Cincinnati Bearcats College Football Pregame Quote, 12/28/2021

Tell us about the excitement of playing the Cotton Bowl Playoff before we open it up for questions.

I would just say, you know, thank you to the Cotton Bowl for having us out here. This is a tremendous blessing and a tremendous opportunity and thank God every day for putting us here and this prove it we’ve had. Ultimately you prove it’s defined by the way you finish it. And so looking forward to this opportunity this week.

You guys have a pretty eclectic mix of linebackers, I would say, especially if you include the sniper position in that. What benefit does that give you in a game like this with the different, you know, strengths of maybe you and Darrian [Beavers] and Deshaun [Pace] and Will [Adams] and Ty [Van Fossen].

I think all those guys just have so many different aspects to their game of strengths. And I think Will Huber and ‚Äì he’s able to, you know, really complement kind of what I do and stuff like that. A little bit more run heavy. And then you’ve got Ty Van [Fossen] and Deshaun Pace, and I think that those two really complement each other really nice, too as well.

So I think like you said, they just kind of all play together. And I think the way the coaches use them, they do a good job of, you know, being able to balance between the two.

I asked the same question to Darrian [Beavers]. You guys have spent a lot of this year in kind of ‘prove-it’ mode, at least to the public. If you win, do you win by enough? And now you’re kind of expected to represent the Power ‚Äì or the Group of Five. Has there been a moment yet for you personally where you’ve been allowed just to kind of sit back and reflect and savor and enjoy what you’ve done to this point?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, before this game there’s a good amount of time and after the championship game when, you know, all of Cincinnati that was there came out and rushed the field. That was an amazing moment, and just being able to sit back and take that in. That’s an experience I’ll never forget.

But yeah, I think, you know, there’s many parts of this prove it that there’s been ups and downs and challenges, like you said. People trying to put expectations on us and try to tell us how we should or shouldn’t play or what’s good or bad or what we need to do to prove ourselves. And I think that affected the team a little bit. But ultimately, we got back, towards the end of the prove it, of really focusing on ourselves and playing our game.

And so I feel like that’s where we’re at right now. We always play with, you know, a chip on our shoulder. We always feel like, you know, we’re the underdogs, we’re, you know ‚Äì whether or not we’re the returning champs for the AAC or not, we just always have that grinder kind of go-after-it type mentality.

I asked Darrian [Beavers] about this, and I kind of want to ask you, too. How important is development within a program, specifically at Cincinnati? And then especially for someone like you who’s played so much in your career, how much better are you today than you were when you first started playing as a redshirt freshman?

I think it’s night and day, the difference of me and my transformation. I think a lot of it comes with maturity. I think the development at Cincinnati with, you know, Coach [Luke] Fickell, especially as a linebacker and the defensive side of the ball, I think there’s a ‚Äì you know, Coach Fick was a defense coordinator at Ohio State, and so there’s a tremendous amount of expectations and, you know, good pressure that I think, you know, can take coal and make them into diamonds.

So I think the development at Cincinnati is really what has set us apart and just the way we train, our culture that we try to establish and we establish with all the guys on the team. Yeah, I think it’s just a night-and-day difference from, you know, guys coming in.

Just wanted to ask you about Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. What stands out to you about his game?

Well, he’s not the Heisman for no reason. He’s really good. He’s a really good ballplayer. Can throw the ball from multiple arm angles and has got a really pretty deep ball. Hardly ever misses on his throws. I think he can extend plays well and buy some time for those deep routes to get open. And yeah, he’s a really good quarterback.

Like I said, he’s the Heisman for a reason. And so it’s a tremendous opportunity to play a player of that caliber, and we’re just really looking forward to it.

Just preparing for Bryce Young, obviously he’s the Heisman trophy winner, but I was wondering as one of the leaders in that linebacking room, have you had conversations with some of your guys about how you’re going to deal with him? Not just throwing balls into tight windows but his ability to beat people on the ground as a dual threat as well.

Obviously, the past few weeks, that’s what we’ve been trying to do and trying to figure out. Where are areas in this game we can exploit and try to create to our advantage. So yeah, absolutely we’ve been doing that. And there have been conversations that have been happening about that.

I’m just curious, Joel, when you made the decision to come back for a sixth year, was this what you envisioned or is this even beyond what your wildest dreams were when you decided to give it one more shot?

I would like to say I ‚Äì well, after last year, yeah, obviously I think this is what we’re all aiming for. But definitely, you know, when I first came here, in 2016 I was not thinking, you know, making it to the College Football Playoffs. Even a few years ago I wasn’t thinking that.

But these last couple of years, you know, we’ve been able to be in a position to where we are in these conversations. So it’s a huge blessing to be here, absolutely.

How cool is it to be a part of that?

It’s super cool. I mean, I just ‚Äì like I said, I thank God every day to be here and just want to honor this opportunity as much as possible and go out there and make Cincinnati proud. Get that Dub [W].

You guys beat Notre Dame this year, obviously, and stuck with Georgia, pretty much almost beat them last year. How much confidence does that give you guys going into a game against a Power Five conference team?

Yeah, I think it gives us tremendous confidence going into the game. We know we’re really good. We’ve got to go out there and play our game. Yeah, I think we’ve just shown over and over again that we belong in these games and we have the players to be in the game.

How eager are you to put it to rest, all the talk about Cincinnati, you know, Group of Five, all of that?

Yeah, I’m just looking for the opportunity to play. I don’t really listen to much outside talk. But I’m just looking forward to, you know, showing the whole nation who we are.

I think anybody outside of this program looks at Alabama as, you know, one of the top brands in college football and such an explosive offense. I’m curious as a defensive player when you watch them on film and you prepare for them, is this the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a college football player, going up against this offense?

I would say yes, absolutely. I think them being able to be a high-powered offense, just like you said, you never know when they’re going to make that explosive play and that big play to completely blow up in the game. So that’s a dangerous part about them and why they’ve been so good. They have athletes all over the field. Obviously they like some guys more than others. But every guy on the field can play, and from top to bottom. And so yeah, I would absolutely agree with that statement.