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ROSE BOWL GAME: IOWA VS STANFORD

December 28, 2015

Jaleel Johnson

Pasadena, California

Q. Are you enjoying your time here?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. First time in Los Angeles. It's a bit crazy. I'm enjoying it so far.

Q. In looking at a team like Stanford, played probably more pro style than anyone else. Is there a sense of familiarity for you guys?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. Stick with what we've been doing all year.

Q. Some of the Stanford offense guys, for you guys it's not a matter of complex scheme or anything. You just execute all the concepts that you do really, really well. Is that an accurate assessment?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. Like I said, it's all about fundamentals. We talk about that every single day in our meetings. With their offense, they have really good techniques.

Q. What do you think the Stanford offense line stacks up against some of the lines you've faced?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah, they're a big offensive line. They're athletic. They can move. We have to come up off the ball and attack these guys up front.

Q. As a defensive lineman how exciting is it to play against a guy like Garnett, who's one of the best in the nation?
JALEEL JOHNSON: It's huge. He's a great player. Very athletic. Outland Trophy winner, all that. It'll be a good matchup.

Q. Up until the Michigan State game a lot of people were saying you guys couldn't match up with the big guys. How big of a statement do you think that Michigan State game was for you guys as a front seven to go up there and go toe for toe with one of the more physical fronts?
JALEEL JOHNSON: It was a big statement, not just the offensive line but the quarterback, as well. We played our hardest. They were a very good offense line. We're a good front seven. We made a few mistakes near the end of the game that cost us, but we played good overall.

Q. How much have you guys heard about the whole Christian McCaffrey hype and all that?
JALEEL JOHNSON: We didn't hear too much about it. We just try to focus on us and get prepared for the game. We hadn't really heard that much about it.

Q. Do you think that's just because of geographics or conferences or do you think he's really under the radar this season in general?
JALEEL JOHNSON: I'm not really sure. Under the radar I don't really think so because he's a great player, over 100 yards per game. We really hadn't focused on that. We're just doing what we need to do to win the game.

Q. What specific challenges do you think Stanford's offense brings to the table that you might not have seen so far this season?
JALEEL JOHNSON: They run pretty well. We're just trying to focus on reading and blocking come off the ball at the offense line. Their quarterback can make great plays with his feet as well as throwing the ball. And of course they run it back. Their whole offense, they're a great offense.

Q. So how hard do you think the matchup will be? Talk about the power they have with their lineman, but you also talk about McCaffrey and Bryce Love, a lot of speed. How tough is it to match up and be ready for an offense that can hit you with power or speed?
JALEEL JOHNSON: It's just one of those things where you just have to really focus on what they do. And just really focus on like how to defend it. They run a lot of ^ schemes, things like that. Every single day in practice we just focus on like how to defend those kind of schemes. I mean, it's all just coming down to, like I said, fundamentals.

Q. Is a lot of it like presnap stuff, being able to recognize that?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. Pretty much. Like some of their guys up front on their side of the ball, they give away what they're going to do and we have to take advantage of that.

Q. Will you be coming back next year?
JALEEL JOHNSON: I'll be back next year?

Q. Because you had a really good year, your first year as a starter.
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah.

Q. Did you put your name in for the advisory at all?
JALEEL JOHNSON: No.

Q. How do you think you did this year?
JALEEL JOHNSON: I don't know. First year coming out, I had big shoes to fill, me coming in. But I'd say I did pretty okay. But I can definitely pull next year, definitely. I just want to keep on going, keep pushing, never become complacent.

Q. We've talked about this before. You're from big cities. Was there a point where you getting into Iowa City where you're like, the pace there is different, slower? It can drive some guys crazy. Was that ever a point for you?
JALEEL JOHNSON: The first time I visited Iowa City was my junior year of high school, and it was a huge culture shock. But the more I'm in Iowa City before I committed, I got used to the environment. I got used to the area. So as soon as I committed to it and I started school, it really wasn't a big thing. It's just another place I just live.

Q. I don't know if you'll be head up with Josh Garnett very much.
JALEEL JOHNSON: I think we head up with Johnny Caspers there on the guard.

Q. Which is the kind of game you guys like?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. You can prepare all year for these kinds of games. To be in the Rose Bowl, it's a huge achievement, and we're really looking forward and just taking advantage of it. We're working hard every single day.

Q. I asked Garnett, who was sitting here not too long ago, I asked them when they could tell, what are some signs they can see where they know they've won a physical battle with a guy. What are things that maybe you start seeing when you know you have the guy beat, and he can't stop you, and you're going to line up for another 50 more snaps. What do you see in a guy when it happens like that?
JALEEL JOHNSON: What I see, they tend to give up a little bit more. Like at the start of the game they come out real fast. Towards the end of the game they're starting to give up, starting to become a little bit soft. And that's really where you want them.

I mean, with this offensive line, I don't see that. They're very physical. So I really don't see that as getting soft. It's going to be a hard game.

Q. I think their last game out against USC they threw 13 times, they ran I don't know how many times, 40 times. That's usually what you guys do when you're rolling on offense. Is that run-pass ratio, is that something you keep them passing a little bit?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. With their running game, once we shut that down, we make them pass and we have a very good secondary. We can take care of that.

Q. Are you having a good time?
JALEEL JOHNSON: I am. First time in LA. It's different, yeah.

Q. I'm surprised about all the concrete. Everything is -- there's like no parks?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah.

Q. You said you guys went down to Hollywood Boulevard.
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. There's some characters out there.

Q. You guys never played against Glenbard West, did you?
JALEEL JOHNSON: No. We did not, no.

Q. Did you go to any camps or anything like that with Caspers?
JALEEL JOHNSON: No.

Q. So you didn't know him before the game?
JALEEL JOHNSON: No.

Q. [On recruiting...]
JALEEL JOHNSON: I'd say probably one of the biggest factors is like getting in other colleges, I really didn't -- I didn't feel like it was a family atmosphere. Like I've been to Michigan State a few times, met with Dantonio and his staff. I just didn't feel like it was that sense of like heritage schools, like Tennessee or Purdue. I didn't feel it there. I came to Iowa. Met with Coach Ferentz. It was a more genuine staff that I met.

Yeah, Coach Ferentz and his staff is a huge factor why I came to Iowa.

Q. Tell us something about him maybe the public wouldn't know.
JALEEL JOHNSON: Well, just knowing him these past three or four years, what I know about him is he's a real funny guy. He can make a few explicit jokes.

Q. It's so rare for a guy to be in one place for so long and then Parker is there another 17 years as well. That continuity, can you see the kind of factor that is throughout the season?
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah. Coach Parker has been there for so long, with him being the defensive coordinator, he's really good with the defense. He knows what he's doing. Smart guy. He puts his defense in the right position at all times.

Q. [On potentially matching up against Joshua Garnett...]
JALEEL JOHNSON: There may be a chance here and there throughout the game. I'll probably be against Johnny Caspers the entire time, their other guard.

Q. Talk a little bit about their line, where do you see the offensive line.
JALEEL JOHNSON: Yeah, definitely. I'd say they're a bunch of larges. Kind of like our offense line, they're very fast. They're strong, they're quick. They can move laterally really, really well. It will be a good matchup against our front seven, against these guys. They're very physical and very athletic.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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