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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 29, 2010

Zac Etheridge

THE MODERATOR: Zac, could you briefly talk about Auburn advancing to Atlanta and playing South Carolina on Saturday.
ZAC ETHERIDGE: It feels great. We're looking forward to playing South Carolina for the SEC championship. It's great for the school and the atmosphere around Auburn just to go back to Atlanta.
THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. Zac, you guys had a lot of drama off the field and you've had plenty on the field. How do you keep from having one bleeding over and affecting the other?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: I think it deals with a lot of the leadership and the coaches just keeping us focused on the goal that we have set for the team.
We aren't really looking to all the stuff that's going on outside. And we just go in each week and just prepare for our opponent.

Q. Has Cam been able to divorce himself from all that? And do you guys look for him on defense for leadership also?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: You know, Cam does a great job leading this whole team. He's handling the situation very well. And, yes, he's our quarterback. So a lot more pressure on him as far as leading and stuff.
But I think the other 24 seniors lead just as well so he doesn't have to do as much.

Q. What do you remember from the first game about Alshon Jeffery?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: He was supposed to play -- he had a lot of big catches for them. He knows how to use his body very well. He is definitely pretty tall. So we definitely gotta find ways to stop him and keep him in front of us.

Q. What's the best way to defend him, if there is one?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: I mean, it's tough. You are going to have to find ways to put him in double teams and things like that. I don't think no one person in the SEC can really guard him one-on-one right now.

Q. Each week it seems like you guys start slow defensively but by the second half you guys really have it rolling. What has been the reason for that this year, considering it's happened several times?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: A lot of teams come out early and try to attack us different ways. They come out just throwing so much other, some stuff that we haven't seen, and so they get a quick jump on us.
But once we figure out what they're trying to do to us and figure out their game plan and everybody getting to reading the keys better, the game becomes slower and you are just able to play fast and build on what coach is calling on defense.

Q. When you go back over these past 12 games, Clemson was up 17-0, South Carolina 20-7, Georgia 21-7, and then what happened Friday in Tuscaloosa. What was kind of the moment where you were like we may be in trouble, was there any of those particular times where you thought we could be in for a long one?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: Not really. A lot of guys are talking halftime, hey, we've been down 17. We've been down such and such before. So you get in that mindset we've been in this position more than once. So we knew we can get ourselves out of trouble. We just keep on fighting until that last second tick off the clock.
That's what we do. We just kept on fighting and we had a great outcome.

Q. Marcus Lattimore, you were one of the defenses that was able to slow him down this season. Do you think it's possible to do it twice? He seems to have gotten better as the season's gone on and seems to do that in games, too.
ZAC ETHERIDGE: It's going to be tough to stop him. I think with our defense on the line and our front seven, stopping the run is our main focus on defense. I think we've done that well all season. We've done that pretty well. So we definitely can't let him get it started.
If he gets it started, then they have a balanced attack at running and throwing the ball so we've got to find a way to make the team one-dimensional.

Q. Two other guys on that offense, Garcia seems to be playing smarter than ever, making good decisions. Do you see him as an improved quarterback at this point?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: Most definitely. You turn on the tape, you can just see he's starting to go through his keys and reads very well.
So we've just got to hold our D line and get to them early and put the pressure on them to try to get them rattled early so he can get uncomfortable in the pocket.

Q. You were talking about Jeffrey earlier. Is he the best receiver you guys have seen this year?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: He's up there. He definitely is in the top five of the guys. A.J. Green and him and Julio, they all have a great feel of the game and know how to use their body well. But he's definitely in the top receivers.

Q. Are you surprised to be where you are right now, if you go back two years, had a coaching change. The '08 team really faded down the stretch where I think UT Martin was your only win in your six or seven games. Is it surprising how far you've come in such a short time?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: Yeah, it is. If you look back two years ago, we didn't have a great season. But I wouldn't say we just were totally surprised. I just feel like we're just blessed to be where we are at right now with a great coaching staff, they're doing whatever it takes for us to win and putting in the extra hours of work that will give us a chance to win on Saturday and a lot of guys just buying into the -- we just bought into the new coaches when they got here, and we put all trust and faith in them and they put their trust and faith in us, and we all got on the same page and everything's been so great this year.

Q. Going back to Friday, I know Friday was kind of a historical iron bowl, biggest comeback in the series history and biggest comeback in school history. How long were you guys allowed to celebrate that, and do you feel like it's out of your system?
ZAC ETHERIDGE: You know, when we were on the bus, we were all talking about it. It really didn't hit home yet that we just made that comeback, because it had never been done in Bryant-Denny Stadium. It didn't really hit home.
We're kind of still thinking about it, but that's a game we have to put behind us. We know what's next. So it was a great comeback. It was great for the school and for all of us.
But when we got here Sunday, you know, the coaches was like, yeah, it was great to win but we've got to head forward and get ready for South Carolina.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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