| The No. 9 ranked University of Florida Gators and the No. 24 ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers are in South Florida and are preparing for their December 30th matchup in the 86th Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Florida Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham and select defensive players met with the media this morning at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port. Florida Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham TODD GRANTHAM: I don’t need somebody to tell me he’s fast. He ran the read zone, he pulled it, and he accelerated so fast, I didn’t need somebody to tell me the guy is fast. This guy is special. So from that day on, I knew the guy would be pretty special, to be honest with you. Really proud and excited to see him continue to work and develop himself as a quarterback and really they did a good job of taking and fitting the offense to his personality and his skill set. I think the guy has got a really bright future.Q. When people were trying to make him a receiver or media were saying he could be a receiver —TODD GRANTHAM: I think that’s the easiest thing to say because of his athletic ability, but when you watch the guy, he understands where to go — I saw the guy go from a freshman to a sophomore. We went all the way to like fifth or sixth in the country that year, and his development as a quarterback from day one until then was pretty special, and he understood progressions as far as one, two, three, where to throw the ball. I mean, any time you can put a guy like that with the ball in his hand every snap, things can happen. I think the Ravens, they’ve done a really good job, Greg Roman has done a really good job of fitting the offense to fit his skill set, which is part of coaching.Q. How much of that ability that you see now shows up in recruiting, or is that all development?TODD GRANTHAM: I think the development part of it, like if you watch, he can throw the ball. So you’re going to have guys — but it’s how do you process, how do you handle the rush, how do you handle the disguise, the movement, how can you throw the ball into tight coverage, those kind of things, what’s your accuracy. What kind of leader are you, do people embrace you, because the one thing with Lamar, guys liked him. Guys were excited to play for him. Like O-linemen wanted to protect, which is a good thing.I think all of that is stuff that you really can’t get off tape. I think that those things make the quarterback.Q. How special is this kid —TODD GRANTHAM: I think this guy is really special in the sense that one, if you watch from the continuity tape, I think he’s gotten better every game this year. The end of the year probably averaging 300 yards a game passing. He’s obviously athletic and can make things happen. I mean, he’s carried the ball 100 more times than their tailback. You’ve got to understand that.He creates an 11-on-11 game because of the style in which they play, which what that does is creates an extra gap defensively for you to feel because like if the quarterback is a non-runner or a non-factor, then it’s really 11-on-10 and you can play with an extra guy in coverage and things like that, whereas when it’s 11-on-11 you have an extra gap to fill so you’ve got to play it a little differently. You’ve also got to understand relative to the call how you rush, because there’s six rush lanes so if you have four guys rushing, you’ve got to collapse the pocket outside in to keep the guy in the pocket. And then the thing on the pass plays is as you distribute because the guys are going down the field, a guy that is athletic like that, if he makes a guy miss and can get out in space, now you have an athlete with the ball in his hand in space. So that becomes an issue.But I think the biggest thing that Perkins has done is been able to complete some vertical throws down the field. Honestly against Clemson, they really could have scored the first two possessions of the game and maybe could have changed it a little bit there.You know, they’re a talented team and we understand that we’ve got to play and he’s a good player.Q. With CJ not playing, how big an opportunity is it for a guy like Kaiir?TODD GRANTHAM: Well, I think that number one, we haven’t played with the same lineup all year. If you go back and look, we had our starters for the Miami game, and then after that, we’ve not had the same lineup all year, and we’ve had a lot of guys hurt, and because you play well and you win, sometimes that doesn’t get noticed as much as when you don’t win.But I think our guys have always embraced it as an opportunity to get better, an opportunity to handle a challenge, next man up mentality. Our corners that are — they’re all young guys. I think they’re excited that they get an opportunity to play now, and the work they’ve put in up until now, they get to go showcase their talents.Elam is a guy that got thrown in there of the young guys first, and I think he does a really good job, shows his ability to play the ball in the air and he takes coaching, and I think the thing with all those guys is they’ve taken to coaching and worked hard to develop their skill set, and that’s part of development.It’s very difficult to come in and play at an elite level right off the bat, and with the society that we live in today, sometimes we’re not as patient as we need to be with guys. There is a certain amount of development involved in playing this position or this game, and those guys have worked hard to develop their skill set, so I think they look at it as an opportunity to go showcase their talents and what they can do, and they’re all competitive guys, so I look forward to watching them play.Q. Marco said (indiscernible)?TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, so when we were in Gainesville we had Anthony in there because early enrollees could do it so he was a pretty good role model for that, and since then we really balanced it between Sproles and maybe every now and then we might put a running back in there to give us the look we need from that standpoint.Q. This is your last chance to show this group is elite —TODD GRANTHAM: I think this team has done a really good job of playing pretty much to their — playing consistent all year. I mean, from the standpoint of playing to their ability. I think the unfortunate thing is we’ve had some injuries that have made us mix and match and move some guys around and maybe not be at full strength for a few games in the middle of the season. But for the most part I think these guys have stayed the course and continued to play.I think any time you can be statistically hard to score on, I think that’s the most important thing. I think the other stats can get skewed relative to how you play. Like I think the more games you play, the harder it is to be statistically a good defense because teams are going to throw the ball, so you give up yards. Just like when we played South Carolina, we’re up by three scores. We’re going to play that differently than if we’re up by one score and the score is tied.I think sometimes stats can get skewed. I think the biggest thing is being hard to score on and not giving up many points. If you do that, you have a chance to be in every game that you play, and that’s really the focus is not to give up points.Q. You’ve been around a lot of head coaches now. What does Dan do differently in terms of creating a culture where people buy in?TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is you have to learn to — first of all, I think it’s the way we start the season, meaning that we have to develop competitive toughness, and you’ve got to be all in. So I think that we’re all creatures of habit, and if you develop those habitual traits and you have that mindset that I’m going to finish, well, then, as you go through the season, it’s like anything, every week I’ve got to finish, I’ve got to compete. And then once you get to the end of the year, you’ve been doing it for 12 weeks. Now you have a reward.So I think the important thing is you have to make it fun, and they have to learn to balance having fun with their job, which at the end of the day when they leave here, that’s what they’ve got to do, too. When they go out and get a job, they’re going to have to balance work time with their free time, and their free time can’t affect their job performance. And if that happens, you’re not going to have your job for long.In some ways, that’s presented to them that way. And I think the biggest thing is letting guys have fun when it’s time to have fun but also making sure that when it’s time to work, work. But I think that to have that it’s got to come from within the team, and I think that any time you have solid leaders like we have, they kind of take ownership in the team and make sure things happen the right way. I think that’s the biggest thing.Q. What was it like to see the pairing and seeing that you’re going to be playing against a program that you were once —TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I knew that game was going on between Virginia and Virginia Tech and there was a chance that we could play either one. So obviously being a former Hokie and from Virginia Tech, I understood the importance of that game when it was going down. And then when it came up that we were playing Virginia, it was something I was excited about because being from that area, they’re a rival. So I look forward to playing them on Monday.Q. Did this guy cover you?TODD GRANTHAM: He actually hit me with a racquetball. Does that tell you how old I am? I don’t think they have racquetball courts anymore, do they? I mean, he put up — you ever get a spot on you with a racquetball?Q. Those things will put your eye out.TODD GRANTHAM: I got hit in the back, though.Q. How did you solve the practice film yesterday when you’ve got guys wearing different numbers?TODD GRANTHAM: I’ll be honest with you, that kind of jacks me up because you’re used to seeing this guy, hearing that number, and all of a sudden I see T.J. Slaton playing nickel, and I’m like — so anyway, but they were ready to play, and they played with energy, and hey, it’s about having fun. But you’ve got to perform, and they did a good job with it.I adjusted. I think it was harder on the people maybe watching practice than it was us. But it threw me off. I mean, I saw Mohamoud out there, and I’m like the dude is stretching his jersey out all of a sudden.Q. Did you have to make a conversion table?TODD GRANTHAM: No, but I’ll be honest with you, when I looked, I was like, who is that, because you get used to numbers in spots and things like that, and it’s no longer there.Q. What does that say about this team?TODD GRANTHAM: I think they did a good job just in the sense of — I think they’re very united and I think they have a really good bond. I think they like playing together. I think that comes from the leadership that we have up top, and it kind of trickles down to guys playing with energy and effort and doing the things they need to do to be good.Q. How important is it for the team to keep the momentum going?TODD GRANTHAM: I think it’s real important. The number one object is to win the game. Being a competitive person, you always want to win the game and compete. I think it does two things. I think number one, it allows us to get the 11th win of the season. It allows us to finish the season off the right way, but also it creates energy and excitement moving forward, meaning like last year when we had January, our first year here, there was a lot of uncertainty, guys kind of feeling their way, but after the Michigan win, we came in the next January, there was a lot of confidence because of what we had done in that bowl game propelling us into the off-season. I think it sets up your off-season the right way. I think it creates energy moving forward. I think it gives a sense of pride in the sense you know you’ve accomplished something, and the ability to win 21 games over the past two years would be something I think is pretty good.I just think it sets up moving forward the right things, and I think that’s important. Florida Linebacker Jonathan Greenard Q. What kind of challenge is their quarterback?JONATHAN GREENARD: I mean, he’s a dynamic athlete, and I’ve watched a good amount of film on him. He’s really fast, makes some good decisions and knows when to tuck and run with it. He’s their guy, so he’s going to make plays when he needs to, even times when it might not be called for, he’s going to make something happen. Just got to execute on the pass rush and try to contain him. That’s a goal and the game plan, we just look forward to executing it.Q. Anyone else stand out on their offense?JONATHAN GREENARD: No. 8, No. 2, they are big, physical receivers, pretty good guys, 21 runs pretty hard, the running back. They got some players, so we can’t take them lightly at all. They’re here for a reason just like we are. Just going into the game, not taking them lightly, going to try to impose our will on them.Q. Have you played against anyone like them?JONATHAN GREENARD: I’ve played against top quarterbacks like him. Of course Lamar at Louisville, and when we played Houston a couple years ago, Greg Ward was a guy that could run, a ton of guys. Pretty much the quarterbacks, they run for their life most times in the pocket. All of them seem pretty fast when you’re chasing them, but he’s pretty special in his aspect, what he does, so we’re just going to do our best to contain him.Q. About Lamar, do you still talk to him?JONATHAN GREENARD: Yeah, I still do. We’re still cool, real cool.Q. Pretty awesome stuff.JONATHAN GREENARD: Man, it’s crazy. Like I said, we came up in the same class together. We’re always going to have that bond together. He’s doing his thing right now, hopefully I get to where he is eventually, but I’m excited for him, proud of him, happy for him. It’s good to see him do his thing like me.Q. Do you feel like you’ve accomplished everything you wanted to, as a player, as a person?JONATHAN GREENARD: I still want to get double-digit sacks. Hopefully I can get that this game. I thought I hit it last game, but no, I didn’t. That part as far as on the field. Academic wise still want to get my masters. I’m still working on my MBA. Once I can get that, then I’ll have achieved everything I wanted coming down here.Q. Donovan, how big of a game is this for him and his draft stock?JONATHAN GREENARD: It’s huge. Any time you can get a chance to make some plays in a big bowl game like this or anything like this at the highest level, it always helps. But they know he’s been hurt, so it hurt him, but it didn’t hurt him at the same time. But it would be good for his mental, just overall for him to understand he’s still got it, just getting back out there with the boys again, he’ll feel good to be out there with his brothers. It’ll be huge. I know he’s been working really hard in practice, so I’ll be excited to see what he does in the game.Q. Finally getting to see you guys as a tandem —JONATHAN GREENARD: Yeah, I miss him out there. He misses being out there, so hopefully we can get out there and get back to doing our thing, so I’m excited.Q. Perkins is a guy who didn’t get sacked a lot this year. How important is it to —JONATHAN GREENARD: Yeah, we’re definitely going to try to do the same thing. Any time you’ve got a running quarterback, if you hit him a couple times, it’s definitely going to change him. They understand that he’s going to feel our presence a lot more. However we definitely just have to make sure that we still contain him at the end of the day. Even if we get one sack on him, we’ve still got to stay the same and be persistent on our pass rush. Overall it’s going to be a tough challenge and we’ve got our work cut out for us, but overall we still know what we’ve got to do.Q. (Indiscernible) he touches the ball every play.JONATHAN GREENARD: Right, I mean, he has — I think he has 100 more touches than anybody on the offense. He has 100 more carries than any running back on the team. That just tells you all it is right threw. He’s going to call his number. He’s their guy. He’s a dynamic athlete who works. He’s been pretty successful all year.Q. (Indiscernible).JONATHAN GREENARD: I played some guys, of course like I said going back to Lamar, Houston guy, Greg Ward back a couple years ago, Kelly Bryant, as well, back at Clemson and even at Missouri. Any time you’ve got a running quarterback, a dynamic athlete like that, you have to just make sure that you stay in your pass-rush lanes, make sure everybody on the D-line is on one accord as far as how we want to rush, don’t want to get out of lanes because as soon as he sees an opening he’s going to take it. Basically just being disciplined, and if we execute that at the highest level we’ll be fine.Q. (Indiscernible).JONATHAN GREENARD: It’s like any defense, we have our growing pains at times, but once we’re all one accord and understand what we’re trying to do on every play and understand our opponent and attacking their scheme, it shows what we can do at the highest level. In times that we’re not like that, we kind of get off our game a little bit. If you know your game, stuff like that happens to you.Q. (Indiscernible).JONATHAN GREENARD: Like I said, it never gets easy, but especially this game. We’ll be the only game on at that time. It doesn’t make it any easier. We still have that talk in our head. I’ve been in the ACC and when we’re playing SEC teams we’re trying to knock them off because they’re the best conference in the game. Any time you have that talk in your head they’re going to send it at you. They’re going to give it their all. Obviously they’re here, they’re pumped up, they’re excited to be here, and they feel like they have a chip on their shoulder coming into this game, which they should. We’re going to take this chip on our shoulder, too, in order to have that same mentality.Q. (Indiscernible).JONATHAN GREENARD: Yeah, definitely. We definitely came into the mindset this year as far as trying to get a National Championship, of course. That’s any team. However, like I said, the injury bug just caught us at the wrong time. Football is football, life is life, so we just played the cards we were dealt. We understand that we can’t change the past. Even when we took our first loss, despite a couple injuries that’s no excuse. We’ve still got guys that should be able to step up and make plays. Overall it wasn’t the result that we wanted but we’re still thankful for the position that we’re in despite all the things that we’ve overcome.So we’re glad to be here. The guys are still excited to be down here. Some of these guys are from here, so they can still see their family, even on Christmas at that time. Coach gave us a break. Overall we had to just accept the good things and look at the bright side and take the positive out of everything. Even though this is a huge bowl game we didn’t get the result we wanted by being in the playoffs. However, this is the highest game possible, so if we get a W, hopefully we can do that, and we still go in with the mindset of giving it our all. Florida Defensive Back Marco Wilson Q. You guys just decided to switch it up?MARCO WILSON: Yeah, just having a little fun.Q. How did you get to decide who was who?MARCO WILSON: We all just gave each other different jerseys in the locker room so everybody didn’t have the same — like their regular number on.Q. Did it throw the coaches off?MARCO WILSON: I don’t know, maybe. Probably a little bit, watching film.Q. Seems like the mood is pretty loose for this team.MARCO WILSON: Yeah, still focused, though. We know what we’re here for. But still trying to have fun at the same time.Q. How important is it to get that 11th win? You guys do seem like this game is very — you’re putting a real relevance on this game. Everyone is playing other than CJ.MARCO WILSON: Yeah, it’s really important for us to get this win. Eleven wins would be cool to get, but also we’re playing. Any time you’re playing, we want to win no matter what, no matter what game it is or who we’re playing against.Q. Coach has talked about this bowl game is kind of going to be a launching point for the next season. How much do you think about that in terms of building going forward?MARCO WILSON: Yeah, really the last time people get to see you on the field until next year. No matter what you did, the games before, usually people are going to just look at this game and have their opinion for the next season based off of this because it’s the last game of the season. So it’s really important to just handle our business in this game and put on a show.Q. What do you consider your next season?MARCO WILSON: Just after the bowl game, after everything is done for this season.Q. (Indiscernible).MARCO WILSON: I’m not really waiting on anything right now, I’m just trying to focus on preparing for this game.Q. Do you feel like you have a decision to make?MARCO WILSON: Of course, definitely do. And I’ve talked to my family and coaches and all that after I get through with this game.Q. Obviously you’re one of the five juniors that put in the official paperwork —MARCO WILSON: Yeah, I did.Q. Do you have your grade yet?MARCO WILSON: Yeah, I talked to Mullen about it, but we haven’t spoke much about that. Just really focusing on the Orange Bowl right now.Q. This bowl game, a lot of younger players have used that as a jumping off point, Chauncey was the MVP against Iowa his freshman year. What kind of opportunity this for Kaiir, particularly with CJ not playing in this game?MARCO WILSON: He’s got a lot of opportunities throughout the year and he’ll have another opportunity to make plays this game. I think we’ll see a lot of the younger guys, Jaydon and Chester out there, and it’s getting them prepared for the next season, as well. Spring ball and all that, they’ve been getting a lot of reps in practice and just getting prepared for what’s coming forward.Q. Virginia has got three really good receivers. What kind of match-up problems does that create for you guys?MARCO WILSON: Not really problems. We just have to make sure we know what we’re doing and watching film and understanding what they like to do. They have some big receivers that like to get physical, so we’ve just got to be ready for that.Q. What do you expect from those young corners you’re talking about?MARCO WILSON: Really just go out there and play with confidence. As a freshman, it’s really exciting to go play. When you get out there you’ve got to know what you’re doing. You can’t be scared, just have confidence and go play.Q. What’s the challenge of Bryce Perkins? He seems like the most explosive, dual threat guy you’ve faced. I know Burrow is (indiscernible) but maybe not quite the same runner.MARCO WILSON: Yeah, it’s always important to watch out for the quarterback when you play a dude like that because out of nowhere he just tucks the ball and runs. We’ve been practicing a lot. The scout team quarterback has been running all over the place trying to make it realistic for the game. But it’s a challenge when you get a quarterback like that, so we’ve got to be ready for that.Q. How dynamic is he?MARCO WILSON: He’s pretty dynamic. He can run the ball and he can also throw it. So we’ve got to be ready. He’s a good quarterback.Q. How much does it help having Jabari back in terms of containing him?MARCO WILSON: That helps a lot. Jabari, he’s a vet and he knows what he’s doing out there, so he’ll help us on that.Q. Not having those two guys against LSU, do you think about that still?MARCO WILSON: Yeah, I think about it all the time. I feel like for myself if we had those two we would have probably won the game. But just got to work with what we have, focus on next year, trying to win it because we’re not going to have those guys next year probably. We’ve just got to go out there and do that next year. Florida Defensive Lineman Kyree Campbell Q. This defense has been elite at times and then obviously LSU and Georgia maybe not so much. Do you think this is an elite defense, it’s just had a couple of hiccups?KYREE CAMPBELL: Yes, I think we’re an elite defense. It’s one of the things that make a big difference in a game like LSU and a game like Georgia. We don’t have that much room for error. Just a little mistake can cost you the game, one mistake, one play can cost you the game.Q. You guys have played an awful lot of big games this year where you have — you don’t have much room for error. Do you feel proud, though, that you’re here with 10 wins with as many big games as you’ve played?KYREE CAMPBELL: Yeah, I’m extremely proud of how many wins we got. I’m just really proud of how the team and how our defense has progressed since last year.Q. Where do you think you guys have made the most progression?KYREE CAMPBELL: I would say probably our communication level. Over the years we had a problem with communication, and this year I think is probably one of the best years we’ve been able to as a defense communicate on the field.Q. What’s this season been like for you?KYREE CAMPBELL: It’s been crazy. It’s junior year, so going into senior year, so I’m excited, but I just like to play the game, so it’s just football to me.Q. What about playing — you guys are used to this big stage, so this isn’t going to fluster you, but to get to 11 wins, how important is it for this program?KYREE CAMPBELL: It’s very important. To go from 10 wins to 11 wins is a huge step. Most people might think that’s easy, but to get that extra win is hard. So that’s what we’re hoping to get on Monday.Q. Where are you from?KYREE CAMPBELL: I’m from Virginia.Q. You probably played some of these guys —KYREE CAMPBELL: I think I have. I don’t really know anyone on the team because none of my old teammates went to UVA.Q. Where in Virginia did you grow up?KYREE CAMPBELL: I’m from Alexandria. My whole family went to T. C. Williams.Q. What’s the week been like so far?KYREE CAMPBELL: It’s been pretty good. We’re in Miami so it can’t be that bad. But food, little hospitality room, even practice — we practice really the same, but I just feel like we’ve got a different energy level. I mean, just overall this whole Orange Bowl — this is my first Orange Bowl, so it’s been a great experience so far.Q. The defensive line going into next year, you guys are a pretty good bunch, lots of talent. What do you think about the overall group heading into 2020?KYREE CAMPBELL: I feel like we’ll most likely have one of the top defensive lines in the country, just with who we have and our depth. So I actually talked to my coach about this yesterday, and we was kind of excited talking about it.Q. What did you say?KYREE CAMPBELL: I mean, we were just talking about everybody coming, and we’ve got like me, Zach, T.J., Elijah, Harlan, Moon, everybody still here. And we’ve got like Lamar coming in and then Javon. I can’t wait to see what happens.Q. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Florida’s history, but bowl games there’s typically been freshman defensive backs that have stepped in and made a huge difference. What do you expect from the freshman corners you have. Is there a guy that you think maybe could be that type of guy?KYREE CAMPBELL: I’d say Kaiir, coming to practice every day. He works hard, and he can play. It’s as simple as that. I switched jerseys with him yesterday because I said, that’s my boy. But I like watching Kaiir play. That’s my dog, so I hype him up. Yeah, I really got — when you’ve got trust in your back end, it’s easy. Like when they trust us, it’s easy on them. So I trust them.Q. What is it about him or when did you first start to notice that he maybe had that potential as a freshman?KYREE CAMPBELL: What game was that? Well, not even a game, practice. Just watching him going against our guys. But I want to say — I forgot what game it was, but it was one game I saw him, and he rerouted somebody, and I liked it. Yeah, he’s just got a dog mentality and he’s going to come to practice every day. If you can get that out of your back end, I don’t know what else you could ask for. Florida Defensive Back David Reese II Q. This is your defense’s last chance, this defense, this year, to prove you’re an elite defense. Do you think this is kind of a statement game for you?DAVID REESE II: I wouldn’t say that, but definitely so, we’re always trying to put our best foot forward when we show up, and we’re definitely going to come with our “A” game. We’re preparing for this game as serious as any other game that we ever had. We have free time here, but we got much of our work done back in Gainesville and prepared for the week a week early as if we had a game last week. So we’re excited for this opportunity, and we know what we have to do.Q. Do you think this is an elite defense?DAVID REESE II: Yeah, I think we have an elite defense, especially when we’re on the same page. I think we’re probably the best defense in the country if we’re on the same page and everyone is healthy.Q. Speaking of back in Gainesville, how did your senior tackle go?DAVID REESE II: It went well.Q. I would expect you to have the best form.DAVID REESE II: No, I didn’t even hit the bag like tackle-tackle. I just pushed it to the ground. I forgot who got on it real sweated up. I think Bull. Yeah, like the bag was all drenched in sweat and stuff like that.Q. So you slipped?DAVID REESE II: Yeah, I just punched it down.Q. How did your speech go?DAVID REESE II: I just told the guys like if they ever needed me, they could always call me, I would be there for them, even after football. Basically I was just thanking the coaches and everybody that came and just reflecting on it. I was just thinking about all the connections that I made and all the memories that I have there.Q. Is it weird to say that after Monday it’s over?DAVID REESE II: Yeah. You know, I really haven’t thought about it. I just feel like it’s the next stage of my life that’s coming up. You know, nothing good lasts forever. It’s just another stage, and becoming a person, becoming a young man becoming a young adult, ready to go out in this world and do something positive for my life.Q. I know you still have one more game, but looking ahead, the way the spread has come into college and now the NFL, middle linebacker is almost becoming a little bit of a lost art. Is there anything different you feel like you need to do during workouts, combine, things like that?DAVID REESE II: I feel like I have played a lot, and I feel like everybody just wants to see me test. I’m excited about that, and I’m excited to get in the combine training soon enough.Q. How do you stop Bryce Perkins?DAVID REESE II: You put pressure on him and make him beat us with his arm, not his feet. That’s the biggest thing.Q. How can you do that?DAVID REESE II: Just put pressure on him, blitz. We’ve got great pass rushers. That’s what we’re going to do.Q. Virginia may be one of the few teams in the country that blitzes as much as Todd Grantham. Do you feel like going up against — having the Gators’ offense go against y’all in practice, how much will that help you?DAVID REESE II: Yeah, we definitely do that. We go good-on-good, our offense definitely sees a lot of blitzes, especially being against Todd Grantham’s defense, so they should be prepared for that. That means a lot of one-on-one match-ups. I don’t know if their DBs got our one-on-ones on the wide receivers. I like our wide receivers in a one-on-one match-up if they do decide to blitz.Q. And their offense, is Bryce Perkins the key?DAVID REESE II: Yeah, he’s the thing that makes their offense go around.Q. When you’ve put focus on guys this year, you’ve been able to stop them. Is this the same kind of mentality?DAVID REESE II: Definitely, definitely.Q. Does that give you confidence going into this one knowing that you can put your focus on one guy?DAVID REESE II: No, I wouldn’t even say confidence because we’ve still got to play to win. We’ve still got a game plan. It just gives us an extra chip on our shoulder to know that this is the guy that has a great day against defenses running and passing the game. He had two 300-yard passing games. Just excited to show what we can do, what we’re capable of, and go out on the right foot.Q. What do you think these last two years have meant to bringing you back to being up among the national contenders?DAVID REESE II: I feel like it’s great. I feel like we had two top-10 years back to back, and next step is a championship. I feel like a championship is coming soon. And then you know, just shows you how hard we worked just for one extra win. Next thing you know, if we get one extra win to next year, we’re contenders in the playoffs. |
| About the Orange BowlThe Orange Bowl is a 370-member, primarily volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, 2019. For more information on the 2019-2020 Orange Bowl events, including promotional and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to www.orangebowl.org or follow the @OrangeBowl on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. |
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