|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO: STANFORD v WISCONSINDecember 27, 2012Trent MurphyPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. How is the preparation going? TRENT MURPHY: About to get started, but it's been going well. We've got quite a bit of work in so far. Q. Is it fair to say‑‑ how much of their offense is what you guys have seen either in this year or in past years? TRENT MURPHY: We definitely got some good preparation for it in training camp when we were taking those live preps against our one's offense. We got a look at our ones and twos again in bowl prep. But a lot of it is similar with what they do with the tight ends and wings and how they move and their mentality of firing off the ball and moving the line of scrimmage. So there are definitely some similarities. I think the biggest difference is kind of what they try to do with their speed and getting on an edge well. Our offense is kind of a little different in the sense that it's power or play action pass for the most part. Q. The ten teams that are in the BCS, four of them are all more of the power football oriented rather than the spread? TRENT MURPHY: Hopefully, hopefully it says something, but I'm not so sure it does. I think it kind of depends on the coaching staff and what they believe and what they're into. But I mean, with the right mentality and hard work, you can probably take most schemes to the big games. Q. I'm doing a little story on Ben Gardner. Do you have a way you'd describe him in the locker room or the way he plays football? TRENT MURPHY: You wouldn't think so, but he's actually kind of a comedian. He's a pretty funny guy, but then he's also kind of this blue‑collar, nitty‑gritty, tough guy, get down and dirty. But, yeah, probably a combination of those two. Q. He's known, the mullet has been like what he's best known for to a lot of people. So there is a lot more there. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, that's kind of his curse and blessing, because he became known for the mullet, so now he can't cut it off. He always talks about how he's going to cut it, but we're like you can't cut it. That's who you are now. So it's kind of funny. We have fun with it a little bit. Q. Once everything died down last year after the Fiesta Bowl, how much crap did he get for cutting it before that game? Serious or not serious? TRENT MURPHY: We gave him a lot. We were just like you have to bring it back. Q. He told me he was thinking about cutting it again this year, just to prove that it wasn't his fault. Who was the biggest advocate for stopping him? Who took the clippers out of his hand? TRENT MURPHY: Probably the group of us. He knows he has to play with it at least. He says he might cut it after the game still, but we'll see. I'm suspect to that. I'm not so sure he will. Q. Back to the question about the power football concept, it seems interesting that you guys seem to be (Indiscernible)? You guys are sort of rewriting what a Pac‑12 team is all about. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, we don't really worry about that too much. We're just trying to play like a Stanford team. We're trying to a tradition of good defense, and good offense as well. Stanford has been known for a good quarterback or good offense. It's rarely known to have been a good defense. So that's a tradition that we're working on building since the last few groups of guys have been there. Q. How much of that is a reflection of Coach Harbaugh, and the fact that he was a Big Ten guy? TRENT MURPHY: It's a lot. He had a lot to do with it. He started it. He started the movement. He got us all shirts that had our names in cursive, and they were the blue‑collared, kind of like gas station or oil change type of shirts. We had to wear those around for a while. He prepared it. He taught it. He lived it. It was all about the mentality. We had Coach Fangio and Coach Mason and every one of those guys talked about fundamental football and great defense, and it definitely started with Coach Harbaugh. Everybody else has worked on it as well. Q. Do you think it came from his philosophy? If you were a quarterback at USC, I would imagine you guys would be a very different team now? TRENT MURPHY: I don't think so. I think Coach Harbaugh would try to play at Stanford in his early career. But that's just who he is. You look at him on the sideline now and he's still fired up. He's got that look in his eyes, so that's just Coach Harbaugh. Q. I covered them before I came here. So I know that look. Okay. Got you. TRENT MURPHY: No problem. Q. Trent, you've got a month before you decide? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, there are a handful of guys that submitted their papers to the NFL advisory board, and we probably won't get those results back until after the game. So I think me and a number of guys are kind of taking a serious look at where they are after the season and decide from there. I mean, there are pros and cons to each way, but I mean just looking at myself as a player, there is so much for me to improve on and the mistakes I made. I look at Chase, and he came back for a fifth year, and it's definitely paid off as far as the experience and further development for him. So we'll take a look at that. Q. You haven't heard back from the NFL yet? TRENT MURPHY: I haven't, no. Q. (Indiscernible)? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, they said it was like two to three weeks, so I expected that I would have it back already. So I know I think they tell Coach Shaw first or something. They may not want to tell us until after the game. Q. Are you looking at a round number or you're staying or is there more than that? TRENT MURPHY: It's a little more than that. But everyone kind of says if you're anything second or higher, it would be pretty hard to come back. But I think if it came back with second, then it would definitely make the decision a little more serious than what I think it's going to be. So we'll see. I know I've got some good Chase stories here. Q. Somebody said at Disneyland yesterday he was doing the Splash Mountain there or something, it was the first time they'd seen him smile. TRENT MURPHY: No, I mean, Chase definitely gets a snarl about him sometimes when he's just looking a little grumpier people say than others. But I don't know. I think when he gets to work, which is kind of what this is for him and us, he takes it seriously. He's got that look on his face that he's not playing around and he's ready for business. So that probably has a lot to do with it. He's also like a tough guy with a nasty streak. I think that's kind of what you need to play defense, especially. Q. Is he especially grumpy after the Notre Dame game? TRENT MURPHY: Oh, absolutely. Playing in the rain, losing, and traveling, that's about the three worst combinations you can have, especially for him. It's closer to him, where he has most of his family go to that game, so I'm sure he was pretty grumpy after that one. Q. I knew that he and Gardner after that kind of practice, that Tuesday practice after the Notre Dame game and you guys had a team meeting, what was Chase like in that? TRENT MURPHY: He was serious. He was more serious than I'd ever seen him. Normally you can kind of get away with joking around with him for a second or guys are talking in the back or something. But he wasn't having any of it. He stood in the middle of the locker room and told us we needed to get to work, and this was kind of bull how we were going and what was happening and that should never happen. He definitely stepped up as a leader that week, for sure. Q. (Indiscernible) of the guys who did play this year, who do you think are going to be looking at next year to impact the team? TRENT MURPHY: As far as defense guys that didn't play, I mean, you had Blake Lueders sit out all year. I think he'll come back strong and better than he was before. Q. Is he an outside backer? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, he's an outside backer. You have Kevin Anderson who saw a little time this year. I think he'll develop a bigger role next year. Vaughters as well. Jarek Lancaster saw not as much time as inside linebacker as he did last year, so it will be interesting to see what happens, because there is a lot of competition in the inside backer room. You have Blake Martinez who did really well in practice all year. He kind of showed up on special teams a little bit. So those kind of guys on defense, especially. Q. People still don't look at Stanford as at the level of Alabama, LSU, and those kind of championship teams. What's it going to take for Stanford to get that that level? TRENT MURPHY: It's probably going to take us convincing them a little bit more. Kind of leaving no doubt. I mean, nothing happens by accident, so I think it kind of speaks more than words how we've ended up in three BCS bowls or bowls every year the last four years. But I mean, the biggest thing for us is kind of not getting complacent. We have to keep working, keep building the tradition of great football at Stanford. Then hopefully we earn that respect from people one day. At the same time, what people say about us doesn't change the way we play. So it would be nice if they respected us, but at the same time, it's not going to change us. Q. Does it boggle your mind? What year did you graduate? TRENT MURPHY: I graduated high school in '09, so it was the summer after that. Q. How far this program has come in just a few years is amazing, isn't it? Obviously, the great coaching and getting great, talented players and some really dedicated people, does it boggle your mind how far this program has come? TRENT MURPHY: I mean, yes and no. The kind of classes, the two before me were the last classes that saw the 1‑11 seasons or the 6‑5 seasons or whatever it was. Q. It's been successful since you've been here? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, exactly. Q. You never saw the bad times. TRENT MURPHY: I mean, it's kind of, like I said earlier with Harbaugh, that look in his eyes when he was recruiting us, you knew he was serious about what he was talking about, about how he was going to build a legacy at Stanford of great football. Coach Shaw was on that staff as well. You knew he was serious. And now there is no better person to be head coach and take it off his hands. It's not really a surprise for me. It's kind of our expectation now to be winning games and when we lose it doesn't sit well for us. So I think it will continue. I don't think it's one guy that has kind of contributed to it. I mean, when Toby left, they were like oh, there goes Stanford. Or Luck left, and they're like oh there they go again. But we haven't gone anywhere yet. So I think that just is kind of a combination of hard work. Players and coaches, I think we'll still be a good football team. Q. Will you be saying the same thing next year? Stepfan Taylor is gone. Well, they can't do it now because Stepfan Taylor is gone. What would you say to that? TRENT MURPHY: I'd say, we'll see. Q. You've got Barry Sanders and all the rest of these guys. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah. Q. Does that boil down to what Coach Mason and Coach Shaw are preaching this week? TRENT MURPHY: We just got new shirts with a quote on the back. I wish I had it memorized, but I don't. It's hard work. That's what we've always been about. Kind of our mentality what we do. We show up to work. We get our job done, and everything will take care of itself from that point on. That's kind of the way we've always gone about our business. Q. (Indiscernible)? TRENT MURPHY: It definitely has a little different feeling because it's the Rose Bowl and what we've always preached. We wanted to win our conference and go to the Rose Bowl, and that's kind of always been our goal. Now we're this close, so you definitely don't want to miss that opportunity or let it slip away, because I'm sure a lot of teams were this close before, so we don't want to pass that up. Q. Is there a revenge factor a little bit for 2000? TRENT MURPHY: No, that hasn't really been brought up. That was a different team, and I think this is us. So this is our season. We've been working on improving and getting better, so we just want to finish this season right. Q. Does it matter that anybody brought up Stanford hasn't won a Rose Bowl since 1972? TRENT MURPHY: Nobody's brought it up. But I definitely think it goes unspoken. Like I said, we just need to finish the job for us and for this season. I'm sure for all the alumni and Stanford supporters and everything, that will mean the world to them that Stanford has finally won a Rose Bowl. Q. Wanted to ask you about defensive strategy a little bit. Talk about moving straight ahead, and the play action stuff. How much are you going to be stretched in different ways? Because they bring in the big power stuff, and they can also move laterally a lot (Indiscernible). So you have some big challenges, I would imagine? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, definitely. Good thing about what Coach Mason is doing with our defense, is if we do our jobs right, especially me and Chase, then we won't be stretched like that, really. We're going to be a stop the run first and set edges on the defense, and play the box, and the edge guys will play the edges. That way they won't be able to crease us or straight downhill running, so as long as we do our job, I think we'll be sound about against what they're trying to do. Q. (Indiscernible)? TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, I mean, Chase and I, we're just‑‑ well, we're really just supposed to create havoc on the edges more than anything. We look to set edges on the defense, hard edges where Shayne and the other inside backers can kind of play off of us. If me and Chase can funnel the offense into the hot gates, if you want to call it that, then there are nine guys siting there to make the play. Q. A lot of it is timing too. You have to get to some of those spots. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, there is a lot that goes into it. But it should be simple if you just kind of keep it that way. Q. (Indiscernible) after the Tuesday practice after the Notre Dame game. Derek was talking that practice was kind of ragged, and coaches had to say some stuff. Then Chase kind of got guys together. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, I think team morale must have been down on Monday and had a sloppy practice after a loss, which I think was scary for the seniors to see especially because Stanford has‑‑ at least since we've been there‑‑ never responded to a loss that way. To come out to practice and just go through the motions, so it wasn't a good sign. So Chase especially knew that they had to change where that was going, and now he's got to respond to the loss. I mean, we're going to get knocked down a couple of times or maybe have a bad game. But you've got to respond and you've got to come back and you've got to practice and you've got to work hard and get that win the next weekend. That's kind of what it was about. Just explaining to the young guys especially where the mindset has to be and where we have to move from that point on. It was long from being over for the season. Q. So Derek Mason said he had basically told the guys, if you don't want to do this, let's just shut down the season and stop playing now if you're going to respond this way. There is still a lot to play for. TRENT MURPHY: Exactly. It's a long season, and you have to continuously improve, keep working and move forward. You can't take one loss and say that's it. All right, guys, we gave it a good run. Next year, maybe. You've got to live in the moment and keep getting better. Q. How big was that loss? I talked to Herzog who was around yesterday and he said we'll never forget that loss. TRENT MURPHY: Yeah, especially to see him playing in the Natty now, that could have been us too. We were that close. But it's definitely bitter, but there is no changing it now. We've just got to learn from it, and know that we were that close. In this game, let's not be that close in the Rose Bowl. Let's get the job done this time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|