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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: AUBURN VS GEORGIA

November 27, 2017

Atlanta, Georgia

BEN BEATY: We are ready to continue today's call with Auburn, and representing Auburn today will be Tre' Williams, Kerryon Johnson, and Jarrett Stidham. We'll begin today's call with Auburn with Tre' Williams.

Tre', while we are waiting on questions, if you will just take a moment to give us your thoughts on the upcoming Championship Game.

TRE' WILLIAMS: We're excited. We as a team are excited. It's something we've been looking forward to for the past two years and something we've worked hard for since in the workouts. I'm just looking forward to taking advantage of our opportunity.

Q. Tre', you obviously have shared a lot of years with Kerryon and know what's up. Do you expect him to be able to go on Saturday?
TRE' WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, Kerryon is really tough, man. That's something we look up to him for, and a lot of people should. Just all in all, know he's going to play because it's the first time we've played in the SEC Championship, and he wouldn't let this opportunity bypass him.

Q. Tre', as opposed to the first game, do you expect to see the Georgia offense try some different things? You know, just kind of get going a little more balanced and everything? What about the Georgia offense and kind of what you expect in this game?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I just know for sure that they're going to bring it. Like no matter what, they're going to bring their "A" game, so we're going to have to prepare like we've never played them because Georgia is a really good team. And we put the first game behind us, and we just know they're going to bring their A-1 game.

Q. Hey, Tre', since you've been there -- when you first got there, Auburn, a lot of times, had to outscore people to win. I guess, the first Iron Bowl that you were there, Alabama scored 55 points. Now Alabama just scored 14. What have you seen change defensively for Auburn in the time you've been there?
TRE' WILLIAMS: Well, for the past two years, we set a standard, and there was a lot of guys who aren't here anymore that helped build that standard. So it's up to us to keep it up that way, and it's just something that Coach did emphasize every day in practice and every day in meetings that we've got to keep that standard no matter who we play, where we play, what time we play. We've just got to bring our "A" game and play Auburn football.

That's something we took up for this year, and that's something we've trying to keep.

Q. When you look at how good you guys have been the last couple of years, people still kind of look at some other teams -- the 'Bamas and the Clemsons and even Georgia this year -- as far as having really good defenses. Do you feel like sometimes, given what you all have done offensively in recent years, that you guys on defense get overlooked?
TRE' WILLIAMS: Yeah, that's a possibility, but that's also okay. I'm fine with being overlooked because it don't really matter what they say. We're going to do what we do anyway. We're going to let the numbers talk for themselves, and we're going to keep pushing forward. At the end of the day, we'll give them something to talk about.

Q. Tre', Kerryon has been accustomed to playing with some pain in his career, and so have you this season. What's the mindset of a player when he has to go out there and play and he's less than 100 percent and he is playing with some pain?
TRE' WILLIAMS: It's really mind over matter. There's college players all over the nation that's not 100 percent. As long as you play the first game, you will never again be 100 percent. So this game of football, you just know you have to play through some pain, and our strength coach always talks toughness and playing through a lot of pain, and that's something we embark on a lot around here at Auburn, just that toughness.

We already know there's going to be some things we'll have to fight through, and like you said, me and Kerryon have some things we've had to fight through this past year, but it don't matter. We're laying it all on the line for Auburn.

Q. Tre', the crowd was a big factor a few weeks ago. With the game being in a neutral location, how do you expect the crowd to be?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I feel like the family that's going to come to the SEC Championship is still going to be as electric as if we were in Jordan-Hare Stadium. They're a part of us, and they're going to bring their energy like we're going to bring ours. So I really look forward to witnessing that.

Q. Talk to me about the neck roll that you wore in the Iron Bowl. Is that the first game you've worn it? What are some of the physical limitations you have to kind of wearing it, and how long did it take you to adjust to even practicing and playing with that thing?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I've been wearing it for a few games now. It was pretty tough to adjust at first. When you look at the bigger picture, I just know it's going to protect, and I know I can actually play fast with it because it limits a lot of things that go on with the injuries I've had. So it's all a mind thing. I don't let it really distract me. I just still play my game no matter what.

Q. Have you been told with your stinger deal that it could pop up at any time again but you just basically can't make it any worse? Is that more or less kind of what you've been told?
TRE' WILLIAMS: Yeah, for sure. I'm still going to have to deal with it no matter what. The only thing, I'm just going to have to keep my mind off of it and just keep playing ball.

Q. Tre', just continuing with that, how is the shoulder feeling at this point?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I feel good. Yeah, I'll be fine.

Q. What goes into the treatment? Coach Steele was talking about it, that it's something that's supposedly minor, has been for weeks now. Take us through what goes into the treatment for that now, and how difficult has it been to be limited in practice for a player that your whole career likes practicing as much as you do? So tell us what it's like to be limited and what goes into the treatment of it.
TRE' WILLIAMS: You know, it's one thing to be tough, but you can't be crazy with it. You've still got to be smart. You've got to know your body. You've got to take care of your body as well. It's been a long season, and I'm trying to finish it off with a bang. If I just keep banging myself up, then that won't help.

So my coaching staff is just smart with me, and I understood that. There's just some things that come with it. We're taking it a day at a time, and everything is getting back to normal by each game.

Q. An SEC East team hasn't won the Championship since 2008. What do you make of that? Does it say something about the ruggedness of the SEC West, what you get through week by week?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I really don't focus on that much. I just know that Auburn hasn't been there since 2013. So I'm just really trying to focus on us and just trying to get this for our family and friends and for the university. So we're just really trying to focus on us, and we know we're going to have a really good Georgia team coming in there, and we're going to have to prepare like no other.

Q. What do you expect to see from Jake Fromm this time out in terms of what he might have learned from facing you guys the last time?
TRE' WILLIAMS: I just know they're going to bring it. There's no question. They're a really good team, and we're going to have to prepare, like I said, like we never played them before. We're going to have to bring our "A" game because we know they're going to bring theirs.

BEN BEATY: That's all the time for today. Tre', thank you.

We will continue the call with Auburn's Jarrett Stidham. Jarrett, are you ready?

JARRETT STIDHAM: Hello. This is Jarrett.

BEN BEATY: Jarrett, if you would, just take a moment to give us your thoughts on the upcoming SEC Championship Game.

JARRETT STIDHAM: I'm really excited, obviously. It's a great opportunity for us and this university. So we're looking forward to this weekend.

Q. Jarrett, the Alabama guys after the game were talking about they were thrown off their keys, they missed their reads, and they talked about what they called eye candy, your motions and things like that and different alignments. Is that what it's designed to do is just to ruin eye discipline?
JARRETT STIDHAM: Well, we obviously have a lot of things within our offense where we try to get the defense off their game a little bit, whether it's different motions, different alignments, whatever it may be. I mean, that's just part of football. As an offense, that's what you want to try and do to the best of your ability.

Q. One other thing, you had a 312-pound slot receiver the other day on the two-point conversion. I guess you guys can do about anything, right?
JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, obviously, we have a lot of tricks up our sleeve, but, again, we're just trying to execute a game plan every week and go from there.

Q. He said he was wide open.
JARRETT STIDHAM: Austin Golson, yeah, he claims he was wide open, but I don't know if he was going to be able to catch it.

Q. Hey, Jarrett, I had a couple. One, Tre' obviously seemed real confident that Kerryon's going to be able to play. What do you think about his chances and just how important it is for him to get out there.
JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, obviously, I'm very confident in Kerryon as well, and I know how much this means to Kerryon to play in a game like this, to be in a game like this. Obviously, he's a really big part of this offense. Yeah, I feel very confident.

Q. And for you personally, how -- I mean, for every player it's cool to be where you all are at, but considering where you were last November, last fall, and how far you've come, is that just kind of extra cool? Do you ever kind of stop and think about that?
JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, it really is cool for me, just personally from my journey and just kind of the process of the last year and a half to two years. I mean, it's just been a long ride for myself. It's really exciting to be in this position.

Q. Hey, Jarrett. What would you say about your protection of your offensive line all season? And also the Georgia defense, you expect to see some maybe different looks over the first game, when you had a good bit of success against it?
JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, I think our offensive line, they've done really, really well this year. They probably don't get enough credit, as they should, because they've played their butts off all year. Protection-wise, they've done a great job, especially the second half of the season. Doing just a really great job.

Georgia, I know they have a great defense, a great defensive line with that pass rush. So we're expecting their best, and we're going to be looking forward to it.

Q. Jarrett, congratulations on the win.
JARRETT STIDHAM: Thank you.

Q. I wanted to ask you, coaches are concerned a lot about players providing bulletin board material for the opponent. In this case, after you guys' win over Georgia, Coach Malzahn was picked up saying we whipped the dog crap out of them, referring to the Bulldogs. Are you guys concerned that Georgia's going to really hype that up and use that for bulletin board material for them? And do you think that's going to play any factor in this?
JARRETT STIDHAM: I mean, at the end of the day, regardless of what happened three weeks ago, that's three weeks ago. It's in the past. We're both in the SEC Championship for a reason, and we know we're going to have to bring our "A" game because Georgia's going to bring their "A" game. That's really what it comes down to.

Q. Jarrett, you played with a lot of guys in your career, high school, and you've seen a lot of football players. In terms of toughness, describe Kerryon Johnson's toughness for me.
JARRETT STIDHAM: Kerryon, he's really tough. Obviously, he carries a load every single week for us. He's a big part of our offense. Any time he goes down in a game, you know it's something you have to take a look at. He's about as tough as it gets, in my opinion. He's a great player and a great person. So he's really, really tough.

Q. Jarrett, the first couple of games this year, Gus was -- I know you weren't happy with the way you played, and Gus was like, look, this guy has not played a ton of college football. I'm curious, when did things kind of settle down for you, and when did you feel like you kind of got into the groove that you've been in for the last several weeks?
JARRETT STIDHAM: It's funny. Believe it or not, I actually felt pretty comfortable in the Clemson game, regardless of what happened that night. Just kind of being back out there, being comfortable and that kind of thing, I actually felt like I was on the way to having success. But really, I think after that Clemson game is when it started to hit for myself personally. I've just tried to work as hard as possible and get better every week.

Q. And then if I had to ask you about that Clemson game, because everybody always brings up the 11 sacks, you go back a couple of days, Alabama had one sack for four yards. What was the difference there? Both Alabama and Clemson obviously have great front sevens. Is the difference in the offensive line? Is the difference in you? Why such a disparity when you look at how those two games unfurled?
JARRETT STIDHAM: I think it's a collective effort. A lot of those sacks against Clemson were honestly on me. I should have just thrown the ball away, things like that. So over the course of the season, I think we've gotten a lot better collectively, from myself to the offensive line to running backs, just knowing protections and just picking everything up and just doing a better job. I think it's been a good collective effort.

Q. Jarrett, you mentioned that Clemson game, but I was wondering, after the LSU loss, what was the biggest thing you evaluated in your game and you think you've improved over this five-game win streak?
JARRETT STIDHAM: I think, obviously, that game didn't go the way we wanted. It was kind of heartbreaking, kind of disappointing after that. But I thought we did a great job bouncing back. Leaders of the team kind of got together and said everything that we want to accomplish is still in front of us. Personally, I've just tried to get back to the drawing board and get better in my fundamentals and my skills every week after that.

Q. Jarrett, last year you sent out a tweet that you were watching the SEC title game and were really interested in playing in it. Do you remember that tweet? Do you know that a lot of Auburn fans kind of from that day kind of held you to that? How much of that has been on your mind?
JARRETT STIDHAM: Yeah, so I actually forgot that I even tweeted that until after the game, and somebody said it to him Saturday night. I remember watching Alabama and Florida play, and I remember tweeting that out. I just felt like it was going to be a big opportunity for us in the future coming here and everything. I knew what kind of team that we had. I just felt confident in it and was just really looking forward to having that opportunity.

Q. On another note, if he can't go or can't be as effective, Kam Martin is going to be asked to carry a pretty heavy burden. You've kind of known him since the recruiting process at Auburn. What kind of impact can he have on Saturday?
JARRETT STIDHAM: I love Kam. I've known him forever. He was committed to Baylor whenever I played at Baylor. I've obviously known him for a very long time. Kam is a great person, and he's a great football player. He's liable to bust one at any moment. He's, obviously, super quick, super fast. I know he's up to the challenge if his number is called. So he'll definitely be ready for it.

BEN BEATY: That's all the time for today, Jarrett. Thank you very much.

We will wrap up today's call with Auburn's Kerryon Johnson. Kerryon, are you ready?

KERRYON JOHNSON: Yes, I'm here.

BEN BEATY: If you will just take a moment to give us your general thoughts on the upcoming game against Georgia.

KERRYON JOHNSON: I'm excited for this game. This is a tremendous opportunity for us. We set this goal a while ago. It's finally here. It seems surreal, but it's time to get to work. We're all excited, ready to go.

Q. Kerryon, just wanted to get an update from you on your injury and whether you'll be able to play this week.
KERRYON JOHNSON: I'm working this week, getting back to as healthy as I can obviously. Like I said, we've been working for this game for a long time. I'm doing everything I can to get back out there on the field. This is football. This is week whatever it is. Everybody's banged up. Just got to get back healthy week after week.

Q. Kerryon, what went into your success against Georgia the first time, being able to really gash them up the middle and total 167 yards?
KERRYON JOHNSON: My success is mainly due to the O-line. Sometimes you have to make a run out of a little bit, but I think for the most part, our O-line played one of their best games. When they do their job, my job becomes a lot easier. I get all the news and the flash and the pictures and stuff, but those guys did an excellent job. If they keep that up again, it should be a fun day on the ground.

We put a lot of pressure on them week after week. People know we want to run the ball, which means they do a lot of different things, put a lot of guys in the box, and they have to handle it, and they've done that. So kudos to them.

Q. Obviously, you talk about the SEC Championship Game. First, how important is it for you to get back out there and give it a go this week? Then for you guys, just what's it mean to play a team a second time, and how much does that change things as an offense?
KERRYON JOHNSON: This game is huge for me. We set this goal as a team, so obviously I set it as a player. These are games you go to big time schools for. Anybody can play in a regular season game, but you set those goals to go to the championship games, the playoff games, and things like that. I'm just trying to get back out there and be as effective as I can to help us win.

In terms of us playing Georgia again, it's going to be kind of weird honestly. You just planned to go against a team two weeks ago, and now you've got to replan. Obviously, we're playing better, they're playing better. They're doing things different, we do things different. It's going to be kind of weird. But you've got to lock in, and at the end of the day, you've got to go in there and give 100 percent effort, and I believe the rest plays itself out.

Q. Going into another matchup with UGA for the SEC Championship, which individual improvements do you feel need to be made to benefit the team?
KERRYON JOHNSON: On our team to help us do better?

Q. Yeah.
KERRYON JOHNSON: I think -- I don't like to single out one group as getting better. I think we all need to. I don't know. I honestly don't know. I think we all just have to get better. They're going to come out fired up, especially the way the last game ended, and I think we're all just going to have to be ready for furious hits. We've got to stick to our plan. We've got to be patient. And we've got to take what the defense gives us.

We might not go for however many rushing yards we had. We might not go for however many passing yards. We've got to stick to the plan, believe it will work, and just play our hearts out.

Q. Coach Malzahn has been saying the goal is to win the SEC Championship since day one. Now that you guys are finally here, what is the mindset of the team and the coaching staff?
KERRYON JOHNSON: We didn't set that goal for nothing. Our goal is to go out there and win. We realize we have a talented team in front of us again, but we played three -- whatever Clemson was ranked when we played them, played Georgia, played Alabama. So we've gone up against solid teams all year. We realize that we've been battle tested, and we realize that things happen and you've got to respond to adversity.

Our goal has been to win it, and we have the chance now. It was all talk before, but now we've got to go out there and prove it.

Q. So Kerryon, what kind of therapy are you undergoing right now? Are you wearing a redshirt, no contact this week?
KERRYON JOHNSON: I don't choose the jersey. So I don't even know that until we start practicing. So I don't even know that.

I'm doing a lot of ice and normal rehab stuff that I do on a weekly basis. Just trying to go out there and get back as quickly as possible to see what I can do this week, see how it goes, and just take it from there.

Q. Is your shoulder sore to the touch? Can you feel it right now?
KERRYON JOHNSON: Yeah, I can definitely feel it. It didn't fall off. I can feel it. Obviously, it's sore, but, shoot, I'm sore after every game, and so is everybody else. It's nothing more different than any other week.

Q. Kerryon, just more on that. Can you say what exactly it is? It's sore, but is this a separation? Is this soreness in a stinger? Can you say just the nature of the injury exactly?
KERRYON JOHNSON: It's just banged up. Like I said before, it's week whatever in the football season. I'm a running back. Guys are going to get banged up. It's just nothing more, nothing less.

Q. When did you hurt it exactly on Saturday? What happened? On the play that you went down, it looked like your arm kind of got pulled back. What exactly happened on that play when you went down?
KERRYON JOHNSON: I just reached out. I made a mistake on my part. I reached out with the wrong arm trying to get that touchdown and just kind of got it hit and banged up. Just kind of didn't feel that great on that run, and I figured we kind of had the game in control, so no need to try to push it. It's just a little -- like I said, just a little banged up. It happens. Just got to heal up this week and get back out there Saturday.

Q. What were you thinking -- when you were laying there and the stadium is chanting your name, what was going through your mind there on the field?
KERRYON JOHNSON: I'm not even going to lie, that brought tears to my eyes. I was good until that happened, just to see that support. You know, a lot of people play this game. A lot of people come through Auburn, and a lot of people on that team that was out there Saturday playing. But to hear the crowd chanting my name, just supporting me through that time where I wanted to finish the game. That was obviously a huge game for us. I wanted to be out there to finish with the team. That brought tears to my eyes. That just shows that I've done right by myself, I've done right by this university since I've been here.

Q. Kerryon, I know that you were obviously in some pain out there on that field, but how quickly did your thoughts turn to, oh, man, I've got to be able to play in this SEC Championship Game?
KERRYON JOHNSON: When that game ended, obviously, I knew, okay, that was out of the way, so let's get ready for the next one, do everything I can. That's just the main goal this week. Do everything I can to get myself as ready as possible, get as close to 100 percent as one person can get this late in the season, and get ready for that game next Saturday. So as soon as that game ended, that was my immediate thought process, and that's what I'm working towards this week.

Q. And how confident are you you'll be able to play?
KERRYON JOHNSON: I'm confident in myself just because I've been through injuries in my time here, I've been through them before, everybody has. So I never count myself out until I'm officially counted out.

Q. I know you're enjoying talking about the injury, but can I ask you a little about Jarrett? He's been through ups and downs this season as he got feeling his way. But how much -- it seems like he's kind of the same guy whether he's going well or not. How good is he at keeping an even keel, which is pretty important for a quarterback.
KERRYON JOHNSON: Jarrett is a fired up guy regardless of the situation, regardless of the game, regardless of the day of the week. He comes into the workouts with the same energy he burns at game day. When you have a guy that's constantly fired up and you pair him with Chandler Cox, who's constantly fired up, I think it's a good combination. They keep each other hyped, which translates to us, which translates to him leading us, and we follow him.

I think that's helped him through a rough stretch. I'm no quarterback, so I don't know rough stretches. But if he has a rough stretch, you can't really tell. It's not like he's going to go and pout. I've seen him throw -- he threw an interception to UL Monroe, and he came over to the sideline, and he's the same exact guy. He's got a smile on his face. He's still encouraging guys. He's getting us ready for the next possession. I think that's a testament to him and his confidence in himself and his ability to play quarterback.

Q. And you think he could be considered kind of one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC at this point?
KERRYON JOHNSON: Yeah, I think he should. If you see the way he plays the game, the way he controls the ball, the way he controls the offense, the way he plays -- the plays he makes go unnoticed. If you watch the Alabama game, there are some third down runs and his touchdown run that are just huge plays that might go unnoticed, but you've got to consider them. I mean, he's a sneaky athlete, and he plays his heart out. I think that's what makes him so good.

BEN BEATY: That's all the time for today, Kerryon. Thank you.

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