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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: FLORIDA VS VIRGINIA

December 28, 2019

Victor Oluwatimi

Miami Gardens, Florida

VICTOR OLUWATIMI: The weather it nice. It's a little warmer than I want in December, though. But I like it.

Q. When you made the decision to go to Virginia, what did you think -- not the ceiling because you never want to say ceiling, but where did you think the program was headed and at what pace?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: Man, honestly when I was thinking about Virginia, I didn't really know where it was going and all that. I knew that they just hired a coach like a year ago, Coach Mendenhall, but you never know because I think the first season they were 2-10 and then I knew before I decided to come they were 6-7. So it wasn't a great season, but it was definitely on the rise. I didn't know where they were going to end up, but I just had faith.

Q. Did you ever think about being in the ACC title game, being in the Orange Bowl this year? It seems fast.
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: Well, when I got here, seeing the talent that we had, seeing how we worked, seeing how our coaches, how well they put us in positions to win, I thought we were going to get here last year, honestly, just the way the flow of the season, and then at the end of the season some things happened and we didn't finish strong, so we weren't able to get there. But that's what I expected last year. This year it finally happened.

Q. You're a pretty thoughtful guy; when you think about -- it's almost weird in a sense but you guys have taken very incremental steps with this program. You mentioned last year you kind of couldn't finish it, this year you finished it off. What was different from your vantage point? What was different that made -- was this team just a little bit better, or was there something that changed, that was learned, that was done differently to let you finish?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: I think it's just growth, growth under Coach Mendenhall, growth under this regime, players growing together. Honestly we lost a lot of great pieces that were on the team last year, so I mean, I won't be like, oh, we're better than them or whatever, but we played well, and the games that were close, we finished. I think that was the difference. Maybe that's Bryce being a year more experienced. The O-line is starting to play better towards the end of the year and things like that.

Q. There's a lot of things about this program that look like they're on the way up. You mentioned the offensive line. Seems like you guys keep getting better and better and obviously with more experience that happens. You look at some of the young receivers and the young backs and then you've got the quarterback where we don't know a whole lot. We've heard good things about Brendan and we know some of the guys that have been recruited, but do you ever wonder what does this offense, this program, what am I going to be in for when we don't have Bryce Perkins?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: No, I don't wonder about that because I stay in the moment because when you start looking forward to next year, you let games slip away that you could win this year. So definitely I stay in the moment.

Q. What has been your experience, Bryce Hall suffered that injury, out for a year. People talked about him as a team leader kind of guy. What's been your experience with him since the injury, if anything?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: Bryce is one of those people that he will talk to almost anybody. Even last year when he didn't really know me at all when I first came, he's a very upbeat guy. He's either telling you scripture or trying to teach you a lesson or if you ask him a question he's going to try to explain it and be very thoughtful. Bryce is still that type of guy. He's upbeat even through his injury. It was funny, the other day I had my Aaron Rodgers jersey on because I'm a Green Bay fan, and he's like, you're a Green Bay fan, and I was like, yeah but I can become a Bryce Hall fan. One of these days, I'll grab your jersey.

Q. Remind me, where did you transfer from?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: Air Force Academy.

Q. Did you watch their bowl?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: Last night? Oh, yeah, for sure. I have a lot of friends on that team that I wanted to see play well, and they did.

Q. Is it fun to watch those guys you know, or is it weird to be like -- do you ever think like, hmm, I wonder what it would be like if I was still there? Obviously it's worked out well, but do you ever stop to think I wonder what that would have been like?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: No, not really about staying there and playing for the team. But you know, I definitely think like I miss some of my friends. I definitely made a lot more friends here, but I miss some of my friends and relationships that I've built there.

Q. Bronco is a very interesting coach, different than a lot of guys, the way he runs things, the way he talks, the way he thinks about things. Did you immediately like that or was there a part of you that was like I think this guy knows what he's doing but it's a little different?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: I would say back when I was in high school and they recruited me, I kind of thought the staff may have been a little off or a little different. That probably -- recruits are probably skeptical of those things. But once you get into the family, man, it's really just a family atmosphere and they're normal. They do things in an unorthodox way, but I think it's very helpful for the growth of a young man becoming a man, having responsibilities. Each team meeting starts with best day ever, and that's your learning, learning how to become a better leader, how to play with more grit, how to live life with more grit, how to take on challenges and want challenges, and I think they're very good instead of just hearing football, football, football, football.

Q. This may be impossible to answer, but do you think the way they do things, it's easier or harder at first on a transfer?
VICTOR OLUWATIMI: When you first get to the university, they throw a lot of things at you, so it can be overwhelming when you first get here. But after that, you're in the family, you get your routine, and you kind of just follow suit and try to work hard and earn everything that you can.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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