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ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON v FLORIDA STATEDecember 28, 2014Cameron ErvingRashad GreeneNick O'LearyPASADENA, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Seated next to me, tight end Nick O'Leary. Nick is a senior from Palm Beach, Florida, and was the best tight end in the nation and named the winner of the John Mackey Award. He was the First Team Walter Camp All‑American. Seated next to Nick, we have wide receiver Rashad Greene. Rashad is a senior from Albany, Georgia, and has been one of the most dependable receivers in Florida State history. He is third all time in ACC with 264 career receptions and tied for fourth with 29 receiving touchdowns. When he isn't catching passes, he's been one of the finest punt returners in Florida State history with 468 yards and 38 career punt returns. Greene earned All‑ACC First Team and Associated Press All‑America Second Team honors this year. Seated next to Rashad, we have offensive guard Cameron Erving. Cameron is a senior from Moultrie, Georgia, and he leads the offensive line and is the back‑to‑back winner of the ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy. He was named to All‑ACC Team at two positions, First Team tackle and Second Team center. His first start of the year came against Miami, and he helped FSU put up 419 yards on offense. Just want to ask each one of you how your experience, your first ever Rose Bowl game is. I know you guys were here this year earlier for the National Championship Game, but how the experience has been the same but also different. NICK O'LEARY: Last year we came out here and won against Auburn last year. So, I mean, it's great to come back out here and play against Oregon and hopefully win this game and go on and win another National Championship. RASHAD GREENE: It's been a great experience. It was a little different last year. We didn't get to do the Disneyland theme park and be able to enjoy each other and ride the roller coasters. Like Nick said, we've been here before. We kind of consider this as our home. We want to go out here and be victorious so we can win another National Championship. CAMERON ERVING: It's been a really good experience for us. I've enjoyed myself, and I've enjoyed being around my teammates. It's been different, like Rashad said, being able to experience Disneyland. I have never done that, and a lot of people on our team haven't. But coming out here in the Rose Bowl again is going to be fun. We hope to win another game and lead to another National Championship. Q. Rashad, Ifo Ekpre‑Olomu is Oregon's All‑American cornerback. He's not going to play. He's hurt. As a wide receiver, how do you feel about that, I suppose? Were you working forward to testing yourself against a guy like that? Are you now hoping to maybe try to take advantage of the secondary without Ifo? RASHAD GREENE: Honestly, I'm kind of disappointed. I never wish anything bad on anyone, being that he is a senior and something tragic like this happened late in the year like that. I hope nothing but the best for that guy. I hope he has a safe recovery. At the end of the day, I was looking forward to competing against the best. That's how I judge myself. I'm pretty sure they have‑‑ with a program like Oregon, they have some guys that could back him up, capable of doing the same thing that he's done. So I'm not going to take anyone lightly that steps in front of me at the end of the day. So I look forward to it. Our game plan is not going to change because he's absent from the game. We just still continue to do what we're doing and preparing for this game because they have a great defense. Q. Guys, you've been here before, and I'd like you to address the experience factor, what you guys have experienced last year, building upon that for this year, going into this game. How much more has that helped you guys? RASHAD GREENE: The experience is a great accent for us being that we have a lot of young guys that are helping us out this year and need to step up to help us win that game. With the experience of guys like myself, Nick, and Cam, who played in the National Championship last year on a huge stage, we're able to coach those guys up on what they need to do and what they don't need to do, and the focus they need to have to come in like this on a big stage. So they're able to accumulate whatever they need to accumulate to be successful and to be able to help us win this game. Q. What's the biggest problem that Oregon's defense presents for you guys? CAMERON ERVING: Well, like Rashad said a minute ago, Oregon has a tremendous defense.  They have a really good defensive line. This is going to be vital for the offensive line to establish the line of scrimmage and make sure we control the line of scrimmage. At the end of the day, we have great players on the outside and in the backfield. So Jameis is going to get the ball out. Rashad's going to catch the ball, Nick's going to catch the ball. We're going to spread the ball out, and we're just going to play well. Controlling the line of scrimmage is just going to be the biggest thing for this game. Q. Nick, describe the confidence that you guys have in your team. You've been here before. You've played here the last couple of seas ones. What's it like to gear up for this type of game? NICK O'LEARY: We have a lot of confidence in each other. We go out there every game knowing that we're going to win the game. Jameis keeps it like that. So in the huddle he's always like we're going to whoop these guys. So we go out there every game knowing we're going to win. We just keep that same mindset in this game and go out there and beat Oregon. Q. So what's it like in practice? NICK O'LEARY: Very competitive. Q. Cameron, talk more about this team's ability just to kind of come back from any situation. You guys have faced a lot of adversity during games throughout the season, but you guys just keep your cool, you're so collected. What's it like at halftime, and kind of like what's it like on the field in the second half for you guys to keep your composure so well? CAMERON ERVING: This is probably the most resilient group of guys I've ever been around in my life. We don't accept no, and we always find a way to win. Scratch and claw and whatever we need, we make plays at the right time. It may not always be as pretty as you want, but we always come out victorious. That just speaks testament because, like I said, it's just a great group of guys. We don't quit. As far as leaders at halftime, guys like Rashad, Rashad doesn't really talk a lot, but when it comes to football, he loves to play, and he makes sure that guys are behind him 100 percent. When guys like that talk, you listen. And a lot of times there's not really anything much that needs to be said a lot of times. It's just a look at a guy, just let's go. Then shake your head when you go back out on the field because you know we're not playing to the best of our ability or we're letting little things get in the way of our success. Just have to go out there and be sharp. It's one play at a time. It's one play at a time. That's what I always remember. It's one play at a time. You can't get it all back in one play. You can't get it all back in one series. You have to go out there and play one play at a time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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