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COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL AT THE CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: CLEMSON VS OKLAHOMADecember 28, 2015Ben BoulwareMiami Gardens, Florida Q. Talk about Baker Mayfield and his competitiveness. BEN BOULWARE: That's one thing you definitely can see on film. After plays he's getting in guys' face. He's pulling down, running to the mouth. As a competitor like myself, you love seeing that. You love getting to play against that, so I'm looking forward to getting to play against him. We've got to play -- there's a new quarterback last year, so we're definitely looking forward to playing against him and just seeing all the things he can do. Q. It seems obvious, but is that the biggest difference in this team from a year ago? BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, the quarterback. Baker Mayfield brings a lot to the table. He's probably one of the best quarterbacks we've faced all year. He's a Heisman contender. You can see by his stats he's a great player. He's probably one of the top best players in the nation. You definitely can see that on film. Q. Can you take anything away from last year's game because he changed that team so much? BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, he completely changes that team 100 percent. It's a complete 180 turnaround. He was a great player, but it just shows how much better of a player Baker Mayfield is. Q. When you first came to Clemson, were you thinking more championships or were you thinking how it could help you grow as a person and you just liked the atmosphere and the coaching staff? BEN BOULWARE: Probably a little bit of both, but I mean, I wasn't -- I just wanted to come to Clemson because I've been a Clemson fan my whole life. I grew up 30 minutes away from here, and then going to the games. So I never thought about that, I just wanted to come to Clemson and hope for the best really, and it's definitely exceeded my expectations. Q. Shaq said a little bit ago, I really love practice. It seemed like a strange thing to say. What's that say about his personality? BEN BOULWARE: We've probably got a lot of guys on our team that feel that way. It's why we've been so successful the past couple years because Coach Swinney has done such a good job of making practices as fun as possible, and it's definitely grueling, it's definitely tiresome every day. But I think they've done a great job of making it as enjoyable as possible these 18 weeks. It speaks volumes to them that we're this far in the season, he's out there just having a good time, joking around, and you want that attitude out there. It just brings a lot to practice because it does get tiresome. Q. What about Shaq Lawson and all the attention he receives? BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, I don't think he lets that get to his head. He's still the same old kid from Daniel, South Carolina, or Central South Carolina, so it's cool to see him grow as a person and see why he's growing and staying so humble after receiving every award in the country. Q. He seems like a guy who always had the physical gifts, but you probably saw him when he came in -- BEN BOULWARE: Yeah. Q. But what he was saying is that he really kind of looking back enjoyed the time he sat behind Beasley or went to Hargrave. Does that show how much he loves the game? BEN BOULWARE: Yeah, I'm sure it's definitely been a growing experience for him. He's had a lot of obstacles put in his face, having to go to Hargrave, and then having to sit behind Beasley, Crawford, all those guys, so it's definitely been a learning experience for him. I think it's paid off, him having to be so patient and not getting that starting role until now. It's been a learning experience for him. Q. With a mobile quarterback like Mayfield and the way that he can avoid trouble and that kind of stuff, what does that change for the linebackers, how you have to read and react when he's in the pocket scrambling and running? BEN BOULWARE: We definitely have to have more focus on him. We have our keys and stuff like that. We have our drops and our fits and all that, but while we're doing that, we have to keep an eye on him because he can do so many things with his feet, so we have a little more focus on him, just keeping on eye on him. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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