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ROSE BOWL GAME: MICHIGAN STATE v STANFORDDecember 27, 2013David YankeyPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. I'm directed to ask you this question and you may not have ever addressed it, but the games that you missed for family reasons, can you say what that was and if that's been resolved? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. My father actually passed away unexpectedly. So I went for the week. Q. I'm sorry. Was that something that was a total surprise? DAVID YANKEY: No. He wasn't really old. It was unexpected. Q. And you went back for the funeral? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. Yeah. I went back home, was with my family for a little bit. We had like the memorial service and all that on that Saturday actually. And then returned to the team on Sunday. Q. Were you guys close? DAVID YANKEY: Uh‑huh. Yeah. Q. I'm sorry to hear that. DAVID YANKEY: Thank you. Q. Is there‑‑ I asked the coach this, but do you guys feel like you can maybe take advantage of this situation with them missing their signal caller? DAVID YANKEY: Maybe, but like we talked about, you know, they're such an experienced team up front. I think there's almost all fourth and fifth year guys, for the most part. There's a few third years, maybe one sophomore. But it's guys who have played a lot of football. And you see on film they're all pretty much together, they're all working. And you know, you see 40 directing a lot of stuff on film, but I'm sure they'll have time to prepare the backup or the next man up type of mentality. Q. How far into the game do you know how the game is going to go? I mean like you said, you have feel a time. Everyone says these guys might be a little bit like Notre Dame or might be like someone else. How soon will you know what kind of game it's going to be? DAVID YANKEY: I think you usually have a pretty good idea after two drives what a game is going to be like. Sometimes the first drive can be a little bit different. Sometimes the defense will get out of its tendencies. And then even sometimes you don't even know until the second half because one half will go one way, and by the half time adjustments make the second half a completely different game. So it's always that first‑‑ either first or first two drives out of the beginning of the game and out of the half. Q. Can you think of other games where you've gone in and said this is going to be a long day? You know, better bring our lunch. DAVID YANKEY: You know, Notre Dame was a very physical, tough team. You know, I think it's the only team that we've both played, and you know, they're always one of the more physical teams that we play every year. And that's a game that you really have to grind out every year. Q. I watched the Stanford/Oregon game on TV, and it seemed like the announcers were just all set up to blame the loss on Hogan. Like every time he'd do something, they'd say, he's getting ready to throw the ball away, he's getting ready to throw an interception. And he just kept making great play, great play. And I know he's been described a little bit as a mistake, but also seems like he's a very inspirational player. I wonder if you could sort of describe the season he's had. DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. I think he's awesome. He's definitely had his ups and downs and no one's perfect. And after last season stepping in, the coaches didn't put as much on his shoulders at first when he came in for the five games. But to come in for a full season everyone's expecting your best shot, it's tough to lead the team week in and week out, especially when he's the focal point being QB, but I think he's done a great job mentally because even when everyone's been down on him, it's never guys in our facility. We're all behind him. We know he's the best thing we got going and he's going to make plays. Q. Is that something that you guys heard about, the fact that he was sort of being looked at from the outside as‑‑ DAVID YANKEY: I knew there was some criticism. I didn't know it was to that extent you were saying. We really ever see a TV commentary. Luckily we're not subjected to hearing that. Q. This is a terrible question in hindsight, but do you realize now that you are probably third and two against Utah; right? You score that touch down and you're probably playing for the national title. You look at so many little things in the season and you have no idea‑‑ I mean I think that's what makes college football so different. Even the last two years, how close you were to playing for the whole thing. The Rose Bowl is great, but could have been the second game. DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. You can go back even as far as back in 2010 when we won the Orange Bowl, we were up, what, three touchdowns at Oregon at halftime. And then ended up losing that game. You know, you can't look back, and you know, you think about the ifs and all that stuff because you can't change the past, you know. And our goal every year is to win the PAC‑12 championship, and that was what we were more worried about. And luckily we still had a chance to play that game and win the PAC‑12. And we're very happy with that and obviously ecstatic to get a Rose Bowl berth and still play a Top 5 matchup. What more can you ask for? Q. You can't change the past, but you look at how fragile the whole system is where Auburn can win two games the way they win and get into the game and you could be two yards at Utah from getting in. It's not like the NFL where you go 9 and 7? DAVID YANKEY: And make it to the playoffs and make a run. Q. Like the Ravens did last year. It's fragile, the whole thing. DAVID YANKEY: And I think like you said, that's why people love college football. It's so exciting. It is literally a game of inches because, you know, a game in August or September can completely change a season. And in the NFL there's less pressure. It's all about making the playoffs and being hot once you make it there. Q. Does it bother you that coach wears glasses in public? DAVID YANKEY: No. I think it's awesome. I haven't had a chance to try them on. I wish I could wear them for the press conference. Q. Does he wear them all the time? DAVID YANKEY: No. They're actually a loaner pair. So one of our media guys actually had them on yesterday at Disney and was going on a lot of the rides with us, and apparently they got me screaming a little bit on the Tower of Terror, but yeah, it's just a lot of fun. So it's cool that Coach Bloom gets to wear them today. Q. You guys are known as a group that just pits people. What has allowed this program to develop that personality? I know coaches who were there seven eight years ago said four years the great senior group. What has changed with the program? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. I think it's some of the people that came in back in '07. Obviously with Jim Harbaugh's staff, they brought that mentality. But that's the thing that you talk about sometimes it kind of comes for a couple of years and then it's gone. That's the thing Coach Shaw has been awesome at is him and Coach Charlie, actually and the conditioning coaches, it's all about focussing on the process and coming back every year better. Where we need guys to step up again. We're recruiting guys every year who are more athletic, who are stronger, everything. And we want to bring them in and show them what our program is all about and believe in that process and go out and perform on game day. I think that's where the sustained successes come from. Q. When you look at the defensive when you're facing the front seven, what stands out to you? DAVID YANKEY: You know, a lot like our defense, but in a very different scheme. Very physical guys, very experienced front seven. Well, very experienced defense as a whole. And just guys who have played a lot of football and are really, really good players and work well in that scheme together. You know, they're a tough defense. They've given people a lot of trouble all year and they're No. 1 in I don't even know how many categories as a defense. And so the stats speak to how good of a team they've been all year. Q. Oregon state being the truest four‑three that you've seen. Have you faced much like this in terms of similar blitz packages and everything they do? DAVID YANKEY: In terms of similar blitz packages, you see‑‑ I feel like at least playing in the PAC‑12 I've seen just about every blitz or blitz combination there's been. That being said Michigan State does present a couple of unique challenges in the way that they hold all their blitzes, you know. They will literally stand in their base alignment and wait and as soon as the ball is snapped it's like they know exactly when the snap count is. Everyone is rushing, running to their spot and going and making plays. Q. Do you like doing the press conferences and media days? DAVID YANKEY: Not really. Q. You'd rather be with your teammates focusing on the game? DAVID YANKEY: Exactly. Half of them are probably just waking up about now. There's always the extra hour of sleep. I think last year we had to get here‑‑ I think it's the closer team because they are closer to here. Q. You guys are closer last year. Did you guys choose to get the farther away hotel? DAVID YANKEY: No. They jumped us in the rankings. They're four and we're five. So they're the home team for the game. So they get to pick all the‑‑ Q. Okay. Tough team last year. Tough team this year? DAVID YANKEY: Wisconsin was an underrated team. They were 8 and 5 but they'd just blown out a pretty good Nebraska team like 70 to 30 in the championship. Q. During the season they were as good as any team out of that conference. DAVID YANKEY: Exactly. And this team has just done it all year long. It's going to be one of those heavy‑weight fights where it just goes back and forth, I think. We'll see. Q. What do you recall about the scene on the field after that USC game? DAVID YANKEY: After the game? I was just running off the field just because any time fans are storming the field, it's not necessarily the best situation. I think Austin Jenkins last year or the year before or something like that actually got punched, if you remember. So I just had my helmet on. I was just running off the field and then, you know, trying to worry about all the other stuff later. Q. When you think about that series against USC that you guys played with them over the years, what's going to come to mind? DAVID YANKEY: You know, unfortunately it'll probably be this last one. It was a tough game down at their place, and you know, they were a very good team towards the end of the year. Orgeron did a great job with them, really bringing the team back together when the season could have easily just fallen apart with the way it was going and Coach Kiffin getting fired mid season. But yeah, that was a tough one, you know. We were in a spot where we could have won out, gotten the PAC‑12 championship game and had a great year, especially because we do take pride in that game. So I think there's a lot of bragging rights. It didn't used to be a rivalry, but it's definitely developed into quite the rivalry the past couple of years. Q. And you guys have a fair share‑‑ a majority of the wins over the last few years. Do you think that will stick with you more than what you guys pulled out? DAVID YANKEY: You know, maybe that's because it's still this year. I don't have some of the time to just really look back and reflect, you know. But like I said, they're a good team, and yeah, they just won their bowl game against Fresno state. So as long as the PAC‑12 wins their bowl games, I'll be happy about that. Q.  Tomorrow night's Beef Bowl? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. Comedy club tonight. Beef Bowl tomorrow night. Q. Did you guys do a comedy club last year too? DAVID YANKEY: Uh‑huh. Yeah. Q. Was that pretty good? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. The comedy club is awesome. They just have you laughing the whole time. So it's usually a pretty good time. Q. When Andrus Peat came in as that really touted group of freshmen, what were your sort of initial impressions of him? DAVID YANKEY: You know, he was a true freshman. A lot of physical talent. You know, it's kind of like he's one of those kids when you say the sky's the limit, and it's very true. But that being said, he was still a young kid who didn't know a lot of stuff, and to see him come along from last year to this year has been awesome. He basically has developed into a vet. He's started, what, 13 games now and he's just been awesome week in, week out in my opinion. Q. Could you have handled playing as a true freshman? DAVID YANKEY: I actually did play as a true freshman the first two games, but not like he did. They had him and Kyle Murphy and Josh Garnett actually play quite a bit; and give these guys credit, they were up to the task, you know. They really put the work in in the meeting room and the film room to understand what we were doing as an offense and know what their job was on each play and how well they could do it. And they went and did a good job. Q. Coach was saying that Andrus has to work on his leverage, getting low. Is that sort of the by‑product of when you're so physically dominant at the high school level you can get away with it? DAVID YANKEY: I think so. In high school, especially that and being 6' 8, you know. He's a guy who does bend so well, but when you're 6' 8, if you get up just a little bit and someone's under your pad, suddenly you're way further up in the air than other people seem. And yeah, of course, in high school just throwing people around like he probably was, it can get you to get bad habits sometimes. Q. Garnett and Murphy and those guys, when they have the tight end numbers on, are they sort of waiting and hoping for the coaches to call? DAVID YANKEY: You know, it's been thrown around, but I think we've thrown one to them earlier in the season. And it's always a lot of fun in the O line room when you have those guys if they ever get out on routes, we like to give them our coaching points for everything that we know about running routes and everything. Q. When you look at Michigan State's defense, obviously they're No. 1 in pretty much everything, do you see a lot of comparable just things to what you face when you're going against yourself defense in practice every day? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah. One of the things I mentioned earlier was that the biggest comparison is that they're a lot like our defense in a completely different scheme. They've got a lot of veteran guys, guys who have played a lot of ball, really good at playing in the system and playing together and do a great job week in and week out and just happen to have a very different scheme than ours. Q. You've seen a lot of really good defensive interior line men, did they sort of their ends, what do you see when you look at their interior tackles? DAVID YANKEY: Oh, their D tackles are awesome. I don't think they get enough credit, you know. And sometimes that's a by‑product of playing next to someone who is really good. And so they cause a lot of penetration. They come off. They get into the O line men. They get under their pads and usually drive them around, do what they want a little bit, and they're the ones who are causing the disruption so the linebackers and safeties can make plays. So sometimes they don't always get credit because they're not getting the actual stat but they're the reason the play is happening in the back field. Q. I asked you this in Tempe after the PAC‑12 Championship win. Where are you at in terms of deciding whether or not you'll go to the NFL? DAVID YANKEY: Still undecided. That'll be shortly after the game I'll have a firm decision. So we'll see about that. Just want to focus on the Rose Bowl right now. Like you said, Michigan State's a good team. Q. Have you gotten your evaluation grade yet? DAVID YANKEY: I have not. I think I'm talking with Coach Shaw right after the game and figuring all that stuff out. Q. Is this your last year? DAVID YANKEY: I have another year of eligibility. So it depends. Q. Oh, okay. You can come back and do this again next year? DAVID YANKEY: Run it back for a third time. Might be a lot of fun. So we'll see. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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