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ROSE BOWL GAME: OHIO STATE VS WASHINGTONDecember 27, 2018Drew SamplePasadena, California Q. Getting fired up, excited? DREW SAMPLE: Yeah, definitely. Kind of easing into it. Q. Where are you from? DREW SAMPLE: I'm from Seattle. Q. You're a local boy? DREW SAMPLE: Yes. Q. First time down here? DREW SAMPLE: No, I've been to like Disneyland. My family is from San Jose, the Bay Area. Family around there. Q. You've been to California before? DREW SAMPLE: I've been to California before. It's been a while. It's been good. Q. You play what position? DREW SAMPLE: Tight end. Q. Ohio State has a lot of big guys. What are you looking at in terms of this game, what you need to do as both an offensive weapon and as a blocker? DREW SAMPLE: I think for us, we know that they're a good team. They've got a really good front seven. They've got some really good guys on defense, like you said. For us it's trying to do our job, not trying to do too much. Not trying to stretch. For us, the "O" line, tight ends, I think it's going to be -- it's going to be a game that's going to be one in the trenches. For us I think it's just going out and executing how we know we can. Like you said, we know this is going to be the best team we've faced all year. That's how it should be in the Rose Bowl, a big game like this. We're excited, a challenge ahead of us. It's about the details and not trying to do too much. Q. The perception nationally is sort of the Big Ten plays tough, physical, and the Pac-12 can't necessarily keep up with that. Is there an element of pride on the line to show absolutely can go toe to toe with the best teams in the country? DREW SAMPLE: I think we're a physical team, that's something we pride ourselves on, the run game, pass game, as an offense. Like I said, we're excited for the challenge. We know they're a good team. We know they've got good players. I think so do we. It's going to be a fun game where we've been preparing really well, and I think our guys are excited to go out and play. Q. I'm curious, your guys' perspective. This game initially I think was billed as the teams that had high expectations coming into the year. Now the team makes the playoff. The Rose Bowl is a pretty good consolation. And then Urban Meyer announces his retirement. That kind of overshadowed the matchup on the field. How are you looking at this from the Washington perspective? Are you feeling overlooked because of this? What kind of is the feeling from your camp? DREW SAMPLE: I think obviously we have big expectations coming into the season. But I think being able to play in the Rose Bowl is something pretty special. I think we're definitely excited for the opportunity and we're excited about being able to play such a good team. Obviously Ohio State is a great team. And being able to play one of the best teams we played all season in a bowl game is awesome for us. So I think we're excited for the challenge. We know they're a good team. They've got really good players. But so do we. We're preparing really well. I think we're excited for the challenge just to play in "The Granddaddy of Them All." We're excited and ready for the challenge. Q. Coach Petersen talked at the press conference yesterday it's been 18 years since Washington has been there. Is that something he stresses to you guys because that's how special this is, doesn't come along all the time? DREW SAMPLE: I think so. For us being able to be the team that gets us back there is pretty cool. We've won two Pac-12 championships in the last couple of years, first time in 16 years. For us it's all about loving the experience, having the opportunity to go out and play a really good team. And I think we're excited for that and looking forward to the challenge. Q. You touched on Ohio State a little bit. What do you see when you look across the line at the Buckeyes? DREW SAMPLE: They've got really good players. They're probably one of the best defenses we'll see all year. They've got really good ends, linebackers. They're tough. We wouldn't expect anything less from a top 10 team. So we definitely know it's going to be a challenge, but we're definitely not going to back down, and we're just looking forward to the opportunity and excited for the game. Q. How big is it in a Rose Bowl to go out with a win to springboard 2019? DREW SAMPLE: I think it would be awesome to send myself and the other seniors out with a Rose Bowl win, would be icing on the cake for the last four, five years for a lot of these guys. So I think it's pretty special, and especially for our program. We've been in some big games the last couple of years that we haven't been able to pull them out. I think this would be a good game to start that off. So we're excited and looking forward to it. Q. Are you going home to train? DREW SAMPLE: I'm going down to San Diego. Staying kind of close. Q. Who else is doing that? Is Ben? DREW SAMPLE: I've talked to a couple of guys. I forget they're going all over the place. I know some guys are going to Arizona, some California. I think some are staying home, too. Q. If you stay home, who do you train -- DREW SAMPLE: I think Tracy, I think those are the only ones. Q. You know that guy? DREW SAMPLE: Trained a little bit in high school. My brother like played for the seven-on-seven team too. Q. What do you think, you're here, it's a little bit old hat, new for the Rose Bowl, but third big bowl game. Big press conferences and all the obligations a little different. Started off with a Disneyland trip, that's cool? DREW SAMPLE: It's awesome. I hadn't been to Disneyland for a while. To do that with our team is cool and have the Rose Bowl guys around and seeing it all over town; it's been pretty cool. It's been awesome so far. Q. The Ohio State defense, fast, they're big up front. Remind you of anyone or what jumps out the most? DREW SAMPLE: I think they're their own animal. Probably the best defense we'll play all year, but something you would expect playing in a big game like this. We're definitely excited for the challenge. They've got really good players, and I think we've got really good players on offense too. I'm looking forward to the matchup. Practicing great and putting a lot of work in during this time. So I think we're excited to kind of go out and get going. Q. Chris Petersen last week he volunteered, he was saying how he was looking at the bowl, the practices last couple of years, analyzing what you guys did, making some changes for this. Did you notice anything specific, or just in terms -- he was talking about the workload and -- DREW SAMPLE: I think we definitely just tried to kind of -- just ran things up a little more, I think, trying to make sure we bring the energy and edge every practice. It can be hard when you're practicing so much, just in that kind of dead period, you don't play a game for three, four weeks, it's hard to get that. I think a lot of the guys and coaches made an effort to try to dial that up. And I think we've had really good practices. So I think that's something that's been different from the past couple of years, and hopefully the outcome will be different from the past couple of years, too. Q. Is it just being sharp, or anything specific you're doing in practice? DREW SAMPLE: Nothing specific. We're just trying -- like I said, we're just trying to dial up the energy, trying to get things going, making sure we're more detailed. And like I said, it's hard because the game is so far out. But I think we've done a better job, especially the coaches making more of an emphasis of it. And so it's been good, and we're looking forward to this week of preparation and getting after it on Tuesday. Q. Obviously a lot of success you guys have had as a senior class, too, and Jake being the quarterback since a freshman and all that. You guys have heard -- as much as you block things out, but some of the criticism he's taken throughout his career. But what do you think as a guy who has been there with him throughout the fights, what should people remember him by? DREW SAMPLE: For me there's no one I'd rather play for than Jake. Just the passion he has for the game, the behind-the-scenes stuff he does, the preparation, the leadership, just all the intangibles. And then he's a guy that will just put his life on the line for you. And that's a guy you always want to play for. These last four years I would rather have no one back there besides Jake. So I think a lot of times people criticize him, but for us players, we know that he's been our guy and he is our guy until he can't play anymore. We're excited to go out there with him as this class of seniors but people should remember him for the accolades. The winningest quarterback in Pac-12 history, that in itself encompasses it. People don't see the behind-the-scenes stuff. So as his teammate and guys that play for him, we kind of understand that. So there's no one I'd rather play for than him so... Q. One thing, kind of hard to explain, what is it behind the scenes that makes him who he is? DREW SAMPLE: One thing is preparation. Nobody prepares like him. Just all the tape with the coaches, game plan, everything like that. He plays fearless and willing to dive head first for the extra yard, to get us a first down, putting his body on the line, standing there, get hit, that type of stuff that I feel like not everyone sees or realizes. For us, those are the things that you lay your life on the line for that guy, and he'd do that for the team and any one of us. I think that's something that's pretty special. Q. It's been 18 years since Washington has been to the Rose Bowl. What do you think is it about this specific group of guys that was able to get this program back to this game? DREW SAMPLE: I just think for us just the time it's taken -- I've been here for five years, some of the other guys for four, it's just the time it's taken to change this culture with Coach Pete for the better. And I think we've really brought a lot to the table as far as that. There's the culture shift, getting better recruits, that type of thing. But I think the coaching staff and players, we've been able to shift the focus to a lot of different things. But for us being able to play in this game for this class, we went to a playoff a couple years ago. We've won some Pac-12 championships. I think this will be a nice way to cap off the last four, five years. Q. I think from an overcoming adversity standpoint, that's the hallmark of this group. Do you attribute it to the culture that's been created in the locker room, you take your lumps, but at the end of the day you win the championship and you're still at this game? DREW SAMPLE: I think for sure. Obviously this year we didn't have some games that didn't go our way and maybe some wins that made it more difficult for ourselves than it should have been. But the way this team has responded and fought, I think a lot of people were surprised we ended up here, but we kept trying to stay the course, just keep battling every week, and we were able to play in this game. So I think the guys want to end it on a high note. So I think we're excited for that. Q. Jake's seen a lot of questions about he's regressed as a player. When you see that kind of perception about your quarterback, what's the reaction? DREW SAMPLE: I think it's just kind of foolish. I don't think -- I think Jake gets a lot of criticism. But he's done a lot for our team, our program the last four years. And I was telling someone else over there, there's no one that I would want as my quarterback besides Jake. His teammates, I think, I think we would all say the same thing, there's no one that will work harder for the team, knowing that puts it all out there for the team, nobody that prepares harder. So how can you not want to play for a guy like that? We don't pay attention to that stuff. We know he's our guy and that he's going to prepare and perform as well as he can. And it's a team game. So we're just all going to try to do our part. We don't try and pay attention to any of that stuff. Q. Where do you think he's grown as a player the last few years? DREW SAMPLE: I think for him probably -- you have to ask him, but -- Q. We did. DREW SAMPLE: I'm sure you guys did. But I think just his ability to see the field and just go through his progressions and he's always been a student of the game, preparing more than anyone that I've ever seen. Just doing all that. I'm sure the game slowed down for him, too, these past four years. But like I said, there's no one we'd rather be out there with than him. He'll lay his life down for the team. Q. People look at the production numbers and stuff like that and draw conclusions off of that a lot of times. When you were playing with John and Dante, did you know how good those guys were, how much they changed the game? It's kind of easy to look back at what they did, maybe more impressed now? DREW SAMPLE: I think so. Those are two of the best receivers to come out of UW. They're probably up there. The speed, Dante, no one more productive than him. Looking back, people would have taken it for granted, but we found a way to win. That's one thing about Jake people don't realize, however it is, it's a team game, but we find a way to win. It's not always perfect, especially this year we've had a lot of ups and down and adversity, but we've been able to fight through that and we're here at the Rose Bowl now playing a really good team, and I think we're excited about that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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