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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: FLORIDA STATE v GEORGIA TECHNovember 26, 2012Quayshawn NealyCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Q. I wanted to ask you about the turnaround for you guys. When was it during the season that a sense of urgency kind of kicked in for the players, and where did the leadership come from this year? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: The leadership came from our seniors, and the turnaround I would probably say after firing our defensive coordinator Coach Groh. We knew right away then that we had to‑‑ the seniors needed to step up and lead from there, and we had to make it to a Bowl game‑‑ if we was going to make it to a Bowl game, we would have to make some changes. Q. How difficult was that bye week for the players, losing your defensive coordinator and then just kind of facing so much pressure to have to turn it around quickly? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: It was pretty difficult, but at the same time it's just we all know it's just a business, and we have to make changes for the better of the team. It was kind of just a quick turnaround for everybody and a reality check. The guys took it well, and we just moved on and moved forward. Q. Can you tell us what has been the most improvement on the defense since the beginning of November let's say? I know you guys have still had a couple of games where you gave up a lot of points, but where are you guys better right now since the middle of the season? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: I would just have to say we're playing faster. We haven't had to think a lot on defense with all the calls. Coach Kelly has kept it very simple for us, and just guys are able to just play without thinking so much about like what gaps and all that they have to take care of or who they've got in the flats and stuff like that. Just know the call and just play. That's all we're doing. Q. Is it just as simple as find the ball and get to it? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: Yeah. I mean, we still have gap responsibilities and stuff like that. I mean, as far as even with like the inside linebacker, I only have like one gap to take care of. But at the same time you can play freer and you can run, and not so much things that bear you down to where you were just thinking so much and not playing. Q. And just off‑the‑cuff what you've seen on TV of Florida State and what you've seen on film to this point, what's going to be the challenges you will have with that offense? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: Well, right now we haven't seen them on film yet, but we know that E.J. Manuel, give him credit, he's doing good and he has some talented receivers, and we know we're just going to have to play him hard coverage‑wise and as far as stopping the run, too. Q. I'm curious, can you talk me through what the last, I guess, 48 hours or so have been like since you lost to Georgia, you come back and you obviously have to try to flush the game out of your system. What's it been like trying to move past that game? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: I mean, it's been the same as any other game. I mean, it's a bigger game because it's Georgia. I mean, it's one of the toughest games of the season basically just because it's Georgia. But I mean, it's no different than any other game we had to flush down this season. We've just got to move forward and look past this. It was a big loss, but we have something bigger to play for, which is the ACC Championship. So everybody's mind is really focused in and dialed in on this. Q. What was yesterday like for you? How were you feeling and thinking? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: To be honest, I was feeling bad, but I didn't even want to watch no football. I just ended up staying in my room and just chilling. But the past is the past, and I'm over that now, though. Q. Was there a point at which you started kind of stopped feeling bad about that and started looking forward to next Saturday? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: Oh, yeah. Just coming in here today, knowing that we're playing for the ACC Championship really changed my mood around from being all down all weekend and stuff like that. Q. I don't know how much you read or hear of stuff, but I think a lot of people are probably thinking or hoping that they want Florida State to win just to represent the ACC better in the Orange Bowl and so forth. Do you think that will give you guys some juice, kind of knowing that no one really wants you guys to win? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: Of course. Of course it's going to give us some juice. But I mean, we've been the pick that all season that for a lot of teams coming in, right off the bat, Virginia Tech, we was down point‑wise, saying they was just going to beat us down and this and that. We're going to be juiced up and ready to play, hands down. Q. You talked about the seniors on defense a minute ago. I wanted to ask you about one on the other side. What do you see as‑‑ what would it mean for the team to have Orwin Smith back this week, and is his value to the team more than just the stats that we see on the paper? QUAYSHAWN NEALY: It definitely is. He leads our offense, gets them right, along with Tevin. He's a big part of our success, and yeah, we really are looking forward to having him back this week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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