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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL AT THE CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: CLEMSON VS OKLAHOMA

December 27, 2015

Eric Mac Lain

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. If you guys think that you've been kind of like overlooked and disrespected and OU thinks they've been overlooked and disrespected, what happens when two teams think they're disrespected?
ERIC MAC LAIN: It's just a great big pile of disrespect, like you said. We don't know who's getting more or less, but I think it's pretty evident when you turn on ESPN and you turn on the news who's been disrespected and who's not. I think it's pretty silly for them to say that. Of course they dropped to 4, but that's the whole getting them in the National Championship conspiracy, so that's interesting.

Q. At the start of the year basically you had one guy come back on the line and you had to replace everybody on the defensive line. How big a challenge is that, and honestly did you expect to be here?
ERIC MAC LAIN: Yeah, definitely. I just think the talent that I knew that we had coming on the defensive line, you know, I said from day one Christian Wilkins was going to be a monster among children, and he's proven that. He's just dominated offensive lines that he's gone against. From the offensive line I knew that we had something special, just the brotherhood that we had, that we might not have all started games, but we played a lot, when you look at the different snaps and things like that. I knew that we had the capability, just whether a matter of fact we came together and did it or not.

Q. You've been a part of three Orange Bowls now. What do you remember about the first two Orange Bowls?
ERIC MAC LAIN: In the first one getting my tail drug up and down the field. As a redshirt watching that it was probably a very traumatic experience, one of the worst of my college career. And then the second one was just awesome, going against Ohio State in that Orange Bowl, seeing the performance Sammy Watkins put on in that game. That's where he got drafted, from that game alone. I really feel like he just really blew up. The Orange Bowl has been pretty good to us these last two times that we've been here having big wins, so it's been fun.

Q. How do you think that the first Orange Bowl Clemson was in in 2011, how do you think the program grew from that, dealing with that loss?
ERIC MAC LAIN: I think the biggest thing that you've seen is the way the coaches have approached the situation with the bowl. We've had great success the last four years since then. I really think that Coach Swinney has changed and adapted to the way that he coaches. The first year we were here a week early, it was basically camp. No one wanted to be here by the time the game was played. We were all tired, tired of seeing each other, and so I just think that with the physicality that we practiced with and things like that -- it just wasn't smart for playing 11 or so games. So he's realized now that you've got to take care of your players, and he's done an outstanding job in the way that he's progressed and grown as a coach.

Q. Has the vibe down here been really different the last two times than it was in that first game?
ERIC MAC LAIN: Oh, yeah. Guys are excited to be here. Guys are happy for the opportunity. I think the biggest thing about this team that's so unique is we all love to play football. It doesn't matter whether we're playing Wofford, Furman or Oklahoma in the playoff game. We're all going to be excited to play, and I think that's been something that's been different about this team, and I think that's what makes us so dangerous.

Q. How have practices been different now?
ERIC MAC LAIN: Just the physicality, really. We used to just go full pads every day, just smacking around. Now not full pads. The first time we were in full pads was a week ago all season except for on Saturdays, of course. We just really have toned it down. We're not hitting each other nearly as much. You don't need that. We know how to play football. We know how to hit. At this level it's all mental. So the more mentally prepared you are, the more you can look at their defense and know what they're doing, that's a lot better than you being able to go against Ben Boulware and hitting him every day, so I think that we've really been able to save ourselves a great deal of pain and injury from that standpoint.

Q. What's it been like to watch the transformation of this program? That first Orange Bowl you were a good ACC team but now you're in a playoff.
ERIC MAC LAIN: It's just been cool to watch. I think Coach Swinney has got the character-type guys that he wants, whether that's coaches or players. I think our support staff is second to none. We really have been able to go out there and get the best in the country. Obviously our coordinators have been a huge deal in that. So I really think it's just been a growing process through players and coaches, and you guys have seen first hand what that can do.

Q. Was there a turning point during your career that you went, oh, wow --
ERIC MAC LAIN: I think the summer after the LSU game. The off-season, going into that, that was obviously a huge win for our program, and kind of the momentum that that took us into the off-season with I think was just really cool, and the leadership that you saw emerge from young guys was just second to none that I've ever seen.

Q. When you're protecting a quarterback who's mobile like that, do you kind of always have to be aware of where he's at?
ERIC MAC LAIN: Yeah, you never know where he's going to scramble out and run, but at the end of the day, him being so mobile really helps us out. I don't have to block perfect every single play because I know that he has my back and he's going to make us right, so I think the ability of Deshaun Watson has saved us a ton this year. But it is a little difficult, like you said, just because you might be blocking your man one way, and I could be straying into where he's running. So it's a little difficult at times, but it's definitely more positive than negative.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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