Buckeyes Speak to the Media After Their Win on the Road
10/1/2024 2:57:00 PM | Football
On the team and what they do to prepare to win:
“Every decision that is made is based on winning the game, so we are going to do that. You do everything you can to make sure you are putting your guys in the best position to win the game based on all the different criteria that are in play. There are certain times where you go for it, make it and it is a great decision or you go for it and it does not work out. We want to be aggressive and put our guys in a situation to go win games, make sure we are attacking and have a good mindset. The payoff makes it worth it. “
On Devin Brown and his confidence after the Michigan State game:
“We talk about confidence all the time, there is fake confidence and then there is real confidence. Real confidence means you have actually done it and you look someone in the eye and know that they are going to do it again. If you can physically do it then I think it really builds confidence in you.”
On the touchdown pass:
"Will got the wind knocked out of him, he called me in and called a go ball. They brought pressure on the cover too, so I threw a whole shot to JJ. He made a great catch. Trey made a great pickup on the blitz coming off the edge. All the pieces fell together."
On embracing his role:
"I keep myself prepared at all times. Preparing myself like I'm the starter, practicing like I'm the starter and knowing that at any moment I could be in that game."
On preparing himself:
"l've been in here since 6:30 in the morning today. I come in early as possible to meet with Billy and try to meet with Coach Kelly as much as I can. All the quarterbacks are in here trying to get as much reps as possible because, when you practice with five quarterbacks, not everybody's going to get the amount of reps that they'd like. Being able to prepare in the classroom and in the film room makes a difference going out there on the field."
On learning teams outside of SEC:
"I had grown up in the SEC. I had to do my research about the schools we play because I didn't know coming from the SEC. I didn't know what it meant to play a team like lowa. I know they're always a top ranking defense and they're always great on special teams. l've done my research and I understand what this game means. It's all about toughness, who's going out tough, who's going to run the ball and who's going to stop the run. That's all this game comes down to."
On playing on the road:
"It's a lot of fun. I love playing on the road, especially when you're comfortable with the plan and you can have a variety of cadences to work with. It was really comfortable. All the crowd noise is just white noise. You can still hear everybody around you making calls, but it's something that we've been working on to be successful on the road and I'm glad we've worked on that."
On being a run defender:
“Stopping the run is a big part of football. It’s something I love to do playing a physical game. Coach Johnson is the best to teach us how to block destruction and getting off blocks to make tackles.”
On Iowa tight ends:
“They’re a huge part of their offense every year. I knew Luke Lachey pretty well growing up in Columbus, I played some basketball against him. Luke’s a good athlete and they’ve got a couple other tight ends that are really good too. They’re a solid team across the board and we’re excited for the match up.”
On progress in himself:
“I see progress in myself and everyone who is willing to show up everyday and put everything into practice. Just like anything else, anyone who shows up everyday and works their tail off is going to continue to improve. It is not like it is a marginal jump, but I see everyday as a drop in the bucket. Hopefully I am even better tomorrow, leading up to Saturday, and continuing to be the best version of myself.”
On the team as a whole:
“I think we all have a common mission. We all want to win and there is a lot of unselfishness on our team. We all want to win badly and we trust the coaches are going to put us in good situations and good positions to ultimately execute at the highest level. We have faith in that. No matter who is scoring, where we are scoring, and who gets the touchdown, we ultimately want to be successful as a team. We work really hard and we are just proud to be winning.”
On Devin Brown's success at the last game:
“We call it competitive excellence, making a play when your number is called. It doesn't matter where you are or when your number is called, you need to make the play. When Devin came out and made the play, he was competitively excellent.”
On pressuring QB and getting sacks:
“Being in a quarterback's presence, being in that pocket, and making him delay his reads for a couple of seconds to get him flustered in there. We can’t get in the mindset of we need sacks, just let them come. We’re not worried about pressure, we're trying to get off the rock and play as fast as we can. So far it’s been helping us.”
On Michigan State run plays:
“We understand that we gave up a couple big runs. Even though we didn’t let them get as many rushing yards, playing against the teams we’re coming up against, those big runs are going to hurt. We have to tighten up the screws and continue to feed off each other. Iowa is going to want to get as many yards as they can. Five yards can be too much, so we have to play physical and disciplined.”
On this year feeling different:
“We’ve turned up the intensity. It feels like fall camp. We try and make every play in practice feel like a game rep. Once you condition yourself to feel that, when you get to the game you already know what to expect. Sometimes you will see me and Jack laying on the field after practice because that’s how hard we work. That’s how hard Coach J and the team push us.”
On preparation:
"Focus on tips on first down and second down in terms of what they do on second down after their first down play. Splits that can help me see plays between the tackle and the next receiver there or the tight end that's there. Quarterback progression in terms of where he goes pre snap, what he looks at pre snap and what signals he gives. Other things like that can go into helping you play faster and have more confidence for the game."
On where trigger comes from:
"I think a lot of his instincts is really God given. He's blessed me to play the game at a high level. He's blessed a lot of people to play this game and be in a position to make plays, but it's also preparation and how you see the game. How much film you watch allows you to play faster when the time comes."
