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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: OHIO STATE VS CLEMSON

December 28, 2016

Deshaun Watson

Glendale, Arizona

Q. Question about the Ohio State defensive front.
DESHAUN WATSON: Very good team, very good defense. They're one of the top four in the country. So it's a very good team. They worked hard to get here. And they want the same thing we want. So it's going to be a tough test for us and it's going to be fun also.

Q. Are you excited about the matchup between you and J.T.? You guys are friends, you know each other, you've had some road trips together throughout the times. Is it exciting for you to kind of go up against him since you guys are buddies?
DESHAUN WATSON: Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun just to be able to see him live and each other to compete against one another and just have that friendly competition and best of luck to him and his team. He'll probably say the same thing.

But it will be a fun task, something that we both talked about whenever we went on some road trips together over the summer and became good friends.

Q. (Indiscernible). How much do you enjoy bonding with those guys. They have a lot in common with you?
DESHAUN WATSON: It's great. Just to be able to meet new people, people that's on the same dreams that I'm on -- to be a great quarterback and be able to one day play in the NFL and just it's a big fraternity.

That's how I look at it. And it's a good -- great big family and a lot of people try to, especially fans make it a hate relationship and all this competition, but for us as players we don't look at it that way.

We all support each other. We want the best for one another. And that's how we look at it.

Q. Can you talk about your -- the Buckeyes are pretty opportunistic on defense and the challenges you face in a game like this?
DESHAUN WATSON: Like I said before, it's a great defense. They do a lot of great things. Very sound. Very disciplined. They don't have a lot of mistakes. They make you earn it the whole way. And it's going to be a tough task for us. So it's going to be fun to go out there on Saturday and be able to compete and see what they bring.

Q. Are you excited about being back in Arizona, not necessarily a chance at redemption because of what happened last year, but another opportunity to play on that field and get a win and advance and be successful here in the desert?
DESHAUN WATSON: Yeah, it's always good to come back down here, even though last year was a short trip. We enjoyed it. And now it's a little extended and being able to see the city, see Arizona a little bit more and just to be able to have another opportunity to play on that field.

So many great players have been able to play on that field and on this stage. So it's going to be fun. It's going to be great. It's going to be a lot of cameras, a lot of people watching. So we're up for the task.

Q. Deshaun, I understand that Ohio State made a pitch for you when you were in high school. Can you talk about that?
DESHAUN WATSON: Yeah, you know Ohio State -- they were actually my second choice. I grew up an Urban Meyer fan. I loved the way he coached, loved the way he did things. I was a big Tim Tebow fan.

So all growing up that's -- Florida was the school I was going to. And then he left Florida and then became the coach at Ohio State and he came down to visit. And my eyes was wide open because he was the coach I dreamed of watching.

And just being able to meet him. But I was already committed to Clemson. And I was going to stay true to my word. And I just fell in love with the Tigers and wanted to stay down south.

It was nothing against Ohio State. They were my second choice if I wouldn't have went to Clemson.

Q. What was the mindset of coming here earlier than last year, because last year you guys were only here for a couple of days, now you're here for a week. What was the mindset of coming here earlier and doing more preparation work here than staying at Clemson?
DESHAUN WATSON: The difference was because, I think it was probably not us, it was more the NCAA, how they run the National Championship. And I guess when the teams can come down, it's bowl season, so we have a week to prepare and a week to hang out and do some things.

But that's kind of out of my control.

Q. You guys seemed pretty fired up yesterday at practice. Seemed like it was more of a laid-back attitude?
DESHAUN WATSON: I wouldn't say laid back. We were just making sure that we get our plan down. Very detailed, very sound. And we know what we're doing.

We had a week and a half to prepare up at Clemson. And then we come down here and want to put the plan down and get everything situated so we're not making any mistakes.

So once we get in to the game time on Saturday, we can just go have fun and play fast.

Q. What kind of things were you able to do in Arizona?
DESHAUN WATSON: A lot of things. It's been fun. Just being able to go shopping, tour the city. A lot more, too.

Q. Talk about last year's loss, second-place finish.
DESHAUN WATSON: You know, second place. No one want to finish second place. You want to finish on top. That's the goal. Not just to get in the playoffs but to finish the deal and be able to come out on top. And that's what we were wanting to finish last year but we didn't.

We were able to get that experience and take and have that chip on our shoulder and this year we want to flip the script and be the team to sit on the stage at the end.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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