	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: WASHINGTON VS ALABAMA

December 27, 2016

Atlanta, Georgia

THE MODERATOR: All right. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the first official formal press conference for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Semifinal with Washington and Alabama. Just a couple announcements before we start this morning. If you haven't done so already, credential pickup is right outside in the lobby outside the door.

We do have a full breakfast served for you guys in the media work room, which is right across the hall from the hospitality suite, one level below this room. That will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. to midnight with three meals a day for you guys in those locations.

Reminder, we will just continue to check our video download page. You guys probably have gotten the emails from us over the last few days with quotes, photos, B-rolldown is available on a daily basis. Those will go out throughout the day as it becomes available.

We are going to have the press conferences from the formal room being transcribed. Those will be available about, let's Say, 20 or so minutes after the sessions, give or take, and those will be emailed to all of the media credentialed on the list.

Practices are open today and tomorrow. Those are the only open practices for the week for photo and B-roll only. Today's practice, Washington will be at Georgia State, which is the alternate site, at 11:30. Alabama will be at the Georgia Dome at 1:30.

We encourage you guys to please take advantage of the media shuttles. If you plan to take advantage of that opportunity getting over to cover practices, there will be no player availability at either practice. Players will be available here throughout the week at press conferences and on media day.

We do have the team events, this evening are the joint visit to the Martin Luther King Center. That's going to be pool coverage only. We will shoot that for you guys and get that out to you via our download page.

And then, of course, we've got the basketball challenge for the continuing battle for Bowl Week competitions that will take place at 8:00, and that is also going to be pool coverage today and we'll get you guys information on how to get that when it's available.

Dillon, let's go ahead and bring them in, please.

So the format for today, we're going to go two 20-minute sessions. We'll start with Coach Smith and Jake in here, and the other four players will be in the breakout room next door. We'll go for 20 minutes and then they will trade places and we'll do it all over again, and we'll do the same format for today and tomorrow.

So, again, with us in the first session here, offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith and quarterback Jake Browning. Next door, we've got tailback Myles Gaskin, wide receiver John Moss, wide receiver Dante Pettis and offense guard Jake Eldrencamp.

Gentlemen, to kick things off, Coach, we'll just get an opening statement from you first on getting to Atlanta, how Bowl Week preparations have gone for you guys so far.

COACH SMITH: Well, it's been first class from the time we got off the plane. It is a great deal to be here. Guys are excited. Got here late Christmas night and then yesterday, we were able to do a little bit of a light practice over at the Dome. Practice twice over at Georgia State today and tomorrow, and then we'll be back over to the Dome.

We're definitely excited to be here. Pleased with how the year has gone, accomplishing a lot of things and we've got a great challenge in front of us playing outstanding defense and an outstanding football team in Alabama. Those guys bring some challenges, no question, but we are excited about the challenge to go out and play on a big stage and be really in the final four.

THE MODERATOR: Jake, talk about your experience so far from a player's perspective and what you thought about the welcome events and the competitions from last night.

JAKE BROWNING: Traveling from the west coast, traveling most of Christmas, which was good, went smoothly.

Then once we got in, practiced at the Georgia Dome and had a little team event last night, which was pretty cool. And for me, first time in Atlanta. It's been pretty neat so far.

THE MODERATOR: At this point, we'll open it up for Q&A. Raise your hand. We'll get a microphone to you.

Q. This is for both of you guys. When you watch Alabama's defense on film, what stands out specifically in the front seven?
COACH SMITH: Well, definitely, their physicality up front. They create some havoc around the quarterback, obviously. They've been great against the run and the line of scrimmage, they've been tough to move there. They do play extremely hard with those guys, and they can really create pressure on the quarterback, not having to blitz. That will definitely be the toughest challenge we've seen so far. That's what you want to do. You get to the big games like this, you want to play the best and these guys have been the best for a long time on that side of the football.

JAKE BROWNING: And for my opinion, it's more they're not going to give you anything. There's nothing that stands out, this is a really good play against them or, you know, this is something they give up. You've got to earn it all and, like Coach said, that's kind of how it should be at this point in the season and playing in this game.

Q. For both, can you talk about the balance and the way it's worked out in recent games where if one side is working, the other side has put up some big production that's allowed you to keep posting these 40-point games?
JAKE BROWNING: I think we're at our best when we're balanced. Can't drop eight against us because we can run the ball pretty well and you can't just stack the box because we've got some guys on the outside that can roll.

I think the more balanced we are, the better we've been, in some of our games. Sometimes it's been, you know, big passing stats or sometimes been big running stats.

But, you know, we just find a way to put up points. It's good.

COACH SMITH: That's kind of been a goal going in, we want to be balanced on offense. We do have some talent on the back field, we've got some talent on the perimeter.

Pleased with the development of our offensive line from game one to game twelve in pass throw/the run game, those guys have been doing a good job continuing to improve.

A lot that really starts with Jake. A lot of this, we'll call a couple plays where we say we want to run it, we run it or he can check out of it and throw it, vice versa. I think that's led to our balance as well as his ability to get us in and out of plays.

Q. This is mainly for Coach. Alabama's defense has, I think, about a dozen defensive touchdowns this year. Is there anything you can do to kind of guard against that, or is that something you have to make players aware of, going into a game like this?
COACH SMITH: Oh, our players are definitely aware of it. They're watching the tape. They've seen all the highlights and things. We've been great with the football all year. We're pretty proud of where we're at ratio-wise. Also that comes from our defense getting some turnovers. We've been good, taking care of the football.

We use size all year round, so we're not putting any type of added emphasis on it. We know that that's a huge part of winning football games is taking care of the ball. We're going to need to do that against these guys to give us the best chance.

Q. This is for Jake. Jake, Alabama won their league in dominating fashion for the most part. You guys won your league in dominating fashion for the most part, yet you're the two-touchdown underdog. How do you and the team feel about that and how motivated are you by that?
JAKE BROWNING: I mean, I think we blocked out a lot of the outside noise starting from the beginning, whether it was us being the favorites or someone else. I mean, I understand it. They've been here. This is our first time here. They've been here just about every single year that they've had a playoff. They're the team you've got to beat. If you want to win the championship, that's the team you've got to beat for the last couple years.

I think favorite, whether we're the favorites or not, just kind of tuned it out and just prepared and kind of done our deal week in and week out.

Q. Coach, start with you and then Jake, I'd like you to respond to his answer. Coach, what's been the most teachable moment between you and Jake this season as you guys watch film after a game and then drew from an experience and made something of it?
COACH SMITH: What's been the most teachable moment. Well, I know there's one we talk about all the time between me and him, and that was early in the gut game. He knows what I'm talking about. And then, you know, it just comes with experience, getting into big games. Sometimes, you know, emotions and decisions start riding high.

And that was teachable for myself and him, to go through, slash the whole team, and I think we've gone past it and learned a lot from it.

JAKE BROWNING: I think for me, it was the second half of the USC game, felt like I was starting to press a little too much. We're down and all of a sudden, you start trying to make too much happen and force the ball into maybe places that aren't there. Being able to watch that and kind of think okay, since we're making these split second decisions as a quarterback, you've kind of got to have the right mindset. That's really going to gear your decision.

So, you know, if you're down by a touchdown or two, you know, you don't need to score all those points right away when it's only like the third quarter. So I think that was a big teaching moment for me, just being able to watch that and correct that.

Q. Jake, I know you were pretty highly sought after as a recruit. Coach was your primary recruiter. I was just wondering if you could explain to us a little how you ended up at Washington. I think there might be an Oregon State connection in a way. I don't know about that. But I'd like to hear it from you guys.
JAKE BROWNING: For me, I just liked the program. With Coach Smith and Coach Pete went there. Felt comfortable. I wasn't looking to visit a ton of places, so I committed pretty early, felt it was a good fit. That was pretty much it.

And, you know, obviously very happy with the decision and all that. But I wasn't looking to make it some big ordeal. Just, you know, visit a couple places. You know, if I felt like I didn't feel comfortable at some of those, visit a couple more. Visited Washington first, felt good about it. Took one other visit just to kind of have something to compare it to, but it felt good, okay, it's probably time to call it good. Felt good about Washington. Really didn't see the point paying to go visit to a bunch of different places. That was pretty much it.

COACH SMITH: We got around Jake as a youngster. He came to one of our camps after sophomore year. We found out very quickly he was exactly what we were looking for in regards to a quarterback, his desire to improve. He loved football, watching tape. He just fit our personnel type of what we were looking for from a young age, and we charged pretty hard on recruiting him. He was the guy we wanted from the get-go in his class and were fortunate to get him.

Q. What do you see most out of Alabama's secondary and how do you plan to find success against them through the air?
COACH SMITH: I see they've got good ball skills. They can change direction, obviously got a bunch of turnovers and create havoc there. And that secondary's been solid for those guys for a long time. This is a group defense that the front end to the back end, they help each other out and create some havoc. They can get you in some long yardage situations and that makes it tough. That's really when that secondary does its job.

We're going to have to be good, get some good gains on first and second downs, staying out of third and long because that secondary, like I say, goes back to those ball skills and they can change direction. They can put some offenses in bad situations.

Q. What kind of player did you feel like you inherited when you first got to work with John Ross, the time he was maybe sort of going through some things, you know, trying to figure it out as a player. What kind of player did you inherit and when did you think he turned the corner mentally?
COACH SMITH: Well, he's been explosive, so he's a player that was really explosive when we got here. Great with the ball in his hands. Obviously was a great deep threat at times. But he was a little -- he was raw as a route runner. And that took a little bit of time.

He has really turned the corner this year. Give a lot of credit to his position coach, Coach Hamden, and John's work ethic. I mean, he had the injury last year and he still was great around his teammates and working hard to get better, studying tape, all of that.

And then really through fall camp, I think, working against our secondary, who I think is really good players as well, that has groomed him into being a great route runner. He spent a lot of time with Jake. Those guys worked hard this off-season and through the summer, throwing routes and getting on the same page.

Now he is a complete route runner. Not just a deep threat. You can throw it underneath to him. You can throw intermediate passes, contested balls. Obviously, we hand it to him a little bit, but he's always been explosive.

Q. Jake, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your relationship with Jonah Williams. Got good stories about him from high school or any memories of you guys playing together?
JAKE BROWNING: Yeah, so I only played one year with Jonah, but obviously a great player. He transferred to our school from Davis High School, another Sacramento area school. His parents moved into town and coaches got an email saying he was going to be there. We had that happen a decent amount, so I didn't really think about it.

Then he showed up, obviously was pretty big. At the time was pretty raw. I think he benefitted a lot too from being able to work with our offensive line coach in high school. Pretty advanced for a high school coach. I think something that stood out is how hard he worked and how much desire he had to really get good in a short amount of time and, you know, obviously had the frame and some of those things you've just got to be born with.

But the guy worked really hard and obviously is doing a really great job at Alabama. Someone that I've kept in contact with, you know, even before we thought we were going to play each other, and it's a good friendship.

Q. Following up on the offensive balance question, maybe you guys can use the Colorado game as an example. But I don't know, do defenses play you guys honest despite the balance you've shown? Was that an example where they were trying to stop the pass and you just took what was given?
COACH SMITH: Some of that, yeah. They came in and were going to play some coverage, especially, you know, Jonah creates some double teams out there and so if you're going to double-team a receiver, you get a little lighter in the run game.

As that game went on, felt like we were owning the line of scrimmage and we were going to keep on feeding those backs because we were getting some push up front and things.

That particular game, they came in with a plan to give some help to Jonah for sure. And that made the numbers in the box good for us. As the game continued, the line of scrimmage, we felt like we were winning and we were getting positive yards running the ball. We were sticking with it.

Q. Just want to get a reaction from both you guys on this. The reputation that Coach Petersen has for running trick plays and how that kind of gets everybody in the offense involved, because they may be able to make a play.
COACH SMITH: Yeah, we go into each game carrying a few trick plays. We don't always call them. I think we've ended up calling more of them the last half of the year here and they've gotten some more attention. But Coach Pete has always had some in his pocket going into games.

I think it fun when the guys do get involved. I think sometimes it's tough, like we'll carry these trick plays and don't call them maybe for a month. I think one time we called a double pass to Dante, he was surprised we called it because we had carried it for like a month.

I think it's fun. I think that at the same time, you've got to see something on tape that the defense is showing that you think the thing has a chance before you call it. And it brings some uniqueness to the offense for sure.

Q. Coach, how do you feel Jake has improved from season start to season end?
COACH SMITH: I think he's improved a bunch. Some of the situations he said he's learned from, he's improved a bunch. We continue to put more and more on his plate, changing plays or options at the line of scrimmage to do that. He can handle that, probably more than we've given him.

I think his decision making from the get-go has been outstanding. I look at his improvement in the red zone, accuracy and decisions down there because we give him both a bunch of ways to do things down there and he's been great with it.

I think a lot of that goes back to his work ethic, the way he prepares and studies the plan/the opponent. I haven't been around anyone better.

Q. Jonathan, apologies if this was asked earlier. What are you guys doing this week for your sleep schedule? It feels like 5:00 a.m. for all these players. I'm guessing they're not usually up this early. Sometimes NBA teams bring sleep doctors. Did you talk about this or are they napping when they can?
COACH SMITH: No. We got here late Christmas night. Just the schedule, we usually practice earlier than we're doing here so we're getting adjusted to the time change through the week, and we'll be ready to play.

Q. Jake, can you talk about how the game, it seems to have come easy for you. I think your first high school game, you threw ten touchdown passes or some crazy number like that. Now you're a sophomore making a lot of plays. Can you talk about how the game seems to be pretty easy for you?
JAKE BROWNING: I mean, I think the way it feels like that, why it might seem like that, we go through some practices before we get to games and there's definitely some struggling that happens in practice. I think I've been able to, you know, correct those mistakes in practice without having to make a ton of them in the games.

So, you know, I think that's a big thing, just how we practice. When I first came for spring ball, if you watched, you wouldn't think I was going to be a starting quarterback or a true freshman or anything like that. We were going into the secondary and I didn't really know that at the time, so I remember thinking this is pretty hard but just got to keep sticking through it and, you know, just learning from your mistakes. Don't make the same mistake twice. Keep learning, keep improving.

Q. Good morning, gentlemen. Tremendous year, congratulations for being here. Win your league, make the College Football Playoff, Jake was a Heisman candidate for most of the year. What's left to show America this week?
COACH SMITH: Obviously, there's the opportunity to play two more games, win two more games. There's nothing really else to come and show or compete for. It's all about finding a way to win the game. If the game's 6-3 or 38-35, whatever we got to do to find a way to win this game and then get an opportunity at the next game. There's nothing individually we're out there hunting for outside of finding a way to score one more point come Saturday.

JAKE BROWNING: I think, you know, for me personally, this is I think one of the best defenses that we've faced. I think we have a good defense. In practice, I think Alabama has a great defense. For me personally, it's an opportunity to go against very good defenses. Obviously very talented. Obviously, won a lot of awards all over the place for a lot of their players.

They've got a lot of All-Americans, highly recruited guys too. So for me, it's an opportunity to go against what I think is some of the best players and one of the best teams that has kind of ran college football for a while. So, you know, it's a great opportunity and looking forward to it.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, gentlemen.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297