Coach Nick Saban
NICK SABAN: Well, it’s obviously a great opportunity for our team to play in the college football National Championship game. I think in a game like this, preparation is really, really important. Our practices have been good.
But we’re playing against a very good team, so that preparation is always very difficult when you play against a lot of good players and a team that’s very well-coached like Ohio State.
I’d like to take a moment to congratulate Smitty on winning the Heisman and also Mac and Najee for being finalists. I think this is the first time for a long time that three guys from the same team have put themselves in that position, and all these guys are fine young men and have done a great job of representing our program and have certainly played outstanding football for us.
I know there will probably be questions about Waddle. He has been able to practice some. His status for the game is still relatively up in the air and it will probably be a game-day decision.
Q. A big picture question, please. Is the fact that we have reached the point of having a National Championship here make this a successful season?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think it’s been good for everyone that we’ve been able to play football, whether it’s NFL football or college football.
I think a lot of people have put a lot of time and effort throughout the country, throughout the NCAA, throughout every conference to try to create an atmosphere and environment which gave the players an opportunity to compete, the fans something to root for and look forward to, and I think that’s a real positive thing.
I would say under the circumstances that we’re pleased with the way this season has gone and the number of games we’ve been able to play, the players having the opportunity to compete and now to culminate it with actually a playoff and a championship game.
Q. Dylan Moses has expressed recently just how difficult this season has been for him coming back from the injury. What’s been your perspective on his return and just how close he’s been to his play before the injury?
NICK SABAN: Well, we knew going into the season, I mean, previous experience with guys like Donte Hightower, who had injuries like this, sometimes it takes these guys a full year to actually get back to 100 percent.
But Dylan has done an outstanding job and shown a lot of perseverance, leadership on our team, and I’m pleased with the way that he’s played. I’m pleased with the way he’s handled his circumstance, and certainly he’s made a positive contribution to our team.
Q. How much do you feel compelled to call other teams to get strategy on how they handled Ohio State, or is that all internal?
NICK SABAN: Well, we do the best job we can preparing internally. I think we obviously watch other teams play against them and try to analyze the strategy that they have on offense, defense, and special teams.
I don’t think it’s any secret in this profession. Sometimes if you know somebody from another team that played them, you sort of ask some advice and maybe get some knowledge and experience, because I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that when you play a team every year, you develop a little better history for what you would do against them as opposed to when you just play a team once sort of every four or five years.
Q. You hadn’t become a head coach at Ryan Day’s current age of 41. He’s only in his second year and already in the National Championship game. Obviously life stories are very different and I know you don’t know him well, but can you speak to where he is in his career and what your impressions are and what’s made him so successful?
NICK SABAN: Well, he does a great job of coaching. He’s a very good offensive sort of play caller. He’s got a great scheme on offense. Certainly does a great job of coaching his players to execute that scheme. They’re very well-coached in every phase, and their team plays with great intangibles, discipline, toughness, play hard. Seem to have great togetherness on their team.
So I think those are all great indicators of what a great job Ryan Day does as a head coach and as a leader of his organization.
I think he’s taken advantage of a great opportunity and certainly done an outstanding job with it, and they’ve got one of the best teams in the country, no doubt about that.
Q. You’ve had a chance to watch Jaylen Waddle at practice for a couple of days. What does it look like to you?
NICK SABAN: Well, I’ve already made a comment about that, so I don’t have any — first of all, the issue with injuries is when a guy does practice, how does he respond to the workload. Sometimes if a guy practices one day and gets sore the next, you can’t practice him the next day, so you just keep sort of trying to build up his workload to where he might be able to play.
So that’s a work in progress right now, so you really can’t predict where he might be. And then other guys seem to get stronger as they — every day they practice they get a little bit better.
This is something that we’re trying to evaluate but not anything that we can make any kind of prediction on at this point.
Q. I was just wondering, what went into some of those conversations with guys like Najee, Alex, DeVonta that could have left for the NFL, and how rewarding is it for you to see them not only come back, but almost maybe increase their stock with the great seasons that those three and probably some others had?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think the number one goal in our program is to have players create value for themselves. Value comes in a lot of different ways: Character, attitude, how you represent yourself, the kind of brand that you develop for yourself.
Obviously getting an education and graduating from school certainly contributes to that in a large degree, and then how can you create value for yourself as a football player.
We try to help our guys make business decisions about, Okay, here’s where we think you’re going to get picked if you come out right now. Here’s the upside if you decide to come back. Football is a developmental game. I think all these guys that made those decisions certainly enhance their value pretty dramatically by the way they played this year.
But at the same time I always tell players, Look, if you’re not 100 percent committed to getting better at the things that you need to improve on, then you’re not going to improve your draft status, so it’s probably not going to do any good for you to come back.
We’ve had quite a few players here that had sort of those second-, third-round grades that have come back and become higher draft picks because of the way they’ve developed, and I think there’s a good example for a lot of guys to see when guys do that.
The money in the draft goes down dramatically, so if you’re going to be a second or third round pick you can almost double or triple your value if you can move up into the first round, and I think a lot of guys on our team have the maturity to be able to see that.
I think the other thing that players need to understand is the place football players develop is in college. Every other professional sports, whether it’s baseball, minor leagues, hockey, has a minor league. Basketball has a — whatever they call it, G-league or whatever it is, where they can develop players to actually end up on their team. Football doesn’t have that.
So your development has to come in college, so it’s kind of an all-or-nothing decision when you go out, and the more the team invests in you, the more security that you create for yourself, and I think our players understand the business side of that fairly well.
Q. You talked about Dylan Moses earlier, but what has his experience, his leadership and everything meant, because you do have some young guys contributing on this defense?
NICK SABAN: Well, I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that when Dylan Moses plays for us, he makes everybody around him play better. He makes all the calls on defense. I think the players have confidence in him and his understanding of the system and the scheme.
So I think he does enhance the confidence of the rest of the group because of his leadership, his knowledge, and his command of what we’re doing on the field when he’s in there.
Q. You’ve had a lot of markers through your career. Can you pinpoint, A, when you knew this was something you wanted to do, Coach; and B, when you realized you’re pretty good at it?
NICK SABAN: I don’t know exactly what you mean by markers, if I heard you correctly. You know, I never really wanted to be a coach. I think I have to give all the credit for Don James, who was my college coach, calling me in one day and saying, I’d like for you to be a GA, and I immediately responded that I’m tired of going to school, I don’t really want to go to graduate school, and I don’t want to be a coach, so why would I do something like this.
He was pretty convincing that it’s something that I should try. My wife Terry had another year of school, so I really couldn’t go on and do anything else because she wanted to finish and we wanted her to finish and we had promised our parents that if they let us get married that we’d both graduate from college.
When I did it, I just absolutely loved it. I think that it was a lot like being a player except you didn’t have to run wind sprints after practice or anything like that. But I liked the competitive nature of being a part of a team. And the preparation that goes into it was different, but it was something that was very self-satisfying.
The relationships that you develop with the players on the team and all those things, I feel very fortunate that I’ve been in a profession where I don’t feel like I’m going to work every day because I really enjoy what I’m doing. It’s been great for me, not just the fact that we’ve had a chance to be successful, but really the fact that you really feel like you’re in a position where you have an opportunity to impact a lot of young people’s lives in a positive way and hopefully help them be more successful in their life because they were involved in the program.
Q. I was just curious your memories of two seasons at Ohio State, if there’s anything that sticks out about that. And you’ve had four jobs in the state of Ohio and graduated from Kent State; what are your thoughts on the love of football in the state of Ohio?
NICK SABAN: Oh, I think Ohio is one of the great states in the United States when it comes to football, football tradition, really good high school football, lots of good football players. There’s still a lot of places in Ohio where the school is sort of the center of the community and there’s a lot of great support and fans for football programs.
They’ve certainly produced from a high school level a tremendous number of very, very good players. Ohio State has always had great tradition in terms of the success that they’ve had on the field, and having had the opportunity to work there a few years, I kind of understand that tradition very well.
Q. How much has the evolution of college football to become more offensive and the challenge of that for you and how you’ve sort of had to change some things in your program contributed to your longevity and the drive you still have to try to do this and try to win championships at this stage of your career?
NICK SABAN: Well, I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that college football has changed dramatically in the last 10, 12 years. I think the advent of the spread, RPOs, blocking downfield when passes are caught behind the line of scrimmage, all those things have dramatically changed the style of play offensively, and that affects every part of the game.
You have to defend how you pick players to play certain positions because the game is so much more a perimeter game now than it used to be, and what your scheme is to defend those kinds of changes has been pretty dramatic, as well.
I think it’s a great game for fans. Obviously score a lot more points with this style of play than we used to do, we used to in the past, and I think that always makes it exciting for the fans.
Q. There were some reports that there were discussions about moving this game back a week due to issues at Ohio State. How important is it to you that this game be played Monday as scheduled and not pushed back a week?
NICK SABAN: Well, look, I think everybody respects the disruptions that we’ve had to endure throughout the season. We have total respect for the safety of players. If there were — and I think there were some issues relative to COVID, and there were discussions as to whether it was fair to continue or to move the game back and all that.
I think there would have been some probably, I don’t know, difficult management issues if we would have moved the game back. Our school is starting this next week. We would have had 35,000 students coming back here. We’ve played 12 games this year, so we have a lot of guys that have ground through the season, a lot of guys that are nicked up a little bit.
Another week of practice would have been much more difficult for those guys probably. January 18th is a day people got to decide whether they’re going to go out for the draft or not.
So just the whole timing of the whole thing would have been a tough management. But I would have put player safety on either team as the most important factor in this decision.
Q. Just a bigger question about your offense. Kerry Coombs mentioned the other day that since you guys played in 2014 in that playoff game your offense has been able to evolve and change and it’s got some more wrinkles, especially with the passing game. How do you think your offense has been able to evolve and be successful over the last six years since the last meeting?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think that our coaches, I think Sark has done a great job, and I think coordinators that we’ve had in the past have done a very good job in sort of the evolution of where we are right now.
Being a defensive coach, you know the things that are very difficult to stop when you play somebody else and you research some of those things as a staff and see if there’s some way you can implement them into what you do, and I think that’s kind of what we’ve done through the years. We’ve had really good coaches on offense who could research and implement these things in a positive way.
I still think our number one goal is to feature the players that we have on our team and adapt to the style that would best help them have success, and this year’s team is a little bit different than last year’s team, and I think you could look at every team and say the same.
But our offense has been productive, and we hope to continue to be able to do that.
Q. Seven of the last eight games you’ve played you’ve allowed fewer than 17 points. What has been working for your defense in that stretch?
NICK SABAN: Well, I think we’re pretty young, especially in the secondary. We have four out of five new starters. We had some young guys playing up front. We have like three freshmen that play a significant role.
I think early on, we made a lot of mental errors. The knowledge and experience that we had was probably not what we needed to be able to make the adaptations and adjustments in game and also in preparation.
So I think that has improved as the season has progressed, and I think with that, the confidence of the players has improved. I think the confidence that the group has in each other, the understanding of how they need to play to have a chance to be successful and how everybody has to do their job if you’re going to be successful has all contributed to some improvement throughout the season.
Pete Golding
Q. Justin Fields said you guys probably didn’t use (indiscernible) in 2018. What does he look like today when he was just a freshman in 2018?
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, obviously I think he looks much more veteran. I think he does a good job of getting them in and out of plays. Obviously they’re a big check-with-me team, and based on the shell and the front he can control the run game and the pass game.
So I think he’s come a long way obviously of understanding coverages and fronts and the how they fit together. He does a really nice job of getting them in and out of plays. Obviously I think he’s got a really good arm, a really strong arm, another one. He threw on his back foot 68 yards last week for the touchdown, but I think his accuracy has improved.
I think he’s done a better job of keeping his feet in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield, but he still has the ability to be able to hurt you and tuck it and run. So I really think he’s become a complete quarterback, not labeled as an athlete.
I think he can make the throws, can make the checks, understand his coverages, so I think he’s really grown up.
Q. Along those lines, Coach Saban was mentioning that Ryan Day is a very good play caller. What does that mean to you? What are some of the things as far as play callers that can put stress on your defense? And what, if anything, that you’ve seen from Ryan on film makes him good at it?
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, I think he does a really nice job of manipulating things by formation. I think a lot of formation into the boundary, they’ll shift their motion, do a lot of different things out of the same personnel grouping.
He does a really nice job moving guys around in certain spots and isolating guys and trying to get them on a linebacker or get them on a safety. They do a really nice job in the run game of creating the extra gap, making you account for the quarterback.
But I really like their look system. They’re in the right play a lot of the times based on looking to the sideline and checking the play, and then they complement that with a fake look to now they go tempo off of it to where you’re kind of caught in the middle. Hey, can I look to the sideline and be able to check what we’re in, and then now they snap the ball, you’re not ready, and it’s an explosive. Or you’re saying, here’s what we’re in, here’s my hand. We’re either better than you or we’re not.
I think he’s done a really nice job of complementing those two things and staying pretty balanced with it. And then mix in the tempo game on top of that to where they’ll create an explosive play and then they’ll hurry up, and then now they’ll hurry up and then they’ll snap it and go. And they they’ll go hurry up, kill, kill, kill, what are you in, let’s call the right play. Here is two out, here’s a quarters beater, let’s run double posts and take the shot.
Obviously I think a lot of things complement each other in the look and the run game and the pass game, and based on what you’re in, they’ve got the best play for that front in the run game or for that coverage in the pass game.
So I think you’ve got to do a really nice job of changing that up. But yeah, he does a really nice job.
Q. Pete, you guys, the two best offenses you faced this year, Ole Miss had 48 and Florida had 46. Just wondering how much does that concern you going into a game against Ohio State, and what do you think you can do better than you did in those games?
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, I mean I think the biggest thing is fundamental execution. I don’t think we ever come out of a game looking up how many points was given up how many did we keep them to. There were several games to where we kept them low in scoring but still didn’t execute, they just didn’t take advantage of it.
So I think the biggest thing going in is evaluating ourselves and the things that we’ve got to be able to clean up and execute the individual jobs within all 11, and then collectively get all on the same page.
So I think the biggest thing on teams like this that go tempo, that are multiple, is having all 11 guys on the same page with their cleats in the turf, and you’ve got to be able to play and you’ve got to be able to make them execute and you got to be able to contest every play.
A lot of their chunk plays come up in the run game when there’s a gap short because a guys misfit it or they weren’t set, they weren’t ready because of the tempo with it. And you can’t give these guys those plays. They’re going to make enough contested plays because they’ve got really a lot of good players at a lot of spots to where you’ve got to contest everything.
We’ve got to be sound in the run game. We’ve got to try to stay ahead of the chains, put them in obvious passing downs, because they’re really — I mean, they’re balanced and they do a really nice job in multiple different down and distance of staying balanced based on what you’re in.
So obviously games like this, obviously from a mental errors standpoint they’ve got to be small in number, we’ve got to do a great job attacking the line of scrimmage up front, trying to control the run game, be gap sound.
And then you’ve got to tackle in space. They’re going to create some match-ups in space to where we got to get them on the ground and we got to be able to play well on 1st and 2nd down to get them in 3rd and long situations, make obvious passing downs.
Because I think that’s one thing you looked at, whether it was Florida, Ole Miss, or even a couple times last week versus Notre Dame, you’ve got some opportunities on 2nd and 7 and 10 to make them 3rd and 8, 3rd and 10s, 3rd and 11s. You miss a tackle in the backfield, you get a penalty, you look up, now it’s 3rd and 2, 3rd and 3, 3rd and 1, and you got five of those, and those are hard to stop.
So then they move the chains and now they’ve got another set and here we go. So I think we’ve got to do a great job on 1st and 2nd down by controlling the line of scrimmage, tackling well in space, being on the same page, and then you’ve got to execute on 3rd down. You’ve got to be able to get off the field.
Q. Pete, Ohio State used its tight ends in the passing game a lot early this season, and then for about two months didn’t really throw to them really at all. Last week they were a big red zone threat. As the guy who’s trying to scheme against that, how do you approach that going into a game where a team has kind of shown its strength there but has also kind of ignored it at times?
PETE GOLDING: Well, I also think it goes back to, you know, we were talking about him as a play caller. What are they giving him? I think they do a nice job based on what you’re in of what do they need to attack. They’re going to try to attack that one-on-one match-up.
So I think lately people have been trying to take — Hey, let’s take 2 out the game, let’s take five 5 out the game. Now you’re isolated one-on-one on a bigger body and a lot of that is in the red zone.
So I think you’ve got to do a great job changing that up. You got to change the picture. You’ve got to change who you’re doubling if you’re doubling, all that. I think the big piece — you’ve got to account for them all. Like you said, there are several games where they don’t have a reception and then the next two games they come and they get in that red area and they target them and they do a nice job with them.
So they’ve got a lot of weapons. This is a game you go in and say, Hey, I just stopped this guy; we’re going to win the game. That’s not the case. They’re very multiple. They’ve got a lot of really good players at multiple spots that you’ve got to defend.
So you’ve got to do a lot of different pictures, show them different things, play different coverage variables, to be able to take away certain things at certain times.
Q. When you’re preparing for Trey Sermon it’s almost been night and day versus what he has been the last month versus what he was basically the whole season. I don’t know how far back in the film you guys go, but are you at all perplexed on what Trey Sermon might show up on Monday?
PETE GOLDING: I think we’ll get his best. We normally get everybody’s best, and I think he’s playing at a really high level. I think he runs the ball effectively, he runs behind his pads. I think he’s explosive. I think he does a nice job understanding their blocking structure up front and follows blockers and has patience when he needs to.
But he’s one of those guys where you give him the seam, he can take it. I think he’s got breakaway speed, and then he still has the ability to catch some out of the backfield.
So I think he’s playing at a really high level. I think we’ll get his best on Monday. Obviously I think they’re going to give it to him a fair amount, and we’ve got to do running our feet on contacts and peppering the ball carrier and getting 11 guys to the ball, because he’s a really good player and they’ve got a good front to block for him.
Q. Dylan Moses obviously kind of opened up on social media about some of the things he’s gone through this season. Could you tell or did you all have some talks earlier in the season that he was going through some adversity, and how much has he progressed on the field as the season has gone on?
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, obviously I think we all have gone through some adversity this year. But no, I think like any young player coming in and going through this year and having some things from his family standpoint, like a lot of us had this year, some deaths in the family, stuff like that.
But it was hard, and I think he fought through it. When he was in this building every day he locked in, had the ability to focus. I think that shows his maturity and him growing up and him being a senior this year and coming back for that fourth year.
It never became a distraction to where you were ever like on the field, What’s wrong with Dylan? It wasn’t that by any means. I think that was kind of him just letting everybody else know, Hey, some of the best players in the country go through the same things that everyday people do, and you’ve got to be able to fight through it and push through it, and at the end of it you are going to be appreciative that you did that.
I think it was more that line of him trying to kind of use that as a lesson for our young guys than it was really him saying, Hey, I can’t handle this or anything like that.
So yeah, obviously we’ve had several talks. He’s a great kid, and I’m proud of the way he’s fought through it this year and battling injuries and everything else. He’s done a really nice job of that, and I think that’s the one thing obviously I’ve been most impressed with, is when he’s here, he’s in the building, he’s on the field, he’s locked in. All right, let’s bring people with you.
Obviously we’ve got to practice well to play well, and there hasn’t been any of that. From a senior standpoint I’m a little banged up. I can’t go out and practice. That’s not who he is. So I appreciate him for that.
Q. What’s the big takeaway from the Ole Miss game, and what from that game still applies for this game coming up?
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, I think two things to me. Obviously you can go through that game and get a lot of things, but yards after contact, which is every game. I mean, there was 250 yards after somebody made contact with the guy that had the ball. That’s tough to win at any level when you do that. That comes with missed tackles, poor angles, not getting 11 guys to the ball.
I think we had 28 mental errors in that game, as well. Obviously not getting all 11 guys on the same page. Some of that you look back on from a call perspective. Were there too many options based on a formation or something like that to where when tempo gets involved they’re not on the same page and we’re not contesting plays.
But I think the biggest thing is locking in and being able to focus and dominate my box and do my job. I think there’s certain games where people start scoring and you’re not having success that certain guys try to press and they try to start making plays that aren’t theirs. And then they fast flow over the top and they’ve got the backside A-gap. Well now it cuts back and now it’s an explosive run.
And it’s not that they didn’t know they had it. It’s just that they were pressing and trying to make a play for the team, but in turn ends up hurting the team. I think our guys have matured in that saying, Hey, do my job. My plays are going to come. When they come, I need to make them.
And then going back on those things that we didn’t do well, showing them on tape, all right, now why and how can we correct it, and then putting them in that environment in a practice situation, whether it’s a drill, what have you, all right, to be able to correct that and they know and get that muscle memory from it so we can prevent it from happening again.
So I think all those are good teaching moments for young players. But the bottom line, in this game, you’ve got to be able to tackle well in space and you’ve got to stay ahead of the chains. That’s what the offense is trying to do. You’ve got to get them in obvious passing downs, but then when you do that, you’ve got to be able to execute and get off the field. We’ve got to do a better job of creating turnovers.
Obviously I think when you hold people to where they’re not used to scoring — same thing when you look at Ohio State, they’re averaging 43 — and when they don’t, that’s because they’ve turned the ball over. It’s not because people stopped them. It because they made a mistake. People made them make mistakes and they made them pay for it, and they got off the field, whether it be a turnover on 3rd down.
So I think that’s the critical piece of this game.
Q. The Northwestern game stands out so much in Ohio State’s season. Would you reach out to them to talk to them, and can you give an example maybe in your career where you’ve done something like that? Coaches talk to each other all the time.
PETE GOLDING: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think in anything, it’s a copycat business, what do people do well that’s working, and obviously you want to move to your business obviously to make it successful.
So I think the first thing is evaluating the tape, how similar are they to us on defense. Obviously because what they do in the run game and the pass game is going to be dictated on what you do.
So obviously a lot of that — some of the things don’t marry because defensively sometimes we’re different than other people, but conceptually going in and trying to take things away and how you do it, obviously, yeah, we study just like any student does.
This is our profession. We want to be the best at what we do, so most of that comes up in the off-season, obviously in the summers when you’re doing your studies and finding certain things that are better versus certain obviously runs and passes and how we can change things up.
But yeah, obviously you look at everything. Look at, all right, what do they do well? Who’s done a good job of stopping the bread and butter? How did they do that? What do we have within our scheme that is that?
Obviously we’re not coming up with something new that our kids aren’t familiar with and don’t have a lot of bank reps in and now we screw that up because you don’t have obviously the bank reps and the practice to do it.
But what within our scheme is similar to that that was effective? And then obviously they’re going to have a complement off of that, just like we do. We screw something up, we’ve got a mental error, well then Monday we’re fixing it, because we know the next opponent is going to do the same thing.
They’re going to go through our explosive reels. All right, what big plays did we give up? Why? Well, they’re going to do the same thing. We see that every week in the openers. We’re going to see plays that this team has never ran that have hurt us throughout the year or previous years that people go copycat, put into their scheme, to obviously try to identify the weakness of a defense and exploit it.
Absolutely, both sides of the ball do that.
Jordan Battle
Q. Jordan, I wanted to know just what it’s going to feel like for you playing back at home in South Florida, and also just how South Florida prepared you and the other guys from this area for big moments like this.
JORDAN BATTLE: Well, of course it’s going to be a great time playing in Miami, my hometown — well, close to my hometown, having a lot of family there, you know, getting a chance to play in Miami in the Hard Rock Stadium. I grew up watching the Dolphins in there.
How South Florida prepared us for this, you know, we grew up with speed, track, basketball, playing every sport. We come out, we run, just run straight out of our ^ mom’s. We run. That’s what we do.
So that’s how South Florida prepared us for moments like these.
Q. Can you speak to just the entire — basically you guys’ entire secondary is South Florida guys: You, Pat, Daniel, Josh. What’s it like playing with a bunch of guys at the college level going for a national title and doing it with guys who you basically grew up with on the high school circuit?
JORDAN BATTLE: Yeah, you know, it’s fun. Coming from South Florida we all kind of have the same lingo, you know. We just create — we have such a great bond coming from out of the same area. I grew up playing with players like D-Wright, playing against Pat, playing against Josh Jobe. It’s just very fun to be playing against and competing for a National Championship now coming from the same area.
Q. Ohio State, as you saw on film in the Clemson game, used check-downs pretty well between Fields and Sermon. I’m curious, as a defense, how do you try to prevent some of those gash plays from happening just because it’s obviously not their first choice of a play but can still be really effective?
JORDAN BATTLE: It’s just having good eyes, locking on to your man or locking on to your zone in a scramble or when it’s long — when it’s a long time, when he has a long time to throw the ball, it’s just being consistent and focusing on your keys and watching your man.
You lock on. If he scrambles you’ve got to stay on, because creating plays off the scramble is one of the most explosive plays for a quarterback to make.
Q. You spent a small period of time committed to Ohio State before obviously you chose Alabama. Is it weird at all to think that no matter what you could be playing in this game right now?
JORDAN BATTLE: You know what’s funny, my mom, dad and my brother, we were all talking about it in a group chat this past week. It’s kind of funny that — either school I would have went to, I would have been in the National Championship. I give all praise to Ohio State. Great coaching staff, great players.
I just had to make the best decision for me towards the end to come to Alabama. I give all the praise and all the excitement and joy in Ohio State, as well.
Q. Throughout your career at Ohio State, your freshman year most importantly, you played along some really talented safeties who had had some experience playing college football in Xavier McKinney and guys like that. What did you learn from those guys to help push you in these moments in games like this?
JORDAN BATTLE: To be consistent, stay focused on what we have to do to win this game, go watch film, be locked in, be a leader on the field, get everybody on the same page, have us all communicate, be on the same page.
Coach Scott tells us before every game, Win the game before the game even happens. That means like staying in the books, know what’s coming, and just be focused.
Q. Just to follow up on what you were asked about your decision to flip from Ohio State to Alabama, what do you remember about being recruited by the Buckeyes, and what did you like about them and what ultimately made you decide to come to Alabama instead?
JORDAN BATTLE: Like I said before, it was a personal thing. I had to make the best decision for me. Obviously you see I did make the best decision for me, and that’s all it came down to.
I don’t remember the process and all that. There’s too much in college for me to remember that.
Q. As you mentioned earlier you will be returning to South Florida, along with a couple other guys on the squad. Have you guys had a chance to talk to each other about some of the expectations? And furthermore, has Coach Saban or Coach Golding talked to you guys, as well, to temper down? I know you’ve got a lot of expectations going on.
JORDAN BATTLE: No, we haven’t really talked about that yet. That’s probably going to be something to talk about after the game. Right now we’re just focusing on preparing for the game and hoping for the best outcome for us.
Q. As a safety just looking across the Ohio State passing attack and the weapons they have, what do you see in those guys and what is the biggest challenge you guys face out of those weapons?
JORDAN BATTLE: Obviously Justin Fields, Garrett Wilson, Olave, and No. 6, Jameson Williams, they’re all great players, very respectful players. They’re very great, very fast, very — I don’t know. They’re going to be the greatest challenge we have. This is the National Championship.
Q. Have you spoken to your former high school coach, Roger Harriott, about the national title game, and how has he impacted you throughout your high school and college career?
JORDAN BATTLE: Oh, I love Coach Harriott. A very family man. He coached my brother at University School before I even went — before I even left University School and went to St. Thomas, and that’s what made me go to St. Thomas.
He taught me a lot, man. Just being disciplined, having great character. That’s what led me to getting here right now, where I am right now.
Q. Tonight Pat is going to be up for a couple of awards, including, I guess, what would be the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for the defensive guys. Just talk about what that’s going to be like, how much you’re rooting for him, and what an impact he’s had on your career at Bama.
JORDAN BATTLE: Oh, Pat is a great player. You know, he always is on me about staying focused, keeping on track. I’m very happy for him for being up for these awards, and I’m very excited to see the outcome of these.
Q. You might not realize this, but when Nick Saban back in the day came to Alabama, George Smith at St. Thomas Aquinas wrote a letter telling no one to go to Alabama back then. It’s been so long since Saban has been at Alabama now, how do young players like yourself who came up going to St. Thomas and other schools kind of look at Nick Saban now compared to the way they did when he left the Dolphins?
JORDAN BATTLE: I don’t know nothing about that. You just kind of like blew my mind. I didn’t even know nothing about that. I mean, my decision was like based all on me, my family, and the coaching staff of Alabama. You know, I don’t really know about any of that George Smith stuff, but I love George Smith. That’s my guy right there.
Q. I know he didn’t play against Notre Dame, but how has Malachi Moore looked in practice this week?
JORDAN BATTLE: That’s not for me to speak on. Malachi is focusing on getting his back right and all that stuff, so we’re just focusing on us moving forward in the next game what we can do better and what we can do to change what we did bad in the Notre Dame game.
DJ Dale
Q. DJ, when you looked at the interior of this Ohio State offensive line, centers and the guards, what do you see out of that group, and what is the challenge that they provide?
DJ DALE: They’re athletic. They’re physical. They do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage, knocking you out of your gap.
As a whole, the offense does a good job executing, and the offensive line does a good job.
Q. Just talk about — everybody has been talking about Justin Fields and the running backs. What do you see that’s different with Ohio State that people are not talking about? Are they talking more about the wide receivers or are they talking more about — what do you see in your prep for this team?
DJ DALE: I think the whole offense needs to get some credit, from the offensive line, from Justin Fields, the running back, the receivers, the tight ends. The tight ends played well in the last couple of games.
So I feel like the offense as a whole is just a challenge to take on, so I feel like the whole offense needs to get credit for what they’ve been doing.
Q. Christian Barmore has always been kind of a big-time player, but in the last few games he’s really been just incredibly disruptive. What does he bring not just in practice but on the game field where he’s able to flip on that switch and just attack quarterbacks the way he does?
DJ DALE: It’s not really a switch. That’s just him, whether it’s in practice or in the game. That’s just him.
The thing that separates him is just his mindset and just his will. The only thing that can stop him is will. It’s just his mindset and how he carries himself. That’s just him. It’s not really a switch. Even outside of here, he feels like he can’t be beat in anything, whether it’s football, basketball. That’s just him.
Q. I’m curious if you could elaborate maybe on how your ability to practice good-on-good, the fact that you guys are going up against your own teammates who you feel are some of the most players in the country, prepares you and maybe excites you for a match-up where maybe Ohio State feels the same way, they’ve got elite talent on both sides of the ball. Does that heighten your excitement level for a game like this, knowing that the stakes are certainly high because you’re playing for a National Championship, but you truly get to play against some of the best players in the country?
DJ DALE: Yeah, I feel like more than anything it just prepares us for any opponent. Different teams do different things, but going against our offense and our offensive line, I feel like we can take on any challenge that any offense gives us.
Q. I was hoping you could speak about the overall front seven, at least the growth that you’ve seen out of the front seven, and overall collectively, how do you think you guys have improved throughout the season?
DJ DALE: From starters, I feel like we’ve done a better job of stopping the run. I think the biggest thing was just communicating. It’s been a very long season, and over time we’ve done a good job of just gaining chemistry together. You kind of get a feel for everybody around you. You start to figure out how everybody plays and how you have to communicate with different players a certain way and give them calls a certain way.
So just the chemistry and just the bond that we’ve created and grown to over the whole season has just been the biggest difference.
Q. Before college, what made you want to start playing the game of football, and did you play any other sports as a kid, too?
DJ DALE: I started playing football when I was four years old, and before football I started playing baseball when I was three, and I played basketball. But football has just been something that’s always been around me like growing up, like from my older brothers, my uncle. I don’t even remember like me actually wanting to play football. As far as I can remember that’s something I’ve always done.
But baseball was my first sport and probably my favorite sport, but football has just always been there.
Q. I was asking Phil Mathis about this before you came. How do you plan to get past the Buckeyes’ outstanding offensive line and stop their great rushing attack and passing attack?
DJ DALE: I just believe in all the calls the coaches want to put us in and just executing them. If we execute the calls, then it’s going to put you in the best position to make plays.
Yeah, I don’t really — I’m not really focused on just like me personally, but just executing all the calls he gives us, and they put us in the best position to make plays.
Q. With the Saturday game for Washington Football Team in Tampa Bay, there’s a lot of players in Washington on the defensive side of the ball. What does that speak to the preparation you get at Alabama on that side of the ball?
DJ DALE: Can you repeat that?
Q. In this Saturday’s Washington football game there’s a lot of players in Washington that are on the defensive side of the ball that are from Alabama, so kind of what can you speak to the preparation you get while you’re with the Crimson Tide?
DJ DALE: Oh, just the buy-in. You see where it can get you. There’s a lot of guys on the Washington Football Team that came from Alabama and even on the defensive line, so just buy-in and do what the coach asks you to do. You can see where it gets you.
Christian Harris
Q. When you’re going up against an offense like this that’s had as much success as it’s had, both in the pass and in the run game, how do you handle that in terms of making sure you’re equally prepared for both areas?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: Just making sure, you know — like you said, they’re very explosive in the passing game and very explosive in their run game, and just being very disciplined and just executing whatever Coach’s game plan is.
I just think being disciplined is a very big part of that.
Q. Dylan recently opened up about some of the difficulties of the season for him. What’s it been like in that room with him, and what have you been able to do to help him along?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I mean, I think Dylan has done a really great job throughout all his injuries and stuff that he’s been dealing with. Sometimes I think I probably just communicate a little more. You know, we’ll switch out spots on the field sometimes, stuff like that.
There’s not really too much that’s changed. He’s still a great leader for us each and every day no matter what he’s going through, so I think he’s done a pretty great job.
Q. Obviously this year has not been what anyone expected with COVID popping in and out, but your team has still managed to break a new record it seems every week, and now you’re looking forward to playing in the National Championship on Monday. I guess my question is would a National Championship win to cap off everything y’all have accomplished this year maybe be a little bit more special than a regular year, or how will winning on Monday kind of be a bigger accomplishment?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I mean, I just think getting an opportunity to play in the National Championship, regardless of whatever year it is, whatever you had to go through that year, it’s a great opportunity.
I think you just have to go out there and take advantage of it. I can’t really answer for that. Like I say, we’ll just see what happens on Monday.
Q. Just wondering about the Ohio State running game. You mentioned you have to be disciplined. What have you seen so far that leads you to think — why have they been so successful this year based on what you have seen on the ground?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think it starts with them up front. Their O-line is really physical. They do a really good job of just, like I said, executing whatever their coach’s game plan is, especially getting to the second level.
The running back does a really great job of hitting his seams and cutbacks and he has a really great stiff arm. He’s just an all-around great running back. You have to make sure you’re really sound in your gap control and really physical.
Q. What has Dylan meant to this defense and to the younger guys? He’s obviously been through a lot, and the fact that he’s playing hurt and playing through bumps and bruises, what has he meant to you guys?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: He’s a great leader for us, somebody I’ve always looked up to since I was little. Dylan is like a big brother to me, and he’s very vocal out there. He also leads by example.
But he’s a very great leader. We all look up to him on the defense. Whenever the energy is low he picks us up, whether that’s him saying something or leading by example by making a big play in practice or during a game, something like that. So I think he’s doing a really great job.
Q. I was wondering if you can tell me about No. 88 for Ohio State. He has 12 catches but five are for touchdowns, Jeremy Rucker. What have you seen from him that makes him so explosive?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think all around he’s a great player. He’s also really physical, which also causes a lot of challenges. Because a lot of tight ends, they may be really physical but not that effective in the pass or only effective in the pass but not effective in the run, but I think he can do both of those, which like I said, sounds really — have to be really disciplined, because like I said, he can kill you any moment of the game, whether it’s the run play, put you on your back, or the pass; he’s a great route runner. He’s also got some size on him, so it’s really hard to get around him when he’s trying to make catches, so his catch radius is also well.
So I think he’ll present a really good challenge for us and he’s a really great player.
Q. With this Saturday’s Washington football game there’s a lot of players on Washington that are on the defensive side of the ball. Sort of what does it speak to the way you guys prepare at Alabama to be NFL-ready by the time you guys are done with your playing careers?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think the coaches here at Alabama do a really great job of developing players to give them the best chance to play on the next level, and also be successful. Not just get there, but to be able to get there and stay there and be consistent.
I think just seeing those people on the Washington Football Team get out there and play just shows how great our coaches and how great this program is here at Alabama.
Q. Christian, certainly this offense has gotten more than its share of publicity, and deservedly so, and the defense has had a few more growing pains. Is this a great chance for you guys to make a statement against a high-powered offense like this, to say, Hey, we play pretty well on this side of the ball, too?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think each and every week we try to go in making a statement. We know we have a really great offense. We know we have times where we were a little bit shaky on defense.
But you’re only as good as your last game, so we try to bounce back, and like I said, just execute whatever Coach’s game plan is and do whatever we can to win.
Q. What have both you and your team faced this season to help you prepare for this Ohio State offense?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: You said what have we faced?
Q. Yeah.
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think just great running backs, great tight ends, different pieces from other offenses. You kind of look at their offense, they can literally do anything. They can run the ball at any point; they can throw at any point; they have great explosive receivers; they have a really explosive quarterback who can sit in the pocket, take a hit and throw it. He can run out of the pocket and scramble and throw it, or he can take off for 50 yards.
So like I said, they present a really great challenge for our defense, and we’re really psyched for the challenge.
Q. I hear Coach Saban a lot talking about affecting the pocket in particular on the defensive side. How much bigger of a challenge is affecting the pocket with a guy like Justin Fields who has that scrambling ability?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I think you just have to be disciplined, not rushing too far up the field past the quarterback, giving him a chance to step up in the pocket to get out to extend the play. Because, you know, that happens a lot whenever you’re facing a quarterback who has the ability to scramble.
So I think just staying disciplined with that and trying to close the pocket is very important.
Q. What do you do to calm your nerves while you compete in big games like this one?
CHRISTIAN HARRIS: I mean, I think it all starts from before the game. I have like this little ritual where I eat Skittles and stuff, so I kind of keep my little ritual the same. It kind of keeps my calm.
Like I say, I just have a lot of confidence in my team, as well, whenever we go out there that we can go out there and execute each and every play. I think it all stems from the confidence that I have in my team and everybody around me.
Phil Mathis
Q. Phil, Coach Saban has had a number of great teams come through the program, but he mentioned after the SEC title that he loves this team. What is it about this team that sort of grabbed his heart?
PHIL MATHIS: I really just think the way we have discipline around here. We all work together. We try to do everything right, everybody staying out of trouble. We try to follow the protocols of coronavirus, and we handled it well. I can say that’s probably one of the reasons.
Q. Give us a general feel on how you stop Justin Fields.
PHIL MATHIS: Just do what we’ve been doing all week in and week out at home. Just trying to get back there and do our job. Just running calls that Coach calls from the sideline and just try to go out there and dominate him.
Q. How much has Nick Saban talked about the 2009 team and that team going undefeated and the chance for this team to go undefeated, as well?
PHIL MATHIS: He really hasn’t been talking about it much because we’ve just been focused on what we’ve got to do now. That’s in the past and we’re here now, and we’re just focused on what we’ve got to do now to bring home the W.
Q. What would a second National Championship do for the legacy of your 2017 class?
PHIL MATHIS: I think it would bring a lot of spark for the team that’s coming back next year. It would be a lot of motivation. And as for the ’17 class, it’ll bring a lot of — I don’t know, I guess love, a good feeling that we did it two times, especially with the guys that was there freshman year.
Also with Smitty catching that big catch, and obviously whatever we go out there and do come Monday.
Q. What’s it like watching Ohio State’s offensive line on film? What kind of challenges do you see that they’re going to present to you guys?
PHIL MATHIS: Oh, those guys are pretty physical. They move pretty good. We’ve just got to accept the challenge up front and just try to dominate all night.
Q. Who or what is something in your life that motivates you on a daily basis as a student-athlete?
PHIL MATHIS: I can say my father. He’s always in my ear. Even when I play good or play bad, he’s always motivating me, telling me that I’ve got it and I can do it, just keep pushing.
Also my mom. She’s always texting me, also, even though she can’t be here because of coronavirus and stuff like that. She’s always letting me know that she loves me and I can do whatever I put my mind to.
Q. When you guys are watching film on Trey Sermon, I don’t know how far back you guys go, but have you ever caught yourself wondering what the heck happened with this guy between maybe the first three or four games to what you guys may be preparing to see in the College Football Playoff now?
PHIL MATHIS: Can you repeat that?
Q. What I’m asking is, from your standpoint as a defensive lineman who’s gone up against some pretty good running backs, have you seen a difference in the Trey Sermon you’ve seen on film from the first two or three games of the season to maybe the film from the last two or three games where it seems like he’s running for 200 plus yards every night?
PHIL MATHIS: Yeah, he’s a good back. He runs pretty hard. You can see that it means a lot to him. He’s got something to prove. That’s something I love about him.
But obviously we’ve got to go out and just do our job and wrap him up.
Q. Another question about the Ohio State offensive line. Their two tackles are not the guys who have maybe gotten national accolades and things like that, but what are you seeing from them especially that makes them a tough match-up for someone coming off the edge?
PHIL MATHIS: I mean, they do a great job in the passing game, also in the running game for Trey, and like I said before, we’ve just got to take on the challenge and show up with the same intensity that they bring.
Q. Overall how do you plan to get past the Buckeyes’ outstanding offensive line headlined by Wyatt Davis and put pressure on Justin Fields and Trey Sermon?
PHIL MATHIS: I’d just say don’t change nothing that we have been doing all year long. Just stick to the plan, take what Coach gives us from the sideline, and go out there and execute the call.
Q. When you look at this Ohio State team on tape, whether it’s personnel or scheme or talent, do they remind you of anybody you’ve played this year, whether it was in conference or even the Notre Dame game? Any similarities you see?
PHIL MATHIS: Not really. I mean, when I watch film, I see that team. They do what they do. They do what they do best, and I can’t compare nobody to those guys because that’s their team, and I feel like it would be disrespectful if I tried to compare them to someone else.
Ohio State is Ohio State, and they do a good job at what they do.
Q. Even if you’re not going to compare players or teams to each other, from a scheme perspective, what you see the offense do for Ohio State, do you feel like you’ve seen that style of offense in other games where maybe you guys as a defense feel like, okay, maybe this isn’t totally new to us?
PHIL MATHIS: Most definitely. Their offensive line, they try to get sideline to sideline like Notre Dame. I think that’ll be something I can compare.
Q. I can’t help but ask about you. Where do you think you’ve grown the most this year as a football player, and where do you think you can improve the most moving forward?
PHIL MATHIS: The most I think I’ve grown is just having confidence in myself, and also just becoming a leader on the team and just being the best that I can be whenever I’m out on the field and just taking away that nervousness from what I had last year and just being the best that I can be.
Q. On the subject of being a leader, though, is it more by your actions or are you a vocal leader on this team?
PHIL MATHIS: I try to lead by my actions, just by doing the right things on and off the field. Just showing the young guys that you don’t have to be a tough guy or anything to do the right things around here. It doesn’t take that much. All it takes is just buying in to the team and just staying focused.
Dylan Moses
Q. How old were you when you started playing football, and how would you describe your athletic journey now that you’ve made it to the National Championship game?
DYLAN MOSES: I started football when I was like seven years old. Ever since then I was always like best player on the field. I played running back and linebacker growing up. It was fun for me growing up and it’s fun for me now, so being able to play on this big stage now is a dream come true.
When I was a kid I used to always turn on College Gameday every Saturday. The first thing I’d do is wake up and watch that.
Being able to play in the National Championship, like I said, is a dream of mine.
Q. Dylan, when you look at the way this Ohio State rushing attack has changed throughout the year, not only Trey Sermon but the offensive line, what do you see that they’ve gotten better at and what are the biggest challenges of this attack on Monday?
DYLAN MOSES: First and foremost, I think that Ohio State has a really great offensive line. They open up the holes for their running back, Trey Sermon, to get through, and I feel like that’s why he’s had the majority of his successive on this offensive line, and I feel every great running back will say that about the guys up front.
But as far as like for us, I feel like that’s one of the main things we have to worry about, is trying to make Ohio State one-dimensional and stopping their run game, because that’s something that’s really important just as far as the success.
Q. You opened up recently about some of the difficulties you faced in 2020, both from a family standpoint and a football standpoint. How much will that weigh into any decision that you might have about potentially taking advantage of extra eligibility for college?
DYLAN MOSES: As of right now I’m just trying to focus on the championship game. I’m not really worried about anything afterwards. I’m just going to take it one day at a time. After the game is over with, whatever happens, happens.
Q. How much pain were you in this season, and when, if ever, did you get back to 100 percent? And from your recruiting standpoint, from the time you were recruiting, what have you done to kind of block out some of the criticism that you’ve received online?
DYLAN MOSES: Just as far as going through pain and stuff throughout the year, the first time I felt like 100 percent myself was the very first game of the season against Missouri.
After that just all throughout the season it was just constantly like pain and all that. But like I said, it was something I had to persevere through. I never had to go through a whole season feeling like that. It was new for me. But at the same time it wasn’t nothing I couldn’t play through.
Like I said, I’m really tough when it comes to dealing with a lot of pain and all that, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to be there for my teammates, make a difference, and be able to make the calls for them.
Q. What led you to kind of open up and let people know what you’re going through? And secondly, has that, all that stuff, missing last season, has that made being here just even that much more special?
DYLAN MOSES: Oh, yeah, of course. It made it that much more special.
Like I said, at the end of the day I just really wanted to be there for my teammates. Like I said, for that post that I made, it wasn’t for me or for anybody to feel like any sympathy towards me.
It was really for those people out there going through the same thing that I was going through and thinking about giving up and just showing that we’re human. Like everyone who plays football or a professional sport or collegiate sport, we’re all human. We go through the same things.
So me putting that out there, that was for other kids or other athletes that are going through what I’m going through and showing that they can make it through.
Q. I can’t help but want to ask your impressions of what you’ve seen out of Justin Fields and really the offensive line in particular, as well, there at Ohio State.
DYLAN MOSES: I’ve been watching Justin Fields since he came out of high school. I always had high praise for him. He kind of reminded me of a young Cam Newton or something like that. The dude has a lot of great talent. He can deliver the ball to his receivers, has a strong arm, athletic. He’s everything that you want in a quarterback.
Like I said, we respect him, and like I said, we’re going into the game confident and knowing that this is going to be a great challenge.
Q. Throughout this year we’ve seen some younger guys step up on your defense, like Malachi Moore and Will Anderson. What has it been like serving as a role model and a leader to some of the younger guys on this defense?
DYLAN MOSES: It means a lot to me, man, because I remember when I was a freshman and needed that guidance or needed an older guy to give me that extra nudge just to have confidence to go on the field. And just knowing that someone older believes in you and knows that your athletic ability is good enough to be in this defense and play, it means a lot. So I try and stick my neck out a lot for the guys.
And as far as like just the freshmen in general, there’s a lot of guys that just in general that — I’m sorry, I lost my train of thought.
But yeah, just as far as like the freshmen and stuff, we try and keep them grounded and knowing that you can be successful playing in this defense.
Q. How would you describe the last two years? You obviously missed all of last season, and this year you talked about how tough this year was, losing your grandmother and the pain you played through and now you’re at this point. What have the last two years of your life been like?
DYLAN MOSES: It’s been a lot of ups and downs, but at the same time, that’s life. Everything is not going to be picture perfect, but it’s blessings within everything. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m grateful to be in this position with my teammates. This was something that I was looking forward to, knowing I would come back and all of that.
Being here and being able to be part of this historic team, it means a lot to me.
Q. Just kind of touching on a question that was kind of already asked, but Coach Saban mentioned that whenever you step on the field you kind of give the rest of the team around you some electricity. Knowing that your coach thinks so highly of you, does that give you any more motivation to play, or does it help you kind of stay grounded when you’re out on the field?
DYLAN MOSES: Oh, yeah, it helps me a lot. Like I say, with Coach Saban having those feelings about me it’s a great feeling, because like I say, I’ve been knowing him since I was in the eighth grade and he recruited me out of middle school.
For me and his relationship, it’s like kind of like a great uncle or something like that. So for him to feel like that about me, it means a lot.
Me knowing that about myself, that I can affect the guys around me, makes me feel even better and more motivated to even go out there, just have my presence around them. For me to be like that for my teammates, like I said, it’s a blessing.
Q. I was just wondering, in terms of overall big picture, anything changing preparation-wise to limit Ohio State’s rushing and passing attack?
DYLAN MOSES: No, we’re just breaking down their offense just like we would do any other offense. We’re not trying to change anything or trying to do anything out of the ordinary.
For us it’s just — because like at the same time, I think my defensive coordinator may have mentioned it, a lot of teams do a lot of copycat from other teams that we may have played previously or things that worked on us before, so we try and stay ahead or prepared in that category.
We’re just trying to be ready for the game.
Q. How do you think your 2017 class would view itself differently if it helps win a second National Championship?
DYLAN MOSES: Oh, man, I don’t want to step on nobody’s toes, but like I said, I feel like our class is one of the best ones. We had a lot of talent in that class and just a lot of guys that you see now that’s in the league and guys now that’s leaders on this team.
We’ve carried a lot of weight, and I’m proud of the guys that was in this class. I’m just happy to say I’m a part of it, because, like I say, it was a lot of great talent, a lot of great people, players and everything. So I’m just proud to be able to be a part of it.
Patrick Surtain II
Q. Patrick, I’m curious when you look at the way you guys have played on defenses of late, what has gone well and where have you guys gotten better the most in your opinion?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: We learned from experience what we need to do. I just felt like we prepared better each and every week. We’ve gotten better each and every week flying around to the ball, making adjustments and learning from past games where we struggled at, and sort of fixed and corrected what we needed to do.
Q. I know Malachi Moore didn’t play against Notre Dame, but how has he looked this week in practice?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: He’s looked fine. He’s moving out there. He should be ready to go.
Q. Just your impressions of Justin Fields, what you’ve seen of him, kind of the growth of him as a quarterback, and obviously coming off the best game of his career, what you guys have to do to slow that passing attack down?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: Obviously he’s a great talent. He’s got a tremendous arm. Like I say, he’s a leader on that team. Whatever he does affects the team a lot.
But we’ve just got to look at things to do to affect him as far as getting to the quarterback, pressuring him, different disguises in the back end, many different things to look at through the film room.
Q. How important is a game like this for you all in regards to recruitment in South Florida?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: You know, it’s still an important game. I don’t know what recruiting got to do with it, but at the same time, we’re just focused on this game.
Hopefully they’ll look at this game and see what they think of it. But right now, I don’t think that’s out of the question, out of the picture right now.
Q. What are you looking forward to towards the most this week coming back to South Florida, playing in Hard Rock Stadium?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: Like I said before, I know it’ll be a hometown game. I’m just looking forward to playing the best game with my teammates and just going out there and just winning the game. That’s all I’m focused on really.
Q. The combination of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson for Ohio State, are there any teams that you’ve already faced that you feel like you’ve seen a mix of this, where you have two receivers of that caliber between the slot and the outside that you have to deal with at the same time? And how do you try to match up with that?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: I’d say we’ve seen teams like that before. Just this team, they’re very talented on both sides of the ball, even in the running game. So I feel like they bring a whole lot of dimension on the offense. They’re great receivers, of course, which brings a tremendous amount of depth in their offense, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
Q. Overall how do you look to stop this Ohio State passing game that they have great receivers and then they can also attack with their tight ends?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: Like I said, it all starts in the film room and preparing each and every day in practice. But also looking at their top concepts, what they like to do, things like that.
As a whole defense and as a whole unit it’s all about studying their tendencies and just preparing each and every day for the game.
Q. Talk about your father. Your father played in the NFL with the Dolphins and the Chiefs. What did he teach you about football growing up? And also, what is it like going back home to Miami where he was literally there for a long time when you were growing up?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: I can remember him playing since I was in my earliest youth days. But he’s taught me a lot about football, even more about football, afterlife of football. He taught me a lot of things going into the game. I just carried and learned from him, and just going back home, he’s going to be there.
I’m just looking forward to impress him. I know they’re going to be happy to see me. I’m going to be happy to see them. It’s going to be a great moment.
Q. You already talked about the Ohio State receivers a little bit. You’re probably going to be seeing a lot of Chris Olave. Can you talk a little bit about what he does so well and why he’s hard to defend?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: I’d say his speed. He creates separation fast at the top of his routes. I’d say he also is very patient and fluid with his route running.
He keeps the defense guessing. I would say that much. But yeah, he’s an excellent vertical threat for their team, and it’s going to be a challenge, of course.
Q. Kind of along those same lines, as a corner, every wide receiver is different. They have their own special skill sets. But as a corner, when you know a guy that you may be matched up against on a specific snap is more of a deep threat than maybe yards after the catch or intermediate routes, are there any adjustments you make when you know that in your head?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: Of course you’ve got to look at certain things, what receivers like to do, their tendencies, and how they utilize them in the offense. As a corner you’ve got to expect that going into the game, his favorite routes, what he likes to do here and there. You’ve got to be on top of that as a corner.
Q. Along the lines of playing back home in South Florida and also your father, you talked about having memories from being a child, going to the stadium. What memories were there? Are there any specific ones? And also, from that first playoff semifinal that you played as a freshman, what can you remember from that? And what would it mean to you to potentially go out on top in the stadium that your father once called his NFL home?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: Well, I would say that I remember certain things when he was playing for Miami, like him making plays. They also had a great defense back then, with him, Jason Taylor, Sam Madison, Zach Thomas, all those guys.
I just remember him making plays out there, having fun, but also just knowing what it took to get here. It’s a blessing, honestly, but just looking forward to this game.
Remembering the semifinal game, I just remember being a freshman out there, having fun, just winning the Orange Bowl. I just look forward to the game ahead.
Q. Obviously you mentioned your dad and what a great career he had. You’re up for a couple of awards tonight. How much would it mean to you to win those awards to further show the mark that you yourself have had on this game?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: I’d be honored, honestly. Like I said before, I’m not so much focused on awards. I’m just focused on the game ahead. The awards come second to what we’ve got in store and what we’ve got to finish.
Q. I know you spoke a little bit about your time here in South Florida. Have you had a chance to speak to the other guys from South Florida, Jordan Battle, Josh Jobe? What is some of the excitement that you guys have as a unit and as a team coming back?
PATRICK SURTAIN II: We’re all very excited to come back home and play in the National Championship. You know, all our families are going to be there. They’re going to be excited, repping the hometown is an exciting feeling, knowing how much tradition you’ve brought into the South Florida world, we did.
But, you know, it’s going to be an exciting moment and we’re going to have fun out there. We’re just going to enjoy the moment.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
