Clemson Tigers College Football Pregame Quote, 12/27/2018

How did Cartersville High School kind of get you going towards Clemson? What are your memories from back there? A lot of good memories. Met my best friends, obviously, growing up there and all that stuff.

But just ‚Äì I had a really good coach and a bunch of really good coaches in high school that I’m still really close with today. So definitely helped a tiny bit, helped prepare me for moments like this. We have a lot to be thankful for sure.

Do they still reach out to you after big games? They’re good. They know how busy I am. They’re respectful of my time and how busy I am. But we’ll talk. And they’ve been busy. We don’t get talking time. But, when we do, it’s nice to keep those relationships.

Obviously, you know, long line of successful Clemson quarterbacks. Do you go back and watch film of Deshaun Watson? We have a lot of off-season preparing and tapes and stuff to look at. Teaches us stuff like showing clips of what he did. So stuff like that.

But I haven’t really just gone back and watched his games. Seen a lot of tapes.

Obviously, there’s probably some of the same plays and things like that. Do you watch how they were executed by his teams? Yeah. Definitely. The success that he had and that team had all the time he was here is definitely something to look at and look at what they were doing and take a little bit from that.

Do you talk to a lot of those former guys? Not a ton. Me and Deshaun have talked a little bit. But not a ton, obviously, because he’s busy playing and we’re both in season right now. So it’s tough. But, yeah, he reached out to me little bit earlier in the season.

So this is not a first experience for this team but it is for you. How’s the moment been so far? It’s been really good. It’s been cool to just be out here in Texas. And, obviously, in a stadium like this it’s pretty awesome. Unbelievable. But yeah, it’s just been cool to see all the guys. We’ve been having fun hanging out but also to see how focused we are. We know what we’re here for. But also being able to enjoy it and

be out here the whole week and kind of just soak it up.

It’s been an interesting time for you to get to where you are right now. Talk about how things are now compared to how they started with the growth over the course of the season and some of the things that have gone on. Obviously, things are different enough than at the beginning of the season. Things have changed a lot. But just helped me grow a ton, though. I feel like it’s helped the team grow a lot as well. We’ve had to go through stuff. And it’s helped us to go through some adversity and made us stronger. So it’s all been for our good.

Talk about your relationship with your wide receivers. Obviously, you have a pretty good one with Tee Higgins. Those guys are a close group. And they’re just fun to be around. They’re goofy, just like to have fun. But they work hard. And they’re smart guys, so it’s cool just having a group like that. They’re so ‚Äì you know, they’re not selfish. They’re selfless. So it’s just cool, just playing with guys like that. We have so many good receivers. And, obviously, only one guy can catch the ball at a time. It’s cool seeing how they’ve been supporting each other and look at each other.

Any good or interesting advice you’ve gotten from these guys along the way as far as prepping for the game coming up on Saturday and just everything else surrounding it? I think just getting ready to play in this game. Just another game. So I don’t really think that’s been a big thing. People have been trying to help me just getting ready to play. But, as far as little details offensively, obviously, older guys like Hunter [Renfrow] and other people have been talking and trying to figure things out because they’ve been in games like this. But that’s more specifically not just atmosphere and all that stuff. I think I’ll be fine with that stuff.

When you look back at this season as a whole, where do you think is the point where you started to grow into the leader you’ve become? I think the whole time. It took off feeling like I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, trying to respect and all that stuff. But when I got started, I feel like it gave me more freedom and just more comfortable being a leader.

All the stuff going on with Dexter, you think about the stuff that happened

with Kelly [Bryant] earlier in the year, the tragedy with C.J. [Fuller], how did you manage to take all the things that have been speed bumps in this road and stay undefeated and get to this point? It seems like you guys have kept your focus forward. It’s been a tough season. It’s been awesome just what we’ve done and the success we’ve had. But, yeah, there’s been some crazy things and tough things happen along the way. But, like I said, I think everything has just grown us together. And we’ve all driven towards that common purpose. We got a team full of guys that love each other and want to play for each other. And it helps a lot.

Obviously, regardless of what happens, it’s been a pretty crazy year for you, culture shock of the whole thing. What would you tell people was the difference between what you thought you were getting when you came to Clemson and what you’ve now realized since you’ve been at Clemson? I mean, to be in games like this and to be playing at this point was one of my dreams and goals. So it’s not that I didn’t expect it. But I guess, just like I said before, how everything happened, how everything unfolded has definitely been different than I would have thought. But, I mean, it’s just been awesome. Really blessed to be in a situation. Really helped. And I’m grateful to everyone who helped me get here and everyone who is with me here now.

With these wide receivers, you’ve got so many. Do they all try to get a leg up on the other one and see if they can get a few more balls? That’s the funny thing. We have a group of guys who are so selfless, it’s awesome. Obviously, we have so many good receivers. Only one guy can get the ball at a time. The way I’ve seen them just throughout the year, just being so selfless, it’s been awesome.

Did Hunter [Renfrow] use his veteran advantage to coax you to throw it to him more? Yeah, no. You know Hunter. He’s just gets open so well. He’s a great player. Really smart. So that’s the cool thing about me and Hunter is we’re always on the same page, and we kind of feel things out and adjust a little in game.

Last time you talked to us after the game, you were kind of excited to get away from it all and get in the playbook more? Yeah. It’s Thursday. We’re getting close. I’m just excited to do that. And it’s been fun being out here a week. We’ve been preparing the whole time, but now just to kind of narrow it down a little bit and really get focused. Yeah, it’s exciting. We’re getting close.

Have any of the other quarterbacks reached out to you, Tajh [Boyd] or Deshaun [Watson] to give you a couple pointers. Not for this game. Deshaun reached out for the South Carolina game. I see Tajh around. But no, they haven’t reached out for this one.

I was working on this thing about Peyton Manning because when I watch your body and how you throw and how you move, you just remind me a lot of a young Peyton Manning. Do you see any of that in yourself? I notice you wear the same number he wore at Tennessee? I wouldn’t say I necessarily see that in myself. But he was definitely one ‚Äì he was my favorite quarterback growing up. And I grew up a Tennessee fan and grew up watching him and the bolts and stuff.

Is that why you wear 16? Yeah, you were right.

Anything that changed since the beginning of this year, just physically, I’m better at this or I’ve put on weight, any changes in you? Yeah, there’s been a lot of changes. I would say more just mentally. Understanding things better. That kind of stuff. I haven’t really put on any weight. It’s tough in the season. But no, just understanding and making better decisions, when to throw the ball away, stuff like that.

Coach said that you were exceptionally mature coming in. You already had such a good overall command of offenses. Why are you like that? What was it in your young life that’s allowed you to be more mature from a football perspective? My parents, just how they brought me up. They’ve always instilled that in me. And just never letting anything get too big or too little. They’ve always instilled that. Just stay level-headed. And just the Lord has really blessed me with that trait and personality just to be able to handle things. So just really blessed.