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CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPJanuary 11, 2020Grant DelpitNew Orleans, Louisiana Q. Obviously this is a huge one coming up on Monday. What's the thing about Clemson's offense you've noticed? GRANT DELPIT: You know, probably just explosive running backs, the size of their receivers, and, you know, they got a prototypical pro quarterback. So they really got it all on offense, and great defense behind that as well. They're a great team. Q. What is the main thing you guys are going to want to try to stop? GRANT DELPIT: First thing we want to focus on is to stop the run. Stop the run, make them one dimensional, and hopefully if we do that, play is in our hands. Q. Three games now you guys are playing best defense of the year. Just talk about some of the things you had to do to get to where you are now? GRANT DELPIT: I think we finished a lot of the games. Oklahoma they still put up 28 points, but we had them at 14 halftime, and it's an explosive offense. I think played pretty good. And the offense put up 63 points behind that, so I think we're tough to beat when we can do that. Q. What about Trevor at quarterback really impresses you? GRANT DELPIT: Just his arm strength. He can throw the ball 80 yards down field accurate. So he's a great quarterback. Big, long. Like I said prototypical pro guy. He makes a lot of good decisions, and hopefully we can get some pressure on him and try to rattle them a little bit. Q. One of your teammates just asked for your autograph. You going to give it to him? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. I got him when we get back to the hotel. Q. How you feeling? GRANT DELPIT: I'm feeling good. Feeling healthy. Q. When did you start feeling... GRANT DELPIT: Probably not until couple weeks ago. Still not completely normal. Better than it was. Ankles tend to linger. I'm feeling good. That's all that matters. Q. Have you ever dealt with anything like that? GRANT DELPIT: Nah. I'm really never hurt. Yeah, nah. I had a broken collarbone in the spring game my sophomore year, but I'm really never hurt. It was something different for me, a little experience to get through. Q. Is Clemson, watching their film look any team(indiscernible). GRANT DELPIT: I don't think so. They run a real pro offense. They're ever in a situation, they get the playmakers the ball. Trevor Lawrence, he's prototypical quarterback, so try to make the offense around him. Etienne in the backfield. I don't think it's similar to anybody. Q. How much does it help you guys to prep from Clemson in the fact that you faced your offense all year long in practice? GRANT DELPIT: Our offense is pretty explosive, probably the best offense in the country you ask me. To go against them, against receivers like Jamar, Terrance every practice is helping us a lot. These are two completely different offenses, but two great quarterbacks in Joe and Trevor, so it's going to be a good game. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, K'Lavon does his job. Sometime his job is just to set the edge and make the run, go back the other way. Past couple games he's been getting loose and getting after the quarterback. That's what he does best. Q. (Regarding Fiesta Bowl.) GRANT DELPIT: You know, like I said, they can do everything. Trevor Lawrence had a 70-something yard run, and I think people don't give them credit enough for his running ability. And Travis Etienne, he is a threat out of the backfield receiving and rushing. So it's two great guys, two great players on a team full of them. Q. In your opinion how much does experience factor into this game? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah. I don't know. I feel like we've played on some big stages. I feel like once the ball is snapped it's going to turn into a regular football game for us. Of course they've been here before and we haven't. I guess that plays in their hands a little bit. But, no, we haven't lost a game this year and we're in a hot streak. I think I got all the confidence in us. Q. Is there one asset of their offense, one player, that stands out to you as a bigger challenge than others? GRANT DELPIT: I don't know if I can pick one player. Of course the quarterback, but I don't know I can pick one player. They remind me of us, our offense. They have a lot -- Travis Etienne and Clyde, they play similar. Their receivers are big time playmakers, our receivers are big time playmakers. I don't think I could pick one guy. Q. Describe this journey and what this year has been like coming to this point. GRANT DELPIT: It's been crazy. I don't think a lot of people expected us to be here. People might've expected Clemson to be here, so it's a little bit of a different story for us. It's been crazy. We haven't been here before, like I said, and just us getting here, we got to take every moment for granted because it doesn't happen often. Q. Is there a moment in the season where you all of a sudden were like, all right, this has the opportunity to be something special? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah, definitely. It's in the back of our mind every year when we play Bama, that we got to beat them to get here. When we did that, we knew that we couldn't stumble after that, slip up. So when we did that, it was our sights were set on this, so it was right probably after that game. Q. Go back to last year when Joe Burrow showed up. Haven't quite told me the story (indiscernible). GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Yeah. Q. At that moment, when did you know you had your quarterback? GRANT DELPIT: I knew I had a competitor. Like I said, in sprints he was always the first one right when he got here. We had a competitor in Joe. That's what he is. Even play ping pong yesterday he was trying to compete with me. He won by one point on some crazy stuff. He got me on that one but he's always a competitor in everything. That's what you need in a quarterback. Q. Coming into this game, you go against some of the best wideouts in college football. How much does that help you get ready for a game like this? GRANT DELPIT: Helps us a lot, especially our corners. These guys tend to play outside a lot. They got Amari Rodgers in the slot, who is also a great receiver. Just going against our guys in practice helps us prepare for those guys. Them guys are pretty tall. They're monsters on the outside. So we got to get ready for that. Ready for big, physical receivers, and we do that we'll be all right. Q. Two out of three in ping pong or no? GRANT DELPIT: Man, we played one game. Q. When did you see in practice this was a different offense? GRANT DELPIT: When did I see? Q. Yeah. GRANT DELPIT: Probably in camp. They were putting up a lot of points and numbers on us in scrimmages and stuff like that. They were throwing the ball around, putting touchdowns up. We thought there was something wrong with us on the defensive side, but they were just that good. That's probably when I really realized that our offense was special. Q. You and Christian are veterans. (Indiscernible.) What was your first impression of him? GRANT DELPIT: My first impression when I first saw him just his body type. He's a big-built guy for a freshman. Just seeing him on the field during spring football when he came early and then at camp that semester after that, it was pretty special to see just him, the maturity level he is right now. It's crazy. You wouldn't even know he's a freshman. He's got three years at the least left. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: I seen on tape. You know, he's big guy but he can move, put a move on you, open field. Ohio State had a hard time in that one run trying to get him down. Definitely can run the ball and people don't give him enough credit for that. Q. (Regarding pre-season rankings.) GRANT DELPIT: I don't even remember what the pre-season ranking was. Q. 6. GRANT DELPIT: 6? Yeah. That was pretty generous, because the year before that they didn't have us anywhere near close to that. Just being here is a blessing. Yeah, like I said, not a lot of people expected us to be here. I did. I have all the confidence in my guys and my team. I think the people in our building was the only people really thought we were going to get here, but we did. So proud of us so far. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I like that. Gives our body time it heal for the most important game of pretty much our lives. So, yeah, I definitely like that little break. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, definitely. We were trying to lobby for that, for our students, so that they can come down here and have a good time, so now we just got to win. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, just like big, tall guys. Deep threats, too. Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross on the outside, Amari Rodgers on the inside, he's a quick, twitchy guys. Those guys are all great receivers, and our receivers helped us prepare for them. Q. (Regarding Travis Etienne.) GRANT DELPIT: He plays a lot like Clyde. They both threats receiving and rushing. Both from Louisiana, too, so that says something about that. But two great players. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: You know, I love to be around the ball, but I'll play whatever coach wants me to play. In the middle of the field, that's where I play. We got guys like JaCoby play around the ball a lot. That's what he's good at. I can do it all; he can do it all. Whatever Coach Aranda wants us to do, that's what we're going to do. Q. You always see the videos that your department sends out, right? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah. Q. Do you have to lobby them at this point to get face time? You're front and center in that thing. Are players going to that department and saying, You need to put me in these hype videos because the numbers they're getting on social are crazy? GRANT DELPIT: Man, it's crazy. I think probably like 100 some K, six million views on that one video so far. Our guy does his thing, Will Stout, the video. He's a guru. He does his thing. Shout out to him. He's the GOAT at that. Q. Are you mad that he put you there just backpedaling? GRANT DELPIT: No, I'm not. As long as I'm in that thing I don't care. Get my camera time. Q. I'm going to ask you some tough questions. This is called Tiger, Tiger, Tiger. You guys are Tigers, Clemson is Tigers. You familiar with Frosted Flakes? Their mascot is a Tiger. Give you five facts, you tell me which Tiger it is. Here we go. This Tiger recently got a bowl game name after him; pretty sure that bowl game was on ESPN. GRANT DELPIT: Frosted Flakes? Q. Yeah. GRANT DELPIT: What bowl game was that? Q. I think this was the Frosted Flakes Bowl game or something like that. GRANT DELPIT: I didn't hear about that one. Q. Has graced the cover of GQ? GRANT DELPIT: Mike the Tiger? Q. He probably made an appearance, but Tony the Tiger was on the cover. This Tiger has a daughter named Antoinette. GRANT DELPIT: I ain't gonna lie, I don't know what Tiger that is. Q. Tony the Tiger got a whole family, Grant. In 1974, this Tiger was named Tiger of the year? GRANT DELPIT: Has anybody got these questions right? Q. Actually, yes. Travis Etienne went five for five. GRANT DELPIT: He must have had the answers before that. I don't know. Is it all Tony the Tiger? Q. Might be. Last one. Last one. Before being picked as the mascot, this Tiger was almost replaced by a kangaroo? GRANT DELPIT: Man, Kangaroo Jack? Tony the Tiger. I don't know. Q. How much have you thought about this being the last game of the season, and maybe the last time... GRANT DELPIT: You know, I've thought about it a lot. I haven't officially made a decision yet, but I'm going to play like it is and just put my heart on the line for LSU and these Tigers, so it's going to be a crazy experience. It's a national championship game, sow e put it all on the line. Shouldn't have nothing left in the tank after we finish this game, so it's going to be a good experience. Q. You guys seem to like each other as a team. GRANT DELPIT: A little bit. Q. What is it about you guys that brings you together? GRANT DELPIT: I don't know. I feel like I can go to anybody on the team with anything at all times. I want to reciprocate that, and those guys want to come to me with anything at all times, they can do that. I think we have that gelling as a team. That's when teams are successful. I think we showed that a little bit. I think that's part of the reason why. Q. Is there a player on defense that doesn't get enough credit? GRANT DELPIT: That doesn't get enough credit? No, our linebackers do a great job. Patrick Queen and Jacob Phillips, those guys in the middle, they get a little recognition. But guys like K'Lavon do his job, I mean, he's a edge rusher, but most of the time he's trying to set the edge for linebackers to make plays. Last couple weeks he's been getting a lot of plays come his way. Kind of let him loose a little bit. He's doing a great job, so I'm glad he's getting a lot of recognition. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if it would surprise me. I feel like I've seen him run before. That long run definitely was special. That was 70-something yards, so just seeing that, seeing how big he is and how he can move like that, that's prototypical, so he'll probably be the first pick in the draft next year. To see him do that, it's not surprising, but it is special. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Okay. Q. Do you remember when you were little before you moved to Houston, what sort of childhood memories do you have just being here? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, you know, I was born and raised in New Orleans East. I moved after Katrina. Katrina hit and we went to Memphis. We came back and there was nothing. We ain't had really flood insurance or anything like that, so it was tough just moving. I had a lot of childhood memories, childhood friends that I don't talk to anymore just from the move and stuff like that, so it was pretty sad. I wish I could have stayed, but Texas was good. Q. I guess when you said you didn't want to move, was that kind of heartbreaking? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Q. When you saw the devastation that happened? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. I don't really think that I took it -- I was only seven, so I was probably pretty sad. I probably didn't know what was going on, to be honest. Just like saying, you know, not seeing my friends again, stuff like that. But that's something a lot of people had to go through; I wasn't the only one. It was pretty tough. Q. How excited is I guess the family seeing how this is all culminating, you coming back to New Orleans, playing for a national championship. I'm sure they're excited. GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, definitely. Definitely, yeah. When I came to college they actually moved back, so they love here now. Just making them happy. Seemed like national championship being in New Orleans, it really came full circle. Just trying to make them proud, man. That's all it is. Just trying to do it for Louisiana. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Off of Morrison. That's where I grew up. Q. (Regarding getting over the hump.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, that's a hump we got to face every year. We kind of look at the Alabama game every year just knowing that we got to win that game to get to games like this. We finally were able to do it after eight years. Just the fact that we're here now trying to turn tables a little bit, trying to turn the tide, but it's going to be good for us just being here. This experience is crazy. We haven't been here in the playoff era, so hopefully we can leave or mark on it. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Lord, it's that question. That's that question. I don't know. I honestly don't know. My mom ask me that all the time. You sound like my mom right now. But hopefully I can figure that out in the next couple years. Q. When you got to Georgia, kind of flashback, if you could. The SEC title game you guys had a lot of success. What do you remember your that scout on Georgia, and what did you have to do to be successful against(Indiscernible.) GRANT DELPIT: We ran a lot pressures against him, I think. We played a good team defense. They were kind of banged up on the offensive side of the ball. No star receiver the first half. I think we played lights out as a defense pretty much, and that's a great team in Georgia. Great defense. I don't know if they gave up a rushing touchdown all year. That's kind of unheard of. That's a great offense they had, and just trying to stop that, I think we played great overall. I don't know specific game plan. Just doing the same thing we do every week. Q. Two years in a row. They came to your house the year before. What do you recall about that one and how similar was the game plan? GRANT DELPIT: It was pretty similar. They had a lot of the same guys on that team. Yeah, just playing them back to back years and take care of business, I know they're going to have it out for us next time we see them. Going to be a good game next time. Q. If you look back, I know you were considering Clemson. How close was it? GRANT DELPIT: I don't know. I was pretty excited when I got a Clemson offer. Never took a visit over there or nothing. I don't know. I probably should have took a visit just because it's recruitment. It was in South Carolina, a long way from home, so I didn't know if I was going to ever go over there. But I don't think it was that close. I knew I wanted to go to LSU. Q. What are your thoughts on this offense and how did it compare in maybe Alabama? GRANT DELPIT: Their offense? Q. Yeah. GRANT DELPIT: I don't think it really compares a lot. I don't think it's really similar. They got different play styles. Alabama runs a lot of RPOs; Clemson runs some but not as much. Just playing Alabama every year, playing the SEC period, it's good for us because we get to see the best competition. It prepares us for games like this. Q. Do you think there is a mentality on the team that ACC is weaker so maybe Clemson is not as strong? GRANT DELPIT: Nah, nah. I mean, first part kind of yeah, but the second part, no. They just came out and took care of house. No, they beat pretty good teams. No, I definitely think SEC is the better conference, but Clemson, they proven themselves. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: No. Yeah, definitely feels like a home game for us. I'm excited to see the amount of people in the purple and gold in the stands. Definitely going to play in our hands a little bit. You know, when we played in Atlanta there was a lot of red when we played Georgia, and then the next game it was a lot of purple and gold. I think this game probably be a lot of LSU fans. Q. Don't think there will be a lot of pressure on you guys because of that? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah, it's definitely going to be some pressure, but at the ens of the day it's just football, so we're going to do what we do. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: I mean, all year dealing with our offense, they never talk about us on the defensive side. We been dealing with that all year, especially the Oklahoma game, Georgia game. They talk about the other team's defense and our offense. That could be good for us. Get the spotlight off us a little bit so we can just go out and play ball. Our offense, that's a good problem to have. I'm glad it's our offense and we're not playing against them. Q. How different was it for you as you look back a couple years ago at the way your offense played? Completely different. So now it's like hurry up, you're scoring tons of points in a short amount of time and you're right back out on the field. Was there a period of adjustment for ya'll's defense? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's different. It's different for sure. I think that was like the missing link that we had. Once we got that offense, we always had a great defense on LSU. This year wasn't as great, but our offense made up for that. Just seeing our offense put up these numbers is crazy. We haven't seen that I don't think ever at LSU. It's definitely been a little adjusting period seeing them go down and score on the first three plays every drive. It's a good problem to have, I tell you that. Q. How much of a full circle moment is this for you? GRANT DELPIT: It's very special, especially with my family, just all my family being here. They moved back to New Orleans, so just playing at home and just playing in front of the home crowd, doing it for Louisiana, man, you couldn't write it up any better. Q. (Regarding the NoLo magic.) GRANT DELPIT: Somebody about the NoLo magic. They didn't have it in 2011. They missed out on that one, but hopefully we can get it done. It's going to be hard not to because it's going to be in our favor. We got a monster in Clemson on the other side, so can't take them lightly at all. This is the biggest game of our lives pretty much, so no excuses. Q. (Regarding Trevor.) GRANT DELPIT: His arm strength is crazy. Height has a lot to do with that. Zips in there. He's, like I say, a prototypical quarterback, a guy that you want your team. I take Joe any day, but he's a great quarterback. He's only a true sophomore, so that says a lot about him. Q. (Regarding the SuperDome.) GRANT DELPIT: I don't even know, dawg. To be honest, Tiger Stadium games are crazy, but this is a national championship game. I've never even been to one. I only watched it on TV every year, so I'm excited to see. It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I know our fans are going to show up. I know when that ball snap it's going to be the same football we've been playing growing up. Q. Talk about the last encounter, Oklahoma Media Day. I didn't have a haircut. I've got one now. GRANT DELPIT: Fresh fade. I don't have one. That's the crazy part. I'm getting my haircut tomorrow. TJ Malveaux, best barber in Louisiana. Yeah, so the tables have turned a little bit. I see you're happy about that, huh? Q. Something like that. Talk about the game on Monday. Talk about how this defense has been for you. Just talk about how fun the season has been for the guys. GRANT DELPIT: First of all, we got monsters like Breiden Fehoko up front going tos top the run, plug the run up. That frees us up to play in the secondary for the pass. Guys like that, that makes the game easy for us. We got the Hawaiian guy, we got Breiden up front. Got K'Lavon on the edge, and guys like Big T Shelven for Louisiana up front. We got all the guys, man. You can't ask for a better front seven. That helps the DBs do what we do. Q. Tyler Shelvin, over or under 350 pounds? GRANT DELPIT: On what kind of day? Every day? Q. After Thanksgiving. GRANT DELPIT: Oh, Lord. Over, definitely. Q. You got healthy and been able to help out the defense. How has the defense been able to continue to improve? GRANT DELPIT: Being healthy, that's great. I had an ankle injury. It's kind of hard to play safety with an ankle injury because you're running all around everywhere. I'm really never hurt, so just getting through this injury was good for me. Been a good experience. Something to learn through. I'm still kind of getting over it. It's the last game of the season, so no excuses on my end. Injuries suck, but I think I've got through it pretty well. Q. Defense as a whole, a little bit different when you don't have as much time in the sidelines. (Indiscernible.) GRANT DELPIT: Right. Q. How has that shifted your approach to the game, and it is tough to keep your focus for 60 minutes sometimes? GRANT DELPIT: Me as a competitor, I love being on the field, especially when the offense already scored. I just look at it as an opportunity to be great, to make plays. As many times as I'm on the field, I don't even want to come out the games when we up by 40 points and stuff, because I want make plays and get plays; I want to shut teams out. That's just how I am. It's been a little adjustment period being on the field a lot more just because our offense scores a lot, but that's a good problem to have. Q. One guy making a lot of plays is K'Lavon. GRANT DELPIT: Check him out over there. Q. Just knowing what happened last year and the strides that he's made to not only come back, but (indiscernible), like how much does that make a difference? GRANT DELPIT: That means a lot, especially on third down. Guys like K'Lavon are huge pass rushers that we have. We can't ask for a better pass rusher. Just him doing his job in the run and then transition to the pass, he's a great all-around defensive player. Lucky he's on our team. Q. (Regarding Michael Divinity.) GRANT DELPIT: No, just him being involved, you know, the whole time that he wasn't playing, that was huge for us. He's a vocal leader on the field as well as in the locker room, so just having him back is huge. I want him to make a huge play in his home city. I would be all smiles for him. Be pretty cool to see. Q. How would you describe all this today, all the attention? GRANT DELPIT: It's a lot of attention, like you said, just being on this stage. I wouldn't ask for anything else. Just being here, you can't take -- you cannot take it for granted. You got to go out there and put your heart on the line. Last game, biggest game of my life, so just being here is a different experience, but it's cool. It's a cool sight to see. Q. Is it something you watch on TV? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, definitely. Every year. I make sure when it's on, you know, I'm glued to the TV. I'm seeing what I would do. Just being here, like I say, I can't take it for granted. I got to do what I said I was going to do all the years just watching it, just promising myself we were going to get here, and we did. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. It's going to be crazy. You couldn't write it up any better just coming back home, playing in Louisiana for Louisiana. It's special with my family. I know they're going to throw a big tailgate and be at the game going crazy. I got to make a couple plays for them, and hopefully I can do that. Q. (Regarding family attending. GRANT DELPIT: In the game, I don't know. I don't know how many tickets we get. But out the game, outside, at the house, I couldn't even -- probably close to 100 probably. (Laughter.) Q. What was it like carrying the seniors off? GRANT DELPIT: That's a tradition every year, yeah. We do that, carry the seniors off. I carried Chris off. All the guys just carried seniors off. Play a lot of blood, sweat, and tears on this field. I think they deserve to get carried off one last time. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, whenever we have like a dual-threat quarterback, Jontre comes up and helps us out. He played high school quarterback and he does a great job. Juked a couple guys in practice, and that just prepares us. He's probably a better runner than Trevor Lawrence, and just preparing at a higher level is good. Trevor Lawrence is an all-around great quarterback, but you think I take Jontre in the foot race. Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely. That is just the competitor in us. A lot of "ooms" in us and stuff like that coming from that second team offense, but they do a good job preparing us, man, and I couldn't ask for a better group of guys. Q. (Regarding coach's message.) How do you guys feed off that? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, it's huge. His message is to his guys, and that tends to stick in our heads. I tend to start repeating stuff he says. Just stuff that he always says during practice, the meetings, stuff like that. Block out the noise and stuff that he preaches. It's definitely huge. Just him being the coach, the message he always gives us a huge. Always sticks with us. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Uh-huh. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, definitely. I think that's really a mentality, just that message that we come and that we LSU. We ain't trying to stand out on nobody. Really just a mentality, and you got it in your heat or you don't. I was going to do that regardless, but him just speaking that to the players, that was huge. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Uh-huh. It's a huge part of the game. I missed a lot of tackles this year people are going to get on me about. It's really just a mentality. If your mentality is going to go in there and make a tackle, you're going to make it. If you think about it, hesitate, you're not going to make it. So just being a great tackler, that comes with a lot of practice and just really a mentality that you're going to do it. Q. Is that something that you either got it or you don't? GRANT DELPIT: No. I think you can learn how to tackle. It's not -- I don't know how to put this. It's not something that like you can't learn how to do. You can learn how to tackle. Just playing football growing up it's a key part of the game. It's not either you got it or you don't. I think you can learn how to do it. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah, I was all the time. I don't know if we had season tickets back then, but I was always going to the games. They used to have these ramps. I don't know if they still have the ramps, but I would run up and down the ramps. I would just run up and down the ramps inside the Super Dome. My dad always talked about people who remember me just off me running up the ramps every game. They used to tell him that I was going to be playing in there one day. I don't know if it's going to be for the Saints or against the Saints, but hopefully that comes true. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: I don't know what I was thinking. Probably just having fun. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Man, that started a video in our locker room. (Indiscernible) came through the locker room and we did the first one just messing around just trying to have fun after practice one day. After that, just took off really. People wanted a second one. We gave them a second one after we beat Oklahoma. I don't know if we make a third one. We might. I ain't trying to give out no secrets or spoilers. We might make a third, part 3. Q. (Regarding the video.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. It feels good to start a movement. It's kind of crazy that last year, like you said, was chopping style and stuff; this year we brought that gift of gab back. We weren't trying to take ya'll's song, but just trying to bring it back. We know that is ya'll's stuff. We just trying to have a little fun with it. Being part of that little movement is cool. Hopefully the Saints picked up on it. You know, they can't no more, but hopefully some of the Saints players start doing it a little bit and we can make it go viral. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: First of all, shout to my son over here, Xavier Fontaine. That's my little boy. People say we look alike, so that's my little boy, my long-lost son, if ya'll didn't know. All right. We can go again. Q. What do you think was the meaning behind it? GRANT DELPIT: I don't even think -- like people try to make up a meaning and stuff like that. We were just having fun with the song. Just trying to bring some New Orleans stuff back to life. I don't think it had no meaning. Gift of gab, it is what it is. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, just to try to -- because I knew we was going to do the video if we won, so just tried to have a little fun with it, bro. I was just trying to have fun. That's it. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Got you. Q. Has coming into this weekend caused you to reflect on your childhood and the interesting path of life, that biggest game of your life you come back to a stadium that you probably saw pictures of. GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Q. It's kind of deep, but any thought behind it at all? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, I definitely thought about that. It's kind of gone full circle just be being born and raised in New Orleans, moving with Katrina, seeing the pictures of the Super Dome, people standing in the Super Dome and it's falling apart. The Saints come in and win the Super Bowl in 2009 and bring life back to the city. Us winning a national championship as well 2007. And so just all that. It's been a long time since we could really do something for Louisiana and do something meaningful for this state. Hopefully we can get that done. The Saints lost last week, so try to put a smile on some people faces. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: No. Not even, man. I'm so happy it's here. So happy that we got here. It's in New Orleans. We doing this for the state, for the city. Like I say, you can't write a better story than that. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, no, not. We moved in -- I don't know, like a couple days before we went to Memphis, Tennessee, and I thought we was going on vacation type stuff and I thought we was going right back. Ended up flooding the whole house. We didn't really have flood insurance, one less bill to pay. We was in the east and it's not a flood zone, so didn't really have nothing. We moved to Houston not having anything and live with my auntie in the house with like ten, eleven people in a one storey house, so it was pretty tough. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Man, I was a kid, man. I don't know. Probably being enrolled in school in Houston. That was probably the moment I was like probably ain't going to see my friends and talk to my friends again. It is what it is. Q. Did you ever go back at all? GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah. My grandma and them still stay out here because their house was being built when the storm hit. They just ended up rebuilding it. Yeah, I come down here probably like every other weekend really. Q. Where did you live? GRANT DELPIT: Off Morrison, yeah. We would live on the streetcar, Primrose. Yeah, uh-huh. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah. No, last year when we knew it was going to be a New Orleans I think that was the talk amongst us, just know we were going to be -- just have the opportunity to get here. I think we tried to do all we could to get here and we did that. So like I say, can't write it up any better. Hopefully get out of this thing with a win. Q. Like a home game? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, definitely. Nothing really compares to Tiger Stadium, but this is national championship game. I haven't been there and haven't experienced, been in any games like this, no Super Bowls, nothing, so hopefully this is going to be a pretty good experience for us. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Talking about with the New Orleans, the Saints? Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah, uh-huh. Q. Some kind of connection you don't always have? GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, no, he's definitely a player's coach, and he's from Louisiana. Louisiana loves him. He from right in the backyard. He always talk about South Lafourche and all this stuff, so he's definitely a backyard coach and we love him. We couldn't ask for a better coach. Q. (Regarding Cajuns.) GRANT DELPIT: He's the most Cajun person I know. The most Cajun person I know. I ain't even met nobody talk remote similar to him, so he's definitely a Louisiana guy. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah, no, no. Nothing close to him, no. Q. (No microphone.) Who in your opinion has the best style, dresses the best? GRANT DELPIT: I give you top three because people going to get mad if I say me. Q. Put yourself on the list? GRANT DELPIT: Put myself No. 1. Top three dressing-wise, I probably go me -- as a matter of fact, I won't even give you an order. I'll just say the top 3: Me, Ja'Marr Chase and Stephen Sullivan. I probably say that's the three guys that we put it together pretty nice. Q. Similar style? GRANT DELPIT: Similar style, you could say that. Just being able to put it together. You can't win best dressed with a stylist, so do it by yourself. Just put it together. I think we do a pretty good job of that. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah. That was different. Chase was different for that. I think we had on the red, big red -- I don't know if I really like that one a little bit. I think Joe was clean. Had the blue on. He was very professional. So he put it together pretty nice. I was proud of Joe. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Nah. I probably wouldn't try to do too much. At the Thorpe Awards, at the (indiscernible) awards I think I put it together pretty good. So just try to be simple. I always talk to him like, Bro, you crazy. Try to be simple but at the same time extravagant. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Big T in the middle, that's a key guy. He plug up that run, stop the run, but he going to get after the quarterback, too. So, right from the backyard, Lafayette, and that's what he do. Coach try to get him to get his weight down and stuff like that; he did that. He's been doing great for us. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Uh-huh. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Oh, yeah, right. We appreciate the work that he does. One thing you let him do go is go out on punt safe. He always run down full speed, try to hit the shield hard. He the only one running down there, but that's what he did. He's the type of person and mentality he has. Yeah, Big T is definitely one of the best players on the D-line, no doubt. Q. Talked to your parents and your mom talked a lot about what it meant to you, what happened with Katrina, going to Houston and playing football there. You always wanted to play for LSU. Why? GRANT DELPIT: I don't know. I just grew up watching LSU. They're the home team, in my opinion. Right when they offered I really knew I wanted to go. Coach had called me, Coach Miles, so after that it was a wrap really. I really knew where I wanted to go. Just being from Louisiana, growing up there, just watching the Tigers play, all the great DBs that went through, wasn't really even a choice in my opinion. Q. (No microphone.) GRANT DELPIT: Yeah. Just getting that call from Coach Miles, he always believed in us, in me, and he didn't really even know me like that. He definitely wanted me to be there. Sucks that he left. He's not there anymore. He's a great coach. I know the guys at Kansas having fun with him. I know the guys here were just having a great time with him as well. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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