresses. For my mom, my girlfriend, I'll take something simple like a smoothie. Q. For yourself? WAYNE GALLMAN: Yes. I already got too much stuff. Q. Was that last year's gift, bowl gift, that you've WAYNE GALLMAN: Yeah, and last year I remember last year we got to go to Best Buy and we had so much money to spend on whatever we wanted to in the store. Q. What did you get? WAYNE GALLMAN: I got some Beats and I got my mom some Beats. Q. Was this a little strange playing a team that you beat so badly in last year's bowl game, but obviously you're a different team, new quarterback, new system? Is that a little strange given the circumstances? WAYNE GALLMAN: Not really, man. Having gotten into it the last couple weeks, that thought was in the back of my head, we're going to play Oklahoma again. That's not really, no, I mean, they're a good team, and we got better from last year, so no. Q. What stands out about their defense? WAYNE GALLMAN: Their whole box. They're fast, physical. Their D line is a lot more athletic this year, more fast. I mean, they've always been strong, but last year their backers, they played real flat, didn't move from side to side really good. So that's what you're going to have to look forward to. Q. Tell us a little bit about Dabo Swinney. As a head coach, how would you describe him? WAYNE GALLMAN: I'd describe him as a very laid back coach, down to earth, and someone you can talk to about whatever. Man, he's a great leader. This whole season has just been led by him, and we follow everything he does. Whatever he does, we try to do to our best ability to expect the best not only from him but from ourselves. Q. Are you involved with him a lot at each individual position or are you closer with your position coaches? WAYNE GALLMAN: From time to time. Like I'm pretty much cool with all the coaches, but I'd say I'm closest with Coach Elliott, Coach Davis that works in the building. But I talk to Coach Swinney, as well. I talk to everyone. Q. What do you see as sort of a key hurdle in this season? Is it when you held off Notre Dame? Is that sort of what ignited you guys, or is there a point in the season that you look at as sort of the turning point? WAYNE GALLMAN: I'd say the turning point this season, yeah, Notre Dame was one of those games. But I'd say Miami was really when we got really all in, and the plan really started to just flow together. We were good on both sides of the ball, so I think that's what we started to get good. Q. What happened that day to beat a decent team that bad? WAYNE GALLMAN: Everything just clicked. The game plan was right. Everybody came to play, and we played perfect. Q. Has it kind of hit you you're in the College Football Playoff, what you guys worked for all summer? WAYNE GALLMAN: I kind of expected it out of us. I told you a couple weeks ago, I expected it, and it just feels really good to be here, and to be able to go downtown and just enjoy it, it feels awesome, just the fact that we're down here. Q. You weren't here then, but in 2011 it seems like Coach Swinney worked the guys to death basically. By the time they got here in 2011 a lot of them talked about how worn out they were. Talk about the time he gives you guys once you get to the bowl site. Seems like he gives you guys a lot of freedom? WAYNE GALLMAN: Yeah, he does, and he actually tells us that he's learned from the past and he knows that we need more rest, more time to relax, and we're just down here to have fun, but we're also down here to beat Oklahoma. I think he's learned a lot from his experiences, and that's always a good thing. Q. If you guys think that you've been kind of like overlooked and disrespected and OU thinks they've been overlooked and disrespected, what happens when two teams think they're disrespected? Eric Mac Lain: It's just a great big pile of disrespect, like you said. We don't know who's getting more or less, but I think it's pretty evident when you turn on ESPN and you turn on the news who's been disrespected and who's not. I think it's pretty silly for them to say that. Of course they dropped to 4, but that's the whole getting them in the National Championship conspiracy, so that's interesting. Q. At the start of the year basically you had one guy come back on the line and you had to replace everybody on the defensive line. How big a challenge is that, and honestly did you expect to be here? ERIC MAC LAIN: Yeah, definitely. I just think the talent that I knew that we had coming on the defensive line, you know, I said from day one Christian Wilkins was going to be a monster among children, and he's proven that. He's just dominated offensive lines that he's gone against. From the offensive line I knew that we had something special, just the brotherhood that we had, that we might not have all started games, but we played a lot, when you look at the different snaps and things like that. I knew that we had the capability, just whether a matter of fact we came together and did it or not. Q. You've been a part of three Orange Bowls now. What do you remember about the first two Orange Bowls? ERIC MAC LAIN: In the first one getting my tail drug up and down the field. As a redshirt watching that it was probably a very traumatic experience, one of the worst of my college career. And then the second one was just awesome, going against Ohio State in that Orange Bowl, seeing the performance Sammy Watkins put on in that game. That's where he got drafted, from that game alone. I really feel like he just really blew up. The Orange Bowl has been pretty good to us these last two times that we've been here having big wins, so it's been fun. Q. How do you think that the first Orange Bowl Clemson was in in 2011, how do you think the program grew from that, dealing with that loss? ERIC MAC LAIN: I think the biggest thing that you've seen is the way the coaches have approached the situation with the bowl. We've had great success the last four years since then. I really think that Coach Swinney has changed and adapted to the way that he coaches. The first year we were here a week early, it was basically camp. No one wanted to be here by the time the game was played. We were all tired, tired of seeing each other, and so I just think that with the physicality that we practiced with and things like that it just wasn't smart for playing 11 or so games. So he's realized now that you've got to take care of your players, and he's done an outstanding job in the way that he's progressed and grown as a coach. Q. Has the vibe down here been really different the last two times than it was in that first game? ERIC MAC LAIN: Oh, yeah. Guys are excited to be here. Guys are happy for the opportunity. I think the biggest thing about this team that's so unique is we all love to play football. It doesn't matter whether we're playing Wofford, Furman or Oklahoma in the playoff game. We're all going to be excited to play, and I think that's been something that's been different about this team, and I think that's what makes us so dangerous. Q. How have practices been different now? ERIC MAC LAIN: Just the physicality, really. We used to just go full pads every day, just smacking around. Now not full pads. The first time we were in full pads was a week ago all season except for on Saturdays, of course. We just really have toned it down. We're not hitting each other nearly as much. You don't need that. We know how to play football. We know how to hit. At this level it's all mental. So the more mentally prepared you are, the more you can look at their defense and know what they're doing, that's a lot better than you being able to go against Ben Boulware and hitting him every day, so I think that we've really been able to save ourselves a great deal of pain and injury from that standpoint. Q. What's it been like to watch the transformation of this program? That first Orange Bowl you were a good ACC team but now you're in a playoff. ERIC MAC LAIN: It's just been cool to watch. I think Coach Swinney has got the character type guys that he wants, whether that's coaches or players. I think our support staff is second to none. We really have been able to go out there and get the best in the country. Obviously our coordinators have been a huge deal in that. So I really think it's just been a growing process through players and coaches, and you guys have seen first hand what that can do. Q. Was there a turning point during your career that you went, oh, wow ERIC MAC LAIN: I think the summer after the LSU game. The off season, going into that, that was obviously a huge win for our program, and kind of the momentum that that took us into the off season with I think was just really cool, and the leadership that you saw emerge from young guys was just second to none that I've ever seen. Q. When you're protecting a quarterback who's mobile like that, do you kind of always have to be aware of where he's at? ERIC MAC LAIN: Yeah, you never know where he's going to scramble out and run, but at the end of the day, him being so mobile really helps us out. I don't have to block perfect every single play because I know that he has my back and he's going to make us right, so I think the ability of Deshaun Watson has saved us a ton this year. But it is a little difficult, like you said, just because you might be blocking your man one way, and I could be straying into where he's running. So it's a little difficult at times, but it's definitely more positive than negative. Q. A year ago when you guys were kind of learning the ropes, you figured out what you wanted to do your first bowl game, how much have you changed personally, both of you, in the last year? JEFF SCOTT: Obviously the experience through those 14 games are very valuable, but I would say deep down, philosophy wise and really the same mentality and goals that we had going into that bowl game last year and kind of the foundation of what we wanted to do offensively really has not changed. I think probably we've become a little bit better in our planning and scripting and doing those type of things, and then obviously on game day the communication and all that, you're going to get better each game that you go, so that's helped. But I think philosophy of what we were doing offensively and what we wanted to do each game really has not changed. TONY ELLIOTT: Think the biggest thing for me is just growing in confidence prior to the game last year, I think all the way up in preparation I was fine, and then we had our final meeting in the hotel before we sent the kids back to the room before pregame, and that's when I started to get nervous, and I don't quite get as nervous because I know that, one, I've got a great staff and a great group of players that believe in me. The coaches are prepared. The call sheet is not too big. That's what we learned last year I think coming out of that bowl game is we looked at the call sheet from last year and there wasn't a whole lot on it. Obviously it was our first time and we just wanted to give our kids an opportunity to be successful. I think learning that and the challenge of staying as simple as possible but also making sure that you're not predictable but then just getting back to the foundation of the system and being committed to running the football, and a lot of that has to do with the guys up front and Wayne and how they perform this year. Q. Did you guys feel more pressure last year going into your first game as OCs or this year going into a playoff game? JEFF SCOTT: I would probably say last year with it being the first one. There were a lot of questions, not just with the promotion of Tony and myself to co offensive coordinator, but obviously we had some injuries. We were short at tight end. Deshaun had just played a great game versus South Carolina, and now he's going to be out, and so there were a lot of questions going into that game, playing a very tough opponent, and I don't remember the exact dynamics of it, but I think Oklahoma popped up out of nowhere on our radar screen for the bowl game, and we went, wow, from the outside, I think there were a lot of people maybe doubting how that bowl game was going to turn out. But I think the confidence that just like we coach our players, you never arrive as a player. You always are continuing to learn and get better, and as coaches we're the same way. We don't feel like we've arrived and we have all the answers. But we feel like we're a lot more prepared, and so I think with preparation kind of alleviates a little bit of the pressure, and really we kind of try to live in a little submarine right there within the walls of what we do and try not to get caught up with all the outside stuff, and obviously having time over the break to kind of sit back and think about the position you're in and the possibilities that lie ahead, really we try to use all of our energy and time in our preparation because you waste some time thinking about all the outside stuff, it will not help us. TONY ELLIOTT: Coach Swinney does an unbelievable job of kind of insulating us and protecting us from the outside pressure, and then the same way preparing our guys that every game is the biggest game of the season, so this game right here that we we're preparing for, we're not going to do anything different. I wish we would have a little bit more time, so we'll go back and study ourselves to make sure our tendencies are not too predictable, but it will be the same approach. We'll have the same practice plan. I think that helps us from a confidence standpoint and it helps us to not get caught up in ourselves and put more pressure on ourselves by focusing on what's going on outside. I'd say the more pressure was last year because it was the first time not knowing what to expect my first time up in the box, but now I've got a little bit more experience, but also at the same point I understand that I haven't arrived like Jeff said. I've got a lot to learn. I've made some bad calls this season. There's some things I'd like to do differently. There's more efficiency that I'd like to get into the game planning process that's going to come over the next couple years as we continue to go forward. So just focusing on what we do, how we do it, alleviates a lot of the pressure? Q. Just being up in the box, this is your first year with that vantage point. TONY ELLIOTT: I think it's allowed me to be in a situation where it's a lot calmer and so I can listen to Jeff and hear what he's saying, I can hear what Coach Swinney is saying, Coach Streeter, Coach Caldwell and take all the information in between series and kind of formulate a plan like, okay, this is what we're all seeing and let's get to this. So it's not so much that it's all me. It's just being able to be up where I'm out of the battlefield environment with a lot calmer, so I can just be focused on the call sheet, and take in all the information, processing it and then getting it back out to the guys so we can make the proper adjustments. Q. How different is this Oklahoma defense from the team you played last year at this time? TONY ELLIOTT: I'd say structurally it's very similar. They have added a few wrinkles which makes them a little more multiple, but they're playing with a lot more confidence. It looks like up front they're moving a little bit better. They had a really, really big nose guard that causes problems, but now you've got to account for all three of their down linemen. The linebackers are very experienced, very skilled in the secondary. Their corners are very dangerous. They can play you in off coverage and be effective. They can come up and play you bump and run, man coverage in your face, so they are little bit more multiple, but they are just playing at a higher level, a lot more confidence, communicating better and you don't see any busted assignments. You see them all on the same page. Q. Coach Stoops was saying he feels like Deshaun is about as advanced as you can be more a sophomore. You obviously had him committed for a long time and had a plan for him. Where is he right now when you look at him from the big picture at the end of his sophomore year? JEFF SCOTT: Well, I mean, we knew talent standpoint wise that he was going to be a very talented player early on, and we were very fortunate that he came to our football camp maybe before he went to anybody else's football camp so we could see that part. But the part that you don't know until they get there inside the meeting room is the mental aspect, and I think we found out pretty quickly his freshman year being put in some games, his very first game at Georgia has been talked about a little bit already, but it was a huge check that he made against a very exotic blitz, and to be able to get it checked and throw his first touchdown pass in his first game in his home state of Georgia, that was probably the first moment when we went, wow. And then later on in the season there was a run where he started three or four games there and had a lot of success, and just the decision making as coaches, I said last year we set the record for most times using the word wow on the headsets. I mean, his freshman Rev #1 by #166 at 2015-12-27 14:52:00 GMT page 5 of 8 year, we're sitting here, a lot of these plays that are run pass tags and they're combo plays that he can throw it to the boundary, he can throw it to the field or he can hand it off or run it up the middle, and based off the defense he's got a decision to make, and he's sitting here as a true freshman, and a lot of times obviously we know the offensive play call and we can see the defense start moving, so in our mind we've done this for four years, we know what the end result, where the ball should go. We're just watching this freshman go in there and make the right decision every single time, and even though we've seen this 10 times over the last four years, this is the first time this 18 year old quarterback has ever seen it and he's getting it right. So I think we knew really early on that not only does he have great physical talents, but his mental strength and decision making is going to be a huge advantage. But Deshaun would tell you, as every competitor, he's not he hasn't reached his ceiling. I mean, I think he's obviously an elite talent, one of these guys that as coaches you may not coach another guy like that, but I think he still has things that he wants to work on and improve. But we're obviously very pleased with where he is, especially missing the games that he missed last year with all the injuries and all that. I mean, he picked right back up this fall like he was a second year starter, played all season last year. Q. What do you remember about that game in 2011 and how that put you guys on the road to where you are now? Charone Peake: Yeah, it was a very ugly loss, but it was a tight game going into halftime. We had that turnover, they had that long fumble recovery for a touchdown, and that kind of led to a lot of wrong things. I think that loss itself helped us improve as a program and how to prepare for a bowl game. A lot of guys were drained before the game even started. Mentally they weren't there, and it showed on film. Q. Offenses these days have become so much about 50/50 balls, who wins those individual battles. Why has it become such a big factor in offenses these days? CHARONE PEAKE: I think because of the way these freaks we have in the game now. We have like Odell Beckham as receivers as stuff. Knowing how athletic those guys are, you just throw it up, and either you're going to catch it or you're not. Q. Basically it's almost impossible to defend if you've got a guy that can go get it, right? CHARONE PEAKE: Yeah, exactly. That's why that guy that ran them up, it's probably not even 50/50, it's more like 80/20. That's what teams are really looking for, receivers like that. Q. And the way Deshaun throws the deep ball, right, it's almost perfect for your offense? CHARONE PEAKE: Yeah, it definitely is. He puts the ball exactly where he needs to be every time. He does a good job controlling the offense, and the good thing for our offense is we don't really have to do that as much because we're confident that we can take the little things sometimes or even run the ball because our offense is so balanced. Q. Do you go into the game thinking, okay, we're going to take so many 50/50 shots because you've got to do it? Do you have to do it now in this day and age of football where you've got to try to? CHARONE PEAKE: We definitely don't do it as much here as we used to. I think that's because our coordinators, they really do a good job of they don't just say, we're going to throw it up and see what happens. They do a good job of preparing every week and having plays to get us open. Q. You replaced your entire offensive line, defensive line, playing a lot of freshmen, and yet you guys are No. 1. How do you get there? CHARONE PEAKE: Like you said, we had to replace all of them, but I think our long game has been the strongest part of our offense, and Deshaun has gone multiple games without getting sacked. We're so balanced, and we protect Deshaun, and us as receivers, so those linemen, they've been successful. Q. Were you confident that they could be as good as they are? CHARONE PEAKE: Definitely. They've got some great leaders up front with Aaron Mac Lain and Ryan Norton, and I know they were definitely working all summer and I knew it was going to be a special season. Q. How prepared do you feel for this game? CHARONE PEAKE: Really prepared. We've been doing a lot of meetings. Oklahoma has a defense just like ours, so we're very prepared, and I think that's going to be really key for us. Q. How much pride do you take in the transformation from the 2011 Orange Bowl team to now? CHARONE PEAKE: Yeah, definitely a lot. Because of that team, that 2011 team, it's definitely everything we've done up until now. I think guys now on the team, they don't I think we used to be in the past we used to be overwhelmed with the big games. I think now they're used to it, and when adversity hits, we're calmer. Q. Oklahoma's secondary struggled quite a bit last year. This year they've completely kind of had a makeover. It's the same guys but maybe a couple of different positions. What's been your perspective? CHARONE PEAKE: Yeah, it's pretty much the same defense, same guys last year we went up against, but they've gotten a lot better, and you can see they're more confident, too. They do a good job when the ball is in the air going and attacking just like the receivers, and I think for us as a team, we're going to have to be disciplined in protecting Deshaun. Jordan Leggett: I remember I was really young so I didn't get to play as much, but I did have one key catch. Every bowl game we get to play in, it's all about just having fun and getting bowl experience. It's been fun so far, so I'm definitely excited for the game. I feel like a lot of Clemson fans are going to be there, as well, so it might turn out to be another home game like the ACC Championship. Q. Is there anything that makes the Orange Bowl experience special from what you've been a part of? JORDAN LEGGETT: I think the experience just comes with the location, just being down here in Fort Lauderdale/Miami area, it's been a blast. I know the whole team has been having fun with it. We get to go to South Beach tonight, so I'm pretty sure the whole team will be down there just walking around the streets. It's just been a whole lot of fun to spend time with your teammates. Q. Is there any advantage to having played here earlier this season when you guys faced the Hurricanes? This is the third time in five years the team has been back here. Do you feel like that helps you at all? JORDAN LEGGETT: It brings a lot of momentum. I mean, home field advantage is kind of for the team that knows the field the best kind of thing. Since we've played here three times, like you said, the last five years, we definitely know the field. We know everything about it. It was really good to have the young guys play in it this year. It will definitely be okay for us just being so close to Florida and stuff like that and South Carolina. But I feel like it will be a home field advantage for us since we've played here so many times. Q. Wayne was saying after the Miami game he remembers Coach Swinney telling you guys, you have a chance to be back here at the end of the year. Do you remember him talking about that? How much did you guys talk about getting to this point, to the Final Four, all year? JORDAN LEGGETT: We just tried to take it one game at a time, really, just each game was just as important as the last one. If we would have got beat by Wofford at the beginning of the year I don't think we'd be sitting in this place right now. We just took every game one step as a time, but it's been a long season, and getting closer and closer to the playoffs and the semifinals, it's been fun to talk about with the team just because we're so close. We're about to be the No. 1 seed. We're excited, but we couldn't get complacent or anything like that. We had to keep practicing with a purpose and go out there and win every game that we had a chance of playing in. Q. Oklahoma hasn't really faced a legit tight end threat, certainly not the way that you are. Do you kind of view this as a match up that you're excited to be involved in because they're not going to be used to going against somebody who does what you do on the field? JORDAN LEGGETT: It's definitely going to be fun. I guess, like you said, they don't use them as much up in their conference. It'll definitely be fun for me to see if they change their defensive game plan at all or if they just keep it the same. I'm just going to do whatever I can to help the team win really, and I'm not going to do anything extra, just keep doing what I do, just be Jordan Leggett. So it's definitely going to be fun. I feel like our offense is going to match up against their defense pretty well. Hopefully it's just like last year. That's what everybody is thinking, hopefully. We'll just see how it goes, but we're definitely extremely excited. Q. How does your role change this year? Did you envision at the beginning of the year that your season would go like it has, or has this been a little bit of let's see how far we can push Jordan Leggett and see what he can do? JORDAN LEGGETT: I had no idea that I'd be sitting as I am right now, just being All ACC and stuff like that. I had no idea I'd be here, but I guess that just came with staying healthy throughout the whole season this year and just coaches putting a lot more trust in me, just working in the off season and stuff like that. I feel like the coaches have really developed trust in me, and it's really shown through all my games that I've played, just with them giving me the rock and stuff like that. Q. What do you see in Oklahoma's defense and what they do? JORDAN LEGGETT: They play a 3 4, so pretty much they're designed to play two gap on the defensive line, stop the run. All their linebackers are very athletic. They run very well side to side. I feel like they're going to try to stop the run early on, but since we have so many skill players out there that are phenomenal athletes, I feel like they're going to have to rethink how they play defense against us, just because we're so dual threat and multidimensional. They're going to have to really game plan to see which way they want to play us. Q. They were saying they don't envision changing their game plan much. They're kind of doing the same thing. Do you think from what you see on tape that you can explain? JORDAN LEGGETT: There's definitely a lot of things. Every team has tendencies and stuff like that. They bring a lot of blitz, but with that comes with just knowledge, offensive line being on the same page, picking them up, and whenever that happens, that means we've got to hit them deep or something like that. It will definitely be fun to watch, but just having Deshaun back there, I feel like we'll be able to pick him apart the whole game, just tell when they're coming on the blitz or anything like that. But the offensive line hasn't given up a sack in I think the last five games in a row, so I don't think it's going to change. Q. Is this going to be one of the better pass rushing teams you've seen this year? JORDAN LEGGETT: I wouldn't even say that, just with striker being an outside linebacker. I feel like both of our tackles are going to be ready for him. I mean, it's just a mismatch problem, with him being so big. He can try to run around them, but just having two athletic tackles like that might be a little harder for him. Striker is definitely a phenomenal athlete. It's going to be fun to play against him, and he has a pretty badass name, Striker, too. It will definitely be fun. We've game planned all week for it. We've got ready for all the blitzes that he's going to run. It'll be fun to see.
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