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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: OHIO STATE VS CLEMSON

December 27, 2016

Jadar Johnson

Glendale, Arizona

JADAR JOHNSON: I'm not taking anything away from J.T. Barrett. He's definitely a good quarterback. I'm not that strong on his arm. Not saying that he can't throw at all, because he definitely can. But he's a run-first quarterback. I feel if we can limit his run, we'll be good.

Q. How hard was it for you to wait your turn? Dabo said this week you contemplated going to SC State. You contemplated leaving because it was hard for you to go from being the guy in high school to having to wait. Tell me how hard that was, how you got through it?
JADAR JOHNSON: That transition was definitely hard for me. Like you said, coming out of high school, being that man and then getting here and just getting humbled like that, it definitely was hard for me.

I'm not a fortune teller or nothing, so I can't see down the road. So it really looked like dull for me. I was like am I ever going to play here? Because the guys that were playing in front of me were in the same class as me.

Like, I just felt like I didn't know what was going to happen. I tried to leave but Coach Swinney talked to me and told me just wait your turn, stay positive, just keep working on you and things will work out for the better.

I'm glad I stuck with Clemson. And I'm glad I made that decision. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.

Q. Appreciating the success you're having a little bit more?
JADAR JOHNSON: Definitely. It was actually a blessing in disguise. I couldn't see it then but I feel like if I would have played back then, I wouldn't be the level player I am right now.

I feel like that just sitting back in that passenger seat role just definitely gave me all the confidence I need and gave me a better understanding of the playbook, made me that much better of a player. I thank Coach Swinney for that.

Q. Carlos said that, I didn't know this until today, that he played receiver in high school.
JADAR JOHNSON: Yeah.

Q. So you played safety. If you were playing him in high school, and you see a 275-pounder, what -- can you imagine?
JADAR JOHNSON: I don't know what I would have done. I would have went to the sideline like, Coach, we gotta double team him, triple team him or something. There's no way I can have all of that weight running at me all game, just no way. I would have needed some help with that.

Q. I guess the question is, obviously he's a great athlete. He's a freaky athlete if he can do that. What have you seen of that, that would give you that kind of indication he can play a receiver?
JADAR JOHNSON: He's definitely a freakish athlete. And, actually, it's our whole "D" line. But Carlos, he's definitely a crazy athlete. I really didn't know that when I first got here.

But we was playing basketball one time and that's really when he showed his athleticism to me. I was like, dang, Carlos, he's a freak; he really can move. And that's why a lot of times, when I have so much confidence in our defensive line, it's because I see stuff like that.

And I know there's not too many "D" lines out here that are as athletic as the guys we have with Carlos, Dex, Christian, guys like Austin Bryant. And Clelin, he's another one. He's crazy athletic, too. That's why I have so much confidence in our "D" line because I know we have extreme athletes down there.

Q. Ben Boulware said that he's got the best beard in college football. Do you agree with that?
JADAR JOHNSON: Actually -- I actually think he might. You know, I actually seen another guy on TV the other night. Who was that? I feel like he played for Miami of Ohio. He had a nice beard, too.

But, yeah, it's definitely out of him and Ben. My vote is going to go with Ben because I know Ben. But that guy has a night beard, too, though.

Q. Isn't it crazy ever since the game here last year he's not touched it?
JADAR JOHNSON: Yeah, that's crazy. I hear a lot of people be messing with him sometimes: Boy, you need to shave that; you need to take that off. He won't do that. He's stubborn about that beard.

Q. You're leaving Clemson better than you found it; what is your and these seniors' legacy at Clemson?
JADAR JOHNSON: Really, as a class, we just wanted to be known as some guys who were great leaders. And that's really like our main goal, just to lead. Because, you know, Clemson is going to keep playing when we leave. That's not going to stop.

So being a good leader, just instilling that coaching in the younger guys. That's something we work hard on because we don't just want to do good for a couple of years and fall back down the ladder. We want to keep continually rise and continually increasing how good we are on and on and on for years and years to come. So really just being great leaders and just instilling the things that Coach Swinney instilled into us into the younger guys.

Q. Have you seen that the younger guys -- does Clemson have the right guys to continue this standard of being in the playoff every year?
JADAR JOHNSON: Yeah, definitely. They've been doing a good job at recruiting guys. The young guys that are coming in, those guys are so athletic and they're so ahead of time.

When I came in here, I didn't really know nothing. I was just raw. But the guys that are coming in, especially on defense, they're coming in knowing defenses already. The offensive guys are coming in ready to play right away. It's really a struggle for the coaches to pick and choose who they have to redshirt, stuff like that.

We definitely have great athletes and great players coming in with the recruiting. So I definitely feel like we have the caliber of players to keep winning for years and years to come.

Q. Has it helped you guys on defense? I mean, you Carlos, Tootie, Ben, you guys have all been here for five years. Has it helped that you guys have built a chemistry that you've been able to over the last five years?
JADAR JOHNSON: It definitely helps. It's all about communication on and off the field, definitely on the field. On the field, if you have a good friendship with the guys that you're out there with, good chemistry, it's easy to communicate, easy to just keep that vibe out there on the field where everybody is locked in, everybody knows what's going on. And even off the field, you know, just keeping guys out of trouble.

If you know, say if you have a player on your team, you know, who likes to go out a lot, it's good to have that chemistry with him where you can go to him and just focus, we're right where we want to be such and such and such. Just keep guys focused, just the mutual respect that we have for each other is definitely big for everybody, just because I respect Ben. Ben respects me. So it's easy for me to say something to him, easy for him to say something to me.

That's with all the guys on the team. I mean, I feel like that's one of the most important things for being a good team. You gotta have that chemistry.

Q. How much did it help knowing that even when you were playing against guys that you were one of the team leaders behind the scenes and was it able to help you when you stepped into the starting role this year?
JADAR JOHNSON: It definitely has, just having a voice out there and knowing people respecting what I'm saying even when I wasn't a starter. So coming in, actually starting and actually having more power to my voice, it was definitely big.

But you know, I feel like a lot of my leadership and a lot of the respect that the guys have for me just came from off the field, because, like I said, I wasn't even playing that much then and guys were respecting what I was saying, but it's just because I stayed so focused off the field -- I've stayed so focused off the field. And even when guys needed me, I was there just to give them that word of encouragement.

Because it's not all about yourself. It's all about the team. So say if Jayron is in front of me, if he was having a bad day at practice, I'm in his ear, come on, man, you know you can do it; just settle down, focus. I know you don't want to be here, but just talk to yourself, you gotta be here, go ahead and do your thing. That's the type of guy I was.

And that just gave me a level of respect to the other guys, like, man he's really not worrying about himself, he's really a team guy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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