TCU Horned Frogs College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2022

When you first arrived, was there anybody that kind of encouraged you? Or did you just feel like you had an open door to step in?

JOSH NEWTON: It really was mainly the strength coaches. It was like, bro, just be yourself. Don’t try to be in the back because you’re a newcomer. Whatever you showed on your first visit, we need that now. So they just kept giving me the energy, so I just take advantage of it and go from there.

On the field, you and [Tre’vius Hodges-] Tomlinson have become the one of the best duos in the country. How has that relationship evolved over the last several weeks?

JOSH NEWTON: It’s great. I love playing with him. He loves playing with me. We feed off each other. Friendly competition at the end of the day — who wants to make the play at the end of the day. I’m proud of him. I’m just so happy to him. Ready to see him at the next level, too.

Do you think that the focus for your guys this week has been where it needs to be to prepare for Michigan?

JOSH NEWTON: Yes. Everybody just taking care of everybody. That’s the main thing. We out here so long, away from home, just having to make a lot of adjustments. But everybody is handling it well. No complaining. We’re just handling it well like we should.

There’s a lot of teams that come into the playoffs for the first time and you struggle not to get overwhelmed by it. With TCU being such big underdogs and having low expectations, how do you stay grounded and come in to win a football game, not just happy to be here?

JOSH NEWTON: Honestly, we’ve been underdogs for every team we’ve played this year in the Big 12. This game is no different. It’s higher stakes. It’s a playoff game. We’re not looking for it no other way than coming here to conquer and go back home.

When you look at the passing attack of Michigan, is there anywhere you guys feel really confident? What are you going to be watching for? What about J.J. McCarthy?

JOSH NEWTON: We are definitely confident in what we do. We needed to do it all year. So it’s just another game to add to the books. But he’s a good player. He does really well what they ask him to do. He’s a young guy, but at the end of the day, he makes some plays for them. So he’s going to be fun to watch. We can’t wait to kick off on Saturday, for sure.

What was it like watching Tom Brady play, knowing that eventually, your goal is to be the guy that’s intercepting him and shutting him down?

JOSH NEWTON: Hopefully I get to him before he retires. But it was very overwhelming. Blessed to be able to go see somebody like Tom Brady. He’s been winning, preparing like he’s a rookie, year in, year out, even though he’s like year, what, 22, 23, something like that.

His career is as old as my age. So he’s been doing it for a long time, and I’m very fortunate to be able to see him in person in live action.

How have you and Tre (Tre’vius Hodges-Tomlinson) and [Kendre] Miller as well, been getting ready for today? Have you all done any different drills than you all have done all year, or just the same?

JOSH NEWTON: What we’ve been doing is the same recipe. You don’t have to do no special drills. Defensive back is more routine, fundamental.

And coming in from past years, has there been anything different for you, how you’ve handled the season? Has it been pretty smooth? Have you all still had rough times?

JOSH NEWTON: Just really at the end of the day, I take my wins like I take my losses. So I’ve taken the losses and came back to work. It’s the same thing with a win. You win, you still got to come to work and win another one.