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HOLIDAY BOWL: WISCONSIN VS USC

December 29, 2015

Clay Helton

San Diego, California

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, to the National Funding Holiday Bowl press conference. Kick-off tomorrow is at 7 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium. Tomorrow we also have the Port of San Diego Holiday Bowl Parade down here on Harbor Drive at 10 a.m.

We will get started with Coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans, and then we will pass it over to Coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers. If you have a question, please raise your hand, and we will bring you a microphone. Coach Helton.

COACH HELTON: Hi, guys. How we doin' today? So excited to be back down in San Diego. I didn't think it could get any better than last year, but the "red coats" and this National Funding Holiday Bowl have topped themselves yet again, from the ability to take our kids to the zoo, to be on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and see that aircraft carrier, and everything that goes along with the city of San Diego, its people, and this bowl game, it has just been first class.

We have had two great practices down here. We will have our third today to finish everything and looking forward to playing an excellent Wisconsin team led by Coach Chryst. After watching the tape, have been so severely impressed with how they play defensively, without question, one of the better units that we faced all year, especially when you talk about a bunch that only gives up 13 points a game.

Offensively, one of the more experienced quarterbacks that we have seen all year, and obviously going for his opportunity to get the lead in total number of victories for his school. With that, I will take any questions that you might have.

Q. Clay, your program has had a lot of change and upheaval over the last three, four years. What has been the net affect and how have your players adjusted this year?
COACH HELTON: Well, I've been so proud of our seniors, I'll be honest with you. We've gone through some adversity, from coaching changes to sanctions, and to really see a bunch of seniors lead us kind of out of the darkness and into the light, to be a part of a Pac-12 South Championship and to win the Pac-12 South and be a part of the Pac-12 Championship game, it shows the progress that we're making right now as a program.

Obviously, to be in our second back-to-back Holiday Bowl, to be in one of the premiere bowl games in the country, it's exciting for us. I think it shows progress. It can be a great jump start to our season coming into next year, and we're so glad to be playing such a quality team in Wisconsin. I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is our seniors and what they have accomplished through this season and through adversity.

Q. You've kind of chosen to take the path of not a lot of practices, not a lot of hitting, all of that. Do you want to explain how you decided that's the best approach for this?
COACH HELTON: You've got to remember, too, Dan, that you look at the month of December and you have to figure out exactly how many opportunities do you want, how many experiences do you want during the month of December. Not everybody plays in championship games on that 5th of December, and you've got to remember that's five practices leading up to that plus a bowl game, plus that Pac-12 Championship game.

Well, there's six opportunities right there. Now, you go into the bowl game, you're having eight practices, plus that bowl game, that's nine more opportunities. That's 15 opportunities; that's basically a spring practice all over again. Coming out of the Pac-12 Championship game we were beat up going into that game, really felt we came out even more beat up, injurywise. So to be able to get our kids through finals, to be able to get them fresh-legged again and get them through injuries, and then come back and have eight more practices that we felt were not only competitive but physical practices, also, gives us the ability to prepare against a really good Wisconsin team.

I think it's a great stride for us, you know, to have 15 experiences in the month of December, you don't get that opportunity very much. It's helped us progress some very young kids, especially quarterbackwise in Max Browne and Sam Darnold. It's helped us be able to get 15 more experiences for some young DBs and linebackers that need to perform for us next year, so it's been a great opportunity for us, and I thought that championship game experience really helped us, also. So when you look at the month of December and you gain those 15 opportunities, I think you've only benefited your team.

Q. "Biggie" Marshall was kind of thrown into the breach from the beginning as a freshman. How do you assess how far he's come from September to now, and also what's the prognosis on Cameron Smith? How is he coming through his injury and do you count on him from the beginning next year?
COACH HELTON: Definitely, just -- Biggie is another example of how fortunate we have been to acquire unbelievable talent, both from a physical and mental maturity standpoint. You look at us, I think it's over the last six years I think we have 15 freshman All-Americans, I think that's the number, and Biggie is one of those guys that stepped right in. Physically mature, mentally mature, was ready to play and, you know, best player plays at USC; it doesn't matter if you're a freshman or a sophomore, and Biggie was one of the those guys.

He was one of the best corners on the field, and he was out there -- I obviously saw him progress through his season and really, you know, had his best game in the UCLA game, I thought. It's been neat to see him progress.

Cam Smith, obviously, freshman All-American, to see what he has done even through injury. He's progressing nicely with his knee injury, he is going to get his shoulder fixed here, soon, but we expect him to be back, and right from the first game. His prognosis is very, very good. Been very, very pleased with the last two freshman classes we have had, how much they're helping us. This is still a very young football team. You're going to see a lot of those guys back next year, and that makes me a happy coach.

Q. Last year the Rose Bowl -- actually the National Championship had the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, so the Holiday Bowl was the only scheduled bowl game with the two traditional Rose Bowl teams. This year you have the traditional conferences in the Rose Bowl, and the same conferences in the Holiday Bowl. When we were growing up the Rose Bowl was for -- well at the time Pac 8/Big 10 bragging rights. Do you see this as a tie-in to the Rose Bowl for conference, shall we way, bragging rights?
COACH HELTON: I see it as one of the premier games in the college bowl experience this year. When you talk about the tradition of USC and the tradition of Wisconsin, what two quality teams they are, and then you put it in prime time with the only game on at that time, you know, you've got the whole nation watching. What a great -- what a great game for the nation, and what a great game for our two programs.

When you talk about the Pac-12 conference and the Big Ten conference, you're talking about two of the premiere leagues two of their premiere teams. It's exciting for our players and it's exciting for our fans, and I know it's been exciting for the city of San Diego. I've been asked for way too many tickets, right now. I'm going to have to tell some people no, so it's one of the more intriguing match-ups out there in this bowl season, and I know the whole nation is going to be watching and our kids are excited about that.

Q. Coach, you touched upon it with their defense, statistically one of the best in the country. What have you seen on tape that has made them so successful and that might give you reason for concern?
COACH HELTON: Yeah, the front seven is without question one of the best we've gone against all year, and that 3-4 scheme, especially with the nose and the two-four techniques to be able to two-gap things and hold that point in the line of scrimmage, and then the four linebackers are without question the best we have gone against all year.

They bring them from everywhere, field backer, inside backer, boundary backer. Number 47 is one of the best pass rushers I've seen all season. You know, so, it's -- one, a terrific scheme that they run, they do a tremendous job, but then you put the personnel that has really played very well and is extremely well coached. It's going to be a great challenge for us.

Then, you look on the back end, I thought they have held up extremely well on the back end. They put a lot of pressure on their DBs, a lot of times in man coverage or even in the quarters coverage, their corners are on the island, and they're doing a tremendous job. Very, very well coached defense, going to be a great challenge for us.

Q. I know you've got some big guys of your own but how do you simulate their power game when you're true to practice for 'em?
COACH HELTON: It's hard. We did a lot of what we call "iron sharpens iron," in these last eight practices and what that means is it's basically instead of the service team we're using our one's and two's to be able to give a very quality look during a service period for our defense to be able to run that power run game and give the best quality look we can. That's what we have done in the past eight practices. Hopefully it will pay off on game day.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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