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

So a great opportunity for us as a team, as a program. And I think we’re all, including myself, are just grateful for the opportunity we have to compete. That’s really all I have.

What have you seen from Alabama’s tight ends, and how much of a challenge do they present in the passing game?

It’s a nice challenge. Each and every week is a nice challenge. The tight ends, they move around a little bit more. They have certain jobs for the team. So I just have to key in on those guys. But as far as anything else, just game planning and seeing, okay, cool, that’s what their tendencies are, and from that point on, just making sure we are in our position to make plays and limit their plays.

Being from Cincinnati, what is it like just to represent your hometown and staying local?

It’s great, honestly. Like, coming back home, see all my guys I haven’t seen for years. My mom 20 minutes away which is good. I can see her and the family. So from that aspect is also good. And also the football aspect. Being able to play on the big stage and have your hometown friends come home and see you play, so it’s definitely a big thing. Especially since as a kid, you dream of these opportunities and these experiences.

When you have two corners like you guys have, what makes them – what does that do for a team? What makes them so special?

It’s great. Honestly, especially as a safety. Like, the ability to make checks and things like that. And that we rely on certain things and not having to lean on one side or the other. Like, have trust in both of those guys for sure. And also, like, be able to checks on the fly. They’re very intelligent as well.

So things are very smooth as far as making checks and making sure everybody is in the right position. And it also gives a lot of freelance, I would say, on the field, especially with the ability they have. Like, okay, I can trust these guys to do certain jobs that might not be able to do sometimes or put in the package, I end up asking them to do this instead, just for the play and move on. But I think having those type of guys on both ends definitely does make my job a little bit easier.

There’s so many next-level guys on this team, so many guys that came back for the senior year for the opportunity that you guys have now. But what has the success of this team done for guys like yourself, for your future prospects, for guys that have shown what they can do and possibly for the NFL draft?

It’s done a lot, I would say. Guys coming back. Coby [Bryant] coming back. [Darrian] Beavers coming back. So it just helped us improve from what we had last year to what we have now. But I think everybody else would say the same thing. Right now, we’re just focused on the next game. Everything else will just play into the part. Obviously, it does. You have to have a little buzz for us, especially for future-wise. But I try not to get too caught up in that aspect. Just at least not right now, because you have a game to play.

But from looking at it, it definitely does help us a lot as far as getting looks and things like that, more scouts coming to practices and things like that. I just take it with a grain of salt. Appreciate it, but keep moving forward, because the job’s not finished. That’s the thing to do.

Do you think that a lot of people that have not paid attention to Cincinnati very closely are going to be surprised at how many next-level, NFL-type guys are on this team?

I would say yes, but then again, it’s like, I don’t really know. I said I mentioned the fact that I only know what outside ‚Äì I kind of keep myself in a bubble. Does that make sense? I keep myself in a bubble. So like, I only know what I know. What I pay attention to. What I give time to.

So, like, a lot of people might not think or might not know, that’s not their fault, because that’s not something they were brought into or really seen. All I can say is, like, we do have a lot of guys who can actually play on the next level. But I’m pretty sure any player from any team would say the same thing. Like I said, you have that aspect. You have these guys who can play fairly well. And you just keep moving forward and keep trying to improve, improve, improve.

When you watch Jameson Williams on tape, is there anything you can do to kind of prepare for his speed, his quickness, how suddenly he can get on you and turn a 5-yard play into a 50-yard play?

I mean, yeah. You watch film, you can definitely see it. But I think with just any other receiver, things like that, you have to understand, cool, what they like to do. How they like to get the ball, and where they feel most comfortable at and make it uncomfortable for them. But that’s with any offense you’ll face. As quarterback we see running backs. Like, just making sure a big player ‚Äì as my coaches say, using the left hand to play against you. So find just different ways you can attack him as well.

Because I know we play defense and you’re trying to figure out how to attack us. But the defense mentality we have is a very aggressive one. So just figuring out things we can do to kind of, like, get him off his game just a bit and things. Make him think a little bit more rather than just running. Because it’s a little different, you’re just sprinting down. Like on track, for instance, you’re not thinking about track, you’re just running. So if you have to run and think a little bit more, then you might slow down a little bit. So just little things like that.

You’re about to play for a National Championship, which is a dream come true for guys on 130 teams. How do you keep this moment? What’s the hardest part of keeping this moment from getting too big?

I think the hardest part is obviously things like this, if I’m being honest. This only comes when you reach a certain status as far as, like, playing ball. So I think things like this and keeping our head level, understand that we’re here for a reason. You’re not just here because of the fact, okay, cool, they let us in. No, we played well throughout the whole season. And now let’s continue to do that. And not really thinking to changing things up or trying to do things differently, in that aspect. So with all this, you have to be able to narrow in on what you’ve got to do. Who the game plan is, who we’re facing against, and make sure you go out on the 31st and you play ball, and compete at a high level.

So we’re screwing up your routine. Is that what you’re saying?

At the end of the day, you got to compete. I have no problem doing this. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s not something you get in week two of the season, but you got it now. You know what I’m saying? Things like that, but it’s nothing big, honestly speaking.

I wanted to ask you about a question that was asked of Curtis Brooks just about this team and if this feels like now or never. And he said no, he feels like this is just the start for Cincinnati as a program. Where you are now, would you agree with that?

Yeah, I would agree with that. There’s a lot of, you know, kudos to Coach Fick [Luke Fickell], a lot of guys coming in. I wasn’t highly recruited, but a lot of highly recruited guys coming in from high school and you can fully develop and get them on the same accord so they can play regularly. So things like that.

Me, I’ve been here for three years, missed one year because of an eligibility year. So I’m kind of seeing how it came from the bottom to the top and then now we’re in a nice position. And obviously with the team moving to the Big 12 ‚Äì yeah, the Big 12 ‚Äì it’s just more opportunity for guys to really show what they can do.

So I would agree with Curtis Brooks as far as it’s just the beginning. You’re going to see a lot of big things from this team moving forward. I have a lot of faith in the young boys that kind of mentor in that aspect. I’m excited to watch them play more than anything.

The Peach Bowl last year, what was that performance like for you when you were able to show what you could do on that stage, and then also did it give you a boost heading into this season?

It was good. I would say I’m very hard on myself. So I look back at the film, I still could have made a lot of plays that I missed. Plays I did make, I could have made a little better. Especially with the way it ended, you can’t help but think about things you could have corrected.

From the outside looking in, I definitely played well, but there’s always room for improvement. So no matter how good or bad a game is, you can still improve. And even your best play, you can definitely improve on. So that’s how I feel about that game.

And as far as a confidence booster, it’s more like settling for me. Does that make sense? Because I’m very close to [James] Wiggins. We still talk to this day. He’s doing his thing at Arizona, Washington, things like that. I think for now with them having them help coming up in the program and learn different things. I’ve been playing safety for three years now.

So just learning from them on a day-to-day aspect, I just think that, this season for me, it’s just more like, okay, now I have a routine and I have a little thing that I got going for myself and finding my own way to play the position, if that makes sense.

So that was pretty much it. Like I said, I just want to improve on different things and be, like, the best version of myself I can be. So rather than coming from The Peach Bowl which was a good game, I played good, but just improving on that game week in and week out. And that starts before even the first game starts. That starts with spring ball, things like that. And transfer up into camp and the season. Just day-to-day thing, honestly.

As a Cincinnati native, what are your thoughts on the local chili?

Well, I’m planning to get a lot of criticism about this, but I personally think Gold Star’s better for me. I don’t eat Skyline. When I was younger, I ate it, and I had a bad tummy ache. So ever since then, I never ate it again. I probably am biased. I probably should try it again, give it another shot. But I would rather eat Gold Star. I don’t eat it that often because I have other foods to eat. But if I was to pick, I would pick Gold Star. But I’ll give Skyline another chance to redeem themselves.

In general, just about the whole idea of Cincinnati chili, people outside the area might not think it’s that good. But how would you sell someone on what makes Cincinnati chili good?

I’ve been growing up on it. To me, it’s a shock if you don’t know about it. For me, it’s a culture ‚Äì not a culture. I think you can say a city culture thing. That’s what we have. So you eat it. Growing up with it, we’re used to this. So you bring your parents from out of town, try this, this is really good. To me, yeah, it is, but I’ve had it my whole life. Does that make sense?

I don’t know. But as far as selling it-wise, I can’t really give perspective. You just have to try it for yourself because you have two different ones. You can have your preference. People on this team like Skyline. I’m not one of those people at this moment, but just find your preference. Come to any city, try things we have. You go to Philadelphia, you got cheesesteak. There’s just some things you have to try when you come to the city, if that makes sense.