Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2019

What about Travis Etienne?

TUF BORLAND: Great player, violent, aggressive style of running, breaks a lot of tackles and then has the speed to take it the distance. Again, unbelievable player.

Your coach talked about how much talent both teams have and what a special matchup it’s going to be. This game Saturday, is it one you’re going to look back on and say, man, we had a lot of future NFL guys, just a classic matchup for 2019?

TUF BORLAND: I think so. It’s going to be a great challenge, great test for us. We’re extremely excited for this opportunity to play on the biggest stage in college football. But, also, we know that, when talent is equated as it is, the most prepared team is going to win. So we’re focused in on what we have to do at practice, game film, taking care of our bodies to get ready to go and play as well as we can on Saturday.

Both coaches say what happened in previous games between these two programs, hardly any of the players are around from that last meeting, different coaches, new team, new year. But I’m sure you guys hear about it from fans and the media. Does it maybe give you a little motivation to go out and finally stick it to Clemson?

TUF BORLAND: I don’t know. You were saying there’s very few people still here. Maybe I’m one of them. I remember it. But it’s not something that I think about regularly, “Oh, I want to get revenge,” no, that’s not the case. We’re focused on this year, this team, new coaches, new players. And we feel we have a great opportunity here. So we’re really excited for it.

What has the Fiesta Bowl experience been like for you?

TUF BORLAND: It has been great. Earlier in the week we did a few activities, Topgolf, had dinner as a team. It’s been good. The hospitality has been good. They’ve taken care of us. So it’s been a really good experience.

Get any PlayStation stuff, play any Playstation?

TUF BORLAND: Yeah. They gifted us a PS4, before we left to come out here, with some games and stuff. So that was really nice of them.

Got any use at all?

TUF BORLAND: No, I haven’t gotten a chance yet. We were at home, got to go home for a few days around Christmas. So I’m sure I will when I get back there.

How’s Arizona been?

TUF BORLAND: It’s been good. It seems like the weather followed us from Columbus a little bit.

Appreciate you bringing it over.

TUF BORLAND: Sorry about that. It’s been good. We’ve enjoyed our time here in Arizona.

One person said “Add me on Fortnite.” Do you play Fortnite?

TUF BORLAND: I do not. I’ve played Fortnite maybe twice in my life.

What’s your favorite thing to do other than football?

TUF BORLAND: Spend time with my family. When I’m not here, when I’m not actually playing football, I’m at my house back home just relaxing, having a good time, enjoying people’s company.

What was it like getting to go back home for Christmas, then?

TUF BORLAND: It was good. It was a good time. Anytime you can get home, it feels good to spend time with them. They’re actually coming out here today, so I’m look forward to seeing them.

What’s media day been like for you? Having fun sitting up here answering questions?

TUF BORLAND: It’s been good.

What’s it like being on the podium? There’s about ten of you guys.

TUF BORLAND: It’s good. It’s a great honor.

What do you like about being at Ohio State?

TUF BORLAND: When I first committed here, it was more like me trying to find the best balance between the football program, academics, and social life. The more I’ve been here, I’ve kind of found out that it’s more about the people that makes it special more than anything. So that’s just the biggest thing.

What are you most looking forward to in the matchup on Saturday?

TUF BORLAND: I just think it’s a great opportunity. You have two extremely talented teams, two great teams. We’re excited for the challenge, the matchup. We’re excited for this platform. So we’re excited.

Tuf Borland just told me he’s from Chicago but he’s a Packers fan. So I just realized that’s the type of guy he is. He likes to be a little different maybe than some of his buddies growing up. This matchup between you and this Clemson offense is going to present some challenges. What do you think is most important for you guys to try to take away from Clemson’s offense?

TUF BORLAND: I don’t know if there’s one thing. Clemson’s a great team, talent on both sides of the ball. Running back, receivers, quarterback, they’re all playmakers. They’re all great players, and they’re strong up front as well. So it’s going to be a great challenge for us.

Chase Young obviously gets a lot of attention on this defense for the type of playmaker he is. Is there something that you saw from him maybe in a game, or even in practice at some time, where you just said whoa, this guy is different?

TUF BORLAND: I don’t know if there’s a particular example of what happened, but just the consistency and the ease of which he beats people. These guys are all Division I football players, and he’s making them look that bad. So he’s just a great player.

Who is the lifeblood of this defense? Who’s the person where if you need somebody to step up ‚Äì maybe it’s halftime of the Big 10 championship game and you guys are down, who’s the one that steps up for this defense and says, “Hey, we got to take care of business”?

TUF BORLAND: I think we have a few guys that do that. At each level, the back end, linebackers, D line, they all have a few guys that will step up. They’ll say what needs to be said and then they’ll exemplify what needs to be done. I think that speaks a testament to this culture, this team, the coaching staff, and everyone involved.

What’s the best part about being in Phoenix for a Fiesta Bowl? You guys have some business to take care of, but have you guys been able to have some fun and let loose a little bit?

TUF BORLAND: We’ve had a few events, Topgolf. We had a team dinner at a steakhouse. It’s been a really good experience. The hospitality has been great. They’re taking care of us, but, like you said, we’ve got a job to do at the end of the day.