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

I’m wondering, when do you feel like maybe that narrative changing?

TANNER MUSE: Maybe this past year just going 15-0. But still, we’re not really that program, you know? Alabama is that program. It’s been that way for the decade. We’ve creeped up a little bit. And we’re just trying to be that model program, whether it’s with class, whether it’s just winning the games, things like that. We’re just trying to do the right things in every aspect of college football. We’ve done a great job of that this decade. And Coach Swinney says it all the time, “The best is yet to come.” I think the next decade is going to be even better.

Does that mean when you get to a point where Alabama has been, people don’t like to runall the time?

TANNER MUSE: Yeah, everyone wants the underdog. I’m the same way when I watch movies. There’s something to say for a very consistent program. You don’t see it very often. When you see it, you kind of resent it, because a lot of people aren’t consistent in the things they do in life. They’re like, I really want this team to win, because we don’t see this team win enough. That’s how a lot of people are. But at the same time, you have to appreciate consistency and a team that does that.

So to do it again this year after last year, how did you guys develop that level of consistency to get you to the point where you could start to replicate it?

TANNER MUSE: It starts with just our preparation first. I think the preparation that we’ve done is just the best, between Coach Swinney scheduling how we do things, and then Coach V (Brent Venables) on the defensive side, just being able to get a plan together and attacking it. But as a program, I’ve been there for the two-loss teams and I’ve been here for the 15-0s. The difference is just a hunger to continue to win. When you get complacency with a team, you’re up and down. That’s where you see scores, people getting up on you and down on you. It’s going to happen, but when you get more consistent on those, you understand the teams are getting complacent in the season.

Does it feel any different being the team that people are kind of ‚Äì well, I’ll say bashing inthe national media this year compared to what it was the last time you were in Arizona?

TANNER MUSE: I think we’re getting more bashing now just because we’ve been here and we’re doing it more often. But in previous years, I think they’re just like, Oh, Clemson is here. They’re just happy for us, but they know we’re not going to do anything, and then we kind of surprise them. Then they’re like, Well, they can’t do it again.

It almost feels like in ’16, that’s what it was, “Oh, Clemson is here.”

TANNER MUSE: Clemson is here, good for them. Move aside, let Ohio State run over them. But we’re just kind of ‚Äì we’re from South Carolina. We’re a public university with 26,000 people. We don’t have a huge alumni like some of these teams do. So it’s different. But we’re just here for it all and going to appreciate it all.

So [Justin] Fields is dealing with some sort of a knee thing. We’ve seen the brace on his knee and all that. What are you expecting from him? Do you think that’s going to impact hisperformance? Has it affected the way you guys think about him?

TANNER MUSE: I doubt it. I think he’ll do fine. You think of student-athletes, we’re kind of superhuman. We’re always banged up. But when you get these two weeks off, we just kind of seem to boom, miraculously feel better. Just time off. Time with your family does wonders. I think he’ll be just fine. I think we’ll see a prime version of Justin Fields, and we have to be ready for him.

What do you expect to -­

TANNER MUSE: Big arm. Able to hit his holes. Sit it in the pocket. Taking whatever needs to be done. He’s a very strong guy. And then his legs. I think his legs are what make him an elite player. I think he’s a very good, very great quarterback, precision quarterback. But his legs make him elite. Being able to do both is very tough for a defense. Very, very tough.

So from your position as a safety, where you’ve got to deal with a quarterback who can roll out, looks like he’s going to run, you’ve got to defend the run and also make sure nobody getsbehind you ‚Äì what have you guys been working on in preparing for that? What are some ofthe keys you have to look for?

TANNER MUSE: Just making sure we can’t let him out of the cage. Just like what we had to do with Bryce Perkins the last national championship. He’s very good at both things, throwing and running. It makes it tough for a defense trying to continue to contain guys. All the D-line, they want to make sacks. They want to be the guy getting to celebrate. They’ve got to make sure they understand that we have to keep them in the wraps where you can’t get out and extend plays. They do a great job of just extending plays, scrambled drill, the receiver getting open.

You mentioned Bryce Perkins. In Virginia, they had the most yardage over anybody againstyou this year. Is that directly related to the type of quarterback Perkins was?

TANNER MUSE: Yeah, I believe so. I think he’s a great player. That, and their scheme was a very good scheme. They did a lot of different things. He just did a great job executing the play. Kind of got to a slow start. They were nickel and diming us here and there. But we finally figured them out pretty good. We just kept on running with it.

Ohio State’s receivers ‚Äì of course, you go up against the Clemson receivers, how do youlook at Ohio State’s receivers in terms of how they stack up against the SEC?

TANNER MUSE: We have a great set of receivers at Clemson, just being able to prepare us for games like this. They have a great corps of receivers. They definitely have converting receivers and top-off receivers that can top off the defense. It’s tough, because you’ve got so many different threats. And then their tight ends do a great job of getting their matchups and working around them.

This is as good of a back seven as Clemson had. Why? What is it that you guys are doingso well?

TANNER MUSE: I think it’s just our mental game, understanding what we’re going to get, understanding the plan, executing the plan. We might not be the most talented back seven that I’ve seen, because I’ve seen some really good DBs coming across Clemson. But I think our savviness and our willingness to learn and get better week in and week out, is really what set us apart from any other team around.

When you guys are that smart of a secondary ‚Äì I’m curious about this. It seems to me like Ohio State runs good routes. What do you see on film?

TANNER MUSE: Yeah, they’re very precise in what they do. That all comes down to the coaches and the coordinator, understanding what plays to call, when to call them, and understanding the situations. They’re the best third-down team in the nation. It’s not by mistake. They do a great job of just converting in the first and second downs really well.

What is it about Justin Fields? I mean, again, both sides, you see Trevor [Lawrence] in practice, they see Justin in practice. What do you see in him?

TANNER MUSE: I think he’s a very good player. Just being able to do both is always tough. When you do both, it requires you to put more hats in the box. He’s a dual-threat guy. He can escape when needed. When you get a great player like that in a place where he doesn’t have as many high-profile guys to help him out, you don’t really see the gift. But him, being where he is is like paradise. He’s got a great back, a great receiving corps. Everything kind of flowing. He has so many good players surrounding him as well. Him being great, and then the guys in front of him being great, it’s really just the cherry on the top for him.

And when I ask this, it’s not a shot at any previous opponents or anything. But I would say from the Ohio State side of things, they have not seen a team like you guys all year. Probablynot close. Just an honest evaluation of what you guys have gone through in your schedule.How can you put in context what Ohio State is like compared to what you’ve played?

TANNER MUSE: I don’t think they’re like anybody we’ve played. They’re obviously one of the best teams in the country. They do different things so well. I think you can take wrinkles from the teams that we played and try to simulate them through film and stuff, watching film: “If this happens, he can

do the same,” you know? But all in all, they have such a great offense. There’s not much you can simulate. Then you look at your scouts every day, and they’re not going to give you the look you need, no matter how hard they try. It’s just something we’ve got to get used to and just come out and do your best.

For both defenses, you got them shut out three years ago. That’s pretty crazy. I don’t think either team is going to be shut out this time. Do you play a couple of great plays, slow themdown?

TANNER MUSE: When you get in these championship games, you have more time to prepare. You’re not going to be able to stop everything, because you don’t know everything. You have a whole season’s body of work. You can’t stop everything. But you’ve got to try to stick to your guns and try to understand what you’re going to get and just do your best. I think for both teams, it’s very tough to prepare for high-profile offenses. Coach V (Brent Venables) always does a great job at developing a good plan for us. Then we do a good job just understanding the plan. We always try to get guys watching extra film, extra film, extra film. We try to prepare. I think it has paid off for us all year.

So you really feel like this defense has really connected with the way you play 11 guystogether?

TANNER MUSE: It’s young and savvy. We had a good core group that came in right under me, some fourth-year guys. We have a lot in the back seven that have really grown. I’m kind of like the dad. where I just kind of manage it all.

How has the experience of this season translated from September until now?

TANNER MUSE: I think our back seven was really the strength of our team, our defense. But I think our D-line just needed time to grow. We got a lot of young guys. Nyles [Pinckney] and Jordan [Williams] were hurt all spring, so they didn’t really get with the team until summer training, and then into the fall camp. So we had a good little learning curve in there. Try to just build our back seven up even more. Just be able to help them. But now just to see them flourish and have such a great season. They’ve done a great job of preparing and understanding the plan and being able to play well. So that’s really been the biggest payoff for us this year.

Were you a Clemson fan growing up?

TANNER MUSE: No, sir. I was always a Florida or Texas guy, when Vince Young was over there. Florida, [Tim] Tebow obviously, when he was over there. I didn’t really know about Clemson until my sophomore year. I get a call from Coach V (Brent Venables), Hey, do you want to come to Clemson? I appreciated it. I had to do my research. But I never really knew Clemson until they started recruiting me.

Is there an appreciation, I guess? I mean, it just seems like with Clemson and Alabama,since the playoffs started almost, it’s been ‚Äì I guess it would be easy to assume thoseschools are going to be in it every year. Is there an appreciation on the inside for every year you’ve been here, you’ve been in the playoffs?

TANNER MUSE: Yeah. If you don’t appreciate it, go ahead and lose. See how much you appreciate being there then. It’s tough to win. College football is tough to win. It’s a cutthroat business. A lot of teams are getting better and better and better. So you want to always be at the top of your game. I never don’t appreciate just being here. I’m always grateful being here, and I know what it takes to win these games. And it’s very tough. So can’t thank the staff enough for putting me in the great positions I’ve been in, and just letting me ride this wave.