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CITI BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TEXAS v ALABAMA

January 5, 2010

Jordan Shipley

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA

JORDAN SHIPLEY: This year has been a little different and it's been tougher for us throughout the year just because people have expected us to win all the games and be here, and when you've got to live up to that it's a little bit tougher. We definitely don't mind being the underdog, and we've been there before.

Q. What do you see in the Alabama secondary, specifically Javier Arenas. What are your thoughts on what you've seen from Arenas?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: Obviously he's a great athlete, a great football player, and I have a lot of respect for him as a player, and their whole defense across the board is really solid. Even just looking at some of the return stuff he's been able to do, he's obviously a great player and was an integral part of the team.

Q. In a game where field position is always going to be pretty important, are you almost concentrating more on your return game role as you are on your wide receiver role?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think special teams is important in every game, especially for us in the big games. A lot of the time it comes down to turnovers and special teams. I'm definitely ready to try to do the best I can in that role of the game, but I have to approach every game the same way and know that all I've got to do is do my job, and whether that be a receiver or a returner, it doesn't matter.

Q. Excited about going back to the stadium tomorrow?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: Definitely looking forward to getting over there. We've been looking forward to this for a long time, and I've been dreaming about it since I was a freshman when we watched that game from the sidelines. Just to be back here and healthy finally and to be a part of this deal has been a lot of fun.

Q. Besides some of the other guys who were there that night at the National Championship game, they said they're kind of excited to go look at the spot of the field where Vince pitched the ball in.
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think Coach Brown has mentioned that this team has a little bit of similarities to that team. Obviously we've been pretty focused on this year and what we've been doing, so I haven't thought a whole lot about it. But I'm definitely looking forward to a chance to get back out there and to check out the field, and it's just going to be a lot of fun.

Q. Can you talk about the challenges of facing a Nick Saban defense, just what you see from them?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think their defense is just solid across the board. They've got great athletes. Arenas and all those guys are definitely, they're great athletes, and on top of that, they've got such a great defensive scheme that we realize it's going to be a great challenge, and we're looking forward to getting out there.

Q. What is it about the scheme that's so different? Is it just the confusion, they line up at something and they change it?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: They do a lot of misdirection stuff and do a lot of blitzing, and you've just got to be ready for everything that they can throw at you. The main thing for us is we don't ever really know from looking at the film what we're going to see because it's usually different. We're just going to have to prepare for everything and go in there and just be ready to execute.

Q. Blitzing Colt, isn't that a dangerous proposition, as well, because it can put you guys one-on-one with people? It can be feast or famine there, right?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think a lot of teams have blitz systems, and Colt is pretty good about knowing where his hot routes are, and he's definitely shown that he can run the ball and get out and make some plays with his feet. We feel good about him in whatever situation that we're in.

Q. All the time that you and Colt have spent together, was there ever a time where football got a little tiring?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think for us, we love the game. I think what you've got to learn to do, especially when I've been around so long, that you've got to be able to separate football from the rest of your life. A lot of times when we go home we don't talk about it much and I don't watch it on TV much because we're around it so much that I think you've got to get some separation from it, and that helps. It's nice to have a little time off.

Q. You've talked about your life away from football. What kind of things do you do along that line?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: What I've started to realize is a lot of times people I meet throughout the day, I may only meet them one time in my whole life, so they've got that one impression of me in their mind. Just the older I've gotten, the more I've tried to just reach out to just people I see on a daily basis and obviously doing a lot of speaking at FCA groups and a few churches and things like that, just anything I can do to try to use the pedestal that I've been given to glorify God is my purpose.

Q. What is your main message, what you just said, when you go speak?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: A lot of times it's kids, and just showing them that you can represent Christ and that you can be really successful in what you do and that you can have an impact on people. I believe there's a reason that we're all here, and it's to glorify Him. So everything I do, that's my main purpose.

Q. Of everything you've done here this week, what's been the most fun?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: The most fun thing that I've done, I guess, I think the Lawry's Beef Bowl was definitely one of my favorite things. I've done it three times now, I've been around so long. But we got to just eat a ton of food and hang out together and watch a magic show, and it was really a fun time.

Q. Did you have a competition with any of the guys at your table, see who could eat all of their prime rib?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: A lot of those guys, they don't want to challenge me, especially the bigger guys. They've been around and they know I can put food away. Yeah, we definitely ate a ton and had a good time hanging out together.

Q. I know Colt said he ate three. Did you beat him?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I've eaten three before. Yesterday I ate a meal in the middle of the afternoon, so I just ate two, took it easy on myself a little bit. Colt can definitely put away the food, also.

Q. Did you have fun at Disney World?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I had fun. I definitely had a bad experience with one of them. I had a bunch of food right before I got on one of the roller coasters in the dark, and it wasn't a good deal. I had to go lay down for a little while afterwards.

Q. How do you prepare for all of this with the media and dealing with this whole week?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: I think playing for Texas you've got to understand this is part of what goes along with having a successful team. We're just excited to be here, and we understand that our main goal is to come out here and win the game, so that's our main focus. We're excited to be here.

Q. Is there anything Coach Brown has done this week that's surprised you, any activities?
JORDAN SHIPLEY: You know, I think -- not really. I think we've done a lot of the same stuff that we normally do. Coach Brown just wants to make sure that everybody knows that we don't have to do anything other than what we've been doing every week, just go out and play football, and he's done a good job of just keeping everybody loose.

End of FastScripts

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