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

We’re extremely excited just for the opportunity to be here. Got a chance to play on a huge stage for a National Championship, just everything we all wanted and worked for. We just wanted the opportunity to play for championships, so let’s get it going.

As an all-AAC first team member, is there an add pressure on you to perform every game, especially against the number one team in the country?

I wouldn’t say pressure. It’s just more of an opportunity just to go play. I’ve been in Cincinnati for quite a few years, so I don’t really know if I feel too much pressure, but I just love the opportunity to go out there and just compete every chance I get.

Yesterday they asked Coach [Mike] Tressel about if there’s any kind of unheralded guys on the defense. You know, a lot of talk about ‘Sauce’ (Ahmad Gardner) and Coby [Bryant] and things like that. And he said he kind of felt like that was the case up and down the depth chart on the defense, but he specifically mentioned you. Do you feel kind of like an unheralded, overlooked guy? Does the defense, in general, feel like that, do you think?

I don’t know if I can really speak on like if I’m ‚Äì on that situation. But I know out there on the field, we all play as one. And we’re together. So that off-the-field attention, I’m happy for anybody that gets it. If it doesn’t come, that’s okay.

You guys have come a long way over the time of since you got to UC. How do you keep in perspective this moment and not let it get too big for you?

You just prepare like it’s any other week. Keep the same routine. Coach Fick (Luke Fickell) is always preaching routine and sticking to what you’re doing. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Even though, like, we’re on a huge stage, a huge opportunity, we still want to keep the same routine, just to keep it going the same way.

What do you anticipate those early moments being, playing at Jerry World (AT&T Stadium) and coming out onto that surface and that many people there? What do you anticipate that feeling like?

Breathtaking, I’m sure it will be. But as soon as the ball goes down, I’m sure all the butterflies and stuff will go away. But I know as soon as the first run-out, the first glance at the crowd, it will be something spectacular.

You came from Virginia. When you moved to Cincinnati, what was your first impression of the chili in Cincinnati?

I first came to Cincinnati, I was not a huge fan of the chili, especially the Skyline. But I got some great friends from Cincinnati, Malik Vann, Darrian Beavers, kind of sat me down and forced me to eat it one more time. And I’m actually a huge fan of it now. Crazy.

What’s your message to people, the haters of Skyline chili who don’t think it looks good?

You can’t just try it one time. You have to go back and try it again. Have to.

Just wanted to ask kind of last January, what was it like when a lot of the guys, yourself, Coby [Bryant], guys that decided to come back for another season, kind of the feeling, like Marcus [Brown] too, do you kind of remember what was going through your head? Kind of the expectations for this year when a lot of guys decided to come back.

Well, what’s funny, none of us actually discussed what we were going to do, as far as coming back. It just all kind of happened. And once we realized, looked around and realized who was back, we realized we could really do something special this year. And it played out in that way.

I wanted to ask you about, kind of piggybacking on that last question, you are a sixth-year guy. And you, obviously, aren’t the only one. You’ve seen a full program turnaround, Curtis. What has it been like experiencing that and how much have you kind of been able to realize what this week means, knowing where you came from almost six years ago?

Oh, man, I still remember the feeling of the first time getting in Cincinnati, the first time being on campus, how practice used to feel, and then how practice has changed now. But as far as seeing the program turn around, man, it’s been something spectacular. Coach Fick (Luke Fickell), he’s really, in a way, a legendary coach in my eyes. Because he’s brought so much success to not just to the team but to individual players, everyone. So with that being said, he just helped the whole program, everyone winning, so the turnaround was huge.

Just take me through what was it in the middle of the season that really saw your play take a step up and be able to make the impact up the middle that you have from, what, probably the Notre Dame game, Indiana-Notre Dame game on.

I don’t know. I guess it’s just preparation, you know, a lot of work, a lot of hours. We just go out there and go play. I really try not to worry about stats too much when I’m playing the game. You just go play, go have fun, and usually things like that just take care of itself. And it did.

You mentioned how practice used to feel and then how it feels now. What’s the difference between then and now, do you think?

Oh, man, I just remember being as a freshman, I could walk out there, you know, maybe my shoes weren’t tied up all the way, maybe my ankles weren’t taped, might not have been strapped up all the way. Can’t do that now. It’s intense out there every practice. Even on a Thursday walk-through, it’s a mental focus that we have to have. And I really feel like that and, along with the weight training, really helped the program turn around, in my opinion.

You mentioned all the seniors on this team. Is there, like, a sense on this team that it’s kind of now or never for Cincinnati, that you really need to take advantage of this moment and try to finish this thing? And how big would it be, not only to beat the number one team in America, but to just finish this thing and win a national title?

Well, first off, for the seniors, it’s definitely now or never because it’s our last chance. But as far as Cincinnati, I don’t believe this is the last time Cincinnati will be on a stage like this. The program is headed in the right way in all directions, in my opinion. So I really believe Cincinnati is going to become a household name, one of the top 10 programs that Coach Fick [Luke Fickell] preaches about all the time. I definitely think that’s possible.

Oh, and knocking off Alabama, oh, man, talk about a dream come true. As a kid, watching football, Alabama, Nick Saban, that’s who was on TV all the time. And now we get the opportunity to go play them. It’s everything you ask for as a football player.

Obviously, with going up against Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, that’s a huge challenge for you guys to try to contain him and put pressure on him. What have you seen on film that makes you think that’s something you guys as a D-line can really accomplish on Friday?

Well, first off, Alabama’s offensive line, the first thing that pops up when you watch the film is that they’re coached up really great, you know, tight hands, quick all across the line. So that’s the first thing I notice right away. But it’s definitely ‚Äì we’re definitely going to get our opportunities to go rush and get after them. Bryce Young, Heisman, he won it for a reason, really, the best in the country. That’s what the Heisman means and stuff like that. So definitely, we just looking for the opportunity to go out there and play.

You talked about that decision to come back for you for a sixth year. Have you had any guys maybe seek out advice about if they should use that extra year for them moving forward?

For sure. And I tell them all the same thing. It’s the risk and reward to everything. So if you come back, make sure you’re honing in on your craft, focusing. Don’t just come back.

Don’t come back just to do it, come back with a purpose, I guess?

Right.

Take me through that moment, you’re at the senior banquet, you’ve got The College Football Playoff show on. I know everybody kind of knew, the way that things played out on Saturday, that you all were in. But what goes through your mind when you see that Cincinnati is in the college playoff and you get that reward for coming back and working as hard as you have?

You really see your hard work unfold right in that moment. In that moment, I had my mom and my dad with me, with all of the seniors in the banquet. You know how you draw it up in your head in the picture-perfect frame, that’s exactly how I dreamed of it.

What’s been the difference between preparing for this playoff game compared to the bowl games you’ve played in the past?

That goes back to the routine thing I was just speaking about. Coach Fick [Luke Fickell] prepares the same for everyone. Of course, there’s a little bit more moxie there because we got an opportunity to play for a national championship; but, basically, it’s just the same preparation, the same work, the same schedule, stuff like that.