	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON VS WISCONSIN

December 29, 2019

Jake Hanson

Pasadena, California

Q. Here you are, Rose Bowl. What's going through your head right now?
JAKE HANSON: I'm just excited for the opportunity, just kind of taking the whole week in, because it's kind of a deal that worked five years for this opportunity, and obviously it's last game of my college football career, so I'm just enjoying everything about it.

Q. How would you describe the mood of the team right now?
JAKE HANSON: Everybody's excited. Everybody knows the challenge ahead. They're not taking this game lightly. Obviously it's going to be the most talented team we've played all year. So it's a team that just earns our respect and we have to prepare for it accordingly.

Q. How about Wisconsin defensive line? What have you seen from them on film?
JAKE HANSON: They're a really good defensive line all the around. They have two very good edge rushers. They have a lot of good defensive tackles inside. Their linebackers are also great players. I mean, it's a very good defense.

When you're playing in the Rose Bowl, obviously we're going to be playing against a very good team. They don't just let anyone play in this game.

So it's going to be a great challenge for us as an offensive line, but we're excited for it.

Q. A lot of accolades for this offensive line. How do you guys view yourself as a unit?
JAKE HANSON: I mean, the accolades are great, but we view ourselves based off of, you know, the film that we put out and what we've done previous weeks.

So based off of what we've done this season, we know that when we're on our game, we know we can be the best unit in the country. But we still have to show up every week and prepare like we have been.

Q. So help me out a little bit with you guys have been together for quite a while at this point, getting close to the end for you for college, anyway. What's the bond between you and the other O-linemen and Justin? Can you describe a little bit about that.
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, it's a really strong bond. When you've played with guys for three, four, five seasons, you just become closer every game, every year, more tight. And just playing together, you kind of just develop the same mindset, thinking process together. It's just -- it just comes easier on the field. That's the best way to describe it.

Q. O-linemen are kind of known for their sense of humor and stuff, but it seems like Justin doesn't really like the limelight that much. Do you guys give him a hard time? Can you describe any good-natured banter between you guys?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, well, Justin is -- obviously, he's a quieter guy, especially in front of the camera, but he has a good sense of humor. He's a funny guy. He's just kind of the type of guy that you have to get to know a little bit before he starts cracking jokes around you and that kind of stuff.

Q. Do you guys crack jokes behind the scenes a little bit?
JAKE HANSON: Of course. Yeah, he's a good-natured, funny guy.

Q. At the end of the game, sometimes an O-lineman will come up behind when people are surrounding Justin taking photos. Is there a little bit of ribbing going on behind the scenes there? Do you participate in that at all?
JAKE HANSON: It's just kind of poking fun, messing with guys. It's just kind of what you do with your friends when they're in front of the camera, I guess. Kind of happens with everyone.

Q. What does it mean for you that this is kind of the culmination of that many years?
JAKE HANSON: It's a weird feeling. I don't think -- I think we understand, obviously, that it's our last game, and 5:30 on January 1st we won't be college football players anymore.

So it's a weird feeling. But it's a good feeling just being here at this game and knowing how far we've come. But the final reward will be winning the game.

Q. (Indiscernible.)
JAKE HANSON: It's a good feeling to play with great players at any position, but obviously when you have a world-class quarterback like Justin calling the shots on the offense, it's a good feeling, obviously. He's been huge to the team's success. So we obviously -- we love having him back there.

Q. Back to when Mario first arrived, what was it about him that won players over? He's not instituting a vision, necessarily, but clearly won you guys over (indiscernible)?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, I mean, I think that's just the trust that he built with us and that we built with him when he was an assistant coach as the O-line coach, that obviously all the guys in the O-line trusted him and believed in the principles that he was teaching and the culture he was implementing on the offensive line, but it even spread out to the other position groups.

Obviously, the D-line got to know him a lot better and other position groups, but even branching out to position groups that typically don't have a relationship with an offensive line coach. He just started developing trust within other players, and that's kind of what led to everybody being behind him when he was the interim head coach.

Q. Obviously the success helps foster that, the two years since, but playing now (indiscernible) has that come to fruition so far as this is actually what he was talking about?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, yeah, and I think it's all just been about building the culture that the program started with him as an assistant coach, and then when he was put into the head coaching role, it was just building that culture, building the standard he wanted us to play at, which has been going ever since.

Q. Spring ball, when it started to now, how far has this offense come, do you feel like?
JAKE HANSON: We've come very far, obviously, I think, just getting more comfortable each year with each other and just growing as individual players and as a team. It's just part of the process of becoming a good unit.

Q. How much do you feel like -- offense has a lot of four-year starters. Do you feel that has helped this season?
JAKE HANSON: Oh, yeah, it's been huge. Anytime you have a veteran group of guys, it's just -- I've always just found it easier each year that I've played with guys. I mean, you know, when you play with -- especially four seniors on the offensive line, you kind of think with one mind.

It's like I -- like I know what other people are going to do before they do it, basically. Like I know what my guards are going to do before I do it, and they know the calls I'm going to make before I call them basically. So it's like we're already on the same page before we even necessarily communicate with each other.

So it just becomes easier to communicate and play with each other, the more experience you get with each other.

Q. How would you describe your relationship with Justin? You guys have been through so much together here at Oregon. So center/quarterback, always going to be a special relationship, but what does it mean to have gone through these years with him?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, the relationship that you have with your quarterback, and really any of the other guys on the team that have experienced the hard times that we have, it just grows through all those hard times.

So I think that -- I think it's just a sense of trust and just knowing how far we've came and how hard we've all worked to get here, it's just built that relationship over time.

Q. With graduating and moving on, there's going to be a new center for the first time in four years. Who do you feel like the guys that are going to be in contention for that when spring ball opens up?
JAKE HANSON: There's a lot of guys that can be in contention with that. Guys -- Ryan Walk's been playing center for a couple years. Alex Forsyth has been playing center for a few years. Dawson Jaramillo has been playing here. Obviously he's injured right now.

But, I mean, there's a lot of guys in contention for that spot. So we'll see what happens.

Q. What's the challenge being a first-year starting center? It's been a long time since that was your case, but what are those guys having to go through to learn on the fly?
JAKE HANSON: Thinking back, I think the hardest part was just kind of leading the whole group, leading the unit. When you're a young guy and you've never necessarily been in that role where you have to lead four other guys to make sure that everybody's on the same page so that the offense can roll, I think just being the vocal leader when you're not necessarily accustomed to that on the field is difficult. I think that's probably the hardest thing.

And just overall confidence, knowing what you're calling is the right call and being able to roll with it.

Q. Different coaches have different demeanors. Wisconsin's coach is kind of laid back, Mario looks like he's doing stuff all the time. What were your first impressions of him?
JAKE HANSON: My first impression was I knew he was going to be a great coach. Obviously he had a great track record at previous places that he'd been. But I think in our first meeting I knew that he was a great motivator, that he meant business, that he seemed like a very real, genuine person.

And then just building that relationship after that, I knew, you know, being coached by him on the field that he was a guy that knew what he was talking about, knew what needed to be done if we wanted to be great offensive linemen individually and a great offensive line as a unit.

Q. Did it change much going from position coach for Mario to the head coach job?
JAKE HANSON: No, he didn't really change much. The same stuff that we saw in the O-line room and the same kind of teachings that he taught us and the same culture that he was implementing in the O-line room, that just shifted over to a team scale.

And then it already been kind of spreading out throughout the team as well before he was named the head coach. So it wasn't much of a change really.

Q. What have you seen on Wisconsin on tape defensively and what do they do well or what's the first thing that jumps out at you about scheme?
JAKE HANSON: They're really talented all across the board. Their front seven, there's not a weak point, obviously. I mean, to play in the Rose Bowl, you have to have a very good defense, and they do have a very good defense all around in their front seven.

So they're just very technically sound a lot of the time across the board, and they're not going to beat themselves. So we have to come out and play good football if we want to beat them because it's not going to be handed to us.

Q. What's the best thing about blocking for CJ Verdell?
JAKE HANSON: CJ is just an old-school type of player. He's a quieter guy. Doesn't say a whole lot. But he just plays hard. He does what's asked of him, and just a good guy all around, a guy that you want to have on your team.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, he's really good. Really hard nosed, physical guy. Loves the contact. Loves just playing football right in between the tackles. A running back that you want to block for.

Q. You were talking about how Wisconsin is a real great opponent and all that, but how different do you view film or games or whatever now compared to when you were starting as a freshman? Do you see an opponent like that and think any differently than when you were first getting going?
JAKE HANSON: Yeah, I think at this point it's just having a lot of previous game experience, knowing that watching a team like Wisconsin, how I can compare that to other teams that I've played against that might play similar schemes or similar -- like how similar individuals might play, certain blocks or certain schemes. Just overall experience helps with that.

Q. Did you ever get nervous before games earlier in your career?
JAKE HANSON: I always get nervous before games. I mean, it's -- you know, your standard pregame anxiety. You feel like you're going to puke, and then first play you're fine.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297