USC Trojans College Football Pregame Quote, 12/27/2022

MICHAEL KONRADI, MODERATOR: Coach [Lincoln Riley], Nick [Figueroa], great to have you both here. Thanks for taking the time. Welcome to North Texas.

Coach, if we could get just some opening comments about arriving in North Texas.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HEAD COACH LINCOLN RILEY: It’s great to be here. It’s a bowl that so many of us have so many fond memories, whether just growing up and watching this game, especially for me being from the state. And fourth time now at the Cotton Bowl, so very blessed to be here.

And we’ve used the opportunity in the prep leading up to start to educate our team on what playing in the Cotton Bowl really means. This is forever and ever one of the most iconic and historic games and one of the most important games in our sport.

And so here in our first year to get a chance to bring these guys here to this area, to play in this venue, to play a great opponent, it’s very, very meaningful for us. And we know the reputation of this bowl, the hospitality, just the first-class job that everybody with the Cotton Bowl does.

And we’re looking forward to experiencing that, getting to know everybody here, and having a great week.

MICHAEL KONRADI, MODERATOR: Thanks.

Nick, from your perspective, from a player’s perspective, coming to North Texas, what does it mean to make it to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic?

DL NICK FIGUEROA: Just really excited to be here. The team has been through a lot over the last few years. Guys who have been around, new guys too, everyone has got their own story. I think to have an opportunity to play in a game like this, especially for guys like me in their final year, it’s huge. And we just really appreciate it and we’re not going to take the opportunity for granted.

Coach, you’ve had a great season. Tulane has also had a great season. When you look at Tulane and what you guys will face January 2, what comes to mind when you look at that team?

COACH RILEY: They’re fantastic. Honestly, I got to coach against them first game last season. So no surprise to see the job that they’ve done. Willie’s [Fritz] one of the best coaches in the country. He’s proved it over and over and, obviously, done a phenomenal job with the group.

And they have got a lot of really good football players. They have got several guys on this team that are going to play on Sundays. They have got a lot of guys who have been able to play for Coach Fritz there for multiple years. And you’ve seen them kind of build up in their systems and become more experienced and just really seasoned players.

And they, obviously, finished the season very, very well. So a team, I would say, that’s equally strong on both sides of the ball. And it will be a tremendous challenge. There’s no question about it.

It’s been fun studying them but also have a lot of respect for what they’ve done and to navigate that league and win their conference championship and be here in the Cotton Bowl. It’s a great year for them. It’s a great year for us and should be a fun match-up.

Nick, you talked about how this team has been in the fight for so long this season. What was it like to have a couple days off and kind of regroup?

DL NICK FIGUEROA: I think it was nice for everyone to get home and be with their families. The grind of the season is taxing and plus you add in ‚Äì throw in some finals and THEN working through bowl practice, it’s nice to be able to focus on football and then get a couple days to get away.

Now we’re back here, able to lock back in, and really get going on this final bowl prep and ready for the game next Monday.

You had bowl practices at USC versus here in Dallas. Is it going to be more of a traditional game week now that you’re here in the state?

COACH RILEY: It will be. It will be. We’ve been able to get some good work, and a lot of the work was trying to work on ourselves and the areas we know we need to improve as a team.

They were good, though. They were fun. They were really spirited, and looking forward to that continuing here. But we will get a full game week and give us a chance to kind of get settled back more into the routine that we know and expect and that our team has a lot of confidence in.

Nick, you were talking about on the way in, you were looking forward to the trip, experience a few things. What kind of things will you enjoy here in Texas in your time here?

DL NICK FIGUEROA: I grew up a big (Dallas) Cowboys fan. First thing, getting to go play in that stadium, practice in that stadium, that’s a big deal to me. And Whataburger, of course, In-N-Out, the rivalry, got to see it. Got to see what it’s about.

COACH RILEY: That’s a heated rivalry, too.

DL NICK FIGUEROA: That’s true. I’m thinking maybe, like, checking out a Buc-ee’s. I’ve heard that can be quite the experience. And just whatever. I’m excited to see it all. Get fitted for my hat later today. Blessed to be here for sure.

Coach, it’s a big layoff since you’ve played your last game. How do you get the team refocused after a long break, after the holiday? What have you seen from the team in trying to get refocused and ready to go for this?

COACH RILEY: It’s always ‚Äì I wouldn’t say a challenge, but it’s just unique that no other sport do you play games and all of a sudden have a month, you know, where you don’t play a game.

And luckily, this staff has been through this before. And so I think it’s been, for us, asking the team to do what they’ve done for the last 12 months, which is trust us and let us lay out a direction, let us lay out a path that will help them be successful, and then these guys have got to believe in it and they’ve got to follow it. And when we do that, we’ve been pretty successful.

And so we’ve laid out a path for them that’s led to success and opportunities that this staff has been at various spots, and it’s going to be up to our team to go embrace it.

And I think you have got to have the ability to look down the line. These bowl games, especially ones like this, you remember these games forever. And so, we would expect nothing less than to put our very best foot forward.

Nick, you are the winner of the Dan S. Petty Scholar-Athlete Award this year at the Cotton Bowl, representing USC. Talk about that. Talk about putting the “student” in student-athlete.

DL NICK FIGUEROA: I feel like I’ve really just trusted the process. It’s a huge honor to receive that recognition. Lots of thanks go to my teammates and my friends, family, support staff at school.

But I think I just have kind of done a good job of trusting the process throughout. Something I’ll preach to my teammates. And it’s just about taking tasks one at a time, whether it’s in football or in the classroom.

And yeah, there’s been some challenging moments, but I think the way you can face those or, like, get to work through it. And yeah, it’s paid me dividends, I guess, through my career here. And a very big honor kind of to go out with. So I’m very appreciative.

Coach, you’ve been here numerous times. Were in championship games for the bowl game. What did you tell your team about coming to Dallas, what it will be like to play in AT&T Stadium and be a part of something like this?

COACH RILEY: Yeah, it’s a big game. It’s a big venue. It’s a big stage. But we’ve ‚Äì I think for our team, in some ways, we’ll be used to that. When you play your home games a mile south of downtown LA, you get used to that a little bit.

Playing in this stadium is a unique experience. No question. It’s one of the greatest stadiums, certainly, in the world. And there’s a lot of things that you have to understand about that. So we’ll use some of that experience from the championship games and previous Cotton Bowl experiences to share with these guys.

But the biggest message is just to embrace it. And then we want this game and this week to be reflective of the journey we’ve been on the last 12 months. And that’s been our goal throughout.

We’ve had good prep leading up, but we’ll need to have great prep here leading in and be ready to play when the game gets here.