	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 30, 2009

Rolando McClain

THE MODERATOR: Rolando, if you could just talk about the upcoming match-up with Florida and the SEC Championship game.
ROLANDO McCLAIN: It's a big game. The second time in two years playing these guys. They're a high-powered offense with a very good defense. I think we're pretty much the same team as far as stats go. Maybe they're a little bit better on offense as far as stats.
But I think for the most part we're pretty much the same team. We both have a good defense, a very strong defense, and I mean, we have an offense that's capable of making plays.

Q. Wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how much this defense has improved, in what ways do you think you guys are better than you were at this point last year, and also if you could talk a little bit about how you've assumed kind of a leadership role with making calls and checks and things on the defense?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: I've been making calls and checks on the defense as soon as I got here. But leadership-wise, I've been a leader. I've just been accustomed to leading by example more than being a vocal -- but for the most part this year I've been a real vocal leader.
That's something about me that hasn't changed. It's something that Coach Saban needed. He needed me to step up so I did it for the betterment of my team.
And I think as far as our defense, I think we've gotten better just because of the simple fact we had a lot of guys returning and we've been playing with each other for so long, two, three years, guys have been around and learning the system and we gelled some. So I think that plays into us being a better defense.

Q. How has the linebacker group solidified now? I know you had to deal with the loss of Hightower, with Nico coming in and shifting you have done and how has that group jelled now?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: We've jelled. Just going day-by-day, practice-by-practice, and just gelling with each other on the run basically.
I haven't really got accustomed to just one guy being beside me, because Nico only plays in regular and we bring somebody else in for Nico. So I haven't really got accustomed to somebody, as opposed to when Dante was in every snap with me. It's like gelling and run.
But I think Coach Willis has done a great job having everybody ready to play and putting everybody in the right spot as well as Coach Saban. So I think even though you can't replace a guy like Dante, the guys have stepped in and done a good job trying to replace him and stepping in and making plays.

Q. What would you all think of last year's SEC Championship game, particularly in the fourth quarter, Alabama, when they dug down and won that game. How do you take that and apply that to this year, the season, the way you all played in the fourth quarter this year?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: We always pride ourselves on dominating the fourth quarter. We didn't dominate the fourth quarter last year when we played Florida. And consequently they won the game. And I guess this whole offseason we pride ourselves on the fourth quarter, the fourth quarter program. Everybody just wanted to finish.
We obviously want everyone to finish. But I think what changed in the fourth quarter was guys -- we got too caught up in the moment. Coach said if you can do what makes a great player is somebody who is capable of doing what he's been doing even when things get tough.
And I think our guys got caught up in the pressure and they wanted to be the hero and make the extra effort play instead of just doing what we had to do and doing what our job was and just let our defense take care of itself.
This defense, if everybody does their job and defense takes care of itself. If everybody would have just done what they had to do in the fourth quarter instead of getting caught up in the moment I think we would have been fine. I think the guys understand that now and everybody is trying to play their role, playing their role the best they can instead of trying to be the hero.

Q. You enjoy the fact that you have another chance to play Florida, especially Tim Tebow because seems like you respect him as a player?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: I respect him as a player and a person off the field. He's a great leader. He's a great player on the field. And he leads those guys, and I think that team's run and they're doing see good because of him.
In my mind, I consider myself to be a pretty good linebacker. If you want to be considered as one of the great linebackers, you have to show up in big games. In my mind it doesn't get any bigger than this. So I want to go out and play my best game against the best. So I'm just looking forward to playing and showing the world what, not only what I can do, but what this team is capable of and what we can do.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about Florida and how you guys have kind of dealt with it this season? Everybody's talking about the rematch before the season even started. How did you take the focus away from the Gators throughout the year?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: It was tough taking the focus away. But you have big games. And we had 12 tough games going to this game. So it wasn't that hard to keep focused. Coach Saban does a great job in keeping us focused.
But it's always in the back of your mind. Florida put us out of our run for the national championship. It was always in the back of my mind. I know it was in the back of the other guys' minds.
But we did a good job, with the help of Coach Saban, forcing us to stay focused. We stay focused and we just have to stay focused because, I mean, if we didn't beat those guys, those other 12 teams, we wouldn't even be in this circumstance right now. So we just have to stay focused and do your job and keep your mind on what's important. And those games was important then.
We won them. And we're glad for them. But now it's back. We want that rematch. And, like I said, they put us out of our run for the national championship last year, and we haven't forgotten, it's been in the back of our mind. We're going to try to step up and play our best game.

Q. How much of a relief is it to be able to finally say the word Florida this week?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: It's huge. I guess it's not a relief because you still have to wait to play them. And you still have to go out there and play them. At the end of the day you can talk about playing Florida and how you want to beat them, but at the end of the day you have to go out and prove it. We just have to wait until Saturday, whatever time we play, we just have to wait until then.

Q. Your defense and Florida's have been pretty much 1-2 all season in most defensive categories. What similarities or differences do you see in your defense and Florida's from what you might have been able to see from the Florida Gators this year or last year?
ROLANDO McCLAIN: I haven't kept my eye on Florida's defense at all. I know just from the paperwork we get, they're either No. 1 or we're No. 1, we're close behind each other. We're very near each other. So I don't really know. Obviously, they're a very good defense, because they dominate opponents or they wouldn't be getting the recognition they have been getting.
So I really don't know what they do. I know they have -- obviously they have very good players. I know they're well coached, and I think we're pretty much the same way. So I really don't know.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297