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VIZIO FIESTA BOWL: BOISE STATE v ARIZONADecember 27, 2014Jay AjayiGLENDALE, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. When you watch film of Arizona, what stands out about Scooby? JAY AJAYI: First off, you can tell he's the leader of that defense. The guys really rally around him and his play. A thing he does really well is how fast and how intense he is all over the field. We watch him on film, and he's always showing up. He plays really hard, plays through the whistle. I feel a lot of his teammates look at that and try to emulate watching Scooby play because of how physical and how hard he works each play. Q. If the Big 12 recruited you, do you think you still would have been at Boise State? JAY AJAYI: Definitely. Even though the Big 12 schools came in, it was a thing for me, too, where I wanted to go somewhere where I felt that I was wanted, that was putting in the effort to really want to get me. With the Big 12 schools at the time, it was more of I was trying to market myself to them, I can do this for you, I can do that for you. With Boise State, there was a genuine, You can really help us accomplish something at this school. With that feeling, even if any of the schools in the nation came, I think I would have still stuck with Boise State just because that's how I am. They had the faith to really think that I could do something for this team and accomplish something down the line. There was nothing really that could have helped change my mind about Boise State at that point. Q. Do you enjoy getting to play a school like Arizona, going against the big boys? JAY AJAYI: Definitely. Still Boise State is doubted about. We're still looked down upon a little bit. Now it's even more because there's this big thing about the Power 5 and the Group of Five. There's been a bigger divide between the two types of schools. I think this is a great opportunity for us being a Group of Five school, we're just as good as the Power5 schools. It's an opportunity for us to be on a great stage like the Fiesta Bowl to show Boise State's brand of football. Q. After the Ole Miss game, it was like, Boise State is back to being Boise State, not the dominant team they were, did that make you work harder? JAY AJAYI: Not necessarily. The Ole Miss game, you know, looking back at it, we really have opportunities. If we did what we needed to do in the red zone, kind of like what we were able to do down the line in the season, that game could have been completely different. After watching film that weekend, seeing what we missed out on, it was discouraging, but it also made us see what potential we had because even throughout the whole season, we really hadn't reached our full potential till we really started hitting that run, that winning streak we had, where we started clicking as a team. We weren't discouraged by what everybody else was saying. With everything we do, with our football, Coach Harsin is always preaching, Just focus on what we do. All the other outside stuff, we don't worry about it. We're worried week by week trying to be 1‑0 each week. With all those comments about Boise State, we threw those under the table, didn't worry about it. We knew what we wanted to accomplish and we were able to accomplish that by winning a championship. Q. Any significance in the bracelet? JAY AJAYI: No. My cousin just gave it to me. It was just a gift. That's all it was. Q. Any more opportunity to run that three‑man front? JAY AJAYI: That 3‑3‑5 stack, it's a little bit different.  I don't think a lot of teams run it. But with SanDiego State, it was a little bit different because they brought a lot more blitzes out of it, where Arizona is more, I believe, man. They bring pressures a little bit. It would be different. It would be a different look we'll get from Arizona, but a good look, just because of the kind of players they had, led by Scooby, of course, who is going to try to make havoc on the field as much as he can. We have a great game plan going in. We have to make sure these next practices leading up to this game are crisp and we can execute when we are on the field. Q. How are you on the field? JAY AJAYI: I'm an intense person. I don't talk smack very much. If I feel someone is talking a little bit, I talk back because I play with a lot of emotion. At the same time I feel like I also try to lead by example on the field. When we need something, everyone is looking at somebody to make a play, I want to be that guy who can make that big play for our team, just be able to continue to be that workhorse for this team. That's really what I strive to do every time I'm on the field. Q. Inevitable you and Scooby will hook up? JAY AJAYI: It's inevitable we'll see each other on the field just because he's always around the football. But my mindset is I don't care. Whoever it is, I'm not trying to get tackled by anybody. That's my mindset, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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