Washington Huskies College Football Pregame Quote, 12/30/2023

Q. What’s this opportunity been like? How’s the week been? How much fun are you having?

ROME ODUNZE: I’ve been having a blast. Just to be out here and have this opportunity. I’ve got a pretty grateful mindset. So, to be in the Superdome and be somewhere I’ve never been before, experience the culture that’s super thick, which I love, going to places like that, it’s a blessing for me and for all my teammates to be able to have something like this.

Q. The match-up with Texas, what have you seen from their secondary, and what do you think makes them tough, and what do you think you guys can do to get in there?

ROME ODUNZE: I think that it’s everything that they did last year, but they’re more improved, more trusting in their defensive scheme, and also bigger, faster, stronger as they continue to develop as players. They do a lot of great things. They know their coverage very well. They know where they need to be at certain times, and they play their roles to a T.

We’re going to have to try and exploit them in their different coverages, and hopefully have some shifts and motions and different things to catch them by surprise. We’ll see as the game plays out how we can take advantage of it.

Q. What makes you guys such a good team?

ROME ODUNZE: I think the camaraderie, the belief in one another that everybody on the field is going to do their individual job. That’s what it takes to have one successful play, everybody doing their job to perfection. So, I think that continued belief throughout this entire season and going forward is what’s going to bring us success.

Q. It’s a tremendous opportunity to play in the Sugar Bowl. What’s your approach to playing a big game like this?

ROME ODUNZE: It’s always easy for me to get hyped and get that energy level, even more than it is on a regular game, but also I have the mindset that it’s just another game, just another time we’re stepping out here on the field with an opportunity.

So for me, I try to maintain that mindset of it’s just another opportunity for me to go shine and for this team to shine. I don’t make it bigger than it already is.

Q. How necessary is it to be fit as a receiver, especially when you’re going against top tier teams?

ROME ODUNZE: Oh, it’s pivotal, just because, especially in the run game, these top teams in the nation, their safeties, their cornerbacks are looking to fill holes. A lot of teams that aren’t as good, oftentimes their secondary doesn’t put an emphasis on being in the run game. But that’s not the case with Texas. They come downhill and they’re in the run game consistently.

So for us, being physical with them and being able to be on our assignment with the run game, trying to eliminate their safeties and corners out of the plays is going to be a crucial role for us, and that takes physicality.

Q. Washington, you guys are a good football brand. Texas is a huge football brand as well. What do you think about that? Does it add anything extra for you?

ROME ODUNZE: For me, not necessarily. I’ve only been on this Earth for 21 years, and the history of both programs goes way, way back further than that. So, I can only speak on what I’ve been able to do here and the time that I’ve been in college football with us and Texas.

But two historic programs that have done a lot for college football and so much history on both sides. So, for me, it’s just another way to mark my stamp on college football and on the University of Washington and a little bit of history for Texas as well.

I think it’s awesome that all the fans, all the people that have been rooting for these programs for so many years to be able to experience something like this. It’s a generational moment for everybody involved.

Q. When you look at this Texas defense, is there anything that stands out to you in terms of what makes them so tough to play against? Is there anything in the PAC-12 that you can compare it to? What makes them so tough?

ROME ODUNZE: I think that they’re just very sound. They stick to what they know, and I think that allows them to play very freely and very confidently because they know exactly where they need to be on different plays or on different coverages and stuff like that.

So, being so technique-sound, it allows few holes in their defense, and also it helps that they have a tremendous D-line that can get pressure, which allows them to not have to make so many different adjustments in the secondary for too long.

Q. Rome, you’ve been an integral part of the success of this Washington offense. What is it about you that gets you amped up, ready to go every single game?

ROME ODUNZE: I think just the opportunity itself to be on this stage. Any time I step onto a football field, it’s like a performance is about to start. It’s my time to give the people what they want, and on this stage, it’s a lot easier, because it’s one of the biggest games of the year. But each and every game, I feel like I’ve got to go out there and perform for myself and my family and for the people who support me.

Q. You saw this team that you’re playing now, Texas, last year in the Alamo Bowl. What are some things you’ve seen from last year, and what are some of the things that you’ve experienced this year playing in the PAC-12 and your film study of what Texas is now that gives you hope and success that you’re going to go out and do what you did last year?

ROME ODUNZE: I think that we had a lot of success last year. We know we’re playing a different team. They’ve all gotten bigger, faster, stronger, and more in tune with their defensive scheme and what their defensive coach wants to do on each and every snap. So just being able to go out there and do the things that we were able to do last year, just do a little bit better, do it a little bit more efficiently and with success, and just doing those things.

Q. What’s it like to have chemistry with a guy like Michael Penix, Jr.? Sometimes it may just be a look or a signal. How do you build up that type of relationship with a quarterback like that?

ROME ODUNZE: Well, it comes through doing it in practice and doing it outside of practice even, when he’s throwing passes to me and all the receiver corps, and combining that with the work sessions, being able to come in and get those passes and get more familiar with one another. It leads into the games, which continues to build more and more confidence in one another. So, at this point, we’ve built that connection with one another.