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DR PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: CLEMSON VS MIAMI

November 27, 2017

Kelly Bryant

Charlotte, North Carolina

Q. I'm curious going into the year obviously replacing Deshaun Watson was a big story line for people talking about you guys. One, what was the pressure like for you kind of ascending to that role? And as the year has gone on, have you become even more and more comfortable at your position?
KELLY BRYANT: Just to answer your first question, there was a lot of questions for us as an offense, being that we lost a lot of guys going on to the NFL and graduating. You know, I don't feel like -- I mean, like I said, there was a lot of questions for me, but I don't feel like I tried to put any pressure on myself. I just tried to go out there and just tried to create my own game and just tried to be my own quarterback because I knew I couldn't -- I knew I wasn't going to be Deshaun. I knew I was a different player than Deshaun, and so I didn't want to try to play like him, as well.

Q. As the year went on, did you become more comfortable, and did you notice your coaches kind of as the year goes getting a better understanding of what you did well?
KELLY BRYANT: Oh, yes, sir. Like I said, I feel like as the year has been going on. I feel like each week I've grown more confident in myself as a quarterback. A lot of people wanting to question whether I could throw the ball because not many people saw me win games where I had to throw the ball because when I was going into games were a little out of hand, so it was usually just handing the ball off to the running back or some designed quarterback runs. Like I said, as the season went on, I'm feeling a confidence there and I'm feeling confident on this team, and as the coaches believed in me as the season progressed to get the job done.

Q. Curious about how often do you and Deshaun stay in contact, and especially since he's not in action right now, if he's paying extra attention to you and Clemson? And along the same line, what was your reaction when he tweeted earlier this year this guy is going to be better than I was?
KELLY BRYANT: We stay in contact a good bit. You know, if not every week, then every other week. We're just catching up, just small talk pretty much, not really anything about football. I mean, after games he'll just tell me congrats, some stuff like that. But right before the game Saturday, he just sent a good luck text to me. Again, after his surgery I was just sending some positive thoughts his way, just making sure that everything is well with him.

What was your last question?

Q. I guess he tweeted out earlier this year that, hey, this guy is going to be better than I was. What is that like when you hear that from a player like that?
KELLY BRYANT: You know, it means a lot. Just goes to say what type of guy he is. Just to see that he says that, it meant a lot to me. That was big for him to say something like that. But I just took it full stride and just tried to be the best Kelly Bryant that I can be.

Q. Curious about your memories of the 2015 game in Miami. Obviously you had a pretty good day, especially on the ground there. What are your memories of that day?
KELLY BRYANT: I remember it being like really, really hot. That's what I specifically remember going to the game. But yes, of course that was my first career touchdown against them. It's something I'll always remember whenever my time here is up. It was a really good day. Everything was clicking for us, offense, defense, special teams. But now two years later we're meeting up again in the ACC Championship game. Now it's a different scenario. It's two different teams in two different situations. So I'm looking forward to that.

Q. It got kind of chippy before the game there. When you guys kind of regrouped after that, what was kind of said between players about that incident and how it kind of would affect you guys going forward? Did you talk about that at all?
KELLY BRYANT: Coach Swinney, he does a good job. He always says that talking isn't going to win a game, different out sources isn't going to win the game, whatever. Just players executing on the field, executing the game plan, making plays, that's what's going to win the game. So we try to do a good job making sure that we're not doing anything to jeopardize our opportunity during the game so we don't miss the next game or anything like that.

Q. I'm just curious from your vantage point how you've seen Travis Etienne come along this year. I know he kind of got some late action in games early in the year but has sort of developed into one of your key guys. What has allowed that to happen and how have you seen that evolution occur?
KELLY BRYANT: It just goes back to when he first got here, at camp, the same thing that we saw that you all are seeing on Saturdays, that was the same thing he was doing in camp. You know, just to see his growth, from a guy coming in, didn't really know the offense as a whole, to now he's growing each week, he's getting more knowledgeable of the game, it's been really great to see his growth and his confidence go up, as well.

Q. Was there a moment during camp, as you said, where you kind of like looked over and saw him break off a long run or do something crazy where you were like, this kid could be special?
KELLY BRYANT: Yeah, he was breaking like these long runs during times where we were scrimmaging, and it was evident to see this guy is going to be special, and now just to see it on Saturdays, him doing it in game-like situations, it's like, okay, this guy, he got some up under his belt.

Q. Just talk about what you see of that Miami defense. I talked to Hunter a couple minutes ago. I know you guys are starting to look at film and get ready for Miami. Talk about that young defense they have, and what do you guys have to do to keep them from not picking off turnovers and bringing out that chain and all that stuff?
KELLY BRYANT: You know, just each week, the coaches emphasize ball security for us. If we take care of the ball, we have a good chance to win at the end of the day. But just looking at the defense as a whole, they're a really talented bunch. Up front they've got quite a few guys that are physical. They do a great job pass rushing, getting to the quarterback, and also playing the run and stopping it, as well. Their backers, they run sideline to sideline. We're good, as well, and they really come downhill and make plays out in space. Same thing goes to the back end, a bunch of guys that cover, do a good job making plays on the ball when it's in the air and making plays out in space, making sure they tackle. It's going to be a challenge for us, so we're just going to have to get ready, prepare. We're not going to do anything that we haven't done or anything all year preparation-wise, we're just going to treat it like every game we've treated this season so far.

Q. I know you're a kid growing up in South Carolina; what's it going to be like playing in that stadium and playing on that field? You were probably a kid growing up watching the Panthers; what's the feeling like for you?
KELLY BRYANT: It's going to be a special moment. It's the ACC Championship game. There's a trophy on the line. There's a lot on the line. But just being in the stadium with a bunch of great players that have played on that field, whether it's been in a championship game or the NFL, so it's going to be special.

Q. Basically what game do you feel was your defining moment? I'm not saying this out of any disrespect to Deshaun, but what I mean by defining moment, when you felt that, hey, I'm comfortable in this position now being the leader of this team, I don't have to be under his shadow? What game do you feel like was your defining moment, your breakout moment?
KELLY BRYANT: I'd say for me, it had to be the Auburn game, just the second game of the year. You know, I think it was game day, everybody was looking at it, and the defense that they had is a really well-coached defense. They had a really great set of guys. We didn't score a lot of points, but we was moving the ball up and down the field, and I was making plays with my arm. The offensive line was blocking really well against a great front right there that we was playing against. Just looking back on it, I feel like that was where I began to get in my rhythm. My confidence began to grow from that weekend on into the season. For me it was really big. It was really big for me as a confidence booster, as well.

Q. Just wondering after you lost to Syracuse, what was the process of getting over that, because I know they had a losing record and Miami just lost to Pitt, which had a losing record. How did you guys overcome that, and how long did it take kind of to get over that nasty feeling?
KELLY BRYANT: We didn't want to let a moment define us. We had to give credit to Syracuse that day because they was the better team. They won it; they outplayed us. We just came together as a team. We had a team meeting that was just players, and we were just talking about just getting some stuff on our chest, and we was like, okay, what do we got to do to move forward. Everybody responded the way that we knew how we was going to respond, and we came out against Georgia Tech, it was a great team win for us. We put it under our belt.

But now we was looking at, okay, so we know what it looks like when we don't bring it because we know we're going to get everybody's best going here on, so we've got to bring our best, as well, because like I said, everybody is going to be gunning for us and we're going to get everybody's best. If we want to get what we want to get, we're going to have to do it each and every week.

Q. Can actually a loss like that help you in a certain way?
KELLY BRYANT: I felt like it helped us a lot. We have a really young team, so I guess it just helped us mature a little bit more from a team standpoint. But we knew what we had in that locker room, that we'd be just fine. So far we've responded in the right way, in the way that I knew we would respond.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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