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ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO: STANFORD v WISCONSINDecember 28, 2012Ethan HemerShelton JohnsonDevin SmithPASADENA, CALIFORNIAS Q. Devin, after you took quite the hit. What's it mean to you to be able to say you're going to be able to play in the Rose Bowl? DEVIN SMITH: It's definitely a blessing. Watching it on TV again or the TV copy and on the internet, it definitely was a very hard hit. I blacked out instantly, but I knew I was okay when I was on the ground. I just knew my stomach hurt a little bit. But I'm definitely okay now, and definitely excited to get back out there and play. Q. Just in the difference in the preparation this year versus years past and all three of you can answer this, Barry had this business mentality when he decided to come back and coach. He said we're not going to mess around. We want to win. How has preparation been different? ETHAN HEMER: I'd say preparation has been‑‑ I'm sure other guys have said this, but short and snappy. Our practices have been, we'll get on the field, do our work, and we'll get off. I think our team has really embraced that. I'd say that's probably the biggest difference right now between. What Coach Alvarez does is a really good job of taking his players and motivates them to work hard. I think that's something that we've all really embraced. SHELTON JOHNSON: Just as far as the game plan is concerned, I think we're very far ahead of where we were at this point last year. I know coming in last year we didn't start having most of the game plan in. By the time we got up here, we had 95% of our game plan already set in. So I think it was a lot more front loaded. Like he said, it was a business mentality. We worked as soon as we got the game plan in. It was just kind of tightening the screws, like he says, when we got up here. So I guess that is the biggest deal. DEVIN SMITH: I think just off the field a lot of the players are a lot more focused this year. The past couple of years, a lot of people were very starry‑eyed and big‑eyed about being in a different environment. Lot of people haven't been to the west coast in LA. I think this year, you know, everyone's used to it. Everyone's been there, done that, and has that mentality. I think that everyone understands what we need to accomplish. The past few years have been very disappointing, and I think this year everyone wants to change the perspective of Wisconsin coming here in the past couple of years and not being able to finish. Q. Ethan, tonight is the famous Beef Bowl. Normally the offensive linemen take home the title. Travis Frederick with eight. Can you rep for the defense or is somebody going to step it up tonight for the D? ETHAN HEMER: For the Beef Bowl, I'm going to eat until I'm full, and I'm going to stop. I'm not crazy like that. I know Travis could eat a whole cow if he wanted to, and I heard that he's not going to do that this year. He's going to eat until he's full too. So I think everyone will be happy because there will be more for everyone else, which will be nice. Q.  How much have the past couple of Rose Bowl losses stuck with you guys and especially given this year the close losses you suffered in the regular season, what would it mean for you guys to finally be on the winning end of a close game? SHELTON JOHNSON:  I think kind of the past consecutive Rose Bowl losses have hurt each more, like a lot more each consecutive year. I know last year it stung so much just because it was the second time coming out here and the second time falling short. So I guess that stands as kind of a huge motivation for us to come out on the winning side of this game, especially with all the unknowns and stuff that's going on with the coaches departing and Coach B. leaving. Just the culmination of everything that's gone on this year, it forces you to want to come out on the winning side of this game. Q. Ethan, the last time Wisconsin and Stanford played in the Rose Bowl in 2000, do you have a recollection of that or were you just a 10‑year‑old doing stuff? ETHAN HEMER: I absolutely do. I remember both the '99 and 2000 one. Both of those games were awesome to experience on TV. I thought it would be cool to play in one of those one day. Going for my third one is pretty cool. But I just remember watching Ron Dayne as a 10‑year‑old that's what sticks out in your mind. The awesome offensive play. You know, just watching the trophy being raised and the experience. It just looked like a really cool event. Q. Devin, was there a particular date that you were cleared to go full go for this game? DEVIN SMITH: It was at the beginning of this week of practice. So as soon as we got out here. Q. I was wondering if you wanted to add to that question posed earlier about the close losses and how that has made you more eager to get this victory this third time? DEVIN SMITH: I think also the fact that all the adversity that we've gone through this season just five losses, five tough losses and three in overtime, four within three points and within one a touchdown, I think just going out there and proving everyone wrong, the fact that everyone doesn't believe we should be in the Rose Bowl. The fact that people didn't believe we were supposed to be in the Big Ten Championship, and we proved them wrong then. I think just like Shelton said, you know, everything that the program's going through right now, the different coaches leaving and just the uncertainty of the program, I think it would be a great feeling to leave on a high note. I think it would just put a lot of closure to this season, and just having all the doubters believe for once. I think it would be a great feeling for all of us. Q. Shelton, a lot of times bigger tight ends are staying in the block and are more decoys or whatever. But how tough of a cover will it be on Zach Ertz? SHELTON JOHNSON: He's a great tight end. He's 6'8", long arm span, you can see him on film, he goes up for the ball really well. So it will be a challenge, but I think we'll be able to handle him in the back end. Q. Given the fact that you've mentioned that so many coaches have left. There have been the close losses and everything. How close do you feel this team is right now as opposed to years past given everything you've gone through? SHELTON JOHNSON: We're closer than ever. Every time we face turmoil, I think it draws us closer together. Especially with all the coaches leaving. I know a lot of them have only been here for a year. I know Coach Bloom's only been here for a year, but he's been one of my favorite coaches since I've been here in my five years. We all have great relationships with these coaches. The fact that they're leaving and this is the last time we're going to be able to go to battle together puts that much more emphasis on going out and leaving in a great way. STUDENT‑ATHLETE: I'd say that our team has gotten better every year. Coach Alvarez has made an effort to say finish everything. Finish practice, finish school, something our team has embraced. This year, finish will be a huge motivator for our team in this Rose Bowl. Q. Shelton, last year the big play hurt Wisconsin's defense often. In fact, it cost you a couple of games. This year you've done a much better job of preventing big plays, 30‑plus yard plays. Anything you can put your finger on why it's been improved this year? SHELTON JOHNSON: I think it's been consistency. We've been a lot better with being everywhere we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be there. That's why those big plays when somebody doesn't try to do the exact right thing where they're supposed to be, it kind of puts the whole defense in a funk. So just everyone being consistent with what they do and doing the right thing at the right time, I think it eliminates those big plays all together. Q. Kevin Hogan may not be as athletic as a Braxton Miller or Taylor Martinez, but he does bring a running element to the game. What are some of the things that you guys have to do defensively to be aware of a quarterback who can tuck it, run it, and keep the chains moving? ETHAN HEMER: So with a quarterback like Kevin Hogan, defenses need to be disciplined in their assignments and alignments. You need to pass rush aggressively, but maintain the pocket presence, I guess, is the best way to put it. We don't want to give him opportunities to sneak through. We don't want to give him chances to escape pockets. A big focus for us will be keeping him contained then making him feel our presence. As far as his running abilities, you're absolutely right. He can make plays with his feet. That will come down to tackling fundamentals. We'll need to tackle well in order to keep him contained. Q. Lot of programs go decades without getting this opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl. You guys are doing it for the third year in a row. Is it hard not to take this for granted? Or is there a message that your coaches are putting into your head, what is the thought on that, third year in a row getting this opportunity? Any of the players. DEVIN SMITH: You can never take anything for granted. I think this year people are starting‑‑ our teammates are starting to understand that. No one has won the Big Ten Championship three years in a row for 30 years, and Wisconsin's never done it. So this is definitely something to be proud of as a program. That opportunity doesn't come around every so often. It's a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity to be here three years in a row. A lot of teams wish they were in the shoes that we're in right now. I think you definitely can't take it for granted, and I think everyone understands that. I think that's why the focus is so high this year. SHELTON JOHNSON: Like Devin just said, the coaches do a great job of reminding us, man. With everything we've been through this season, we almost didn't make it here to begin with. So you definitely can't take this opportunity for granted. It's the Rose Bowl. There are people that go their entire lifetime without being able to step on that field or go through some of the activities and stuff that we've gone through. So at times it does get a little monotonous, you can't take anything for granted. This is the last time that we're going to have this opportunity, especially as seniors to be able to have anything to do with this. I think that make it's that much more special. You never know when your last time is going to be. Whether you're a senior, junior, sophomore, whatever. You never know when this is the last time you're going to have this opportunity. So you can't really take it for granted, I don't think. Q. Ethan, you grew up in the greater Metropolis of Medford. As a Wisconsin native, what's this whole experience mean to you? ETHAN HEMER: Growing up watching Coach Alvarez' teams especially being a Wisconsin native, you get a real feel for the pride that the state has for Wisconsin football teams. There is a real backing, and some real crazy fans out there that just make you feel that this means a lot. Being here, being able to experience this is something that I've only dreamed of. To be able to do it three times is a pretty special feeling. Something that I truly cherish. Q. Since this is your third year coming to the Rose Bowl, what can you gather from the previous years going forward to this year to help you in this game? SHELTON JOHNSON: I think just the way the past two Rose Bowls have gone, you played great teams and the little things have become that much more important. It's the little things that win you the game. Just like TCU and Oregon. I mean, those games were close games. Those games could have gone either way. Any one of those 60 or 70 plays in that game could have won that game for us. So that puts that much more emphasis. Like Coach Alvarez says, finishing, finish every play, do what you're supposed to do in every play. If you do that, you'll come out with a victory. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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