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BATTLEFROG FIESTA BOWL: NOTRE DAME VS OHIO STATE

December 30, 2015

Joshua Perry

Glendale, Arizona

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You'll leave here, no matter what, with a sense of accomplishment?
JOSHUA PERRY: Yeah, overall. The main thing, too, is I'll leave here with a sense of pride knowing that these guys I played with all had each other's backs. We cared more about the other guys than we ^ did the most. That's one thing I'll cherish the most.

Q. What does it tell you about the group that's been assembled?
JOSHUA PERRY: It's the character. When I say 'character,' I'm talking about guys that never quit, guys that are willing to put others in front of themselves.

When you look down at the rosters on some other teams, they have guys that are maybe more talented at some positions, but for some reason they didn't come together and have the same type of success.

Obviously having great players makes it a lot easier. It's definitely that culture that we've developed, the character of the guys we brought here.

Q. Do you feel you have played for a special coach? What is the secret of what he does?
JOSHUA PERRY: The secret? I mean, he's a nut job. He definitely cares about us. He wants what's best for the guys that are playing. He is I think in tune in a lot of ways with the team. He knows the questions to ask, the guys to go to. He's always trying to feel the pulse of what's going on. He wants to be involved.

You have some coaches, I haven't been a part of anything like that, but they say some coaches don't want to get involved. We have the exact opposite. I think that makes a huge difference. Once guys really know that you care, it's easier to do that.

Q. When you came out of high school, did you have a list of things you wanted to accomplish?
JOSHUA PERRY: Absolutely.

Q. What were some of those?
JOSHUA PERRY: Obviously, wanted to win the Big Ten championship. That was something I wanted to do. I wanted to compete for national championships. Individually I wanted to be an All-Big Ten player. I wanted to leave as a graduate of a university. I wanted to be up for some awards that people talk about and leave an impact in the community, getting involved in some of the things that I had an opportunity to get involved in.

Q. We've seen the pictures of your physical growth in four years.
JOSHUA PERRY: It's just the whole package, if you will. Mentally you've seen growth in my knowledge of the game, but also maturity-wise. Came to school at 17 years old. Hopefully from 17 to 21 you see some leaps and bounds in maturity. If not, there's something wrong.

Then just learning how to be a real teammate and a real brother.

Q. You came amidst all the turmoil. Was it tough?
JOSHUA PERRY: It was definitely tough. I think that's what molded me a lot more than just the overall experience, was coming in at that time. There was pressure everywhere. It wasn't very happy, if you will. There weren't a lot of hugs being given out, pats on the back.

It was something I needed coming out of kind of a bubble in high school. I'm very grateful for that opportunity.

Q. You were able to do most of the things you wanted. When you take a look at guys that didn't get to play, how do you feel about that?
JOSHUA PERRY: I would say the one thing about guys like that is they put in the work and they've given it their all. When you have done at least that much, I feel like you can find peace a little bit easier than when you say, Man, I wish I would have, could have.

The other great thing about those guys is we have a lot of respect for them as a team. They'll go down as guys we'll care for as the rest of our life. Buckeye Nation will care for a guy like Braxton. When we weren't that hot as a team, he was the guy carrying us. We're going to be grateful for that for as long as we live.

Q. Does how fans feel about this team have any effect on that?
JOSHUA PERRY: A little bit. I don't think it will have a huge effect because we did a lot of great things, this senior class. We won a national championship. We've won a ton of games. We won the Big Ten championship. We really kind of for the most part showed everybody what we were made of.

Q. How proud are you of this senior class?
JOSHUA PERRY: I'm really proud of it. It is an indicator of the work we put in, the time that was spent. Like I said, came from a really tough spot. The only way I guess to go was up. Could have gone up in a different way. Could have gone up at a different pace, the whole deal.

I think it just kind of shows the culture of things that Coach Meyer talks about, the guys we have in this class, the way they came together as leaders.

Q. Can you compare this program now to where it was when you first got here?
JOSHUA PERRY: A lot of differences. I would say the main one is the feel of the team. When I first came in here, it was a little bit disjointed, people were trying to figure things out, as you would expect in a time of transition like that.

Now, guys are definitely trusting each other. Guys are definitely trusting coaches. I think that communication is a lot easier. It's easier to be in the locker room, around the building. I think that's huge ultimately when you're talking about the team because you can't be successful if people are not on the same page and you don't have those continuity things going on throughout the team.

Q. Was there a point in 2012 that you thought, Hey, this is going to work?
JOSHUA PERRY: As a younger player, you're a little bit oblivious to things. The more you win games, the more you're put in a tough spot and you find a way to get out of it, you're more like, Dang, this is the real deal.

My freshman year, we probably shouldn't have been in some of those spots, but we still found a way out. I thought that was a moment where, This is going to be something special and whatever we're doing works.

Midway through my sophomore year was probably when I started seeing a turnaround in just my confidence and my play, demeanor, all those kind of things. Having that never-satisfied mentality means climbing the mountain. Each year I've seen improvements in all the things I've been trying to do.

Q. How do you avoid all the distractions, just focus on this game?
JOSHUA PERRY: You kind of just got to turn everything on the outside off. People always have something to say. Somebody is going to be calling you, asking you questions, whatever.

My big thing is every time I was at the Woody, with my teammates, my mind was there, it wasn't anywhere else, I wasn't thinking about anything else. That makes it a lot easier.

I always tell guys you only need to be concerned about the things that are going on with the team in the building, and everything else is put off till you're done, practice is over, whatever we're doing is over, you leave.

Guys have to flip the switch, be able to take care of business when they need to.

Q. Is that what happened after the loss to Michigan State?
JOSHUA PERRY: Yeah. I mean, at that point there was a lot on the line. There was even more on the line for us because it was our rival. It was a chance for our seniors to go 4-0 against them. It was a big chance for us.

Exactly what I was saying earlier, we had to tune everything else out. Throughout that period, Coach Meyer had a pit in his stomach, just like a lot of invested players on this team did. We realized that the locker room is really what we have to work with, and we ran with that.

Q. A lot of people seemed to focus on the negative aspects of things. How proud are you of your team?
JOSHUA PERRY: I'm extremely proud. There's always going to be a naysayer, brings up the negatives. Keeps you accountable, I guess.

For us, we've been able to celebrate a lot of positives that we've had, celebrate a lot of the character guys and leaders that we've had. I think that's really important. I think that's the difference, just the people and the way we celebrate one another.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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