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ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL: OHIO STATE v ALABAMADecember 30, 2014Trey DePriestNEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA Q. Can you talk to me a little bit about growing up in Ohio and what that fan base is like compared to the fan base in Tuscaloosa? TREY DEPRIEST: It's similar, Ohio State they've got some die‑hard fans too, regardless of the situation, whether it's up or down just like the fans in Tuscaloosa. They do a good job regardless of like I said regardless of the situation with us. If we're down, they're still going to scream for us, this and that, basically. Q. Tell me about your trip to the hospital yesterday. How did that touch you? What did you learn from that experience? TREY DEPRIEST: It was a real humbling experience. I've never really been to a children's hospital like that. They usually send a leadership group of the seniors. And this is my first time ever being on it. So I mean just a humbling experience. And just seeing those kids sick, kind of‑‑ I mean, made me thankful for my son and that he's healthy. Like I said, it's a really humbling experience. Q. Put the game in perspective, what you guys plan? TREY DEPRIEST: Yes, that I'm blessed to go out and showcase the talents God gave me. Q. Were you recruited by Ohio State? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, I was. Q. This game feel‑‑ aside from being a playoff game, does it feel any different in the leadup, because you know a lot of guys on the team or a couple of guys? TREY DEPRIEST: I really don't. Q. You're good friends with Braxton, right? TREY DEPRIEST: That's one of my best friends. But I don't know a lot of them to be honest with you. I know like four or five of them but that's about it. Q. Did you and Braxton play together kids football. He talked about some teams he was on where he was a kid they have to keep proving that you guys were two or three‑‑ he was two or three years older than you are? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, (indiscernible) we played pee wee football but he went to a different high school than I did. Q. Was he a quarterback? TREY DEPRIEST: He was a quarterback. I was running back. I played defensive end in pee wee and I moved to linebacker in middle school. Q. Have you stayed in touch with him since (indiscernible)? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, we talk all the time. He does his rehab down there in Birmingham so I try to shoot up there every once in a while and talk to him. Q. This is your first instance to play at a collegiate level. You didn't know this was going to happen but talk about the chances possibly being able to play with him in college. TREY DEPRIEST: It's been a fun experience. Sort of a meet‑again type experience. And I figured it was going to happen. Honestly, they've been having some good years and we've been having some success, too. So I figured it would eventually happen. For him not to be playing in this one was kind of‑‑ I mean, it's for real. But it is what it is. Q. What have people back home been saying to you? TREY DEPRIEST: My people or just people period? Q. Both. TREY DEPRIEST:  My people, they're excited for me. I mean they're wishing me luck and all that, and I mean other people they've got different opinions about it. I ain't going to go there. But it is what it is, too. Q. What were the circumstances, remind me at Ohio State, were they in the final 2, 3, how did that work for you? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, that was in the final 2, it was between them and Bama. Q. And what was the deciding factor for you? TREY DEPRIEST: My comfort level. I just felt more comfortable with Alabama. And that's the choice I went with. Q. Was Coach Fickell there or had Urban come in? TREY DEPRIEST: It was Coach Tressel was still there but Fickell recruited me. Q. Did you develop a relationship with Coach Fickell? TREY DEPRIEST: Not really, no. Q. Having had conversations with Braxton since he's been hurt, what sense do you get that he feels like he's sort of left out of this, when he was the guy for that team and then injury thwarted it? TREY DEPRIEST: I don't think he feels left out. You can't necessarily feel left out off being injured. That's the game of football. Everybody got that‑‑ everybody takes that chance every day. So I don't think he feels left out. I mean, I just think he‑‑ I don't even know how to put it. I guess he would just feel‑‑ Q. Disappointed? TREY DEPRIEST: To a certain extent, yeah. Of course. Of course he wanted to play in the game, that he can't. But he couldn't do nothing about it. It's not like he went out and got hurt on purpose. Like I said, it comes with the game. Q. How tough is that guy? TREY DEPRIEST: Very. Very. Q. What do you expect from him when he gets back on the field? TREY DEPRIEST: The same thing. The same thing he did when he was on the field. Big Ten player of the year two times in a row. I don't expect nothing less. Q. This is going to sound like a fundamental question, but why is Alabama better than Ohio State? Why can you win this game? TREY DEPRIEST: I ain't going there. I ain't going there. Q. When you were in high school, how did you view Ohio State? So many kids in Ohio want to go there. What kind of prompted you maybe to look elsewhere? TREY DEPRIEST: Just because that's not the only school in the nation. I mean, other schools have stuff to offer, too. So I didn't go in recruiting narrow minded. I just broadened my horizons looked elsewhere. Q. When you grew up were you a fan of a certain school, maybe Ohio State? TREY DEPRIEST: I was a Michigan fan. Q. You don't want to talk about how‑‑ you are going to admit you were a Michigan fan? TREY DEPRIEST: I don't go to Ohio State, why wouldn't I? Q. This is going to be your junior year and every game now possibly could be your last game. I know you haven't made the decision yet? TREY DEPRIEST: I'm a senior. This is my last year. Q. Possibility being your last game, talk about that, especially a big game like this. TREY DEPRIEST: It's just crazy. I mean, I still remember my whole time my freshman year. Like you said this possibly is my last game. It's mindblowing for real. But I mean I enjoyed my time at Alabama and if it is my‑‑ if it so happens to be my last game, then so be it. I enjoy‑‑ like I said I enjoyed my time, loved it. Never regretted my decision. Q. A lot of players don't have the ability to say three national championships in their college career you guys can do that taking care of business first, this weekend first? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, like you said I don't think no class could say that.  If we have accomplished that that adds to my experience. Q. Did you ever want to play them, did you think maybe hey down the road we will? What does this matchup mean to you, I guess? TREY DEPRIEST: I mean, to me it's just another game. It didn't matter who got in that fourth slot. We was going to have to prepare for them just the same way. But I mean I figured we was going to play like I said earlier, they've been having successful years just as well as we have and eventually it was bound to happen. And especially since they put this playoff deal in play and it's bound to happen. Q. Any message to folks back in Ohio? TREY DEPRIEST: No, I ain't got none. Q. Do you have fans back home, Alabama rooting system? TREY DEPRIEST: My support system, it's great. Q. You have basically one tape to look at the quarterback for Ohio State. How many games would you watch a typical quarterback getting prepared for a game? TREY DEPRIEST: Typically probably his best five, five or six. With this being his‑‑ that was being his only game but you still have a lot to go off because he had a lot of success for that game. For him to show up like he did, what is it 59‑something and on that type of stage, him being thrown into the fire like that, I mean, he handled himself great. That's a great tape to watch. Q. Do you throw anything extra in to try to he hasn't seen a lot from you either, you guys throw anything new at him? TREY DEPRIEST: I'm going to let Coach Smart handle that, whatever he wants to call, I'm going to get the message relayed to everybody else and go run it. Q. How many Ohio questions, Braxton questions have you got today? TREY DEPRIEST: There's been a lot. Q. More than the last three years put together? TREY DEPRIEST: Oh, yeah, definitely. Q. You're from Ohio? TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah. Q. How did you get out of Ohio and get down to Alabama? TREY DEPRIEST: I mean, that's just the decision I made to do. I felt more comfortable down here at Alabama than I did up there at Ohio State. I had a better relationship with some of these coaches down here. The guy who recruited me, he's actually gone now, but I still keep in contact with him. And I had a chance to develop a relationship with some other coaches. Q. You've been in the system for four years. You've contributed since day one. You actually left high school a semester early. Two in a row with Alabama. What would you say is the biggest thing you've seen during your career here the defensive player here for Alabama? TREY DEPRIEST: My biggest thing you said as a defensive player? Q. In your development. TREY DEPRIEST: I mean, just the way that I'm able to handle the defense, get it called, get the message relayed from Coach Smart to the whole defense and get everybody lined up and everybody on the same page. That's a good thing. Q. The last season in this game, in the Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma was able to spread the field, give you guys issues, do you see anything that Ohio State does offensively that could probably do the same thing to you guys this season? TREY DEPRIEST: They've got a lot of stuff offensively that can pose a problem for any defense. They do a lot of stuff. Shift motion a lot. Guys on the perimeter that can create mismatches as far as‑‑ Q. Let's talk for a moment. You've got a chance to look at the performance of the new quarterback for Ohio State. And you were talking about the amount of respect that you've garnered or gathered after watching his performance. Tell me a little bit more about that? TREY DEPRIEST: I mean, like I said, just the way he handled himself on the stage like that, Big Ten championship. His first start. I mean, if you go out there put up that type of numbers, that's impressive for anybody to do that. I mean, I know people probably didn't even expect all that. But like I said the way he went out there handled himself is really impressive. Q. When you take a look at what offensively they do, what has been the point of emphasis in terms of your preparation? TREY DEPRIEST: Just looking at the final formation. They do a lot of shifting in motion and trying to get guys on mismatches. So really just looking at the final formation and being able to dial down on what they do out of that sort of formation and that's pretty much it. Q. Hadn't thought about it until I got here and you were referring to it to one of the media members that preceded me. There's some unfinished business in this Superdome for this team from one year ago against a team called Oklahoma? TREY DEPRIEST: Definitely we didn't finish that game like we wanted to at all, especially from a defensive standpoint. I don't think we gave up that many points in a long time, that many yards. Last year we couldn't get it clicking with each other. So we finally got another chance to come out here and that feels great. And hopefully it don't go like that again. Q. Let me ask you, inside the locker room, all season long, do you feel pretty comfortable in sharing with me what you think the true personality of this Crimson Tide team is? TREY DEPRIEST: I mean, the personality‑‑ we've got an awesome chemistry between all the players, offense and defense. It's not a split type of deal. When my side of the ball ain't doing well, Blake or somebody going to come over and highlight us and when their side of the ball ain't doing well I'm going to go there say something to them, me, J. Reed, guys like that. Just the amount of chemistry we've got. It's awesome. I really think that's what put us in this position we're in now. Q. What's the main message that Coach Smart has been disseminating to all you defensive players? TREY DEPRIEST: A sense of urgency. Get lined up. Get the call fast. Like I said, be able to dial down on the last formation. Q. You've only got a few more maybe 10, 20 minutes of being subjected to all of this. How uncomfortable is it to be in this environment? It's like being on parade a little bit when you're sitting behind the table. TREY DEPRIEST: Yeah, sometimes it can get uncomfortable especially with some of the questions you get. It's just some of them‑‑ Q. What's the weirdest questions you've been asked? TREY DEPRIEST: The most uncomfortable question is somebody just asked me, he said why is Alabama better than Ohio State. I mean, it was his words. They're in this position for a reason, too. So we both gotta go out and play our best ball. And I really just didn't feel comfortable answering that question. Q. And I think it goes to something that I think is kind of great about this particular matchup. There is a mutual respect between these two teams. TREY DEPRIEST: Definitely. Mutual respect between the two coaches that we have. I mean Coach Urban he's had a lot of success and Coach Saban, he's had a lot of success. And they both coached in the SEC against each other. So it will be a good matchup. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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