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

December 29, 2022

Zach Harrison

Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Ohio State Buckeyes

Press Conference

Q. How would you evaluate Georgia's offensive line in terms of footwork?

ZACH HARRISON: They're good. They're athletes, bro. They do a good job of staying in front of you. That's something we got to take note of going into the game. They're a bunch of athletes. Their footwork shows that much.

They do a great job of mirroring guys, especially the pass game. They've got good punches, and they do a good job of getting their hands on you and trying to control the blocks.

Q. The best food you've had since you've been down here?

ZACH HARRISON: I don't know the name of the place, but it was some chicken spot, Door Dash. I wish I knew the name of the place, but it was good.

Q. Just sort of getting back to Stetson Bennett and his mobility and agility to create plays, how do you sort of balance keeping him in the pocket and going after the ball?

ZACH HARRISON: We've got to rush together. All four of us rushing together. When we do send guys, the linebackers are doing the same thing. Just nobody trying to get greedy and go in and get one and leaving a gap open. Just rushing together, and we'll get home.

Q. How would you describe the practices? Has it been needed?

ZACH HARRISON: We've had a good bowl season. The guys have been getting after it. We had kind of a bad taste in our mouth, and the only way to get it out is to go hard on the field, and that's what we've been doing.

The guys have been challenging each other and forcing each other to get better. I've been going against Paris and Dawand every day, and they've been going against me. On the field, it's just straight work. I'm trying to get him better, he's trying to get me better, we're trying to get after it.

Q. And now you're ready to take that all on the field?

ZACH HARRISON: Yeah.

Q. What intrigues you about this game? A lot of talk about their defense, but this defense has been good.

ZACH HARRISON: We're just trying to go win, man. That's the only thing we care about is trying to get a W on Saturday.

Q. What are your memories of the National Championship game?

ZACH HARRISON: I remember watching it with my family on the couch, and we were celebrating it. I remember the Oregon game more than I do the 'Bama game. I don't know that I watched much of the 'Bama game. I just remember we won the National Championship, and a bunch of my friends went and bought a bunch of Ohio State National Champions gear and wore it to school the next day.

Q. What would it mean to win?

ZACH HARRISON: It would mean more to win just for the guys in the locker room, for the brothers who have been with me since the day I stepped on the campus. Some of the guys I've gone through the process with and matured with and really grown up with, it feels like a second family, you would say. It would mean the world to win it for those guys.

Q. How would you describe your experience here.

ZACH HARRISON: I wouldn't trade my time here for the world. I've loved every minute, even with all the ups and downs, the guys I've met, the friends I've made, and the brothers I have for life. I cherish that more than anything.

Q. Knowing what's on the line, is there pressure?

ZACH HARRISON: There's pressure going into every game, especially if it's a lose or go home game. Yeah, there's pressure, but you've got to go out there and play. It's football at the end of the day. We've been playing it since we were little. Once we get out on the field, it will just be football.

Q. What has the month of preparation been like?

ZACH HARRISON: We've been going hard. That's something we can be proud of, hang our hat on. We've gotten better over the past month. There's no denying it. The team we saw on Saturday isn't the same team you'll see today.

Coach Day made it an emphasis that we're going to go hard and we're going to get better and we're going to challenge each other and we're going to practice hard. That's something that we did, and we're excited to see the fruits of our labor.

Q. Are you happy with where you are as a football player now? Obviously you've got a huge game on Saturday, maybe another one after that. Are you happy with where that trajectory is right now?

ZACH HARRISON: Obviously I'm a work in progress. I think I'm definitely improving and taking steps in the right direction.

Q. Is that difficult to come to grips with? As a freshman, you know you have to get better, but to be at this stage of your career, it's almost like you've taken it on as a positive thing that you're still a work in progress?

ZACH HARRISON: Most definitely, a little bit. Not really, no.

Q. But you're chasing something that like maybe can't be contained.

ZACH HARRISON: Yeah.