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ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON v FLORIDA STATEDecember 30, 2014Terrance SmithPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. You guys, defending national champions, you run the table again, yet it seems like everyone is knocking the Seminoles this year for not winning by a large enough margin or dodging bullets. What's been the most aggravating thing you've heard about this team all year? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, when you come out last year and you do the things we did and you set the standard that we set, people will expect the same thing from you next year. I mean, to be every week people are calling us the underdogs and having us as an upset alert, that's been one of the biggest things that annoyed us this year is how you say we're going to lose every game when we're the only team that's going to finish the season undefeated. It really just adds fuel to our fire when people say stuff like that. We know what we're capable of and we know what we can do, so that's all we do when we go on the field is we play the way we play. Q. You're a big underdog now. TERRANCE SMITH: It's not the first time, so we're going to go out on the field and play and let the scoreboard decide. Q. (Inaudible.) Trying to impress upon you guys every week how important mental preparation is. Can you talk about some of those examples that really resonated with you about the importance of being mentally strong? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, that's part of Coach Fisher's coaching standard, just being prepared for anything, and that's part of his practice, the way he coaches us. He's showed us a lot of things about a lot of teams who had to come back and win and stuff like that. Q. Some examples? TERRANCE SMITH: The NC State National Championship team in basketball a couple years ago, survive and advance. That's kind of our mentality right now, survive and advance. Win this game and go on to the next one and finish the way we've got to finish. That's an example that he showed us a couple weeks back, and it really resonated with the team. Q. How much has that just been especially with the defense, with injuries, being such a young defense, has it just been about‑‑ what has it taken to‑‑ TERRANCE SMITH: Our team has a motto, the player don't care who makes it. If you look at anybody's eyes on the sideline, you see no panic, you see no fear because everybody on that sideline knows that a play is going to be made, it doesn't matter who makes it. When an opportunity shows itself, somebody is going to take it. That's one thing we've done all year, just been able to find those plays and make them when we have to. In the fourth quarter we're one of the best teams at coming back. We've done it all year, and hopefully we won't have to fight until the fourth quarter this game, but if it happens, we know we can do it. Q.  As a linebacker you obviously appreciate when the D‑line is getting it done so you can get your job done. Having Nile back, how valuable is that for somebody from your standpoint? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, to have Nile back is a big boost. I mean, he's one of those guys who on the D‑line, he requires double‑team blocks. You can't single block him and have him and Eddie back healthy, it frees up linebackers so we can go sideline to sideline and make plays and hit our gaps and not worry about too much of anything else. Q. When is the last time you were this healthy as a defense? TERRANCE SMITH: It's been a while. We've had a lot of nicks and bruises and it's probably been since the start of the season when we were this healthy. These weeks to recover and prepare have been a tremendous help for our health. Q. How much stronger do you feel now going into the playoffs with some of those young guys getting in and you guys being healthy? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, with those young guys having experience in games, it adds depth, so now that we have our senior leadership and our starters back, we have those guys and then you have to have depth. You have to have people that can come in and spell other players when they get tired. To have that depth is really going to help us out. Q. When you guys are practicing against the offense, who do you want to give credit to? TERRANCE SMITH: That's got to be John Franklin. He's been giving us the greatest looks we could ask for against Mariota. His speed and agility is up there right with Mariota. Having that ability to go against him, it gives us the ability to get that game‑time feel and be prepared. Q. When you go from playing against Georgia Tech to going to Oregon which is completely the opposite, how difficult is that to adjust to? TERRANCE SMITH: Really, it's a complete change. You have to go and prepare for the triple option, which is pretty much assignment football, it's a man on a man, to the Oregon offense, which is spread, they like to get people out in space and make people tackle in space, that's a big difference. We've had a couple weeks to prepare for it, so I don't feel like it's going to be too much of a‑‑ Q. As you match coverage and the difficulty of their read schemes and putting your linebackers and binding your linebackers and trying to get them out of‑‑ talk about how you guys are scheming against that? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, Oregon's offense, I mean, they have pretty good speed at all skill positions. That's a linebacker position, like man‑to‑man and stuff like that, that's not going to be a big problem for us because we have athletic linebackers. Our linebackers are hybrid DBs. We can cover and we can play the run. We have some of the best secondary in the nation, so to be able to match up with them, it won't be a big deal. Q. (Inaudible.) TERRANCE SMITH: I don't know, there's too many people asking for that job, but if you put it on somebody, they're going to do it. Q. Who's the best guy for that sort of job? TERRANCE SMITH: From the linebacker position, it would probably be me or Matthew Thomas that would be spying. Q. (Inaudible.) TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, the whole time we've had to prepare. We've known about his speed and we've known about his ability. We've been preparing for him for a while, and just containing him, that's one of the biggest keys to the game is containing Mariota, keeping him in the pocket. It starts up front with the D‑line. The D‑line has to keep their rush lanes and just kind of collapse the pocket and not allow him to break outside of the tackles and pull the ball down and run which is what he's good at doing. Just keeping him inside the tackle box and just collapsing the pocket on him, that where it really starts and having somebody at the second level who can come up and make a play, that's really the key. Q. When you think about how Nile and Eddie are seniors and they had all that experience at collapsing the pocket, how beneficial will that be for you guys having them on the field? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, having Eddie‑‑ they've played a little bit longer than those other guys and they know a little bit more when it comes down to the game. They know what to do when a guard blocks out on him or when a guard blocks down on him, they know how to address it. Being able to have that experience back is a tremendous help. Q. How are you health‑wise, and have you been able to get that knee back to good condition? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, these last few weeks have been big‑time. I mean, I'm back close to as healthy as I've been most of the season, and my knee is recovered really, really well. To be able to have those couple weeks off was a big‑time help. Q. How much was it bothering you at a certain point? Were you out there just trying your best, feeling like I can't do this? TERRANCE SMITH: No, it was bothering me a lot, but it was at a point where I felt like I had to be out there for my team, whether I was making tackles or not, just having my presence out there, just the leadership role. I mean, to have it back to where I can go and do what I need to do and let my ability speak is a big‑‑ I'm glad I'm healthy. Q. What are you able to do now healthy that you couldn't do, whether it's lateral movement or some facet of your game that really took its toll because of the knee? TERRANCE SMITH: Well, lateral movement, but I have my speed back. That was the biggest part of my game, and to have that knee injury and have my speed limited was a big hindrance to me.  To be able to go sideline to sideline and make those plays how I've been used to do is going to help our team out a lot. Q. You have so much talent on defense the last few years. Is this program built now in a way that as a guy on the roster like you, to come in in two years as be as productive‑‑ TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, it just goes to the way these coaches recruit. We have some of the best recruiters in the nation and they go out and get guys year in and year out. They could come in and play right away like you've seen this year. It's been the majority of the offense. But they get guys who can come out and compete right away. Some guys have to sit back and learn the defense a little more over a year or two, but to be able to have those type of guys, these young guys who can come in and play, that helps any team. It doesn't matter. Q. Some guys want to go somewhere they're going to play right away instead of having to wait their turn. Why do guys want to come to Florida State and wait? TERRANCE SMITH: Because we win. That's one of the biggest things. People want to go to a winning program and people want to go somewhere they're going to have success. It's like asking somebody why they go to Bama. They know you might sit two or three years, but you want to win. You want to be around the best players and the best coaches and the best facilities. When you have that at your program, it doesn't matter if they come in and start right away. If they come in and have the ability and they work hard enough, they can play right away, but some people have to sit and wait and work a little bit. But I don't know, I guess they just want to win. That's why they come. Q. You're going to lose more guys off this team next year. There are more guys waiting in the wings? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, there's people waiting for their time right now. At Florida State, I mean, they say you never know when your number is going to be called, so you've just got to be ready for it. There are guys ready and waiting to get their chance to do their thing on the field. Q. What has it been like with Coach Kelly? TERRANCE SMITH: It's been really fun. Coach Kelly is a great coach. I love what he's done this year and how he's let us play this year. It's different from last year, but I just love it. Coach Kelly was my coach last year as a linebacker coach, so I'm very familiar with him, and I've got to tell you, he's a tremendous coach and does tremendous things on and off the field, from halftime adjustments to finishing out games the way we do it. It's been very fun. Q. How is it different? TERRANCE SMITH: I guess from Pruitt to Kelly, Pruitt was a little more aggressive. He blitzed a little more, obviously. You can't be mad at that. Q. Would you rather blitz a little more? TERRANCE SMITH: I'm a linebacker. Q. How is your knee? TERRANCE SMITH: My knee is good. Having those couple weeks off and being able to heal and get treatment and rehab, that was a big help to me. My knee is back close to 100 percent now. Q. (Inaudible.) TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, it's responded really well. I'm still in the brace and all, but it doesn't hold me back or anything. Just to be able to go out there and run around full speed and do the things that I can do at the beginning of the season, that's going to be a big help in this game. Q. Are you going to stay with the brace during the game? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah. Q. All the comebacks you guys have had this year, was there any moment during any of them where you kind of look at the scoreboard and you're like, we're kind of down by this much? TERRANCE SMITH: We really don't pay attention to the scoreboard at all. If you see us on our sideline, there's no panic in nobody's eyes. There's no fear in nobody's eyes because we know we're going to do what we have to do to come back and win. We don't pay attention to the scoreboard. Only time we look at the scoreboard is when the clock hits zero. Q. Eddie said you guys get into a competition with each other. Do you feel like that competition gave you a little bit of motivation this year? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, I mean, it does. What we do‑‑ we're a brotherhood. If the offense is having an off day, the defense is going to do something to come and pick it up and keep us in the game. If the defense is having an off day, the offense is going to do what they have to do to score points and keep us in the game. We feed off each other. When one side is making plays, the other side does their best to add to it and make their plays. Q. Would you say that motivation is something you guys needed after winning the title last year? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, you need that to win games, period. If you're just out there playing and you don't have any motivation, you're not going to be successful. But it was added pressure after winning the championship. We were almost kind of‑‑ we have to win games. We couldn't lose a game because of what we did last year and the standard we set last year. Just trying to feed off what we did last year was extra motivation, and it gave us the extra push to go out and finish the way we did this year. Q. You guys have obviously a lot of great athletes, but what Mario can do with his size and athleticism (inaudible)? TERRANCE SMITH: Mario is one of the greatest athletes I've seen on the football field. He's going to be a big key to this game, because Oregon likes to get people out in space and make you have to make those plays in space. And Mario is one of the best space players I've seen. He can tackle in space, he can run people down and he can stop the run on the inside, so being able to have such a versatile athlete on our defense, you can't beat it. Q. (Inaudible.) TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, we have a couple plays where he's matched up with a coverage skill guy. He has the ability to do it, and I have total confidence in him. Q. You talked about how your knee is feeling better. What does it mean to have Nile back? TERRANCE SMITH: To have Nile back is big time, man. You need defensive linemen. You need those guys up front who require those double‑team blocks, and you can't single block them. If you single block them they're in the backfield making plays. To have somebody that does that the way Nile and Eddie do, it's going to help our team out a lot, to be able to let me or Reggie or Matthew Thomas go sideline to sideline and make our plays and come down here and hit our gaps and not have to worry about too much else. Q. (Inaudible.) TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, it was a cut, but I mean, that's fully healed now. Q. But during the season it was opening up? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, it just kept opening up during the games and stuff like that, so I had to go and get it stitched up really well one weekend. Besides that, though, it's healed up. Q. About Mario's dad, the energy he brings to practice, is that helpful? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, yeah, to have him out there, he's a big motivator. He gets guys going. Sometimes you don't feel like practicing but he gets you going. He hypes up everybody, offense, defense, special teams. To have somebody like that on your team, you can't‑‑ I mean, it's hard to beat that. Q. Were there times when you're tired and worn out and hurting and he starts yelling and you just want to say, not now? TERRANCE SMITH: No, because you know he's coming from a good place. He just wants to see us succeed. You know that because he's the guy who has a son on this team, and that's all he wants to see us do is succeed. No matter what, he just wants to see us play good ball. Q. I know he's got some good life skills stuff. Does he give you good advice ever? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah, Mario Sr. He's a great mentor on the team. He helps people out a lot. If you have a problem you can go talk to him about it. Just seeing a guy who's playing for Florida State and been in the league, he can give you advice from a lot of different areas. Q. Coach Kelly talked about you guys' mindset to be able to come back from deficits. Do you almost expect that you'll be able to? TERRANCE SMITH: Once you know you can do it, there's nothing stopping you from doing it again. I mean, that's not what we ideally what we want to do every week, but when we get into situations like that, there's never any panic, there's never any fear because we know we can do it. Somebody needs to make the play that needs to be made and just coming out on top, so knowing that you can do that, it adds that extra. Q. Was there any point for you personally where you were like‑‑ TERRANCE SMITH: No, because if we did that we might have lost one of those games. It doesn't matter how many points you're down. We're going to find a way to come back before that fourth quarter ends. Q. How much do you think that helps against a team like Oregon? They're going to score. How much do you think that helps? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, it just helps to have that mentality on your team. We have that never give up mentality on our team, and that helps in any game. For an offense like Oregon who does put up points, you kind of don't want them to get up early because it's a little bit harder to dig yourself out of a hole against a team of that caliber than it does having done the whole season. If it happens, we know that we can do it, it's just a matter of going out there and getting the job done. Q. We're getting toward the end of the season. What's it been like with Coach Kelly leading the defense? TERRANCE SMITH: I mean, it's been a very fun year. I've loved everything he's done this year. The way he talks to us at halftime to the way we finish the games and play calling and everything. Coach Kelly was my coach last year, so I know he's a tremendous coach. He does tremendous things on and off the field for us, and it's been a good year. Q. Is he more laid back? Is he a yeller or screamer? TERRANCE SMITH: He's more laid back, but being a coach, sometimes you have to yell and scream at players just to get them going. But he's more of a laid back coach compared to Pruitt last year who was a more intense, in your face kind of guy. Just to have the difference in personality, it was a bit of a‑‑ we had to adjust to it, but he's came in and done a very good job. Q. Coach Kelly just said the biggest difference with Eddie Goldman is last year he was a good player and this year he's a dominant player. What have you seen in the difference from last year to this year? TERRANCE SMITH: Eddie would go out there and make plays last year, but he's focused on doing his job. This year he has more experience into doing his job and being able to come out there and make plays. To have that and have that experience with him, he's grown a lot as a player. Just to have him out there being able to make plays and not just sit there controlling gaps, it helps our defense. Q. It's not just drawing a double team, it's drawing a double team and bursting through and getting something? TERRANCE SMITH: Yeah. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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