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ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON VS WISCONSINDecember 29, 2019CJ VerdellPasadena, California Q. How was Disneyland? CJ VERDELL: It was fun. Q. Do you like Disney? CJ VERDELL: I haven't been there in so long. I haven't been since I was like a little boy. But I went for my -- what was it, grad night? Q. I love how schools do that down here. So you hadn't been since then? CJ VERDELL: Yeah. Q. Changed a lot I'm sure. CJ VERDELL: Yeah, I liked the California Adventure. That was fun. Q. Did you go in the Mickey Mouse one that goes upside down? CJ VERDELL: The Mickey Mouse one that goes upside down? People started to get stuck, so I didn't go. Q. Can you go upside down on rides? CJ VERDELL: Oh, yeah, I love rides. Six Flags is my favorite place on earth. Q. What's been your favorite part of the Rose Bowl lead-up so far besides the football part? CJ VERDELL: I'd have to say probably Disneyland, California Adventure. That was a good time with all the players, doing the California Adventure especially. Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite ride. Q. Is that the one that used to feed the Tower of Terror? CJ VERDELL: Yeah. Q. You like that drop feeling? CJ VERDELL: Yeah, I love that feeling. The butterfly feeling I get in my stomach. You can't beat it. Q. You're coming off an extremely good Pac-12 championship performance. Michael James actually said your performance tops his. CJ VERDELL: Yeah, I saw that last night. That's crazy. Like I said before, that guy is a legend, so any of the good words that come out of his mouth, I'll take that. That's good to hear. Q. You said you had a little chip on your shoulder that game because Utah was regarded as a more physical team than you guys. Is that what got into you? CJ VERDELL: I mean, I guess you could say that got into me a little bit. But really that whole practice, we just had that mentality of we were going to go out there and just really show our dominance and really just be the more physical team. I guess that's what carried over to that team. Q. Where does that rank among your rushing performances for yourself? CJ VERDELL: Definitely not the first one. Probably the second, after Wazoo. They're the top two. Q. Do you feel like heading into this game it's Jonathan Taylor this, Jonathan Taylor that? Do you feel the same type of chip on your shoulder that you had during the Pac-12 title game? CJ VERDELL: To be honest I haven't been listening to the media about Jonathan Taylor. I've just been worried about my team and just focusing on myself and what I can do to help us win. Q. What went into your decision to come back for your junior season? CJ VERDELL: I just feel like I have a lot more to give to this university. I've always -- this whole season I've always talked about coming back. It never once crossed my mind about leaving. Q. Have you had some good conversations with Coach Cristobal about that? And what were those like? CJ VERDELL: To be honest I didn't even really have to have any good conversations about that. I think he always knew in my heart I wanted to come back. Coach Mastro was the same way. He's always telling us that this whole group is going to be back next year, and we just kind of bought into that. Never really entered my mind about entering the draft or anything. Q. When you look at Wisconsin's defense, what do you think is going to happen Wednesday? CJ VERDELL: I think they're a real good group of guys. I think they're definitely here for a reason. That defense definitely has carried them to a lot of games. The linebackers are very physical, D-line is very physical, so it's going to be about us and what we do this week to prepare. Q. You were kind of dinged up a little bit, but the last third of the season it seemed like you got healthy. Is that a big part of why you stepped up so big? CJ VERDELL: I guess you could say that, yeah. Definitely fought through some injuries early on in the year, but I'm never going to quit, never going to give up. That's just a part of football, and just got through it. Q. How much pride do you take in being a physical back? CJ VERDELL: A lot. I've been that way since I was little. My dad has always taught me to be the hammer, not the nail, so I think I've just carried that with me throughout my whole career. Q. Do you like feeling like the underdog? CJ VERDELL: Definitely, definitely. Let the other guys get all the attention. That way when we do make some noise, it'll be a big surprise to everybody. Q. Do you feel like the underdog heading into this one? CJ VERDELL: For sure, for sure, I'd gladly take that title underdog. Q. Since you guys went from home and don't have that home field practice facility, has the coaching staff done a pretty good job of keeping you guys right in rhythm with what you've been doing? CJ VERDELL: Oh, definitely, definitely. They've fixed up the schedule to where it's almost completely identical to our schedule back home. Nothing really feels different. Everything kind of feels the same, man. It feels good for us. Q. You've been a pretty good pass blocker all year. Is that something you take pride in? Did you come to Oregon with that? CJ VERDELL: No, actually I developed it at Oregon. Really didn't know a lot about pass blocking. I didn't do much of that in high school. But Coach Bradshaw always tells us to run the ball, there's offensive guys that will be able to protect the quarterback, so yeah, that's stuff I take pride in. Q. In the 2011-12 season Oregon played Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Do you remember watching that game or did you see it? CJ VERDELL: Actually I did get that see that game. I do remember some highlights, especially De'Anthony Thomas with the two carries for some crazy amount of yards. Yeah, I do remember seeing those highlights. Q. 155. CJ VERDELL: Yeah. Q. Two touchdowns. CJ VERDELL: Crazy, crazy. Q. Did you guys wear Utah down as that game went on? I think you had two big hits in the running game in that championship game. CJ VERDELL: I guess you could say that. O-line definitely did a good job making up those big holes for me to run through, so I guess as time -- as the game goes on, yeah, I guess you could say we kind of wore them down. Q. How did the coaches use the three tailbacks because it looks like you've got a guy who can pound it inside and got a couple guys who can fill different roles. CJ VERDELL: Yeah, Coach Mastro does a good job. He tells us all that we can all play the position. There's no drop-off in the running back room, so he does a great job rotating us, making sure we're fresh. Q. Do you feel like there's some comparisons you can make between Utah's defense and Wisconsin's defense? CJ VERDELL: Definitely, the linebackers, the way they fit the gaps and they're very physical. I would say that's probably one of the main comparisons. Q. Do you like playing behind this offensive line? CJ VERDELL: Man, it's amazing. I can't put it into words. A veteran group of guys, Jake Hanson leading it all. He knows what he's doing. It's just a blessing to be able to run behind those guys and set loose. Q. This is a game that you grew up watching was the Rose Bowl? CJ VERDELL: Oh, definitely, definitely, Rose Bowl, the granddaddy of them all. To be in this one is a great honor. I'm just thankful for the opportunity. Q. Playing on the same field as Jonathan Taylor, do you feel like this is an opportunity for you to show the rest of the country that you're on that same level? CJ VERDELL: Yeah, I guess you could say that, but like I said, I don't really give too much focus on Jonathan Taylor. Whatever he's doing, I've just been focusing on my team and whatever I can do to help us. Q. Have you watched him at all? CJ VERDELL: To be honest, not besides the highlights that you see on Twitter and stuff. Q. What do you want the legacy of this team to be? CJ VERDELL: Man, I just want us to go out, hopefully go into the Rose Bowl and get a great win, man. We've had a great year so far, but like Coach Cristobal and all the coaches have been saying, the reward isn't getting to the Rose Bowl, the reward would be winning the Rose Bowl, so hopefully we can do that. Q. Have you always been kind of a violent runner, like back in high school, your running style? CJ VERDELL: Definitely, definitely, I think that my dad instilled that to me when I was very young, even in youth football. He always told me to be the hammer, not the nail, so I always carried that throughout my whole career. Q. You've done that this season. Is there ever a worry, not from your point of view, but have the coaches kind of dialed you back a little bit? CJ VERDELL: No, to be honest, they haven't really told me to change my running style. Sometimes maybe Coach Mastro will tell me to try to make somebody miss a couple of times, but besides that they haven't really told me to change my running style. Q. That's the way you've been since being a little guy? CJ VERDELL: Yes, sir, yes, sir. Q. How have you changed or improved in your game since you came to Oregon? CJ VERDELL: Definitely my pass blocking is something I take a lot of pride in. Coming in here, Coach Mastro does a great job with the drills and just getting us ready for each game, so pass blocking would be one of the things that I've improved. Q. Talk about the offensive line and the job they've done blocking in front of you. CJ VERDELL: Man, I can't say enough about the offensive line. Those guys are great up front. They come to practice every day with that drive and that mentality like they're going to get after somebody, so it just rubs off on everybody else. Q. I notice you run through tacklers sometimes. Do you consider yourself a physical runner, an elusive runner? How do you describe yourself? CJ VERDELL: To be honest, I feel like I'm all around. I wouldn't describe myself as an elusive back for a physical back. When the time needs to be I feel like I can drop my shoulder, and if I need to make somebody miss, I can do that, too. Q. What will take you to the next level? CJ VERDELL: I would say I want to focus on making more decisions at the second level, so that's probably one of my biggest things, and also continuing to get better on pass blocking. You can never be perfect at anything. Q. Is there a team that maybe Utah reminds you of that you've played this season? CJ VERDELL: Actually, Utah really, just the way their linebackers flow to the ball and how they fit their run gaps heavy, so I would say that's probably a close comparison. Q. You guys are going to kind of miss this senior offensive line this year. I was just talking to Shane about that, and how good do you expect -- the guys in waiting, how good to you expect them to be next year? CJ VERDELL: To be honest, I expect there to be no drop-off. They've got great leaders in front of them. There's a great room in there, so I feel like that energy and tenacity that they have is going to rub off to the next guys, so I don't feel like there should be any drop-off at all. Q. You've had two 1,000-yard seasons. Are you the type of player that sets goals like that? CJ VERDELL: Yeah, I always set goals for myself, but to have two 1,000-yard seasons, you don't really think about it while you're playing, but for it to happen, it's great. It's great. It's a blessing. Q. This game will be Coach Arroyo's last game as offensive coordinator. Are you going to miss him? CJ VERDELL: Definitely going to miss him. Coach Arroyo is a great guy. He does a great job getting us ready for games, putting up a great scheme. Definitely going to be a big loss for us. Q. Have you made any decisions on the NFL? CJ VERDELL: Oh, no, definitely returning back for my junior year, yeah. Q. Knowing that you're going against Jonathan Taylor, being compared to him most of the game, how much does that get you excited that you can compete on the highest level and you can share a stage with him and potentially outshine him? CJ VERDELL: It feels good. Like I said, to be honest, I haven't really been worried about Jonathan Taylor too much. I've just been trying to focus on myself, trying to get myself ready for the game. Q. What are you doing to get yourself ready for the game knowing the impact you can have? CJ VERDELL: Definitely. I wouldn't try to change too much. The routine has still been the same. Just trying to go out and practice, get my run fits, hit the gaps, try to get the top speed. So just trying to do those things. Q. One of the things that's been said is that the wide receivers take a lot of pride in being sure that they can also block for you. How much of this team commitment to just seeing each other succeed been a huge part of the reason you guys are here? CJ VERDELL: Man, that's probably one of the main reasons. None of us on that team are me guys. We all want to see each other succeed. Coach Cristobal always tells us, with team success comes individual success, so we always worry about the team, the team, the team, and that's what's most important. Q. Knowing that Mario Cristobal two years ago, you guys fought to have him stay with this program, now you're at the Rose Bowl, do you feel like this is exactly why you guys signed that petition? CJ VERDELL: Definitely, definitely a huge reason. We knew what Coach Cristobal could bring to the table, and that's why we fought so hard to get him right here as coach. Things happened the way it did, and we are at the Rose Bowl now. Q. How rare is that for an offensive line assistant coach to have an impact across an entire team? CJ VERDELL: Man, it's probably pretty rare, but coach Cristobal just did a great job getting to know everybody while he was an assistant coach, just talking to everybody, real friendly. It was a no-brainer when we all decided to want him to be our head coach. Q. Coach Arroyo has said that he has worked incredibly hard to make sure he is as locked in as he ever was regardless of what's happening at UNLV. How do you feel he's handling the transition? CJ VERDELL: I feel like he's doing it really well. To be honest I, there hasn't been any talk about UNLV. Whenever he's with us it's all Oregon and what we're going to do to get ready for this game. Q. How excited are you to just play in the Rose Bowl? Has it sunk in yet? CJ VERDELL: Man, it hasn't sunk in. I'm so ready to play in the Rose Bowl. I wish we could play already. Q. How different will it be next year with essentially a completely different offensive line? I know you guys practice a lot, these guys have a lot of reps -- CJ VERDELL: Exactly. Exactly. I don't think it'll be too much different, like I said. The guys behind them have a great group of guys to look up to, great group of guys that leave them, so there shouldn't be much drop-off at all. I think those guys have great leadership in front of them. Q. Did you notice like play tendencies for different linemen? It's easy to see with running backs different styles, but did you have to get a feel for the way linemen kind of play? CJ VERDELL: A little bit, but we do a lot of Indy run, just a lot of drills within practice, just to help us get that rhythm, help us get going. I feel like I know those guys very well, they know me very well, and we mesh really well. Q. What's the biggest personality difference between Justin and Patrick? CJ VERDELL: To be honest, I think they're kind of almost the same. Not completely the same, but they're both real quiet, don't hear them talk too much. Maybe Patrick does more than Justin I would say. But yeah, Justin is probably the more quieter of the two. Q. What are their interactions like in the locker room, or is it very much like big brother, little brother? CJ VERDELL: Yeah, it's not -- definitely you can tell it's a big brother relationship. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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