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CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: WASHINGTON VS ALABAMA

December 27, 2016

Atlanta, Georgia

THE MODERATOR: For this session, from Alabama, we've got Minkah Fitzpatrick, safety, linebacker Reuben Foster, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson.

Q. This is for Minkah and Marlon. Ross, Pettis, their two receivers on the outside, how challenging will they be?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: They're two real good receivers. Number one, he's a real vertical threat. He can make you miss in space and if you don't get hands on him, he's a real vertical threat. They stretch the field.

Number 8, he's also a bigger guy, more vertical threat, real big hands.

I think they'll be a challenge for us. If we do our job, shouldn't be a problem.

MARLON HUMPHREY: Like Minkah said, Ross is one of the fastest receivers we'll see this season. Him and Pettis are very patient with their hands. They locate the ball really well and stay patient all the way through the ball. It's hard to read their eyes, so you've got to get your head turned around and attack the ball because Browning throws a really good ball and they usually can always go up and get it.

Q. Marlon and Minkah, if you could each talk about the job from day one this year that Anthony Averett has done for you all when he wasn't even a starter last year. He waited his time, showed patience and has had a pretty solid year for you all?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: It's exactly what he said. He had a whole lot of patience since he's been here. He's been consistent this season. That's kind of his biggest thing. He's been real consistent in technique and making plays on the ball when they throw at him.

MARLON HUMPHREY: Anthony has been a guy that's been around for a while, like you said. And he's stayed patient, worked hard, keep letting Saban work with you, you end up getting on the field and that's what he did. Since the first game, he just got better and better as the season's went on.

And you see him walking around smiling now and I'm just happy for him.

Q. This is going to be for Reuben and Dalvin. What challenges does Washington's running game present to y'all's defense?
DALVIN TOMLINSON: For the Washington running game, I'd say the offensive line is a whole lot quicker than most of the offensive lines we've faced this year. They're good at cutting defensive linemen off and cut blocks and stuff like that, so we have to be aware of the cut blocks and the scheme and the different blocks they do up front. And we're going to be aggressive up front and control the line of scrimmage.

Q. This is for Reuben and Minkah. Is this one of the more balanced offenses you've guys have faced all year? How do you prepare for that? Is it more difficult not knowing what might come in specific situations?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: Yeah, I would say they're more balanced than what we've seen because they average about 210 rushing yards per game and that's a pretty big number.

They also throw the ball a whole lot, which is kind of based off of the run. So if we can stop the run, I feel like it will be a whole lot -- they'll have to throw a whole lot more, so it will kind of throw them off their game and make them do things that they're not used to doing.

REUBEN FOSTER: I think so, man. It's just they've got a lot of trick plays, a lot of schemes, a lot of screens. But we can dumb it down and stop 'em.

Q. Losing Eddie halfway through the season, how has he taken on more of a leadership role now that he's not playing?
THE MODERATOR: Minkah, start with you.

MINKAH FITZPATRICK: Eddie, after he got hurt, he started doing his rehab and he was down for a little bit, but he came out, he's been making sure all the younger guys are doing what they're supposed to do and staying on us and still having the leadership role but just kind of off the field.

REUBEN FOSTER: Eddie's a great leader, man. You know, we're doing this right here, so he can make us work. He's got a leadership role for the young guys, also me, including Dalvin, all of us.

MARLON HUMPHREY: I think Eddie was always a vocal guy when he was playing. When he went down, it seemed like he talked more and more to us from sidelines, during practice. So I think him going down is definitely a bad thing, but it turned out, he made it into a good thing, being a coach from the sidelines, especially with DBs. Breaking down before we get to warm it up, he's right there in the DB huddle. So just having him in that sense was really good.

THE MODERATOR: Dalvin?

DALVIN TOMLINSON: Eddie was a vocal guy across the board. When he got hurt, it was a bad thing. He made it into a good thing to remind us each and every play you have to play your heart out because you never know when it's your last play.

Q. Reuben, all three of you guys were here last year in the playoffs. Three of you were here two years ago. How does that help in the preparation, not getting flustered by the big lights, the big stage and maintaining what you guys have done all season long?
REUBEN FOSTER: I just think it's the Bama way. We just go in the playoff, treat it as a business trip and treat it like a regular season. It's a new season. So we got to treat it like a new season. It's zero-zero. We're trying to be 1-0.

Q. Reuben and Dalvin, how much of a relationship did you have with Coach Pruitt when you were being recruited before he left and then came back?
DALVIN TOMLINSON: I had a good relationship with Coach Pruitt because he was here my freshman year, my redshirt freshman year. He was a great coach. I loved when he was here the first time, loved when he came back. He's just one of the coaches that's going to always push you and make you the best player you can be.

REUBEN FOSTER: It's not too much about him being a coach, but he's a great role model. He gives me good advice on the field and off the field. He's a good role model.

Q. This is for all you guys because you all play different positions on the field. With the trick plays that they throw in every now and then, is this a defense that can be tricked and how do you avoid getting suckered by one of those?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: I would say the way you avoid being tricked is just by doing your job. If you look ahead of the play and see what they're doing, you can see that they're coming back and trying to trick you and see the quarterback coming out for a pass or the running back coming out the back field for a pass. Just by just doing your job and knowing what to do.

REUBEN FOSTER: I think it's just taking practice serious and just doing your job and learning the games and schemes they have. You do your job at practice, then you won't have any problem with trick plays.

MARLON HUMPHREY: I think any defense can be tricked, but it's just about discipline, like they said. If you're not doing your job, you can get tricked by something little or something big. We have to be disciplined and trick plays don't work when there's discipline there.

DALVIN TOMLINSON: With trick plays, you just have to execute the game plan and read the keys they give you beforehand, before the play even starts. If you do that and play your job and do what you're supposed to do, I feel like we can stop any trick play.

Q. Minkah, a lot of players like to stay relatively close to home, play in front of family and friends. You've come all the way down from New Jersey to play for Alabama. What was the attraction to play for Alabama, to leave home, to go so far away and to obviously have a lot of success this early in your career?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: You just know you're going against the best and getting the best every single day, so you're competing against the best receivers, the best offense every single day. So that was going to get me better and now you're going to compete against the best every day. And you get the best coaches every day. So you know, Coach Saban, Coach Anderson, Coach Pruitt, some of the best coaches in the country. You know you're getting the best every single day, why not come to Alabama.

Q. This is a great opportunity now that Jonathan Allen is not in the room. You guys can tell us some kind of bizarre, funny story about him that maybe the rest of the world doesn't know. We promise not to tell him what you said. If you can share something about him that maybe we don't know.
REUBEN FOSTER: How you going to promise us when the cameras are rolling right there?

THE MODERATOR: I don't think he can deliver on that promise, guys.

Q. Anything?
MINKAH FITZPATRICK: I don't really got nothing.

REUBEN FOSTER: That's my boy.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, everybody. Appreciate it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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