Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2019

You’re one of the most highly regarded cornerbacks in the country. Do you think your counterpart in Shaun Wade is getting the same respect that he should?

JEFF OKUDAH: I believe that Sean [Wade] and Damon Arnette and Jordan Fuller should all get the same attention. I think that they’ve made great plays throughout the whole year. They’ve been really consistent with their play. So I think that they’ve all been doing a remarkable job and that they should get the same amount of attention.

Clemson’s constantly had a really good wide receiver group. How excited are you to go against their different kind of guys?

JEFF OKUDAH: I’m really excited to have that challenge. I know that it’s a challenge that our secondary has really welcomed and been really excited for. It’s going to be really cool on Saturday to go against their receivers.

Is this your first time in Arizona?

JEFF OKUDAH: Yeah.

What have the highlights been about being in Arizona?

JEFF OKUDAH: Being at the resort and going to the pool and the spa. I went to a steakhouse. That was really cool. The community outreach things, it was cool to be able to give back to the community.

What did it feel like to do that?

JEFF OKUDAH: Humbling. To use your platform and inspire people, it’s an inspiration. To be able to have that ability to do that, being a part of the community, it felt really humbling and really blessed.

Tell me about why you love Ohio State.

JEFF OKUDAH: I love Ohio State because of what it does as far as football, the academics they provide, and the brand that they’re able to build. So I think when you consider all three things, it’s a really good fit for a lot of people. You try to embody what the community has to offer. And I think that’s been the biggest thing, the community, they love the football team, and we love the fans and we love the band. We love everything about it. So it’s just really cool to have such a symbiotic relationship between the players and the fans.

So you guys are coming into this one a slight underdog. Obviously, you guys haven’t been an underdog all season. How does that change your mentality?

JEFF OKUDAH: It hasn’t necessarily changed it. I think it’s just a challenge that we welcome. I think underdog, favored, when the ball gets kicked, you have to play football. So we’re ready for that. We’re confident in what we’re going to be able to do.

Do you feel like you should be the underdog, or do you feel like you guys have been gypped a little bit?

JEFF OKUDAH: It is what it is. The cake’s already been baked, so we just got to roll with it now at this point, and we’re excited.

How does this one feel knowing that it might be your last bowl game?

JEFF OKUDAH: You’ve got to let it soak in, every moment that you can, because, like you said, it may be your last football game. You have to soak it in. At the same time, you have to play really hard to make sure that it’s not your last football game.

What do you feel like are some keys to the game for you guys in stopping Trevor Lawrence?

JEFF OKUDAH: I think tackling really well, have guys fly to the football, and then make the play when it comes to you. Don’t let any plays get away from you.

How did you feel about everything with Coach Hafley and you saw everything that happened with Clark Phillips. How did you feel when you saw that?

JEFF OKUDAH: I don’t really follow recruiting too much. I used to. Obviously, you want to make a choice that’s best for you. So if he felt like that was the best decision for him, then I know, for us in our secondary, we were just happy that he made the best decision for us.

Obviously, you don’t follow recruiting a lot, but now that some of those guys are signed, does anyone DM you, reach out to you at all, or have you talked to any of the recruits?

JEFF OKUDAH: Yeah, Lejond [Cavazos]. He’s from Texas, so we have that connection in that regard. I know we got one from Arizona. I saw him at practice the other day. So it’s just kind of about letting them know that they’re part of our secondary now and we’re a brotherhood. So whatever they need, we’re going to be there for them.

What are some things that you know now and you’re going to look back and you’ll be like, “That used to be me a few years ago,” and something that you could tell them, or what was a question that you might have had that now you could answer that question for them?

JEFF OKUDAH: Be patient and stay the course. Obviously, it might not click your first year, it might not click your second year, but When it’s your time to shine, you’re going to shine the brightest.

When you were coming in, who was that guy for you that you could reach out to them and they would reach out to you.

JEFF OKUDAH: Denzel Ward, and then Parris Campbell, and even Dwayne [Haskins]. So all those guys were always giving pointers, kind of trying to be a motivational figure. And it helped out.

So do you remember a picture from the Heisman where Chase [Young] talked about having the most drip on the team. I tweeted that. He told me that that’s something that he’s very proud of. And he hopes you guys thought ‚Äì I’m sure you saw the picture. I think you even quoted it. I would love to get your rebuttal on that and see if you agree or —

JEFF OKUDAH: That he has the most drip on the team? Listen, Chase learns from me.

Oh, yeah. Okay. He did not mention that.

JEFF OKUDAH: He learned his drip from me, because you have to figure that, freshman year, he was really ordinary. But I was still doing my thing. So fast forward two years later, and I’m still doing my thing, and he’s trying to catch up to me. I set the bar high. He’s still trying to live up to it.

He’s just following along.

JEFF OKUDAH: Ask anybody. They’ll tell you.

What do you think the biggest thing that you’ve taught him drip-wise would be, the biggest fashion lesson?

JEFF OKUDAH: I told him not to wear cut-sleeve flannels anymore because he’s not a lumberjack.

So he was big into flannels?

JEFF OKUDAH: The cut-sleeve flannels. I don’t know if he thought he was big or something, but he had to get away from wearing those because that was weak. He’ll agree on that. He’ll agree on that.

What did you think of his Heisman suit? The fit was good, right?

JEFF OKUDAH: It was nice.