|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 11, 2020K'Lavon ChaissonNew Orleans, Louisiana K'LAVON CHAISSON: I'm grateful for it. It's one of the things that I felt like everyone told me just be patient, it's going to come, just stay with the course of God and pray to him on a consistent basis and it was staying up on his word. I wouldn't say it was anything that I expected but it's something that I didn't think that was going to happen. My thing was just being patient and just letting it come. Q. (Inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I just feel like working with Coach O and Coach Johnson, the addition of Coach Johnson, just the staff that we have, I mean I know throughout the season many of the games I was getting close to getting my sacks, getting the QB pressures on one end. I was just missing that one key ingredient. And every day, after every game, the Sunday and following Monday, we found ways to get things clicking and make things even quicker and find ways to get to the quarterback even better. That's what I've been working on all year. Q. What was that one ingredient? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It might be my rush angle. Sometimes I take an angle rushing too far up field and get ran by the quarterback. And I probably don't use enough power when I'm going against opponents. But this has all been about changing my angles, making it a game of chess, not checkers, and not trying to win on the first (indiscernible). It's a mind game. I would say Coach Johnson and Coach O and the GA assistants, that's been working with them helping me a lot, putting the game film on the iPads and helping me figure it out. Q. What's it like having (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's special. Somebody with that talent, it was a true addition to the defense and that's going to play right away. And it's going to draw a lot of attention. Even if I get a lot of attention and chip blocks that means you're going to leave him open. And I'm 100 percent he'll win this one-on-one battle. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: He's young perfectionist. He's America's sweetheart. He's a great quarterback, man, from his freshman year he was playing great, sophomore year he was playing great. And to play a National Championship, I think both these years, that's something special. We know another quarterback that did that. But like I said, that's special. Like I said, he's young, so every day and every week he's learning something new and he's only going to get better. So that's the great thing about him. It's going to be a great thing to go against him. It's going to be the challenge that we're up to. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Exactly. Coach O tells us that every week, we're a ascending team, and he says that all the time. I mean it's true. We haven't played our best ball yet and it's something that's going to continue to go. And honestly I feel even after this game we have better ball to play, even if this is our last game. I feel like this defense can get better. The talent we have on the defense, many people know from two great corners, award-winning safety, a great front seven, I think this defense can only get better. There's no way we that can go down. Q. (Question about the offense)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel they're great in a majority aspects of their aspects on offense, from receivers to running back, a great running back to a great quarterback. I mean you have a great combination of all three. And that's special. From I think each aspect of their offense is a top 10 player in the collegiate game. So like I said, two great receivers, a great running back and a great young quarterback, that's special to have. Not many teams have that. Q. (Question about practice)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: A lot. We've been going against it all year. But it's kind of different as far as like you know your offense, you know the personnel, the type of receivers you're going against and the type of offensive line you're going against. It's only so much you can get from film, but you've got to get it while you're planning. And that's something we'll have to get when we play Monday. Q. (Question about pressure)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Extremely important. I think statistics showed he wasn't too great under pressure. So we're going to start it off hopefully just keep it the front four and we'll try to generate pressure there. If not we'll bring it through other ways. That's one of the majority things is getting pressure on him, make him uncomfortable in the pocket, enough QB hits, QB pressure, and it's going to be a long night for him. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: At first, before I watched the last game I thought he was just a pocket-passing quarterback. He has a great arm who can hit whole shots very well. But he has a leg on him, he can make plays with his leg. That was pretty amazing, seeing, like I said, with the youngness in him, and also he tries to make plays with his legs. But it's not only about scrambling with him, he's still looking down field to make a pass. He's a playmaker and that's something we have to take into account when we go against him. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't think they have one specific biggest threat. Like I said, all receivers great, running back is great, quarterback is great. It's something we've got to take -- when your quarterback is a dual threat that makes it a little more difficult when he has the ability to run the ball. So we just have to play close attention to that when we're playing. Q. Mentioned earlier this is the last time this team (indiscernible), this is the last game. Thoughts about that and (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Something like that. I mean, I don't think it hasn't clicked with me until it actually happens. But for some reason it feels like we've got another game left. Like, this season just goes on and on; it's been a long season. But I guess it's the right way you want to end your season. I mean hopefully Monday night we end it in the special way, the way that will always be remembered. But it's something that it was special throughout the year and I'm glad we had the chance to go through it. Q. Tell me about the chemistry within the team and what you'll remember about the season once it's completed. K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think we're all close. You can tell by the receiving corps, how they play and jinx with each other and play with each other. And the defense, we're super close, how we all get along. And I feel it's more like we're confident with each other. So our play and our talk and how we interact on off the field only makes the on-field play even better. But the team chemistry is amazing. Q. Is there a particular memory from this season that you can, through the years can tack on and be so happy about, stick out to you? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I'm not really sure right now. I'm not even going to sugarcoat anything. I'm not really sure. I think I'll have to wait 50 years to figure it out. I think it's going to be a lot of memories from this team, just being special. Probably can't think of it now because time hasn't went by enough for me to think about it. But I'm sure it will be many. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: That's just what it is. Coach O preaches it a lot. We all know what it is as a team. It's not going to make this game bigger than what it is. Of course it's a National Championship game. But at the end of the day the game -- the guys got to play the same quarters as the other games. Everybody has to wear pants. Everybody has to wear an helmet. It's the same, just a different title. The minute you make it bigger than what it is, that's when things get out of hand. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Not really sure right now. I don't know. My spin move has been on elite lately. I think that's probably been my most athletic thing so far right now. Q. (Indiscernible) offense has been looking great. What about the team -- what qualities (inaudible) those Xs and Os? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like this team, we're never complacent. Every day, speaking from a defensive side -- I'm with them so much, we're always trying to find something to get better at. We never content with anything that's gone on. Even after we have a great game there's always something. You can see after the last game we just played, we still kind of frustrated with ourselves that we gave up that many points, stuff we shouldn't have allowed. No matter if it's 1s or 2s in, we've been gelling with each other too long to let make mistakes. Even though it's a game, mistakes will happen, it's something we don't want to happen. We want a perfect defensive game the whole year. Q. The replay (indiscernible), you were on the sideline talking to the players around, not making mistakes, not getting any problems or causing penalties, that kind of thing. You guys try to eliminate? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Right. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yes, of course. It's always, Coach O tells us, ongoing skill development. Each week we're trying to get better. You can never be good enough. You can always find something to improve on. And that's what the defense is always trying to find. Every day that we see each other, we might tell each other something we see on film. I might tell the DBs something -- even though I know nothing about being a DB, I might say, hey, you might want to fix this or that. That's what it is. I feel my job in the front four we can generate enough pressure we really don't need DBs. They can just chill and they won't worry about any pressure on their end. But like I said, it's always something we can find to improve in and that's what we've been focusing on all year. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Not as bad. We were out in that line, it was kind of difficult because we were out a whole week. It messes up the game schedule because we usually fly out on a Friday or whatever day we fly out and you play the next day. When you've been out there a whole week, you kind of -- I don't want to say you lose focus of what you're out there for, but it stems down the competitiveness and the way you're ready to get ready for the game. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think it is a good one. I'm glad the school gets to come out and watch us and support us as much as possible. Q. Talk about the (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Since day one I stepped on the campus, Coach O has been a player's coach, and I appreciated that most about him the most. Everything he does is about us. Even with practices, if he feels practices are getting too rough or exhausting on the body he'll lighten them down, either shorten the time on the clock or probably make practice helmet and shoulder pads, whatever the case may be. And he's always player-driven, and that's what I love about him so much. And he knows in the college level that this is an exhausting game and many people and other players who want to go to the next level, this is a regular season. This is not including the playoffs. This is going to be exhausting all along, the whole way through. And he knows that mentally and physically it can take a toll. But he's always thinking about us and that's the main thing of him. Q. (Inaudible) dug up a stat. He's third on passing percentage among guys who carry what emphasis on taking away the quarterback run and what you might (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think it's more -- I think I'm emphasizing, especially me, it's basically going to be all about me and controlling that. He's a very, I'd say, a slippery and a deceptive quarterback. He has some speed on him that I saw on him last game that I didn't think he had. And it's something that people don't be aware of when you see him because he's got such a great arm and he's such a great passer and you forget the fact that he can run and make plays with his legs. That's going to be the emphasis Monday for me and just making sure he doesn't make any plays with his legs. And once I stop that, I kind of make it easy on the defense without making any adjustments on the sideline. Q. How does that impact, like, when you're rushing, let's say he rides and he's waiting, does it take away any of (indiscernible) to make sure you don't close down too fast? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Most definitely. Most definitely. I'm not going to say it takes away any aggressiveness. But it's on your mind. When you are rushing, it's kind of not like the same rush plan I'll do against someone else because he doesn't really drive that deep or in that case he doesn't sit in the pocket. If he finds a lane he's going to try to take the lane and still look down field, not necessarily just on his legs. But it's a conscious that he can run the ball. It kind of takes away a little of the pass rush, not saying that you can get away with any pass rush moves. It's a focus that I'm going to have to focus on a lot during the game, and hopefully it doesn't go his way. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's not a focus, it's the stats, say the stats. Q. (Question about offense and the leads and big points), how do you maintain your focus (indiscernible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I could tell you this from being my freshman year here, that defense wasn't on the field as much. It was a lot of three-and-outs. Defense, let me say, we were on the field a lot. Now going from the offense scoring extremely fast and we're back on field again. It's kind of like the edge doesn't go away, but it kind of makes the coaching adjustments, the time period very short. So you have to get it all in while you can. It's a great problem to have, you can say that. Sometimes you have to tell the offense to slow down so we can fix some things on the sideline. It's a great problem to have and I'm glad we have that going. Q. (Inaudible) for a couple of days? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Just staying focused and paying attention throughout the game. Just you can probably -- they'll maybe run the ball a lot and then try to hit a deep shot or whatever the case. They're great in all three aspects of the offense from running back to quarterback to receiver. So it's something that you always gotta pay attention to; you can't leave no one unaccounted for. It's what we'll be focusing on all game. Q. How do you make that next step (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Just mental preparation. Coach O tells us every week, ongoing skill development. We focus one week at a time. We never looked here when we were on week one with Georgia Southern. It was always one week at a time, focusing on improving and getting better. It was something we were up to. We knew we had the talent for it. We knew we had the offense for and the defense for it. And it was something we just had to put together and make everything click. Q. What's different about Trevor Lawrence as a quarterback and facing -- K'LAVON CHAISSON: I wouldn't say he's too different. He's similar to a previous quarterback we played. But he has a great arm. He has the ability to make plays with his legs. And that's something you've got to always account for. Q. Pass downfield, (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I'm 100 percent sure I'm faster than him. I can say that (laughter). He does have some deceptive speed, he can get away from a lot of defenders. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I believe that statistics say, and I've watched a couple of films, that he can't really, he's not his best under pressure. Whenever teams are kind of pressuring him it's not the game that he wants to play. That's something we're going to be trying to emphasize a lot, maybe, start with the four-man front. Once we get enough pressure with that if it's not there we'll find ways to change it up. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't know. I wouldn't kind of describe him as Joe. Those are two different quarterbacks. Q. (Indiscernible) -- what's it like for a player, (indiscernible) the X and Os and the relationship with the guys -- K'LAVON CHAISSON: What you see is what you get. So whoever Coach O shows you in the media, that's exactly who the guy is. He's so energetic and player-driven. And he's just passionate about his job. And I'm happy for him. You think about his career of coaching, this is something well deserved. I couldn't be more excited for him. It's just something that he puts his all into, and I watch him every day when he comes in. And sometimes I come in the facility and I get extra work and I see his truck there, 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning, just putting in work. He always wants to find ways to get better. You see every day or every year he's trying to bring in a new member to help this team more, and he's doing a great job at it. Q. (Question off mic) is that a fair assessment? K'LAVON CHAISSON: That's one of the biggest things he focuses on. Like I spoke before, one of the things he knows that this is a long season. And this thing can get mentally and physically tough on you and it can take a toll. That's something he focuses on. He knows not everybody is in the best situation outside of football; you never know what anyone is going through. And he always asks how are things at home. And the majority of the guys on the team he's recruited. He knows about your family members. He brings up recruiting situations all the time just to remind you that, man, he's grateful to have us. And he's thankful, he tells every player as much as he can, I know he tells me, he's thankful for me. He wouldn't trade anything for the world. And he's, like I said, he's a player-oriented guy and I'm thankful for him. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Play our ball. Coach Aranda will dial it up the right way. We trust in his game plan 100 percent. I feel we'll have great success on the defense. I know specifically the front seven, we figured out a game plan to stop the run and hold the quarterback from making a lot of plays with his legs. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Great, it's a lot of things you can't do with both of us on the field. You can't slide a certain way. You can't chip only one person. Like I told someone before, I'm 100 percent that Michael Divinity will win his one-on-one battles. I don't find anyone in the country that can block him. I'm not speaking just because of teammates, but I watched the work he do, even the time period he was off. I was speaking to him he was telling me how he was getting his work in, doing all that. And I'm 100 percent sure that I feel like no one can block him and he's ready to roll for this game. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: 100 percent. That's a big boy. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: We play a system where the defensive line gets overlooked. They kind of hold blocks up for the linebackers to come free. But the front three, front four, including myself, has been amazing all year. I'm just watching them play and sacrifice their bodies and their statistics to make sure the defense go well. And they do a great job. You see Patrick Queen making place and Jacob Phillips making plays, that's the front three from Rashard to Glen Logan to Tyler Shelvin, they're making it happen. And I'm so grateful for them. And they get exhausted by it. They don't like it too much but they love helping the team win. They'll sacrifice all that. I'm happy for them. And I feel like if they don't get enough credit, I make sure I put enough to shine the spotlight on them. That's myself. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Loose, the same we practiced for Georgia Southern, the same way we practiced for Alabama and Auburn. Nothing's changing. Just a different team we're playing, different game plan. That's really it. We all know what's at stake. But we keep that in the back of our mind, at the same time it's a regular game; don't make it too big than what it is and don't make it too small. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't know how to explain that. I mean, I don't know. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I'm sure it will mean a lot to them. I'm not from the state of Louisiana. I can't really speak for all of them. But I'm sure it will mean a lot to the state of Louisiana. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's just great all around in my eyes. Great running back, great receivers, great quarterback. It's something you've got to take into account for. You can't leave anybody unaccounted for. It's just something, every aspect of offense has to be looked at. And the quarterback can make plays with his legs, so that kind of brings a little double trouble from them as well. But we have a game plan that will stop all that. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Something like that. Q. Who is Trevor most like (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think you can kind of compare him to Tua. When I say that, as far as a great arm and who can make plays with his legs. And he always finds a way to make a play. And that's something that's special about him. And the thing that makes Trevor more special, he's young, true sophomore. He's getting it done. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's a regular week. We haven't really changed anything. We practiced the same. We do everything the same. It's just a regular week for us. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Just doing our job. Just being focused. That's it. Throughout the game, just play hard. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't really have any concerns. Just feel like we have to do our job. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I play college football for LSU. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: 100 percent. We have great players at every level of the defense, from corners to safeties to the front seven. When you have two lock-down corners, when you have award-winning safety and you have the very versatile Jacoby Stevens, it's hard to make something happen when you have playmakers everywhere. Once we're clicking it's hard to get through us. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think I mentioned Tua as far as -- I know he wasn't 100 percent when he played us, I believe. But it was something that he can make plays with his legs. He's not -- he's not a very, I'm going to say a lock-down, one-dimensional quarterback. He can make plays with his leg. And he has a great arm. And that's something Trevor does as well; he can make plays with his legs and he has a great arm. Q. (Indiscernible) are you having to stop more often you go one person -- K'LAVON CHAISSON: We kind of been doing that during the season. Q. How tough do you think you guys (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think that it will be challenging. I mean, feel like it would be a back and forth battle. It's a great offense. You've got award-winning players on both sides of the ball. It's something we have to be aware of. We can just play hard. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I wouldn't say I have any concerns, but, like I said, I've been speaking on they're great on all aspects of the offense from having a great receiving corps to great running back to great quarterback. Everybody has to be accounted for. You can't leave anybody unaccounted. Q. Did you know Burrow had that basketball skill in him. I've never seen that. Did you know he had it in him? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Yeah, we saw that. He spoke about it back then. We didn't believe it, I'll say that. But we saw highlight videos of him, and we were like, okay, you've got a little something-something. Q. How is the experience? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Once-in-a-lifetime experience. Glad we have the chance to go through it. It's a good thing to have. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Both winners, win or lose you both have to go home. All jokes aside, for us, man, I think as far as the state of Louisiana, dealing with our professional team that went through the devastating loss, I feel like everybody's depending on us. And the pressure just got even better, even harder. So it's something that we want. It's a good problem to have. We're playing in our own state and our backyard. It's really a home game for us. And everybody knows how loud the dome can get at times. It's going to be a great moment. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Everybody wants to see people score points. That's what the game is about -- who can score the most points. That's two great offenses; that's what it is. You can't really deny anything. It's just something that the defense, we've got to be aware of when we go into this game. We can't have our hands down. Our guard is always up. Q. What are the keys to success? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Play hard the whole game. Big plays are going to happen. Don't let it get to you. Don't let anything frustrate you or throw you off your game. Don't make any one-on-one personal battles with anybody across the line of scrimmage. Play hard for your team and everything will come out in our favor. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It would be very special. I can't really give you full details because I'm not from Louisiana, but I see how passionate a bunch of Louisiana players are and the fans are and about the program and about the state. It's something that's well deserved and it's something that they need. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's a regular game for us. It's something that you come to when you play for this program. It's something that you expect. And I mean we're excited and it's something that that's what you want to be a part of. Q. One game that stands out in your mind (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Probably not. Besides the Ole Miss game, it kind of got a little frustrating as far as didn't have an answer for a specific player. But other than that there wasn't any other game more challenging. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Definitely hit us hard. Even after that game we was in the locker room as a defense and we were totally upset and frustrated. We made them stop the music. We were all just -- we were just all in distraught. And Coach O had to remind us, man, we won the game. That's the overall goal of the game is to win. No matter how many points you win can be by, one or 30, you won the game. That's something that we had to take in effect, but we knew as defense we go through another game like that, offense can't save us like that every game. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: A dual threat quarterback is always a challenge. That's something you have to be aware of. It's something that's very unique in today's game. And you can't leave him unaccounted for. You can't think he's only one dimensional. Quarterbacks like that always give a defensive coordinator problems because instead of accounting for just 10, you gotta account for all 11 on offense. That's what we have to be aware of while we're playing. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Me and Jake haven't really talked about it. He's more so don't put so much pressure on it, relax, it's a normal game. The only thing about it is it's just the title of it and the outcome. He's been -- I can say that from the times that we've spoken he's very, just, like, play your game, don't make anything too big, don't make any personal one-on-one battles with anybody. So that's the focus and everybody's (inaudible) for him and I'll take it for Monday. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think the best running back we are going to face this year. I've been watching film on him. He's elite. And I've been watching him -- and maybe I've been giving him too much credit for what it was. It started off with me not really giving him credit. Let me say that. And actually watching film on him, he's been amazing just watching. He'll hit holes so fast and his acceleration is outstanding. Q. (Question about wideouts)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I've been hearing so much about the wideouts and the quarterback that I wasn't giving him too much credit or focus. But I watched film on him. He's amazing. He can hit holes and get zero to a hundred quick. And he finds ways to make defenders miss and he makes the play. Q. (Indiscernible) how does that change the dynamics? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It changes a lot. I mean especially as the offense going against us. You can't slide one way. You can't chip one way. If you do that all towards me, Divinity will win his one-on-one battles. And his body is fresh, fresh as possible, so he can go all game long with no problem. Q. You want him to go all game? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Of course. Q. Talk about the difficulty of the linebacker. (Inaudible) see the difference and just walk through some of those gifts and things -- K'LAVON CHAISSON: The crazy thing -- we were literally talking about this at practice, me and Patrick Queen -- we were saying how people try to tackle Clyde, everybody want to stop your feet. You stop your feet it's over with. No way you're tackling Clyde. You want to tackle Clyde, you just gotta take a shot and you'll still probably seven times out of 10 is going to miss that shot. So just, man, just trying to tackle him is like trying to catch a mouse. It's something that ain't really going to happen too often. That's a special player. We all see it. It's not a surprise. We're lucky to have him. We kind of find him on the low when everybody didn't want him. I mean this is a special place. It's the perfect place for him to be and he's helping his team out so much. Q. How different is it for the team's cover and attack (indiscernible) you see things (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: We haven't went against a running back that's that shifty, or that small and elusive all year. I don't think we're ever going to find a running back like that, as far as, like, he always find a way to make a play and his size doesn't mean anything. We've seen him run over guys as well. I feel he's a complete running back overall. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: One game. Give it all you got. One game, 60 minutes. That's the goal. It's bigger than us, for the state of Louisiana for all the past alums that went through LSU. It's something we knew that comes with the program, and it's something that you just had to be aware of. And we're thankful to be in this situation. And come Monday we'll give everything we've got. Q. When you're in the game Monday, how do you (inaudible) National Championship and try (inaudible)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't think there's no way I can do that. When you see that, like I said, we're in our own backyard. We're in the dome, so every noise is captured inside. It's not going anywhere. You're going to see purple and gold. I would say about time the second series hit it's going to be settled down. But I know throughout that first series and before pregame it's going to be on my mind, man, we're playing in the National Championship. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: It's -- a dual-threat quarterback is always a challenge. Always a defensive coordinator problem. Usually something you only have to count for 10 people, 11 on 10 when you're playing defense. Now it's really 11 on 11 -- actually, it's probably 12 on 11 to make things even harder. It's just something you have to be aware of it and you can't put too much emphasis on it and focus only on the running game because his arm is lethal as well. It's something we have in the back of our mind and we're aware of. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I don't think we went against an offense as dynamic as them, as far as, when I say this, we went against Alabama, who had a great quarterback and great receivers and I'd say a decent running back, not really to the best. But I feel this offense we're going against is a great quarterback, great receivers and above-average, not great running back as well. So with all their aspects, you can't leave anything unaccountable. Got to pay attention to everything. Q. With the layoff between the bowl to now, does it affect the preparation? K'LAVON CHAISSON: No, not at all. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I watched him play. He's very fast. And I watch him hit zero to 100, his acceleration is amazing. And he can hit a hole, and once he hit a hole and he gets a little separation there's no catching up to him. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Not at all. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I think it means about great character on and off the field, leadership characteristics. I think it's more about the individual you are. It's not so much about the game play or anything. You have to have some decent game play as well. I'm just blessed to get the number 18 here. I told people before, it was never my goal here to get 18. How I got this was because I was being myself. I never tried to (indiscernible) or show anything I wasn't. So to show that I was recognized and I was given credit for this is very special. But like I said, without the number or not, I was always going to be this way and be the most humble guy as possible, most respectful guy as possible. It's just the way I was raised. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I was shocked. I was shocked. Not because I didn't feel I deserved it, but just coming off the injury and just feeling like there were many other guys on this team that deserved it as far as the characteristic they displayed. In my eyes I feel either Rashard Lawrence or Blake Ferguson. I mean, they truly showed true leadership no matter how tough the situation got. And especially Blake Ferguson, he's a great guy on and off the field, from the classrooms, to dealing with community service and helping us on the field. Even though he does specifically one job. But he makes sure he gives his input and he helps and encourages us as much as possible. I feel that was the most deserving player of the team. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Hopefully it's in a good way. It might be a way you might have to slow him down a little bit. Might have to slow him down. We were practicing this weekend, I think, was it, I believe, the Monday practice that we have. I mean, he was jumping offsides and getting a little anxious. But we had to tell him, like, Mike, relax. This is just still a normal game. But fresh body Mike, he'll have a lot to give this game. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Especially one of the biggest games of his career. So it can be that way. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Number one is healthiness. I spoke about it before with someone, when all 11 on the defensive starters are fully healthy everything clicks in motion. But when you have a reserve in for someone, then you start thinking maybe -- let's say if it's a reserve defensive lineman you start thinking, man, I need to do my job and I need to do a little bit of his job because he probably don't know what to do or how to do it as well as the number one did. Then you start doing more of his job and less of his job, and that's where things get out of hand and everybody want to do everybody else's job. When you have full confidence because there's cohesiveness and the starting 11 is all together, everything clicking, it's jam and jelly tight. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: No, not really. Like you said, I wasn't really paying attention before. I watched them when he played in these games. He played in, what, two of these already, or one? Two? He's a sophomore true sophomore this year. So, yeah, I watched him obviously when he played in this last year. But it's not really too much that I've been trying to focus on too much with him. Just like the other quarterbacks that have a great arm. He can make plays with his legs. That's what it is. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Fresh body. He can go all game. The consistency he'll bring to the defense will be amazing. It's just something that teams not used to seeing. Like I said before, if someone tried to slide my way or this team wants to chip, that's going to leave Mike one-on-one, and I believe nine times out of 10, 10 times out of 10 he'll win the one-on-one battles. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Not at all. It would show that the true faithfulness and that he believes in his team and he just wants to be around his brother no matter what, no matter what the outcome of the game was. He fully trusts us and loves us to his full ability. Q. Teammates said they expect it to be 14-0, you expected to play Monday night. Would you explain that mentality dating back to the beginning of the year? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like every team expects that when you start off the season, but we truly really believed in it. It was something that we knew the time of offense we have. We knew the playmakers we have on defense. And we knew that going into this and this tough schedule we have (indiscernible) these games. And that I feel like we played some of the best teams already in conference and in the collegiate game of football. And it's only going to get even better now. Q. (Inaudible) what's the mood going into this game? K'LAVON CHAISSON: We're relaxed. We just play. That's all we do. I promise you no one on this team has been focused on anything big or anything smaller. It's how we all worry about, the game. It's just a normal game. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like we have the Heisman Trophy winner on our team. And he plays and we practice against him every day. Q. What have you all done to prepare for this game on defense. K'LAVON CHAISSON: Everything that we can. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I feel like just knowing that they're great in all aspects of their offense, from running back to receivers to quarterback. It's something that we haven't seen all season. So just having the ability to account for everybody on the offense and not leave anyone unaccounted for, I think that's something that's special on their offense. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: I guess I didn't really pay attention to that. I'm not 100 percent sure. If that's the case, then, yeah, that's right. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: Every week we're ascending, we're getting better. But it's all about the healthiness. Everybody's getting healthy. We still have guys that's not 100 percent healthy. But I'm telling you once everybody gets 100 percent healthy -- and you have playmakers on defense, some award-winning players, top five players in each position, that's something amazing. And I feel once everybody gets healthy and the cohesiveness is clicking, it's going to be amazing and fun to see Monday. Q. (Question off mic)? K'LAVON CHAISSON: We're a more level-headed team. Big plays are going to happen. Don't get frustrated. Just stay level headed, play your game. Don't make it bigger than what it is; don't make it smaller than what it is. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|