Clemson Tigers College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2019

Fun is a big part of what y’all do. So what’s the big fun this year?

JAMES SKALSKI: The big fun is the chance to play for a national championship, and then, you know, doing it with your brothers, guys you work with all year and work hard with. Just coming out here and spending time with them preparing to play a game you love. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Have you been on the Dabo slide?

JAMES SKALSKI: I have. We have a slide. I take it every day. We have our meeting rooms we’re watching film in, and then directly down right in front of the locker room, we have a slide from upstairs in the main room straight down. So I’ll watch film, Coach V [Venables] will hurry us out of practice, we’ll slide down the slide and then we’re in the locker room getting ready to go. It’s pretty neat.

They have a wish list of what they want to put in the building, and Dabo is the one who said, “I want a slide.”

JAMES SKALSKI: I don’t know how that got in there, but it’s in there.

You might have to ask him. I’m pretty sure that’s what it was.

JAMES SKALSKI: Well, I’m a big fan of it.

What’s it like to be back here again, something you never take for granted?

JAMES SKALSKI: No. Anytime you get a chance to play for a national title. Luckily, we’ve been able to do that every year since I’ve been here. You can’t take any of that for granted. I don’t care where they send us. As long as it has to do with getting in the playoff, I’m with it. But coming back here again ‚Äì because I was here my freshman year ‚Äì it’s just special. You understand what’s at stake and what you’re playing for. It’s just always special and a good time.

Knowing that there’s been such a great defensive standard at Clemson for a while, great tocontinue that?

JAMES SKALSKI: Of course. That’s the reason I came here, not only because of the kind of coach and man Coach Swinney is and has created, but the kind of coach Coach Venables is. I wanted to be a part of that. From the outside looking in as a young high school player, seeing them with the number one defense in the country when I was a junior and senior in high school, these just dominant teams. I was like, “Dang, man. I want to play for this guy. I want to be a part of something special like this.”

And it’s just been awesome. I think we’re number one overall right now. It’s just been really cool. The whole year feels like a blur. It’s just been really neat to be able to continue a legacy like that.

I know you’re always wanting to get better, but was there a time this year when you felt like things were clicking really well for your defense?

JAMES SKALSKI: Yeah, but we don’t stay on the high horse too long. We’re very critical of ourselves and how we play. And that’s something ‚Äì not a lot of praise for us personally, towards ourselves and towards our performance. We’re always trying to get better. No matter how well we play, there’s always something you can get better at. That’s something we really try to focus on, is just being very critical and critiquing ourselves even if it is going very, very well.

When you look at Ohio State, what jumps out at you right away?

JAMES SKALSKI: They’re good at everything. They’re good at everything. They got two Heisman powers on both sides of the ball, a great running game, great offensive line, great quarterback, great receivers. There’s probably 22 guys on the offense that can all go out there and make plays. They’re very deep, and it’s going to be a big challenge for us. We do not see any weaknesses at all.

Knowing these are big goals, but is it still a matter of playing loose and having fun?

JAMES SKALSKI: That’s what it’s always come down to when you’re playing football. What have you got to worry about? You’re playing a game you love, right? You’re playing a game you love at the biggest stage. What more could you ask for? You would be tormenting yourself if you didn’t play free and loose. That’s how you have to approach it, I feel like, when you’re playing this game of football.

How was your Christmas?

JAMES SKALSKI: It was good. Two years in a row now where we’ve had practice on Christmas, but not everyone can say they’re competing for a chance to play in a national championship. Can’t complain.

Speaking of that, all your teammates are talking about how experience matters. Tanner [Muse] was talking about, not even from a gate perspective, but just like, from a stadiumperspective, knowing where everything is and how big it is. I’m just wondering, how muchdoes that play a part at game time?

JAMES SKALSKI: Honestly, no matter how big a stadium is or how big a crowd is, I feel like once the ball snaps and you’re in between those lines, none of that matters. You could try to pull that card that we’ve been in the stadium before and have that experience but man, at the end of the day, it all happens between ‚Äì the last time I checked the field, it is still 100 yards. It doesn’t really matter what’s around it.

It feels funny, a year ago we were all here and you guys were the inexperienced team.Everyone saying Clemson’s the young guys, the ones who we don’t really know. This year, everyone’s talking about you’re the team who’s been here more than anyone else. I’mwondering how you guys deal with all of that and how narratives change with you guys soquickly.

JAMES SKALSKI: We’re not too big of fans of narratives at Clemson. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in the past. This is all about right here and right now. We understand challenges in front of us. We understand yeah, what we have been through but what we have to do right now. That’s what we’re focusing on.

When you look at Ohio State, you’ve had more time to look at them since we last talked toyou guys at Clemson. What about their offense has allowed them to be undefeated on theyear?

JAMES SKALSKI: They’re talented across the board and they’re deep. Very, very deep. They have a great quarterback who leads the way for them. J.K. Dobbins is a great player. Physical offensive line. Good, talented receivers. Great tight ends. There is no weakness for them. They’ve been punishing teams all year. So it is going to be a challenge and we’re excited to take it on.

From the time in preseason camp, you basically said no one knows who we aredefensively. As a defense, there were a bunch of new guys. You’ve been like a prophet, so to speak. You said we’re going to be fine. You say you’re not about narratives from Clemson butthe narrative has been about who are these guys that are going to replace these fellas whograduate. It looks like it has played out. Has it played out as you thought it would?

JAMES SKALSKI: You know, on paper it looks like this great defense that we’ve put on, this great performance we’ve been putting on. Personally, I’m kind of disappointed in how I’ve played this year. I think I’ve left a lot of money on the table per se. But, overall, yeah, we’re playing really well. Personally, I think I’ve kind of let myself down a little bit. I don’t think I’ve played as well as I could.

How’s that?

JAMES SKALSKI: I’ve missed tackles when I shouldn’t have, just coverage things, just the flow of operations at certain points, just quick fixes during and before plays that I’m responsible for, just little stuff like that. Yeah, you can’t deny the fact that we’ve played well, but we can do so much better. I think that starts with me personally, too.