Cincinnati Bearcats College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2021

Good morning. It’s an exciting time. Never thought we’d be here, but it’s a dream come true. And I’m really excited for this game on Friday.

Obviously, you’re from Cincinnati. We’ve heard a lot the last several years, decade or so, Ohio State is the team of Ohio. What is it like as a Cincinnati native and now playing for the team to be representing Ohio in the playoffs this year?

Yeah, I mean, it’s everything that I ever wanted. When I was being recruited in high school, I got recruited by a couple of schools. But when I visited UC, I knew it was the place I wanted to be, and I knew I wanted to believe in Coach Fick (Luke Fickell) and everything he had to offer. And seeing all of it just come to light and being here in this moment, like I said, it’s a dream come true.

What differences have you noticed on film that makes Alabama’s defense special compared to other tough defenses that you’ve had to face this year?

Yeah, so, the first thing I noticed, I think I was watching, it was the Auburn game. And just their intensity. I mean, they’re a salty group. They fly around with the football, and we’ve got to be ready for it. They’re good with their hands. They’re really good up front, their linebackers. And they’re good in coverage. So we’re going have to be on our Ps and Qs and play some of our best football yet this year.

Talking about the Cincinnati thing, I’ve heard you guys kid the Colerain [High School] group because there’s so many of the guys from there. You had such a fierce rivalry with them at La Salle [High School]. What’s it been like to get together and form friendships from guys you used to want to beat so bad and become the Cincinnati contingent all together from all these different high schools and now represent as one?

Yeah, it’s really cool. You know, obviously like you said, playing against each other in high school and then being teammates, it’s a different relationship. But you have that relationship that you’ve built along the years. Some of the guys I played in grade school, middle school, whatever. I also have DeVonta Smith, he plays for Alabama. He went to La Salle, and I’m really excited to play him as well and catch up with him after the game.

Interesting how your season went, had a lot more production later in the year. Is that just, hey, the offense goes where the offense goes? Did you feel like there was ‚Äì I mean, you were a good player coming into the season, so it wasn’t like it was a surprise to see you have some big production. Were there any changes in the offense as this season went along that got you a little more involved?

Yeah, I got this question a lot throughout the season. It’s really ‚Äì we did nothing different. We remained who we were. I remained who I was. I just said throughout the season, I just try to be in the right spots at the right times and I know Dez (Desmond Ridder) will find me eventually. And that’s what we did. And it started paying off. I try never to be a ‘me’ player. As long as I find a way to contribute on the field, whether that’s blocking or catching the ball, I’m happy with it.

I wanted to ask you as a tight end at UC, you’ve seen the tight end lineage go through this program here in the last few years, even all the way back to Brent Celek. So there’s been a lot of successful tight ends. But I’m curious how much the success that Travis Kelce’s had and him becoming a national star has had for this football program and him ‚Äì the other night when UC, after he scored the game-winning touchdown, that kind of stuff. How important has that been to the program?

Yeah, it’s really cool to see him on that stage and to know that it’s doable from where I’m at right now. It’s like he’s kind of set a standard in our tight end room. We have a poster, a sign in our room that says, ‘Be the best tight ends in the country.’ And we just try to live by that. And try to be like him. And we also had Josiah Deguara and Bruno Labelle.

I was hurt my first couple years here, and I kind of just watched them. They took me under their wing and taught me everything I know.

So not to quote my favorite rapper, but how important is it for you guys to seize this moment and this opportunity that you guys have in front of you right now?

It’s everything we could ask for. This is what we play for. We play for championships. This is what we prepare for all season, all offseason. And to be here and then not take advantage of it would be a real regret. And we just want to make sure that we come out the most-prepared football team and hopefully get a win.

What it’s been like to have this fan base, this UC fan base, kind give this support all season for you guys? Obviously, we’re expecting them to travel pretty well for this game. So just your thoughts on that.

I think I have 25 family members coming. It’s been a real blessing to have them travel to the games. I remember in South Bend, they were cheering UC, whatever, whatever. And it was like it was our own stadium. It was crazy. To have that at your back, it’s a really good feeling. And we appreciate it a lot.

Just what do you remember about playing with DeVonta [Smith] that year at La Salle? I think he played a little offense for you guys. And was there any talk? I think it was the same year when the other DeVonta Smith made the game-winning catch for Alabama in the national championship, was there any talk about him having the same name?

I don’t remember anything about him having the same name. But one memory I do have back in high school was we were at an early practice, it was the day before the game. And Coach [Luke Fickell] got on him, he was a freshman or a sophomore at the time, and he kind of got down in the dumps because Coach got on him, whatever. And I just went up and I was like, ‘Listen. He’s only being hard on you because he knows you’re going to play on the biggest stages of football.’ And to see him take responsibility for himself and to see him here now, both of us here now, it’s really cool.

I want to ask this because I know, in a game like this, in this particular matchup against Alabama, there’s so much outside noise, and people have been talking and hinting at home that you guys are the underdogs. How do you not let that get to you as a team, or, on the other end of it, do you guys use that as motivation as you get towards this game?

Personally, I try to not listen to that at all. We’ve kind of had that all year, people doubting us, saying we’re not as good as we are. But I kind of just try to tune that out and focus on who we are. Because at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

When you sat down, you said you never thought you’d be here. That idea, a lot of people thought about that ‚Äì thought about Cincinnati that way. When are you talking about thinking that, and how did you come to the realization that you could be here?

So when I got recruited, man, a long time ago, that was ‚Äì I came in and they were coming off a 4-8 season. And nobody thought UC could be here in any moment. And just believing in Coach Fick (Luke Fickell) and everything that he’s taught us along the way. The thing that he said after the last season was we’re a good football team. We win a lot of games. But it’s time to be a great team. And I think we have the chance to do that this year. And I’m really excited for it.

At the other end, now that you’re here and this stage is in front of you and you’re doing things like this press conference, how do you keep this moment from getting too big?

I mean, like I said, I just try to focus on the game, focus on our preparation. Don’t let this stuff get to my head or anything. And on Friday, we’ll see how it plays out.

You’ve referenced that interest you had coming out of high school. And it felt like your first couple years, even locally, so many questions you got were like, why did you choose to stay home at Cincinnati? Is it funny or maybe rewarding to look back on that now considering where you guys have made it and what you’re about to do? Obviously, seems like that decision paid off for you.

Absolutely. It’s kind of like an I-told-you-so moment. That’s a big decision as an 18-year-old. To not listen to all the noise about, we have the best facilities, all that hoopla, whatever. But going where you believe, you know, is the best fit for you. That home away from home. And I can truly say I think I made the right decision. And I’m really happy about that.

Only 25 family members coming down. The other hundred couldn’t make it?

That’s what I said. They’ll all be tuned in back home. They’ll have a watch party and everything.

So when you and Malik [Vann] committed right around the same time in the spring of 2017, it was seen as, along with Jerrel [Jordan] the couple months before, a movement of getting Cincinnati kids to stay home. Do you ever look around the locker room at all the Cincinnati kids and kind of take pride in the fact that you were one of those guys that made it, you know, the thing to do to stay home and be a Bearcat?

Yeah, that’s Coach Fick’s [Luke Fickell] biggest thing, that 300-mile radius, keeping the guys here. Because you have something to play for. But one thing I don’t know if many people know is that back in high school, my recruiting class, we had probably 20 guys in a group chat. All around Ohio talking about, we should go to UC, this and that. And the majority of us came. Malik being one of those guys. Ja’von [Hicks], Blake Bacevich. And to have that, that was really cool. You know, to talk about it and to see that we’re all here now. It’s awesome.

As someone from Cincinnati, how would you describe the taste of Skyline Chili to an outsider?

A lot of cheese. I don’t know. I’ve been living off Skyline my entire life. I eat it probably two or three times a week. You can’t really describe it though, you just got to try it.

A lot has been made of Jameson Williams and rightfully so, but it looks like from the 40 times, Tre Tucker might be able to beat him in a foot race. I know you guys have been trying to approximate what Alabama is going to try to do. How does it help to have a guy like Tre to give you an idea of what they’ll be facing? And do you think he’s underrated and every bit as good as Jameson?

I definitely think he’s every bit as good. He’s a huge part of our offense. Being able to get the ball on the perimeter, taking deep shots with him as you’ve seen when we played Notre Dame. But I think he’s going to play a huge role in this game. And we’ll see on Friday.