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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: ALABAMA VS OKLAHOMA

December 27, 2018

Damien Harris

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. What's it like being here for you?
DAMIEN HARRIS: It's a great opportunity. Fortunately for us, we've been here before, so we kind of know what to expect. It's been a great experience for us so far. We're looking forward to a great game.

Q. What's the mindset this go-around? Or is it the same as usual?
DAMIEN HARRIS: Business as usual. Like I said, we've had the opportunity to be here before, so we know what to expect. We know what everything is like, and we kind of know how to handle the situation. So it's pretty much the same mindset as always.

Q. What impresses you most about Oklahoma's defense?
DAMIEN HARRIS: That I think they're a lot better than people give them credit for. I've said this all week, I don't think that they would be one of the top four teams in the playoffs if they didn't have a quality defense. They've got a good front seven that plays very physical, a lot of strong guys inside, and they've got a lot of guys in the back end that can make plays on the ball. I definitely give their defense a lot of credit, and we know they're going to present a lot of challenges for us, so come Saturday we're going to have to be at our best.

Q. Obviously you've been studying them more lately. Were they better than you thought they were?
DAMIEN HARRIS: I always kind of thought people didn't give them enough credit, and I think it's because, number one, their offense is so good and they score so many points, and two, they play in a conference where scoring, that's what everybody does. They're playing teams like West Virginia, all these teams with really explosive offenses. When you play a team that can put up 50 and 60 points every single week, it's kind of hard to stop. I think that they haven't gotten enough credit all year, but definitely watching them on tape, we've seen a lot of things that prove that they're a good defense.

Q. Do you feel as if there's more hype surrounding this match-up because of the two quarterbacks and the playoff games that they've played in the past?
DAMIEN HARRIS: Maybe in the outside world, yeah. You see two guys that had the opportunity to win the Heisman Trophy, obviously Kyler Murray won and he's well deserving. He's a great player. But for us, it's just another game, businesslike mentality, no matter who we're playing, offense, defense, special teams, we're just going to try to be at our best so we can be successful.

Q. Obviously the preparation for this game is different than other weeks of the season. Are you guys more tired? You're going to dinners, you're going to charity events, plus practice. What is your body feeling like when you get to this game?
DAMIEN HARRIS: It's definitely a different situation, which means you have to take better care of your body. You have to make sure you're getting your recovery in, doing all the things -- getting rest at night, doing all the little things that you need to do in order to make sure that you'll be at your A on Saturday.

Q. The numbers you've put up this season, are you satisfied with that?
DAMIEN HARRIS: Yes, because at the end of the day we're what, 13-0, so individual stats isn't something that I necessarily look at. As long as we score one more point than the other team, at the end of the day, we're all happy, we're all satisfied and ready to move on to the next.

Q. (Indiscernible).
DAMIEN HARRIS: You're talking about after this game or just in general? Just because we know that we have to win in order to get to the next game. It's not going to do us any good looking at the National Championship if we're not there. We've got to take care of business here first and get ready to play a great Oklahoma team.

Q. Is it easy to not look ahead?
DAMIEN HARRIS: It's very easy, because like I said, we know we're playing a great team. Coach Saban and the coaching staff, they all do a great job of making sure we are where our feet are, and we just continue to attack everything one day at a time.

Q. What are you looking forward to about this game?
DAMIEN HARRIS: Just getting another opportunity to go out and play for this team. Coming back for my senior year, putting on that Crimson Tide jersey is something that's really special. It's been a long time. We've been off for about a month now, so a lot of guys are anxious to get back out on the field, get back to competing, and have another opportunity for a National Championship.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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