CFP SEMIFINAL CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL: GEORGIA VS OHIO STATE

December 29, 2022

Tommy Eichenberg

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Ohio State Buckeyes

Press Conference

Q. Florida or California and start getting ready for the Combine. How hard was it to reengage?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: After like a day, I was like let's get back into this. I was ready to go win more games, especially when they put us back in this, I was like let's go. Let's do this.

Q. Take me inside the landscape after the loss. (Inaudible).

TOMMY EICHENBERG: So you're talking about after we lost?

Q. Yes.

TOMMY EICHENBERG: Right after, it sucked. It really sucked.

Q. Did you let it sink in?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: Games like that, it's going to hurt, no matter how you look at it. But once the emotions kind of settle down, we came together. It's like, okay, where are we going to get better? How are we going to use this to get better? So we practiced that week.

Q. I know there were a couple of practices. When did you find some juice?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: It was about a few days after. I would say probably around Wednesday. It's like, okay, we all looked at the film and like here are the mistakes we made, and here's where we've got to get better, right?

So we went back out to practice, and honestly that practice got kind of tough because you don't know who you're playing against, right? It was good to let all that out. It's like all the frustration we had.

Then it's like where are we going to get better? They put us back in here, and it's like here's our opponent, and we've got to go play these guys.

Q. The moment you see you're going against Georgia (inaudible.)

TOMMY EICHENBERG: I think watching that Utah game too was big for us.

Q. You gathered together Friday night?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: We had a lot of us together. Then I understand why people love this game so much. It's just so much different watching the game.

Q. Is that the first time you sat back and watched a college game?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: Yeah, as a fan of the team.

Q. You know they're the team to beat. They were on the ropes early, trying to survive, and then they come back.

TOMMY EICHENBERG: Up and down. It was awesome.

Q. Then the reality set in (inaudible)?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: We felt really good, and we were watching the selection show, and we thought we could be 3. Then they put TCU at 3, and we were like what if they don't even put us in? There was a lot of talk about Alabama. Then they put us in, and it was like, yeah, it was awesome. It's a great feeling.

Q. You personally, what you put into this season, what you put into this, put that into words. You've been the guy, the difference maker. How much does it mean this season for all the work you've put in to pay off?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: You hear a lot of people, people are like get that guy off the field. Like no one wants to see you on the field.

Q. What do you mean?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: So like social media, that's why I don't have social media anymore. I mean, I have been a few times on Twitter. That's what I tell guys here, don't even go on that stuff. Why do you guys listen to people like that?

Q. So you're not involved in that at all?

TOMMY EICHENBERG: There's probably people that talk about you too and how you do your job. Why would you even listen to people who do that?