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ROSE BOWL GAME PRESENTED BY VIZIO: STANFORD v WISCONSINDecember 29, 2012Montee BallPASADENA, CALIFORNIAS Q. How do you feel? MONTEE BALL: It feels good, the third time, but most definitely you don't take this for granted because a lot of people wish they were in our shoes. Q. Talk about what you went through in the off‑season and how it has helped you this season? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I went through a lot, faced a lot of adversity before the season, and it kind of set me back at the beginning of the season. But I believe what it showed me is that you've always got to face adversity, so you've just got to make sure that you always fight through it. That kind of helped me battle through all the losses that we had and kind of showed me that I had to keep going, keep fighting, and made sure I spread it throughout the team, the same message. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Tough. It wasn't the ideal way, the ideal season to have. But glad to see that we finished it out right, made sure we showed everybody in the nation that we deserved to be in the Big Ten Championship Game and deserved to be here at the Rose Bowl. Q. What kind of a challenge is (inaudible)? MONTEE BALL: They play very smart, play very smart football, they're well coached, and their players really‑‑ they really attack the run game. They come downhill, and they're pretty physical, so it's going to be a pretty physical game that I'm really looking forward to. Q. This seems to be the final audition for the scouts? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, they're all going to be watching. I'm sure some of them are probably going to be there. But yeah, they're most definitely going to evaluate me, watch how I match up against a really, really great team, really great run defense. Q. (Inaudible)? MONTEE BALL: Oh, yeah, obviously I don't watch the offense film, but I've seen a little bit of him in the previous games, and he's a physical, physical runner, runs well, runs behind his pads, which is a great thing to do as a running back. Q. Have you seen a defense like Stanford in previous games? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, we like to compare them to Penn State because they play smart, they play with a lot of heart, and they play together, they play for each other, which is a very difficult defense to defeat, when every player plays for each other, and they do a great job, like I said, of attacking the run. It's going to be challenging for us, but it's going to be fun. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Well, together as a team what we take from the past times this year is that every play matters, every play matters, even if it's the first play or obviously the last play of the game really, really matters, and every player has to play with energy and excitement, which will help us win, which we did in the Big Ten Championship Game. But what we're looking for this game is, like I said, a full‑court game against a great, great team, and the team with the least amount of penalties who's focused for the longest will win. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, there's a heightened sense of awareness with bringing the energy on the sideline and focus because there's a lot of distractions, obviously leading up to this game with a lot of‑‑ the tradition behind the Rose Bowl. We all enjoy it, but there's a lot of people pointing you in different directions. But being a leader and a senior for this team, you've got to make sure that everyone stays focused and prepares in practice and carries it forward into the game. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Oh, the team, we were talking about it actually yesterday. You can tell there's a different level of focus this year than last year or the year before that because a lot of players aren't staying out late at all. A lot of them are in bed by 11:00, some by 10:00, and really getting our bodies ready for the game. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: No, I just say that because at the beginning of the season I want to say that we‑‑ yeah, we played with energy, but not enough. We didn't have enough energy on the sidelines. If you watch our Nebraska game the first time we played them, if you look over at their sideline they were jumping around screaming bringing the emotion into the game, and I think that's what we kind of started doing later on in the season, which we're going to carry forward to this game, which will help us. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Oh, well, yeah. I mean, we're all human. Obviously we were a little disappointed, angry. There was a lot of mixed emotions‑‑ and when I say angry it's just because we're selfish that he's leaving, that Arkansas is getting a great coach, because we wanted him to stay here with us at Wisconsin. But we understand that it's a profession. Coaches want to go and do their own things, accomplish their own goals, so we wish him the best. Q. How has it been different from Coach Alvarez? MONTEE BALL: It hasn't been different because Coach Bielema learned a lot from Coach Alvarez, so a lot of the formula is the same. One thing is different that we enjoy is just the way Coach Alvarez talks to us, his swagger that he brings to practices, before his speeches and during his speeches and all that stuff is something we really enjoy. We all are most definitely looking forward to his pregame speech. We hear he does a great job with that. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Well, yeah, Coach Alvarez really likes to focus on‑‑ he calls it being snappy in practice, which is‑‑ we'll have a short practice, he wants us to be in and out, mentally focused for the time that we have marked out that we need to be there. But if he doesn't feel we did a great job in practice‑‑ like say we'll have 15 periods of practice, we'll go 30 periods to get to 15 if we need to get to 15. That's kind of what he says. One thing he focuses on is getting our legs back, allowing for us to get off our feet and be ready for the game. Q. (Inaudible.) What did you take out of what happened (inaudible)? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, the situation I faced, yeah, during the summer. I guess I had to learn it the hard way that I live my life in a fish bowl. I live my life under a microscope. Anything I do will be magnified times 100, and everyone knows me. So I guess I've got to protect myself and just always stay aware of my surroundings. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Wisconsin, what we've been focusing on to do is just starting fast, starting fast, keeping our foot on the gas and playing for each other and focusing on our strengths. Q. Talk about the tradition of this game. You're 150 yards away from the all‑time record. What does it mean to possibly get into the history books? MONTEE BALL: Man, it means a lot, just being mentioned in the same sentence as Ron Dayne, it's surreal, man, because you hear about him a lot, and now to be mentioned with him is great. I'm shooting for it, I'll be honest with you, I'm shooting for it, but obviously I'm looking to get the W, the victory, for my first time. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: It has. It has. This week it has because you start to realize that this is the last time that you'll be around all these players at the same time. Coaches, as well, so it's starting to hit me, and I've made sure that I really cherish this a lot. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, I have. I've started to catch myself now. Down here at times I was really thinking about everything that I've accomplished, all the goals I've matched, and it's been a very fun journey. I'm blessed to have the people around me to get me to this point, honestly. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I mean, I've accomplished a lot personally. Very, very excited, grateful for everything I've accomplished, very fortunate. But I want the Rose Bowl. I want the Rose Bowl victory more than anything that's because that's something I can share with everybody. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Right. I mean, yeah. I don't think it would change my legacy personally, mine, but I guess in a way I can say I never took my team to win a championship. The big game, when we say that. We've won a championship game, but I want to take my team to win, and I want to say that I brought them down here to win. So that's something that I'm missing. Q. Everybody is focusing on the run games. What's it like to be under that microscope? MONTEE BALL: Oh, it's great. To know that the other team is really, really, really preparing for you is great, it's a lot of respect, and we've been really preparing for Taylor, as well. But we're going to use‑‑ we really harp on establishing the run game, and we're going to make sure we do the same thing this game. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: You know, yeah, that's the confidence that we have, that we approach every game, and I'm sure they're doing the same thing, feeling like they can outman or out‑physical us up front. That's why we expect for it to be a four‑quarter, very physical game that we really enjoy. Q. (Inaudible.) How would that affect the senior class and you guys' legacy? MONTEE BALL: Right. I mean, yeah‑‑ Q. Losing three Rose Bowls, or will they be remembered for‑‑ MONTEE BALL: Hopefully they'll remember us for all the things that we accomplished. But I'm always going to be honest; it's hard to not remember the class that lost three Rose Bowls. In a way that kind of motivates us to‑‑ it's been motivating us to practice hard, harder, and focus a lot longer, stay in the film room longer, to win. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I've been through a lot, the situation that I had off the field, being attacked, and then it kind of‑‑ I was kind of slow out of the gates in the beginning of the season, which really affected the team. But like I said, as a leader, I made sure to tell myself that I've just got to overcome this and fight through it, and I believe that helped me out a lot throughout the games that we lost because I believe I did a great job, the rest of the seniors did a great job, as well, spreading it throughout the team and making this team better. Q. What were your thoughts on coach Bielema going to Arkansas? MONTEE BALL: Disappointed. I mean, obviously me personally, it doesn't really affect me, but I guess in the way I kind of felt‑‑ I was disappointed for the other players, because in a way it was kind of sudden. But we're all men, and like I said, we understand that this job, it's a profession now, it's a business. So we understand that if you don't perform, you're going to sit on the bench, and if the coach doesn't perform or if the coach wants to go do other things, he's going to go. Q. Did it take a while to get over that disappointment? MONTEE BALL: It didn't take long at all. Don't get me wrong, we most definitely miss coach Bielema. But like I said, we really understand the‑‑ the formula is so engrained into us, to where we're going to perform the same way that we did in the Big Ten Championship Game. But like I said, we understand that people have their own goals and want to go get them. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Oh, yeah, we‑‑ us players, we really enjoy the short practices, obviously. But we like how Coach Alvarez tells us, how he talks to us before practice to get us really amped for practice, and he tells us what he wants, and we make sure to go out there and do it. One thing that we like is our legs are going to be back. Our legs are going to be fresh, and we're going to be flying around in the game. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Of course, because obviously the time that you have off the field you can attack the film room, and that's what we've been doing. We have a lot, a lot of free time, and we make sure to gather your position group together, gather the running backs together, and we go watch blitz pickups, the blitzes that they do and the tendencies of their linebackers. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: I mean, you're never done. We enjoy what we do. But yeah, obviously. You want to‑‑ yeah, we want to play. We feel like everything is working right now, everything is clicking, and we're ready to go out there and perform. Q. Anything that you personally want to accomplish in this game? MONTEE BALL: Me? I mean, first and foremost, I want to win. I do want to win because that's the thing that I'm missing. I want to win for my players and everything. But I guess my personal on that, the 150 yards that I need, I want to get, and everything else with that. Q. What are the similarities between your play and Stepfan Taylor's? MONTEE BALL: A lot. I see a lot of similarities. We both run behind our pads. We're both blazing fast. We both do a great job of utilizing our strengths, which is like I said running behind our pads and playing very physical. Q. Have you reached out to Ron or anybody else and talked to them about your final game? MONTEE BALL: Really, no, not yet. I've done that the past years, but I plan on doing the same thing with Ron, just to get a couple tips, just to see what he has to say, because I know he has something, and I'll make sure to do that. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I've thought about it. It's been motivating me, and hopefully it works, the motivation works. Q. What about with James? MONTEE BALL: No, not yet. It's kind of a spur of the moment thing during our pregame warm‑ups. We kind of come up with something, so hopefully we come up with something good, and hopefully we actually get to do it. Q. Talk about your college career coming to an end. You know it's been one of the better ones in the history of college football. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, it's been hitting me at random times down here with the team, because right after this I'm gone. What, three more days, two more days, I'm gone. It's been hitting me because it's the last time I'll be in the same room with all these players or anything at the same time. It's going to be tough after the game. Q. What do you think about all that? You say it hits you at random times. MONTEE BALL: That this is it. I mean, you try not to think about it, but at times it's kind of hard, because basically for example at Disneyland, Melvin was like let's start recording each other and stuff like that because this is it, and then another time when it hit me‑‑ yeah, I'm going to miss these guys a lot. Q. What are you most proud of when you look back at your career? Is there one thing that stands out? MONTEE BALL: I mean, I'd obviously have to go with the battle back in my sophomore year from the time I didn't play and taking off from there. Q. All the touchdowns and all the records and stuff like that? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, you've got to go with the touchdown record, got to go with the touchdown record. But I think one thing for sure, as cliché and whatever you want to call it, I'm going to miss the chemistry that I have with these players, honestly. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, Stanford, they're very physical. They're very big, a lot bigger than how they look on film because we ran into a couple of them at Disneyland, and they're some pretty big guys. They fly downhill and really attack the run game and do a great job. Their D‑line is very physical and very good. We like to really‑‑ we like to compare them to kind of like a Penn State football team because they play smart, they play with a lot of heart and they're well coached, so it's going to be a very physical game. Q. Do you ever think what your legacy will be that you leave at Wisconsin? MONTEE BALL: I mean, yeah, I've thought about everything that I've accomplished, and every time I think about that, one thing that sticks out to me is I have yet to win a Rose Bowl. I think in a way it's motivated me to practice harder and study film longer because I do want to win this game. I don't want to be remembered as the player who did this but lost three Rose Bowl Games. I want to be remembered as a player who did all this and won his last Rose Bowl Game. Q. Is your preparation or mindset different this year? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, it is, because obviously first year, everything is‑‑ it's different, my first time, and then second year being a little bit more used to it. But most definitely this year, I can tell, speaking for the entire team, we're a lot more focused than we were these past two times here. I see a lot more players in the film room, the film rooms that we have around the hotel studying. A lot of players are in bed earlier and really focusing, and we've been practicing a little, too. Q. How ironic is it that if there's any running back who's been portraying you in practice that it turns out to be‑‑ MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I heard about that the other day, Barry Sanders Jr., and the one thing I said is that they're going to be ready. Having him do that, they're going to be ready. It feels good. It feels good to have someone like that portraying me in practice. Q. You got a chance to get to know his dad a little bit. How cool was that? MONTEE BALL: Oh, man. I mean, come on, that's Barry Sanders. To have him even look your way or even acknowledge you is enough, but to have him tweet at me, go out of his way to send me a message and stuff like that is fantastic, man. It was surreal, kind of felt like it was fake at first because it was like, there's no way this is happening. But it was a blessing for sure. Q. (Inaudible.) Which one of you will end up having rushed for the most yards in the NFL? MONTEE BALL: Oh, man, yeah, tough question. But hopefully me. Hopefully me. But Melvin Gordon, he's right there. He's right there now. He's going to be a great player. He's going to be a great player for the University and in the league, as well, and same for James. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL: It is. It is. Talking about the young player, Melvin, you've seen how much he's grown throughout the season, just by how many carries he's been getting and how many defenders he's making miss and how many touches he's been getting. But he's grown so much in this just month of practice, more than any player I've seen, and I'm looking forward to watching him really excel. Q. Last year we heard you two had gone‑‑ somebody said third round draft pick. Do you think that with what you've shown this year, the things you've had to go through, that you've shown the NFL even more? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah. What I've been focusing on is just‑‑ I believe I‑‑ what am I trying to say? I was physically ready last year for the NFL, but I don't believe I was mentally ready. That was one of my big decisions of why to come back. Every player up there is fast, strong and all that stuff, but what separates players from the others is being mentally prepared for everything.  So I believe this extra year that I have, it really mentally prepared me for the next level. Q. I know Eddie George and I were giving you a hard time back in Chicago. You got off to a slow start, but by the end of the year you were rolling. MONTEE BALL: Yes, we struggled, a lot of adversity at the beginning of the season, but we did a great job of keeping it together and kept us rolling. Q. You had some crazy highs and lows this year. This has been a very different road compared to the last two. In some respects you probably appreciate it more this go. MONTEE BALL: You have to, man, because you have to appreciate the things like this because later on in our lives we're going to look back on this‑‑ if we win, we plan on winning, but we're going to look back on this and say look at all the stuff we went through and battled through and we still won the game is something to cherish. Q. Talk about old Barry Alvarez being back on that sideline. MONTEE BALL: Exactly, he is a legend. When you come to the University as a football player, you hear a lot about what he's done for the players and for the program, and to finally see him in action right now on our sidelines is a blessing, and we want to reward him with a win. Q. All the players have said the practices have been different, shorter, crisp, get to work and then you get rewarded. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, that's exactly like Coach Alvarez‑‑ he wants it snappy, snappy practice, real quick, crisp, mentally focused and get us off our feet to get our legs back. Q. Anything different about this trip already other than of course Barry Alvarez being on the sideline? MONTEE BALL: Yeah. You know, obviously everything is the same with the tradition and all that stuff, but for this team I can see we're a lot more focused. A lot of players aren't out late, they're in bed early and up early to get in the film room and prepare for practice. Q. You must know LA as well as you know Madison. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, we've had our fun. This is our third time. Obviously we know the town, but now we're focusing on the game, and we're going to go out there and try to win. Q. When game day comes, are you worried more about rust and rhythm or do you feel good? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, it's going to be‑‑ we feel so good. We're going to be flying around because everyone's legs are fresh, and by us getting off the field so much earlier than usual, we're allowed to attack the film room, so a lot of players are going to really play a lot faster because they're going to be‑‑ they were studying a lot longer in the film room. Q. It's a real challenge to have that much time between games, right? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, it is difficult to have a month off from your last game. But this is our third go around, so hopefully we come out on top this time. Q. Having Melvin, what does that do for the running game? MONTEE BALL: Because he's shown that he's capable of taking it for 70, 80 yards, it's opened it up a lot, because defenses, they have to honor it. They have to honor it, and what it does in the middle is it creates gaping holes. So we always make sure to tell Melvin to sprint full speed even if he doesn't have the ball, so it opens it up for us and vice versa. Q. (Inaudible.) MONTEE BALL:  It was frustrating at times for a young player. You know how that goes. But he's developed mentally a lot, I can tell, by carrying out his fakes longer, making it look like he has the ball, which actually helped him by getting the 80‑yard runs down the field. So he's really excelled mentally. Q. Where do you think he's come the farthest this year? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, mentally, because he's always had the raw ability. He's always‑‑ Coach Hammock would always joke and say at the beginning of the season you come in looking like Tarzan but you play like Jane. (Laughter.) So he's really excelled mentally, which he's going to be. He's going to be a really exciting player to watch. Q. Do you agree with the people who say he's more talented than you are? MONTEE BALL: Yes, easily. I told him that like two, three months ago. I'll be quick to say he has all the abilities to be a great running back, way better than me. Q. What do you think he's going to be like next year? MONTEE BALL: Obviously it's him and James, they're going to battle for the starting position. Whoever gets it, great, but we all know how James is. James is going to give you what he's been giving you. He's great player. But Melvin, he's going to be an explosive player. He's going to really emerge and play great. Q. The tradition of running backs is alive and well after you leave here? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, it is. It's been put in great hands. I always joke around with them and say I set the standards high. We always joke around, and Melvin said he's going to crush all my records, he's actually going to go win the Heisman and stuff like that. Just cracking jokes at each other. The bar has been set high, but they're going to do a great job. Coach Hammock is going to do a great job, too. Q. What would he say when he said he looks like Tarzan? MONTEE BALL: Melvin would just laugh and just say, there's no way. Coming in as a freshman you obviously think that you can come in and rush for whatever because you did it your senior year in high school. But coach made sure to crush that, made sure to crush that and tell him this is college football, it's different. But Melvin is going to be‑‑ he's in great hands. Q. You mentioned Melvin and James next year, but there's going to be a lot more guys coming back than those two. MONTEE BALL: Yeah. Q. How good do you think this team can be next year if everybody stays intact? MONTEE BALL: I mean, this team should be great if they want to be. That's the thing. If the seniors, captains lead this team in the right way, this team obviously will be a lot better than this year, their record will be a lot better than this year and should end up somewhere big. Q. Can those guys who are returning go through another transition like you guys did, what can they learn from this year that might help them next year? MONTEE BALL: With the coaching changes? Right, I'll say this: It's no secret, it's challenging, it's frustrating. It's frustrating, let me say that, because you learn one entire playbook and then a new coach comes in and you've got to learn another playbook. But I think one thing that they'll take from this year that will help them next year is that they've done it. They've done it before, they know what to expect, they know that they have to prove themselves again to the new coach, which at times is exciting for the players who are second, third string, and it tells the first‑string players, hey, you've got to solidify your spot again. Q. 3‑4 defense, what kind of a challenge is that for you guys? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I mean, obviously we haven't faced it as much. Let me say that. But it's challenging because of the stand‑up D ends that they have, and their D‑line is very good. Their D‑line does a great job of creating mismatches with the stunts that they do, the movements that they do, and they're really great at attacking the run. So it's going to be a great game. Q. They've got some linebackers that are pretty active. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, the linebackers, obviously they do a great job of stopping the run and flying downhill. Q. Talking with their guys, their key is stopping you in the run. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, I feel like that's kind of what every team this season has been saying is stop me, so I'm used to it. I go with the mentality that they're going to focus on me and try to stop me. But I'm very fortunate enough to have other players around me make great plays, and obviously I feel like I'm prepared for the game. Q. How important is it, the experience that you've played here one or two times, most of the guys? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, it's helped in a way that we just understand‑‑ we understand what the atmosphere is going to look like. We understand that there's going to be a lot of distractions throughout the week with the traditions. We really do enjoy them, but obviously we're down here for one reason, so we make sure‑‑ the seniors make sure to keep preaching that to the other players, make sure you remember why we're down here, so make sure you stay in the film room longer and all that stuff, so I believe the last two times that's the way that they're helping. Q. Is their front seven as good as you've seen? MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, easily. That's why they play smart and they're technically sound. They're always in the right spots at the right time, and they have perfect technique and all that stuff because they're well coached and they play for each other. Q. You guys are a very physical team but Barry Alvarez seems like he's coming here, you guys scrimmaged on Tuesday. What's it been like setting the tone physically? MONTEE BALL: I just see us, speaking for the entire team, we really enjoy him. We're very thankful first off for him being able to coach‑‑ taking the coaching job and taking us down here and all that stuff, so we want to reward him with the win. But one thing we like about him is his confidence, because obviously with your head coach leaving, very sudden, it kind of knocks you on your feet, off your feet for a little bit. One thing we like with him is his confidence, his swagger and the way he approaches everything. Q. Kind of a long year in some respects. Talk about that. MONTEE BALL: Yeah, yeah, to me this time being down here this week or so, it‑‑ a lot of players mention it, let's take some video, let's videotape our last year at Disneyland and going down this roller coaster and all that stuff because it's the last time we'll be together all at the same time. It's going to be very tough, pretty emotional probably after the game, but hey, kind of bittersweet because my time here is done, and I'm ready for the next level. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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