	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

DR PEPPER ACC FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: CLEMSON VS MIAMI

November 28, 2017

Jaquan Johnson

Charlotte, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We'll bring on Jaquan Johnson, junior safety. Questions please.

Q. You were just a freshman the last time you played Clemson. What do you remember about that game? I think that was actually your first forced fumble. Talk about the transformation of this program from that day to the stage you're at right now.
JAQUAN JOHNSON: I just remember that we lost that game. I got to play a little bit. I was able to force a fumble. But for the most part that was just a blowout basically. Clemson defeated us that day.

The transformation is quite simple. It's night and day. You could tell by the coaching staff that we have. I had a different coaching staff my freshman year to now my junior year. I believe our standard, we holding ourselves to a higher standard. We're playing the Miami way, so...

That's the biggest transformation I see.

Q. Talk about the mood of the team after that game and in the couple of weeks after that. How was the team able to rebuild from that moment?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Rebuild from my freshman year?

Q. The coaching change started, the whole progression to where you are now. What was the mood in the first few days after that game?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Well, you know, the biggest thing was us just sticking together, not letting anyone separate us, have us talking bad about the program or anything. It was just us sticking together, staying unified in moments like that.

Q. I heard you mention the Miami way. Have you personally or as a team have you been getting any motivational speeches this past week with some of the former players?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: No, I haven't heard any speeches from those guys.

Q. When you speak of the Miami way, in particular this year, did you use the loss a couple years back, for your career, as any type of motivation? What did you do to put that game behind you, move the team forward?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Well, for me it was just playing my role. I didn't have many snaps at that time in my freshman year. I was a key special team guy. All I did was really I just went hard on special teams. I did my job the best way I could do it to help the team as much as I can.

I didn't have much of a voice. I was just doing my job.

Q. When Coach Richt came, talk about the change in the attitude of the team, what he brought with him from Georgia.
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Coach Richt brought a winning attitude to Miami. I believe that he truly brought the swagger back, which was showing us that if you work hard and you're consistent and you execute, that you're going to win games. That's going to be what people call a swagger.

I believe Coach Richt brought that from Georgia. He truly loves the program.

Q. Do you have your chain ready?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Yeah. Looking forward to playing those guys.

Q. Talk about being a kid growing up in Miami, now playing at the University of Miami. You as a kid growing up in Miami, what does this mean for you?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: You know, for me, it's just an experience. You have to be willing to work for this, for what we're about to play for on Saturday. I believe we put in the work.

Me being from Miami, it just makes it even that much more better to know I'm right around the corner. It's for the city that I was born and raised in. It's a good feeling in my heart.

Q. Clemson's offense, what do you have to do to keep Hunter Renfrow from having a big game on Saturday?
JAQUAN JOHNSON: Those guys do a great job of executing their offense. The receivers are very well-coached. They know how to get off jams. They run precise routes.

We're going to just have to compete. We're going to have to go out there and counter those guys. If they beat us, they beat us. But we're going to compete and we're going to be in their faces. We're ready for the challenge, I believe.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for being with us today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297