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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: KANSAS STATE v OREGONDecember 31, 2012De'Anthony ThomasGLENDALE, ARIZONA Q. What stands out to you about K State's defense? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Very physical. They run up to the ball. That's about it. Q. Do they remind you of anybody you've seen this year? DeANTHONY THOMAS: A couple teams like Stanford. That's about it. Big, physical team. Like I said, as long as we play Oregon football, we'll get the win. Q. With you preparing for this game with the long layoff, Coach Kelly said he didn't think it was too much of a distraction. Do you feel like it is at all? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Not at all. I feel like we prepared really well. We was in Eugene, had some pretty good practices. Came out here and had some great practices. I feel like our team is dialed in and ready to go. Q. Your second BCS bowl. How are you feeling this time around? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I'm feeling pretty good about it. Just out there waiting to have fun, celebrate with my team. Q. Did you notice anything different with the guys. People were saying the team has been here before, national championship game. Do you notice with the guys being more comfortable this time? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Yeah, I feel like everyone is just focused, dialed in, like I said, ready to go, ready to play some more Oregon football. Q. You've had enough time to wind down and relax? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Yes. Q. Is there any specific guy on K State's defense who coach has preached to look out a little more than someone else? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Arthur Brown, he's a great, good player. Out there, very physical player. Runs to the ball a lot. I feel like he likes to have fun out there. Q. Can you talk about possibly the difference in the Big 12, the film you've seen, than the PAC‑12's defense? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I don't really see no differences. Everyone just out there having fun, running to the ball, making plays. Q. What do you know about K State? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I don't really know too much about K State. They're a pretty good team, very physical, very disciplined, like to run to the ball on defense. I just feel like they're a pretty good team. Q. Everybody talks about your speed. Is that going to be an advantage in this game? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I think the advantage of us is going to be out there having fun, celebrating as a team, just playing Oregon offense. Q. What is the philosophy on that offense? Coach talks about no fear of failure, just excel. DeANTHONY THOMAS: It's just the way we prepare for big games, how we prepare and practice. You're just out there having fun, all being on the same page. Q. Both teams were in contention for national titles. Lost. Was it difficult getting away from the disappointment? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Things happen. We're in another BCS game. Like I say, we just want to get the win. Q. Something to prove against something you may have faced in the national championship? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Right. Like I say, K State is a great team. They're very physical, very disciplined. They're a great team. Like I say, we just play Oregon football, shooting the win. Q. The uniforms, hard to keep track of what you're going to wear? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Not at all. It doesn't really matter to me as long as we out there getting wins. It's not even the uniform, it's the players in the uniforms out there making plays, running to the ball on defense, on offense making plays. Q. Players like them? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Yes, we like 'em. Q. I want to ask you if you have any New Year's resolutions? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I have a couple. Just staying healthy, being a great team player, just being successful. That's about it. Q. You been having a good week, having fun so far? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Yes. Q. Who ate the most last night? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I'm not sure. A lot of players got down last night (laughter). Q. Things are heating up here. The sense of urgency. We talk about the month off. How do you get rid of that rust? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I feel like all the rust is off now. We all getting back to it, just having fun. I feel like we had some pretty good practices out in Eugene and out here. I feel like our team is ready for this big game. Q. What scares you the most about their defense? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I'm not a very scared person, I'm very confident. K State is very physical, very disciplined team. Like I said, as long as we play well on offense, we shooting the win. Q. Any players on the defense that jump off the tape that you've been looking at? DeANTHONY THOMAS: They have some pretty good inside linebackers that like to run the ball, very physical. We got a lot of speed on this team, make them miss in space, celebrate on this team. Q. You've had a big year. You and Kenjon have become close. Is it bittersweet knowing this is the last game you will play with somebody you know as a brother? ReplaceName: Yes, it is. I'm happy for him. I want him to go do is thing, wherever he go. Right now we have a new generation of runningbacks right now. Everyone is young. I feel like we have a lot of accomplish. I feel like we're going to have fun last year. Q. In your second year of playing, how do you think you've evolved throughout the season? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I just feel like I've been staying dialed in, having fun, being a team player. Q. A lot of talk about the NFL openings, Chip's name is there. Is it a distraction to players? How do you feel about whatever happens moving forward? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I mean, it's not really distracting. Our main focus is just winning this game right now and just celebrating as a team. Q. What does he mean to the program? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I feel like he means everything to this program. He's been here for a while. This is my second year with him. Being in meetings with him every day, it's been great. I learned a lot from him. I feel like he's one of the best coaches I've ever had. It's his decision. Like I say, he has a family to take care of and stuff like that. That's his decision. Q. When you look back on the season, what are you going to remember the most? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Fall camp. Everyone just getting ready for our big season that we got coming up, just having fun together. Q. You're obviously a really young team. What can you say from this season? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Just staying together, bonding, staying on the same page. Q. What do you think of these jerseys, different colors depending on how you shift in the light? DeANTHONY THOMAS: The jersey is whatever to me. We just like to go out there and have fun. Q. Is that maybe a representation of the two different programs? K State is pretty old school. Oregon has these space suits they wear. Oregon plays fast. K State plays old school ball. DeANTHONY THOMAS: Not at all. I just feel like the Oregon team is very disciplined, just like to have fun out there. We come together as a team, we're family on this team. Q. What does K State do well defensively? DeANTHONY THOMAS: I'm not even sure. I'm just focused on just making big plays on our team, celebrating as a team and having fun. Q. To win this game, what do the Ducks need to do? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Play Oregon football. Q. Which is what? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Fast, hard, finish. That's about it. Q. Everybody knows about the offense. We all know you line it up, great thing to watch. What about the D? You practice against these guys every day. Maybe they don't get as much attention. What makes them deserve more attention? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Man, just practicing every day against 'em, our defense is great to me. Everyone is running to the ball. They all play hard. They all finish every time. Our defense is great. I feel like they have a lot to accomplish. Q. Are they as fast as the offense? DeANTHONY THOMAS: It's pretty intense in practice. Even the linemen are out there running down runningbacks, linebackers on every play, Kiko, Alonso, Michael Clay, Terrance Mitchell. They all out there running to the ball and having fun. Q. You won 51‑to‑something every time you played. How enjoyable is it to be part of an offense like that? DeANTHONY THOMAS: It's great to have a lot of talent on our offense, everyone bonding as a team. Q. When you're in the huddle, are you thinking you're going to score? DeANTHONY THOMAS: We don't huddle that much. We out there, we just like to have fun and make plays as a team. Q. How sharp do you have to be with the solid offense you're running? Do you notice a sense of panic in the defense sometimes? DeANTHONY THOMAS: Yeah, I see them huffing and puffing sometimes. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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