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ROSE BOWL GAME: OHIO STATE VS WASHINGTONDecember 27, 2018Aaron FullerPasadena, California Q. How's it going? AARON FULLER: Pretty good how about you? Q. Good. How is the trip down here so far? AARON FULLER: It's been great, first trip to Cali. It's been an experience, getting to explore and also having a game of this magnitude to look forward to. Q. What's the balancing act like there, for you kind of like a little vacation but at the same time -- AARON FULLER: You know, when we get to go to places like Disneyland and the Comedy Club today, you kinda focus on those things to get your mind off football but then when you're outside of those things it's kind of switching that mind-set and getting back into the football-type things. Q. Is it nice to have that balance, because it is such a big game, and not focusing on football all the time? AARON FULLER: I think so. We're here for a week. You don't want it to be football the whole time. Getting your mind away from football and having fun with the whole experience is pretty nice. Q. Now that you've had time to look at Ohio State, what stands out to you? AARON FULLER: Very aggressive, athletic group of guys. They should probably be in the Final Four but unfortunately didn't make it, but they're going to bring a lot of energy, and they're a great team, been great for a while so it should be a great match-up. Q. Remind you of anybody you played this year? AARON FULLER: Not much. Q. Some of those guys were talking about the trick plays that you guys run and preparing for those. Is it fun to have those in your pocket? AARON FULLER: It is, having something, a little wrinkle in the game plan is nice to see, you have fun with it in practice and things like that and seeing it work in games is always pretty fun, especially when somebody is going to score, you know, like a touchdown and things like that. So it's always fun. Q. You guys should enjoy it in practice. Is it fun to put those in and preparing for them? AARON FULLER: Without a doubt. Like I said, in practice getting a turn-around and scoring with the football is always fun and seeing it translate into the game is even better. Q. Earlier this year there was talk of the double pass and the receivers and a little competition between them. Is there competition between you guys being the one that gets to do that? AARON FULLER: Everybody likes to throw their name in the hat and things like that, but, you know, at the end of the day, I got a touchdown. Q. There you go. AARON FULLER: Honestly, there is no competition anymore. Q. Kind of like off that note, every time it seems you guys play somebody outside the Pac 12, if you ask anybody really on the east coast or whatever, what does Chris Peterson do with the offense, it's trick plays. What's it like to play within a system like that? AARON FULLER: Like I said earlier, it's fun. It brings something fun to the practice and seeing it work in games is even better. Over the years we have had a bunch of double passes or flea flickers, and things like that, that we put it into the game plan. More than anything it's fun seeing other people get the ball and seeing it being tossed around like that and seeing it work in games is even better. Q. Did you think teams overprepare for it or spend too much time on it? AARON FULLER: I think it can be. I don't know if people prepare for it or not. Over the years people like to talk about it because we do run a lot of trick plays sometimes and Coach Peterson has a track record of doing that. I would say so, people do, you know, prepare for it because it's something that can always happen. Q. The defensive coordinator told me he had watched every single trick play Coach Peterson has run since he started at Boise. Do you think that's overkill? AARON FULLER: It can be, but every coordinator wants to prepare the most they can for any type of situation. It is what it is. Q. How have you been using the -- (No microphone.) AARON FULLER: A little bit. More than anything just resting. The season is very grueling physically and mentally, so there is a mix between getting that work in and also taking some time off to, you know, rest up for the game. Q. So being able to come down here as a freshman, it's a hallmark game of the year. Does that set in for you, being so young? Do you learn from some of the seniors about that? How does that work? AARON FULLER: I'm actually a junior. Q. I'm sorry! I botched it, I apologize! AARON FULLER: You're good. Q. In that sense, then? AARON FULLER: There is a lot of things you can learn from seniors. They've been through, what, four years of this and each year they bring something new to the table. How to prepare for the game and things like that, and then also, you know, passing it down, to the younger guys that haven't been in this type of situation before or their first bowl game experience, so things like that. How to balance between the attractions we get to go to like Disneyland and the football side of the things. Having fun with the whole experience and coming back and focusing for the game. Q. Because you're a junior, you're no stranger to games. How does this compare to everything else you've gone through? AARON FULLER: I mean, it's for sure right up there with the College Football Playoffs that we were in two years ago. A lot of fans coming, things like that, and most of our team comes from California, so the hype from the families and fans coming around here. Q. Has there been any extra talk, any incentive because a quarter of the team comes from down here? AARON FULLER: A lot of talk, yeah, when we found out we were in the Rose Bowl, there was so much hype and can I get these tickets, yadda, yadda, things like that, everyone on the team was having fun playing in front of their fans and family. Q. You talked about passing it down, speaking of passing and Jake and everything like that, being able to be a part of his career and seeing him go out in this game and everything, what is that like for you? AARON FULLER: You know, it's fun, being a part of his success a little bit, helping out, I mean are it's a team game so any success around him or around myself comes from the whole offense and things like that. He's had a great career here and hopefully we can send him out well. Q. What do you see in Ohio State defense that gives up a lot of big plays? What goes through your mind about that? AARON FULLER: Just ourselves, not really focusing on the defense so much. I feel like as long as we execute well and things like that, we run the offense like we're supposed to run it. Q. You don't want to try and force something? AARON FULLER: We don't need to force anything, as long as we run our plays right and execute things will go well. Q. Do you expect similar things to happen that have happened for the Ohio State defense then? AARON FULLER: You hope so. It's a team game so everybody has to do their job to get that kind of success. Q. When this game was announced in early December, I think a lot of people looked at it as two teams that had high expectations that didn't quite get to the playoff and then Urban Meyer announced his retirement, and that seems to have overshadowed on-the-field talk. From your perspective, having heard all the stuff about Urban Meyer going on, how are you looking at this game and how do you view your perception nationally coming into it? AARON FULLER: I mean, it's not too much different. We want to play the game we want to play. We want to go out there and win. Past couple of years we came up short in bowl games and things like that. I mean the whole Urban Meyer thing and the hype doesn't affect us too much. Q. This game, Rose Bowl, you guys haven't been here in 18 years as a program. How big is it to be here and kind of bring Washington back to LA? AARON FULLER: You know, it's very big. We have a track record of being here for a while and then also, you know, having half of the team from Cali, is amazing and brings hype itself, fans and family connection, this is the granddaddy of 'em all, when you think of national championships and bowl games you think of the Rose Bowl. The first game I ever saw growing up was Texas v. USC in the Rose Bowl, one of the best games ever. There is a lot of hype coming from a lot of different directions. Makes it fun. Q. You guys play in the stadium, being in the Pac 12, but how different do you think it will be when it is "The Rose Bowl" not just a game against UCLA? AARON FULLER: The amount of fans there will be a big difference. Coming there, UCLA, it's half full or something like that. The amount of fans that are going to be there, the parade before, things like that is going to change a lot of things. Q. What have you seen from the Ohio State secondary in your preparation? AARON FULLER: They're a very aggressive, athletic group of guys. They play fairly well, obviously there have been holes that have been exploited on but for the most part they're a good team. They could have been in the Final Four easily, couple games went their way, but solid defense. Q. I know you do you guys, worry about yourselves, but do you also try to use that aggression against them? Is that part of the plan? AARON FULLER: A little bit, you know, you always want to use something that they overexploit to get at 'em a little bit. Like I said, for the most part it's running our offense and doing what we can do. Q. I know there has been talk about the trick plays you guys like to run. Do you throw the ball? AARON FULLER: I have a couple times, yeah. Apple Cup. Q. That was you? AARON FULLER: Yep. Q. Do you like that stuff? Is that fun? The preparation the week leading up and it's finally called? AARON FULLER: Yeah, without a doubt. Especially in practice, having fun, throwing the ball around brings fun to it and when you get your name called in the game and seeing it actually work, it's always fun. If it's myself or someone elimination throwing the ball or getting pitched off to, it's always fun seeing it actually work in the game. Q. Aaron, have you thought about how different it's going to be without having Jake and Myles next year? AARON FULLER: A little bit. You always have fans and media bringing that kind of stuff up. Especially having quarterbacks like Eason and Haener behind them. But you can't think of it too much. We're still in the season, a very important game coming up on January first. At the same time you want to think to the future, senior year and things like that. You've got to stay grounded and play the season out. Q. What's the most important thing Jake has brought to this team over your three years with him? AARON FULLER: His leadership and toughness. He's taken a lot of scrutiny, whether it's physically or mentally, seeing him recover from those type of things and still be the winningest quarterback in Pac 12 history. It's awesome to see. Q. Clearly I was talking to Myles a moment ago and you eyes are irked by the criticism he has had in his career. Is that because people didn't know he was hurt as a sophomore or don't see the dynamics in the team or the schematic things, hey we want to do this and maybe that cuts down on his numbers, that sort of stuff? AARON FULLER: Without a doubt, you know, people from the outside don't get to see what's going on in the team, whether there's injuries or schemes or, you know, just whatever it is. So they kinda make assumptions that always aren't true. So I mean, it kind of sucks seeing that kind of thing but at the same time you try to hone in on what you have to do and get your job done each week to do the best for the team. Q. What do you think is the biggest misconception people might have about Jake? AARON FULLER: I don't know. I think they kind of down play how smart he is. Being a quarterback you have the ball in your hands every play and sometimes he does make errors, which everyone does, and I think more so than anything his errors get publicized more so than anyone else is, which sucks to see because he's one of the smartest dudes on the team. Q. (No microphone.) Focus on the two plays a game that are screw-ups and not the other 70 plays where you throw to the right guy or check to the right call. AARON FULLER: Exactly. Q. What would you say is Myles best attribute as a teammate? AARON FULLER: You know, like Jake, he's a leader. Whether that's bringing other running backs along or hyping everybody else up, he brings energy to the practice field. I can't tell you countless times whether we're doing conditioning or any type of drill he's the first one out there having fun with it and winning every race, it's fun to see. Q. He was saying he's not much of a morning person. How does he overcome that to help you guys in the locker room or practices or whatever? AARON FULLER: I think when it comes to the football field, whether it's off-season work, the conditioning, lifting, even practice, he has that way he can flip a switch easily and knows that his energy is vital to this team. So I think when he comes in he may be groggy and tired like that, but when it's time to go, it's time to go. Q. How did he sort of help the team, I think it's natural to point back to the Cal game where you don't score a touchdown and lose because of the defensive touchdown. How did they help rally the team from a pretty low point? AARON FULLER: I think as a whole we knew we didn't play well so I wouldn't say they personally did anything, but as a team we knew we had a lot more to us. We didn't play our best game offensively, more than anything. I think our defense played well, good enough to win but as an offense we knew we had to change something so more so than anything coming together and finding out what we needed to do to win out. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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