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CITI BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TEXAS v ALABAMA

January 5, 2010

Javier Arenas

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

Q. How would you describe Coach Saban?
JAVIER ARENAS: He's down to earth, fun. He feels more like a teammate than a coach, especially when we're out on the field. He does his job extremely well as you can obviously see. But as a player, you feel like he's one of us, which makes our job a lot easier.

Q. Down to earth, fun, some of the stuff that maybe we don't see when he's up here talking to us. Is that not how he is, just a more stoic personality?
JAVIER ARENAS: The way he is with you guys, he can get like that with us, and that's when some things aren't going right. That's like a father figure; he can have fun with his kids, but when it's time to discipline the kid, let them know what's right and wrong, you've got to put your foot down. That's the way it is with us.

Q. Does he ever call you by a middle name and you know you're in trouble when he does this?
JAVIER ARENAS: He always calls me Javy, but it's the tone with which he says it.

Q. Javy, what does Nick have to yell at you about?
JAVIER ARENAS: I mess up. I know when I mess up, and I try not to look at him. I try just to go straight into the huddle and get ready for the next day, but he still catches me. He not so much yells, he just lets me know what I did wrong and how to do it better next time.

Q. What do you think the difference between his first year and this year is, because it seemed like even just going to the news conferences every week, it just seems like -- he doesn't seem as upset this year in news conferences after the games. Were there a lot of people who didn't buy into the system the first year?
JAVIER ARENAS: You could say that, but I think it was more you have to come in and teach a bunch of young guys a whole new defense or a whole new offense. At times it was frustrating, and of course sometimes when you guys asked, it ticked him off even more. But now we have a genius for a linebacker who makes it a lot more easy for all the other players to learn the defense, and it's not as much stress as it was his first year.

Q. Aside from football, what's been your favorite part about being in California so far?
JAVIER ARENAS: Mostly calling back home and saying I'm in California, making everybody jealous. I've never been out on the West Coast. I ain't really got to go nowhere. I like being on the phone telling everybody, "I'm in California, where are you at?"

Q. Have you heard how cold it is back home?
JAVIER ARENAS: I heard it snowed back in Tuscaloosa.

Q. They said last night it got down to like 15 degrees.
JAVIER ARENAS: For real?

Q. What problems do you see with this offense with Texas? What do you think is going to be the most difficult thing to defend?
JAVIER ARENAS: I mean, the quarterback, giving him more time to make plays. On the other end of that, the speed demons at receiver that you have to chase around the whole time. You've got to be on your "A" game and you've got to be strong enough to know your assignment to make things that much easier. But of course you can't overlook the running backs coming out of the backfield and catching screen passes and things of that nature because they've got a lot of different dimensions. I think the quarterback being able to buy himself more time, I think that's very important, and I think that's something that's helped him be successful all year.

Q. Coach Saban has talked about distractions out here. How have you dealt with all the outside stuff?
JAVIER ARENAS: I think we've coped with it pretty well. It's not that much to do, it's more calm and serene than chaotic. I think it was a good scheme on the part of whoever put it in, and there's been no type of distractions. We've all been focused. Even if it was a big city with more distractions, the gratitude of this game, I think we'll still have our minds set on being successful.

Q. How has playing in the SEC helped you prepare for a game this big?
JAVIER ARENAS: That's the word I meant to say at first if I did. I meant to say gratitude.

Q. How does playing in the SEC week in and week out help you prepare for a game of this magnitude?
JAVIER ARENAS: You know you're going against an extremely, extremely good school. Not knocking any other conference, but you know you've got to be on your P's and Q's, and that's what your mindset is. Week in and week out we've got to get it up. Even if it's not an SEC school, playing schools out of other conferences or whatnot, we adopt that mentality, and it's week in and week out, no matter who we're playing. I think that's the same way it is when the season is over. You're going to the SEC Championship, of course you've got to bring your "A" game, and it follows over to the Bowl game. So that's obviously just who you are.

End of FastScripts

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