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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: MIAMI VS WISCONSIN

December 28, 2017

Garret Dooley

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. I'm doing a story on T.J. Edwards; he didn't play defense in high school. He comes in here and starts as a redshirt freshman. Is that kind of amazing to think that he could learn defense and the linebacker position so quickly?
GARRET DOOLEY: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I know Wisconsin is kind of known for finding high school quarterbacks and turning them into defensive players. It's kind of weird. I think we have like six or seven on our team. But I just think that it's kind of amazing how he's able to transform himself as a quarterback to a linebacker in such a short time and be so good at what he does.

Maybe he always had it in him that he was kind of meant to be a linebacker. Maybe -- I don't know, it's just kind of unreal that he can go from being a guy who doesn't get hit at practice to always doing the hitting. That's definitely something kind of crazy.

Q. I talked to Beau Benzschawel yesterday and he said that when T.J. came in, some of the linemen were like, who's this freshman who played quarterback in high school, and they learned the hard way how hard he can hit. Was there a moment where you said, this guy is going to be really good? Can you think of a moment back a couple years ago?
GARRET DOOLEY: That's a good question. I don't think there was like some specific moment. I just think that he was just kind of able to -- I mean, he worked extremely hard his true freshman year in the weight room to put on some size, and I know he studied a lot in his playbook. I just think Aranda, his first coach, was just able to develop him quickly, and I think he's a guy who's a quick learner. He's not going to make the same mistakes over again. He's a very smart guy, and I just think that just having those characteristics is what helped him become the linebacker that he is. I don't think it was any specific thing that kind of stuck out, but he was just -- he was able to, like you said, catch on very quick.

Q. Is he maybe more of a leader this year than he was a couple years ago?
GARRET DOOLEY: I think so. I mean, I just think that just having more experience under your belt and being one of the older guys, obviously he's a junior now, upperclassman, and I just think that he kind of feels like he's one of the defensive leaders. I mean, he's basically like a senior. He's played for three or four years now, so we kind of all look at him like that. I just think that he's definitely molded into a very good leader.

Q. The idea of you playing in their home stadium, that is I guess more of a challenge for you guys or an advantage for them; how do you guys as players feel about that, and how do you overcome that?
GARRET DOOLEY: You know, we haven't really addressed that that much. I just think that even though, yes, it's their stadium, it's their city, they're probably going to have more fans than us, we just kind of look at it as another game, another opportunity to play in a big-time bowl against a very good team, and I just think that no matter what, you have to bring your A game, whether you're playing at home or playing away. I just think that this is a great opportunity for this team, and I think we can't wait for Saturday to come.

Q. Anything you can say about Malik Rosier and what kind of challenge he brings for the defense?
GARRET DOOLEY: Well, obviously having a dual-threat quarterback is challenging because you have to account for him in the run game, and that's just another person that you have to make sure that you have your eyes on. As defenders we have to make sure that we know our jobs and have our keys. If you're rushing the passer, you have to be aware that he can escape and he can take off for 15, 20 yards, so that's just kind of something where we have to try to keep him in the pocket and not let him get loose.

Q. How about the running game? It's obviously not very deep. Anything you can say about Travis Homer, the main running back?
GARRET DOOLEY: Well, I know that -- I mean, their entire offense has very good athletes. It's just this is something where as a defense we're going to have to make sure that whether it be the quarterback, wide receivers, running backs, whoever it is, we're going to have to make sure we're running to the ball and gang tackling, make sure we limit the amount of one-on-one tackles that there are because they're very good in open space, and if they get away from you, then they're going to be able to run for 80 yards and score a touchdown. We're just going to have to try to limit the one-on-one tackling and just get there as a group.

Q. You don't know Thomas Brown, do you?
GARRET DOOLEY: I do. It was brief, yes, but I do -- he was one of my coaches for a short amount of time.

Q. When you were first starting?
GARRET DOOLEY: Mm-hmm.

Q. And last thing, weather. I know everybody has asked you this, but what's it been like, and is it different at all, everybody keeps saying it's at night, but I know it's a lot warmer still than it is. What's the difference that you feel?
GARRET DOOLEY: Well, honestly, the first day was a little challenging just because you weren't used to the heat and that kind of stuff, but I think everyone is kind of acclimated to it. I think we've gotten kind of over that hump where we're used to everything down here, the time change, the weather, whatever it is, so I think it's going to be a beautiful night Saturday, and I think everyone is ready for it.

Q. How does the experience of playing Ohio State in that Big Ten title game get you ready for a game like this?
GARRET DOOLEY: Well, Ohio State was a great team. Obviously it's a tough loss. But I think it's just something that we've kind of moved on from. But just being able to play in a big-time stage like that against a big-time team, it just kind of gives us that experience, knowing that we've been in these types of games before, and we know that we can go out there and take care of business, so I think that's what everyone is looking forward to doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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