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ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON VS WISCONSIN

December 30, 2019

Zack Baun

Pasadena, California

Q. Been here before?
ZACK BAUN: For the Holiday Bowl. That was four, five years ago now.

Q. How has your experience been?
ZACK BAUN: Great, wonderful. I love it here.

Q. Did you play other sports growing up?
ZACK BAUN: Yeah, I was in basketball, soccer. I did track.

Q. Where did you develop your football instincts?
ZACK BAUN: I think I was just always that kid outside. I would never come inside until it was pitch black outside. Just growing up in the neighborhood around older guys, just always being really competitive with those guys, no matter how old, young I was.

Q. What do you think of the offense (indiscernible) a little bit in their last game?
ZACK BAUN: Yeah, we played a lot of running quarterbacks. So it's nothing that I wasn't accustomed to.

Q. What do you think about Oregon in general when do you hear about them?
ZACK BAUN: Nike. I think everyone's that way. As far as their football team, historically it's been, like, speed guys, recruiting athleticism.

Q. Did it surprise you when you watch them that they're just not (indiscernible) anymore?
ZACK BAUN: They've definitely evolved. They're trying to evolve. They have an experienced offensive line, so that really helps. They really work as a group to bring, like, a physical mentality to their game. It's kind of cool to see guys like, different teams that evolve their scheme, transitioning from speed to a more physical team.

Q. Spent some time with Chris yesterday in meetings. So from your point of view, your first impression when you guys met each other?
ZACK BAUN: I didn't think he liked me. He's an outspoken guy. When I first met him, he was quiet. He was really on a mission when he first got here. You knew what his intentions were, and you knew he wanted to make an impact right away.

He was really focused. We ended up gelling. And he really helped me develop as a player all throughout my whole college career.

Q. How would you compare how different you guys are in terms of the backgrounds you brought to the program?
ZACK BAUN: Yeah, he's been playing inside linebacker since, I don't know when. And I just started. So it's those guys on the team that no matter where you come from or what your different experiences are, Wisconsin is going to develop you into a player that you want to be as long as you let them.

Q. Describe your high school program.
ZACK BAUN: I actually went to two high schools. I transferred my junior year. Actually wasn't going to play football my junior year. Transferring -- the school I was at prior to moving to Brown Deer, just wasn't clicking. And I wasn't feeling comfortable in the system. And I was kind of losing my love for football.

Then one of my buddies at Brown Deer convinced me to play football, and it worked out for the best. They kind of let me have free rein and do what I wanted to showcase my athleticism.

Q. Jim Leonhard was talking about how you guys in some way check all the boxes that you -- both the highs and the lows -- that you can encompass in a collegiate career. Two of you guys together encompass all that. How have you supported each other through that, you and Chris? He was great talking about that yesterday and about your support of him.
ZACK BAUN: We were roommates. And he went through it before I did.

Q. That was your first, like, randomly assigned?
ZACK BAUN: Randomly assigned, and we ended up being roommates and best friends for the next three years. We're not roommates anymore --

Q. Somebody chose a girlfriend, he said.
ZACK BAUN: (Laughter.) You could say that. No, we're still great friends. And he's been supportive my whole career and I've been supportive of him. I love to see where he's going and who he has become.

Q. Through injury in particular, Zack, how did you guys support each other?
ZACK BAUN: Tragic situations, obviously. Like, no one wants that to happen to them. And I mean his game the very first play of the 2016 season. So just being there for him and having my mom come around, because my mom lives close, and kind of embracing him into my family when his family wasn't around. And just talking and discussing what you're going through, what are your feelings on and off the field.

Like, he kind of took it a different way than I did. He was kind of stuck in more of an assistant coach, player/coach position and got to travel with the team and work with the offense for a little bit.

Q. And then you.
ZACK BAUN: Then me, it was, like, I was expecting big things for myself and that was a big developing year for myself. It really hurt mentally. So I kind of did the opposite way and went to myself, my family, in the weight room to get stronger and develop myself as a player.

Q. How did Chris help you during that time?
ZACK BAUN: Just coming home to a smiling face. That guy's always got energy and he's always so positive that it's hard to be sad and sulk around him. He really did a good job getting my mind off everything.

Q. Will he argue about anything?
ZACK BAUN: Yes. Don't talk about LeBron, Kobe or Michael Jordan or nothing. He's a LeBron fan, and he will keep his point til the day he dies.

Q. I know you've been a part of bowl games in the past, but how does this compare and what has this week been like in this big buildup to the game?
ZACK BAUN: I've been to a lot of bowl games -- thanks for saying that; I've been here for a while now. But I think the Rose Bowl, there's just something special about the Rose Bowl and being here, the hype around it, the hype the city has around it, embracing Wisconsin and the Pac-12 team like family.

And you can tell that the fan base here really cherishes this game whether they're a UCLA team or USC fan. They all come together to celebrate and watch this game. So it's really cool to see.

Q. I wasn't trying to be mean about you being in a lot of games. You haven't lost a bowl game in your time at Wisconsin. Is there something about the magnitude of this moment that brings out the best in you? You yourself and also the team?
ZACK BAUN: I think it starts with the coaches. Coaches do a good job making sure that we're here on a business trip. We're also here to have fun but first and foremost it's about football, and we earned the right to play another football game. That's what it is.

Then it comes to the leaders and the leaders do a good job of stressing that to the rest of the team, that we're here for business and we're here to play a good football game.

Q. How much pride are you going to take in being one of the leaders on this field?
ZACK BAUN: It's been really fun to see, kind of take the reins with these guys, connect in a way that we haven't before. I'd say right now, this team is closer than we've been.

Q. I knew you grew up wanting to be a football player. Did you ever see yourself being on this stage at this point in your career?
ZACK BAUN: There was a point when I transferred high schools, I wasn't thinking about playing football anymore. Thinking of where I was then and where I am now, I never thought I'd be here.

There's been so many people around me that have been helping me to get to this place and they believed in me when I didn't.

Q. What about this journey in particular really stands out to you?
ZACK BAUN: I would say the people I've met along the way that have helped me. It goes all the way back since my elementary school days. And I didn't even know that they believed in me and they were willing to help me and do things from me because they saw something in me that I didn't.

Q. Now the buildup has been weeks now for this game. What does it say to you to take that field and embrace that game?
ZACK BAUN: It's been a while since we played a game. We've been looking at Oregon for a while now. So I'm really looking forward to getting after them and really experiencing the Rose Bowl Game.

Q. And I heard you talking yourself about it, but your relationship with Chris, how special has it been for you and in particular this year, the success you guys have had as a unit?
ZACK BAUN: It's cool to see. Our careers have winding paths, kind of strayed away from each other. But we ended up at the same point. It's cool to see us both playing our best ball at the peak of our careers.

Q. Do you have people from Milwaukee at the game?
ZACK BAUN: Yeah, I will.

Q. How many?
ZACK BAUN: I think I've got six coming.

Q. Is it really your birthday?
ZACK BAUN: It is my birthday.

Q. How special -- Christmas, New Year's, your birthday, does that really add to the excitement of everything that's gone or for you this week?
ZACK BAUN: I don't think I've had a birthday at home since I've been here. It's always been on a bowl trip. It always makes it special being in a different location. And getting this on my birthday with this team and with this family -- and it's just always been a good time.

Q. Couldn't ask for a better birthday gift, right?
ZACK BAUN: No, it's a free vacation.

Q. Well traveled at this point?
ZACK BAUN: Yes.

Q. You have a tough challenge with that offensive line. Four seniors and then a sophomore who is no slouch as well. What are the expectations for you guys as you game plan to try to stop them and what they're going to do?
ZACK BAUN: They're a cohesive group. They work together. You can tell on film that they've been playing together for a long time. They play a physical brand of football. That's always fun because we do that all the time. So it will be a good matchup and we just have to come out physical from snap one.

Q. This is my first time really seeing you guys, not seeing you guys play, but seeing you guys live. Through a lot of the interviews this week the word being thrown around is "physicality." Is that the style of play you guys welcome? And how physical will this game be?
ZACK BAUN: It will be a physical game. Historically this game is physical. The Big Ten is a physical conference, and it's cool to see that Oregon has taken a different direction in their style of play. So it's always good to match physicality with physicality.

Q. I know you were talking about LeBron, Kobe, Jordan. That's an argument you and Chris have?
ZACK BAUN: I don't like to argue with Chris because he won't let you win.

Q. He's Team LeBron?
ZACK BAUN: He's team LeBron all the way.

Q. You're team what?
ZACK BAUN: I don't know. I think it's a different era.

Q. He just likes to argue?
ZACK BAUN: He loves to argue about anything. He has the strongest opinions of anyone I know.

Q. What are some of the other things you argue on?
ZACK BAUN: Off the top of my head, it's mostly about sports, about players.

Q. Does he drop the hottest takes?
ZACK BAUN: Hottest takes, he's never wrong.

Q. Would you be surprised if one day he was sitting on "First Take" with Steven A. going back and forth with him?
ZACK BAUN: No, I would not be surprised. He can really talk. And he has strong opinions and he sticks to them.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
ZACK BAUN: We've been preparing for these guys for a long time now. It kind of gets stale look at the same team, but you've got to keep your team focus. The best part about the bowl game is the game. Excited to get after that.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
ZACK BAUN: I mean, historically Wisconsin has done pretty well in this game, and it's a big game for us. And I know our fans always travel well. So it's a big opportunity and there's a lot of hype around this game. And just ready to get after it and finish the season off right.

Q. Their offensive line is pretty close. You guys are pretty close, too. In your opinion, what's the X factor?
ZACK BAUN: I think winning the line of scrimmage. They play a physical brand of football and so do we. So whoever gets pushed on that line is going to most likely be the victor.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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