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ROSE BOWL GAME: IOWA VS STANFORD

December 27, 2015

Brennan Scarlett

Pasadena, California

Q. How was break?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Great. Hanging out with the family not doing too much.

Q. For a lot of the teams in the Pac-12 the Rose Bowl is kind of the white whale, you always look up to it. But it's a lot harder to actually get here than people say. What does it mean to you to actually be here in your last year of eligibility?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, they say the Rose Bowl is the granddaddy of them all. And coming out here and just being here for a day, you realize why the atmosphere and the energy has been great so far. And really just a blessing to be here and a tribute to the team of how hard we worked to get here. Because it hasn't been an easy road.

Q. What does it mean to get this experience kind of as a culmination of all that?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: It means a lot. This is -- actually, this is my first bowl game since my freshman year. So it's been a long road for me to get here and just couldn't end it any better. This is the end of my college career and what better way to go out than the Rose Bowl game with this team and the fellas. So looking forward to it.

Q. What did the fellas tell you about the week leading up to it? Did they get your expectations up? Any cool stories that they told you?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, Disneyland was an essential topic of conversation. And also that it's a lot more fun to win the Rose Bowl game than to lose, because they experienced both sides of it. So that's what we have been talking about. Because it's one thing, yeah, it's great to come here and be in the Rose Bowl game, but it's another thing to actually win it and be Rose Bowl champion.

Q. You've only been here for one day, but how does it differ from the expectations or kind of the same? Has it lived up to the standards that you set yourself in your mind?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, it's living up to it so far. Maybe exceeding it, because I knew what Disneyland was going to be like. But then when we went to the ESPN End Zone for an hour of free games and I was like, what? This is great. So we're all doing that and playing basketball games and stuff like that. I'm showing off my jump shot. So it was fun.

Q. Who is the best?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: I'm going to say myself. Until somebody proves me wrong. But Dantonio, Jordan is a good shooter and Stally, Rollins Stallworth, he's a good shooter.

Q. Have you gotten to talk to any of the Iowa guys at all, maybe around Disneyland or stuff?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: No, no, didn't talk to them. Saw some of them around, but didn't really talk.

Q. What's Disneyland like?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: It was cool.

Q. Have you been there?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: I've been with my family one time before. It's really fun getting off the rides and you see the real big guys, you know, you're on the ride and then especially afterwards when you see the pictures of those guys. So Quinton was grabbing me, grabbing my arm.

Q. Who took the best picture?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Let's see, who was just fighting? I think Dan Edwards was pretty scared. He took a good picture.

Q. How much Iowa film have you guys watched over the last couple of weeks?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: A good amount. We started a couple weeks ago and really got into them and saw their tendencies and stuff. So now we'll get back on them this week leading up to make sure we're really prepared.

Q. When did that preparation start? How long after the title game?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Well we had the title game and then we had that weekend off. Actually our first, our second practice, I believe, second or third practice back we were into the game plan and scheme and stuff. It was pretty soon afterwards.

Q. Given that the offensive scheme that Iowa runs is a lot more similar to what Stanford has traditionally run, does it make it easier in practice for the scout team to run those things and get those looks?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, especially because they're focused on running the ball, which is what we do at Stanford. So the scout team guys know how to block it, basically just learning the scheme. But overall, technique and mindset was pretty similar for them.

Q. Who is the Iowa running back? Who does him on the scout team?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: I think my brother did.

Q. Did he do a good job of it?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, my brother's a big back and fast, so he gave us a good look. He's done a good job all season, so I'm thankful to have him to help us get ready.

Q. Is your brother here?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, he is. He's out at Disneyland, too.

Q. Doing his own thing?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: We were rolling together. We had a crew. It was me and Aziz, and then we were with some other guys that got split off. And then it was just me and Aziz, my brother and then a bunch of the freshmen. So me and Aziz got everything going.

Q. How did Aziz take to that?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: He was cool. He was like, he was more like man, we're in Disneyland here. So it was pretty funny.

Q. So on the tape though, obviously, you haven't been out there, but how do you think this Iowa front is going to stack up to some of the other ones you faced this year?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: I think it will be one of the best, if not the best line that we have faced. It was cool to form the pack and see them move would well. It's going to be a good one.

Q. Any individual players or techniques that they do that stand out to you as you watch film?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Not too much. They definitely like to double team, so getting ready for that. Other than that, it's pretty simple. They're not trying to disguise what they're doing. They're coming straight at us, and they're going to do what they do regardless, so, yeah.

Q. Do you think for a defense like you guys, is it easier to diagram and kind of prep for a pro-style team versus a spread team or how do you guys feel about that?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Either way. It's really the same process either way. You see the tendencies in the formation tips that you can get through the week of film. And our coaching staff does a great job of putting the game plan together and providing us that information. So, it just makes it easy to study. So regardless of what style offense we're playing, it's pretty much the same.

Q. Who was the scout team quarterback this week?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Lambert. He gave us a good look every week, because he can run and he can pass it too, so.

Q. What do you think is going to surprise people about the Iowa offense when you play them?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: As far as fans?

Q. Or just, yeah, in general. Just something you saw in film that you think might have been overlooked.
BRENNAN SCARLETT: I don't know. I think they're pretty up front with what they do. I don't know if they're going to be throwing too much surprises out there. I think they're going to run the ball and stick to their guns and that's what they're preparing for. And I'm sure anybody who's watched them this season knows what's coming.

Q. You get a couple good hits on Cam in practice?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. In the beginning of the season I was kind of hard on him and I started to ease up a little bit toward the end of the season, but.

Q. Have you ever dumped Gatorade on your coach in your career?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: No.

Q. So Aziz -- the video, I don't know if you've seen the Rose Bowl when they beat Wisconsin, he was ready to do but they yanked it away from him because he wasn't a senior. So I asked him if that's kind of motivating him and he said, yeah, he really wants to get that kind of end point. You're a senior as well, so I'm wondering, you've come obviously through a different path, but how much is that kind of end goal driving you to be on the winning side of a championship game?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: That's the driving factor of the preparation this week. I was just telling one of the guys that the guys talked about a lot this past week, about how much of a difference it was to win the Rose Bowl game versus losing one. And it's a very distinct difference. So, definitely would love to win the game and that's what we are here for and dumping the Gatorade on Coach Shaw would be great. That would be great.

Q. Was it Kevin that was talking about the difference between losing one?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: It was a lot of the guys. Pretty much all the guys who have played, who played in both of them or even was just around for both of them after in the locker room and just what you remember. Definitely the memories are a lot better winning versus losing.

Q. I know we talked a little bit about this after you guys won the title game in the locker room, but now that you're going through the Disneyland and all that, how crazy is it that you weren't even part of this program a year ago.
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah, it's wild. I just count my blessings, because a year ago this would be a benefit to play in the Rose Bowl game and to play a whole year healthy and be here. It's just been a great time. I'm just super happy to be here.

Q. How healthy were you all year? Because I know you did play through some stuff. Was that pretty tough late in the year?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Honestly, I've been healthy all year. I had a little bit of a scare at Oregon State. I played a couple plays and then it was back to the next week and really nothing major, knock on wood, everything's been well taking care ever my body. Coach Tony and Steve, our trainer, it's great, great getting me through.

Q. Were you watching the Rose Bowl when Stanford and Oregon were playing in them?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Yeah. No, no, I watched the bowl games. Because if you don't make a bowl game, you're really back at home for a month, month and a half, just hanging, just watching football. That's really all there is to do.

Q. When you were watching that game, what was the one thing that jumped out at you saying, if I get to play in that moment, this is what I would really enjoy about it.
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Really, because I didn't pay too much attention to what happens before the game leading up. It was more so just watching the game like, man, I wish I was there. I wish I was there playing. Thinking back to those moments, and now being here, it's like, wow, you really got to take advantage. And especially with it being my last game and it being the Rose Bowl game, I got to leave it all out there.

Q. I'm sure you've been asked about this a ton, but I covered you for the one year at Cal and I saw when you were on the other end of the Axe. What did it mean when you finally were on the winning side of it?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: It was great. It was a great feeling. To finally win the Axe, to be here with these guys, we worked real hard to get it, to earn it. And we beat a great Cal team, which is definitely an achievement.

Q. Is there anybody you kept in touch with on the Berkeley side?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: Oh, yeah.

Q. Who have you been talking to?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: So I got, you know, I have great friends over there, Todd Barr, Mustafa Jalil, some of the younger guys, Kennedy, so I see those, I keep in touch with a lot of those guys. I was with them for four, five years, so, great friends.

Q. Do you expect -- will the messages be, I hope you play well, but I hope Stanford loses the game?
BRENNAN SCARLETT: For the Rose Bowl? No, I think there will be support there. I think the whole way around. Especially because I feel like everyone just wants the PAC-12 to do well, regardless of what school we're at. Because I know for us, we're watching these games, UCLA and Nebraska game, and Washington played. Just glad that they're representing our league. Wish UCLA would have got that one last night. So it's always great seeing PAC-12 teams do well. And I'm sure it's the same way over there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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