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

Obviously, I’m extremely excited. I think it’s a big, big, big accomplishment for our program and all the work that we have put in through this offseason. So I’m just excited to get out there and compete with my brothers, and hopefully make it to the National Championship.

I know you’re an Ohio kid being up from Akron. Cincinnati has the most Ohio kids from any team in the State. How much pride do you guys have in taking ‚Äì in representing the State of Ohio, especially in the College Football Playoffs this year?

So obviously, we have guys from other states on our team. And I always find myself arguing with them, saying Ohio is a top state. So I take it very serious. And I’m from northeast Ohio so, like, sometimes I’ll argue with the guys down here that are in Cincinnati that northeast Ohio is better. But as a whole, Ohio is a great state. Tremendous football. And I’m just honored to be a part of it.

Just wanted to ask you about the trajectory of this team and kind of the now-or-never feeling of getting here now? And of being a one-and-done shot. How much do you feel like this team is still just beginning in some ways with where Luke Fickell has already taken it?

It’s definitely still continuing to build. I’m a junior myself. And I just remember my freshman year. We were, I think, 11-3. And right then and there, I’m like, wow, we’ve reached a high point. How much higher can we go. And then you see the next year we do what we did. And then obviously this year coming up. So I don’t think there’s a ceiling for us right now. I think we’re still building. And Coach Fickell is doing an amazing job and all the guys that he has with him. And I think this program is on its way to becoming a top 10 program in the future, which is one of his goals that he always talks about, being a top 10 program. So I think that’s definitely within reach. And I’m just happy to be a part of it.

Wanted to ask you about the way the team played at the end of the season. Because you think back to the middle of the season. There were a couple of games that got a little bit shaky, a little bit nervy for the team. To play the way you did the final few weeks as a launching point into this game, how important was it to play some of your best football at the end of the season to build that confidence back up for a game this big?

Well, obviously, like you said, during that time, that little stretch we had, we knew what we were capable of. There was just a couple things going wrong. And I just remember coming back to one of the practices after those games. And we just were like, we’re just going to play against each other. We’re just going to go, basically, good on good and do stuff like that. Scrimmage against each other. Because that’s really how you get better. And I’m a believer of that as well. And I just remember, those practices were great.

That was probably one of the best practices we had in a while. And I remember feeling that spark, and it translated to the game that upcoming Saturday. So I think it was definitely important for us, but we always knew we were capable of it.

Do you feel like you’re playing your best football now?

Yeah, I think we are. Well, we’ve played SMU, ECU, Houston, so I definitely think we’re right about there.

Your first time in the playoff for Cincinnati but obviously you guys have played in big games on big stages at Notre Dame, the Peach Bowl last year. How prepared is this team for this moment?

Yeah, so I actually remember coming in my freshman year. During camp, we had like practices at night. And I remember like one of our focuses was being able to play on the big stage, because, obviously, I wasn’t here the year before, but they played UCF at UCF. And some of those guys will say that’s the loudest stadium they’ve ever played in to this day. And that the stage was insane. So I remember that my freshman year. Just coming in as a freshman, I’m like, okay, like, I guess I can get ready for this too.

And yeah, fast forwarding to now, we’ve played at Notre Dame, played at Indiana which is a very hostile environment. It’s nothing new. I think we’re used to it now. And actually at home, like for me personally, I think at home is insane. Obviously those guys are rooting for us, but I think coming into our place and playing in front of those fans, our amazing fans every week helps as well. So I think it’s just another game for us basically.

What do you think makes your two cornerbacks so tough? What is it about those two guys that makes them so difficult?

Well, first, they’re very smart. You know, like you can have a lot of athletic ability, but football smarts is very important as well. Ahmad [Gardner], he’s very smart. Like sometimes we’ll line up out there and he’ll tell me my route before I even run it. Just based off alignments and things like that. Which sometimes blows my mind, because I’m like, how do you know? I haven’t even run the route yet. So it just shows the preparation that he puts in. And Coby [Bryant] is extremely smart. Honestly, I line up on the field. That’s where he is the most. Me or Tyler [Scott] or me or Jadon [Thompson], whoever is out there, you know, we’ll come out in a certain type of set. And like I said, he already calls out what we’re running. We just look at each other like, all right, you know. And obviously they’re both very long, they’re fast. They’re physical. They’re extremely athletic. And they’re great, great team players.

I’m just wondering kind of how it’s registered with you when you see the last few days, programs around the country, they haven’t been able to play with bowl games because of COVID. When, I think, there’s only been one game that had been canceled all season. So it seemed like kind of the country and college football have been in a much safer space.

So honestly, I mean, that’s unfortunate. But our health staff, they take great care of us.

I wonder what the sense of urgency is like from the younger guys with this senior class that has meant so much to this program. Is there a belief or a feeling that, hey, we got to get this thing across the finish line for these guys to kind of lay the foundation for where this program is at right now?

Yeah, a lot. I know, these past practices, including myself, we’ve been on them a lot. Because a lot of these guys, like Coby Bryant, all those guys, they came in when the program was at a low. So they know what it takes to become basically great. And I think sometimes when you walk into a program that’s already building up really well, you kind of get complacent. And Coach Fick’s not going to let that happen.

So we have to stay on them, let them know your time is coming, but basically you got to work really hard to do that. And just learning from guys, like I said, Coby. And myself, I remember coming out as a freshman and I think he was in his sophomore year or junior year, I don’t remember. And seeing how he works, how hard he works, a guy that’s played a lot of football and continues to still work hard. That means a lot to me because I honestly ‚Äì if you’ve played a lot of football, you’re a starter and things like that, you can be like I’ve got it, I’ll let them guys figure it out themselves. But no, he’s always been hands-on help. There’s a lot of other guys like that as well.

Coach Fick [Luke Fickell] has talked a lot about what the seniors on this team have accomplished, four-, five-, six-year guys and kind of how far the program has come under that. What does it feel like for you, though? When you came in, you joined an 11-win team. And it’s kind of been a string of success in your three years. Does it feel a little bit different? Are you able to understand where it came from before you got there?

Yeah, so I committed in 2018. And that was the season right before they went to that military bowl, I believe. I just believed in what Coach Fick was building here. I didn’t really care what the record was; I just knew he’s building something special, and I wanted to be a part of it.

So fast-forward to when I got here, I just remember them saying, yeah, we had an 11-win season last year, but that doesn’t mean anything. You can have a really good season and the next season, you don’t do as great. They were on us hard. And we worked hard as freshman. And, like, they still had guys coming back. So there weren’t that many freshman playing that year. So I actually got a little bit of time. And I got to be around those guys a lot. So it was really helpful.

You’re obviously a well-rounded player, but you’ve developed into one of the top returners in the country. I’m curious, how do you think the return game will play and how big of a factor in the outcome of this game?

Special teams will be very important. I don’t know where that’s coming, kick return, punt return. All those special teams will be important. We were actually watching film on them, and Texas A&M had a kick return for a touchdown and they ended up winning that game. So could that have been a point to where they would have won? Maybe, I don’t know, but I know special teams will be very important. And I hope that I get a few chances to return some and see what I can do with it.