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TOSTITOS BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: OHIO STATE v FLORIDAJanuary 3, 2007Jim BollmanTed Ginn, Jr.Anthony GonzalezPHOENIX, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: We will have no opening statements by the gentlemen here today. If you have any questions, please let us know. Q. Good morning. Ted and Anthony, can you guys talk about the familiarity -- you guys have been here to Arizona a lot this time of year. Do you think that gives you any advantage at all? Ted, first? TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, coming back out here is a great thing, you know. It is kind of like home. You know, we just come out, just enjoy the weather, you know, and just try to have fun. I think it really don't have too much to do with the game. I think we can go anywhere and play a football game. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I tend to agree with him on that. To me a football game is a football game. And this particular game is so big that the game itself is the story, not necessarily the location, how familiar we are with the surroundings or what have you. The most important thing is that it is the national championship game. No matter where it is, both teams are going to come to play. Q. What about the long lay off? There are various theories whether it is good or bad or indifferent. What do you guys think of that? ANTHONY GONZALEZ: The thing about that, both of us have a lay off. It would be one thing if they played last week and we haven't played in two months or something like that. But both of us have a huge lay off. So I think it is a complete nonissue. Q. There seems to be an assumption that guys are like born fast. Ted, there is a -- I know there is a rumor going around that first time you were timed at 40 you ran a five something. Would either of you comment on that? How much can you improve God-given speed? TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, I wasn't born fast. I worked at my -- you know, you just got to go and work as hard as you can, you know. I work plenty of days. I stayed up plenty of hours. I just made me who I am. There is a lot of commitment, a lot of work you got to do. If you call yourself -- Q. Did you run track? TED GINN, JR.: Track stuff, working out daily, working on different techniques of running. A lot of that helps you. If you get good people around you and you get people around you that want to help you, you can succeed in anything you want. Q. This is for both of you guys, or all of three of you. As you look at Florida, what concerns you about their defense the most? ANTHONY GONZALEZ: They are very fast and very athletic. I think those are the two strengths they have as a defense, is just their speed and athleticism. Q. Guys, Woody Hayes was known for his cloud of dust and his three-yard dust. What would he have thought of you against Michigan and you came out in the first drive, what do you think he would think of this offense? ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I think he would have been very happy that we won the game (laughter). I think that's pretty much all he would have cared about. Q. Teddy and Gonzo, can you talk about your Cleveland connection and the group of Cleveland kids you have on your team, is there a special bond between you guys having played high school football in the same place? TED GINN, JR.: On the way over here we were talking about high school things and the times where, you know, me and Gonzo and our teams met up at certain track meets and we played against each other. Not me and Gonzo but our schools. It is always going to be competitive. We brought that competitiveness together as one and now we are playing together for the same cause. We are in the same boat for the same thing. You know, it is just great to have a guy like Gonzo on my left and to have Troy coming from the same high school as me and just people from the city. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: It is something that I personally take a lot of pride in, being from Cleveland. I know Ted feels the same way as we all do. Just being from the same city, having common experiences growing up, being able to relate on a lot of different levels and always competing in track meets. I never played Glenville in football but Ted played Agnatius. Just having those common issues is always fun and exciting for us and it is just nice to be able to bring it together as one just as he said. Q. Question for Ted and Anthony. Could you comment on Florida's safety Reggie Nelson, what you have seen on tape and as a receiver with obviously his hitting ability? Do you know where he is on every play? TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, from one he is a great player, you know, fast, likes to hit. We will know where he is at because most of the times he is a high safety. You know, but, he likes to come down, hit you. He is going to play as hard as he can and I know he is a big player on their defense. We are going to watch out for him. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: Yeah, he to me -- to me, when you play against a team you can't be overly concerned with one person and where he is on the field. I have never gone into any game thinking, All right, where is number so and so. There he is, okay, now what am I going to do? But that being said, he is -- you can tell their leader in the secondary end does an amazing job. He has tremendous range. He intercepts balls on the sideline coming from the opposite hash. You don't see that very often. He is definitely a very talented player. Like you said, he also likes to hit you pretty good. So that's kind of one of the many challenges we have this week. You know, we are obviously preparing as well as we can to deal with it. Q. There is a core group of you guys call the "fun bunch." Can you talk about that? I am sure it came from a lot of hard work, more than fun, and you guys are like the leaders of the team. Can you talk a little bit about the fun bunch, both of you? TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, I don't really know how we got the name the "fun bunch." But it is a group of great guys, of leaders in our own individual way. You know, we always talk as a receiver core, you know. We can all put ourselves together as one. We might be one of the biggest, greater receivers of all time. And that's kind of like the "fun bunch." The fun bunch comes out and plays hard and we are leaders of our group. We try to enjoy ourselves as much as possible. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: Yes, that's the thing. People, I think, a lot of times when you watch college athletics and you can't see the people's faces or whatever, you impose certain mind-sets on people. And I think college athletes are treated more like adults and less like kids and it is kind of fitting because you are in that transition period where you are kind of becoming an adult. And we just kind of would like to keep it light and fun. Again, I don't know where that name came from, but I think actually Tim May, if he is in here. I think he came up with it. Anyway, it is more -- it is more just -- I don't know -- a description of how we approach the game. Q. As receivers, have you faced a secondary with this much speed and how do you adjust to a secondary that has this kind of speed that Florida has? TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, the whole year we did play against some good corners. Texas was pretty fast. Penn State was actually pretty fast, too. Michigan was pretty good. But, you know, all around for Florida, you know, they got some great guys that come down and hit you and can run with you. It is just going to come down to a lot of technique things, you know, and just being -- being a special player in that game. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I feel like when I watch their defense, I feel like they say to themselves, Okay, we feel like we have better athletes than you and we are just going to prove it. We are just going to play man coverage and we are just going to be better than you. I feel that's one of their defensive philosophies. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. They have had a tremendous success doing that against some pretty talented receiving cores. When you look across the country, I would say Tennessee's receiving core is one of the better, LSU. They have done a nice job dealing with those receivers. So that's one of our challenges as our group approaches the game is to see if we can do better than those teams that have maybe come before us. Q. For Coach Bollman, first of all, what do you think -- what jumps out on the tape about Florida? And secondly, about -- about their defense and, secondly, what do you think they will try to do to you? COACH BOLLMAN: The first thing that jumps out at me is their experience. All across the board, they have a lot of guys who are third-, fourth-, fifth-year guys. At this stage of the game, no one is really a rookie if they have played all year anyway. But they don't have any younger guys that are regular players for them. I think like most defenses -- most great defenses, up front is where they're exceptional. Their defensive line is, I think, as a group of exceptional, big athletes who are very, very quick. And then everyone else kind of follows suit. Everyone else is better because of the way that defensive line plays. Not have many people -- in fact, I haven't seen any games where people consistently block them very well, for much of the entire football. Q. What do you think they will do to you? COACH BOLLMAN: In bowl games when there is so much time, when people -- I think most people would tend to go with what got you to the game. But there are always going to be some wrinkles, something a little bit different, you know. And I think that's been reflective of both of the games you have seen. So you have to kind of prepare for what to expect. But it is kind of like an opening game kind of deal where there is going to be something a little bit different, too. Q. Ted, you spoke in Columbus about wanting to play cornerback again and you took so much satisfaction in your touchdown pass this year. How many positions do you want to play? Do you think you could play a slash-type thing or what? TED GINN, JR.: One thing about me, I like to play for my team, you know. If that means that I have to go and play center, I will. That's just the type of team player that I am. You know, corner was one of my first loves, you know. But, you know, I do what's best for my team, you know. And going out and catching a ball or throwing a ball or receiving a punt, it is all for my team. It is for me, too. But most likely for the team. Q. Ted, Anthony, there is an incredible number of Facebook groups involving the Buckeyes winning the championship. Are you guys in any of those groups or what do you think of the way the students support you guys like that? TED GINN, JR.: I am not even on the Facebook. I don't even mess with the Internet like that. Myspace, Facebook. I have no part with that situation. I know it is out there, and I know my name is on a lot of things out there. But, hey, what can you do. ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I am in the same boat. I am not on facebook. I go back and forth. Sometimes I am on it, sometimes I am not. Currently I am not. Q. For Ted and Anthony, can you talk about for a bunch of seniors this will be their last hurrah at Ohio State. Talk about what it means for you going into the game with the seniors in mind? TED GINN, JR.: First off, the whole year is all about the seniors. You know, when you are an underclassmen, and I was taught this in high school, you always want to come out and pass as hard as you can for your seniors because this is their last go-round. They can never get this back. We can always try to come back to the national championship. But 18 guys can't, you know. So we are going to try to go out and play as hard as we can for them, you know, because we can always have this opportunity again. I mean, that's how the whole season went. That's how we are going to go into this game. We are just going to play hard for them. Q. Ted, can you comment on Troy Smith and not only how he has grown on the field but some of the adversity he has faced off the field in his life and how you have seen him grow as a person and as a quarterback? TED GINN, JR.: Well, yeah. Since I have been knowing Troy, you know, he didn't have a lot -- he had a lot on his plate. And he didn't eat every piece of it. Troy is the type of man that, you know, he got a big heart, you know. He is going to fight through everything. And that's the type of person that you want in your life no matter what it is, if it is football or basketball or track. I remember when Troy ran the 800, he couldn't do it but he did it. That just shows what type of man and his character, you know. And for Troy to come out and win all these big awards and be the Heisman and all of that, man, I am happy. People always ask, should it be you? No. It should be Troy. You know, he went out and did things to make him the man that he is. I just congratulate him every time I can. Q. Coach, I wonder if you see -- Coach Bollman, similarities between the 2002 Buckeyes and the 2007 Gators maybe in terms of how long the head coach has been on the job and in particular the underdog role? COACH BOLLMAN: I think there is a lot of similarities on the surface that without knowing the Gators inside out that people can assimilate. That's just kind of facts that you can draw up and have a conversation from. But football teams are individual football teams, you know. And the circumstances of a year is just kind of on the surface, things, you know. You really don't know what's going on inside. But they have had a great year. Certainly have played in a fine, highly respected conference. Played some great football teams and did a great job getting here. Q. For all three of you, if you don't mind, the last time Ohio State was in the BCS title game, I don't think anyone was calling them a fun bunch. They had a reputation for perhaps being a little bit of vanilla offensively. Over the last five years since you guys have arrived, have you seen the offense grow and diversify? There must be a number of factors that have allowed you to go to the spread and such? COACH BOLLMAN: I think any time as a football coach, any year on any team, everyone is trying to utilize their talent to the best ability that they have. So as our talent has grown and evolved, changed a little bit, I think we've tried to do a good job utilizing the people that we have. And that will continue to be that way for as long as we are coaching. You know, that's -- I think you owe that to your team and everyone that's out there, they are working together. And part of us having success on offense, I believe a big part of us having success on offense is the fact that people have not been selfish. People have kept together as one unit. There is a problem when you only have one football and have you that many people that are capable of carrying the rock and catching the rock. And I think that's been a big thing. We've talked about that throughout the year and I think it is the same thing being in this game. Who knows who is going to have an opportunity to make a play when. And we've had a lot of guys been able to do that. Q. For Coach and then the players afterward. For the last 40 days all you have been hearing about is who is worthy to play your team. A lot of debate over that. And I'm sure over the holidays when you go back home, a lot of people are just assuming that you are going to win this game. How is a coaching staff and as leaders on the team do you battle against the overconfidence factor and thinking that a game like this is debate about who is worthy of playing you and not a game that you really go out and compete against? COACH BOLLMAN: I don't think that has been a problem for us at all. If anybody has an overconfidence factor in this football game, you are going to get beat. When you get to this level of -- if you are in any BCS football game, the level of competition is very, very, very high. And if you are not ready to play your best football game, you are not apparently doing the things the way you should. I think for the most part, our team has done a very good job of playing every week. There has been some moments in some games that we could have played a little better. But, I think, that overconfidence, I would be surprised, very disappointed if I thought after the game that we played as an overconfident outfit. Q. This one is for Ted and Anthony. Guys, when you showed up at Ohio State, you were both touted individually as having sort of different skill sets. Is there anything you have learned from each other over the last couple years in terms of how to play receiver and different things? TED GINN, JR.: Well, yeah. When I came to Ohio State, I wasn't receiver. I was a DB. And just to come on that other side of the ball, you know, and experience the things I experience. I have talented guys that was over there from Centennial Hall that played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He showed me a lot, to Gonzo that had been playing the game and playing receiver for years. I remember Gonzo on TV always making the over-the-shoulder grab for the winning touchdown. The guys that you put yourself around and the team and the type of team that we have and the type of people that's on the team. I mean, a lot of guys could have been selfish and not give me the whole inside about everything or the whole inside about being a receiver. But the guys that our coaches recruited, you know, it is all about football. It is about their ability to help people and their ability to make everybody around them good, you know. And Gonzo was one of the people that showed me some things that I needed to know. Q. Ted, building on your experiences as a defensive player in high school, how do you think that helped shape you as a wide receiver? Did it give you an edge knowing what the defense was trying to do against you? TED GINN, JR.: It did a little bit because as playing corner, you can always tell by a DB stance of what he is going to do. And me being the type of player I was coming out of high school at the cornerback position, it kind of helped me to know what people were going to do to me now. And it do give me a little edge sometime. Q. How would you guys describe practice the last couple days, being on the road in a camp-like situation but still away from the spotlight without all this stuff? ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I think you said it pretty accurately. It felt a lot like camp to me, it did. Just because we are kind of in the middle of nowhere. The only thing we were doing was practicing and meeting. That to me could ultimately end up being a real positive for us just because we were aware from all of the hoopla and kind of got to focus in on what it is we needed to focus in on. That's kind of how that went. Q. For Anthony, can you explain why you have had so much success converting first downs with your receptions? I wanted to ask Ted also about how you have seen Ohio State's offense change from the championship team in 2002 to what you guys have now? ANTHONY GONZALEZ: I think the reason why maybe I have been successful in picking up first downs, a lot of it has to do with just the situations that the coaches trust me in. You know, you can only do so much and if your number is called on third down or when you need a first down, then you better be there to make the play or else somebody else will. So that's just part of being a football player. TED GINN, JR.: Well, you know, Coach can say no better. You got to use the talent you have and the people that's around you. You know, coming in, you know, we had some great guys. We just using our talent and that's what's helping us get to where we are now. THE MODERATOR: Thanks guys. End of FastScripts |
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