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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: CENTRAL FLORIDA v BAYLORDecember 28, 2013Ahmad DixonGLENDALE, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Why do you feel you've gotten better as a secondary this year? AHMAD DIXON: We have the leadership, we have the focus, we have everything that you need. In the secondary, you have to have guys that are mature. You have to have guys that know that when things get going wrong, forget about it, keep going. That's something we've learned. We've been through a lot these past few years with Coach Bennett. We've seen the ups, the downs, the lefts, the rights, the diagonals. The secondary, we have a bunch of mature guys. They know how to move forward. Q. The cornerbacks are always on the spot. How much improvement have you seen in those guys? AHMAD DIXON: They've done an outstanding job. They've stepped up. Demetri Goodson, K.J. Morton, Howard. Those guys are doing a great job of doing what they do. The road has been really tough for them. They're learning and they're getting better. Just because this is the last game of this season, you're not going to stop getting better. Q. Do you instinctively know what each other are going to do back there now? AHMAD DIXON: 100%. We know once the receiver is coming across the field from the other side, if he makes it to K.J., K.J. is going to knock him up. If that ball is in the air, Demetri is going to get the interception. Sam is going to hit you. We know what we're going to do. When you're like that in the secondary, you can play fast. That's why we play as fast as we do and why we make the plays we make in the secondary. Q. Did it take you a while to adjust being back there? AHMAD DIXON: I had to adjust. My adjusting point was in practice. If you can get good against the offense in practice, you can play against anybody. I don't care if they're up‑tempo, it doesn't matter. We have big receivers that are physical. We have all different kind of receivers. Older guys that can beat you with speed. Younger guys. Our offense is everywhere. That's something that helped me get back into my normal position. Q. Was it spring, was that about the time when you felt comfortable with it? AHMAD DIXON: By the time two‑a‑days came, I felt kind of comfortable. Q. Did you have to fight to get back there? How did that all happen? They needed somebody back there, but... AHMAD DIXON: I didn't have to fight. None of it. I mean, right after the ballgame, we left SanDiego, we got on the bus after the game. Coach said, You got the safety. When he told me that, that brought a chill over me. Had already thought about coming back. I thought about leaving, but that wasn't the smart thing to do. The smart thing to do was coming back, do my degree, keep moving forward. When he told me that, I just felt good about that. Everybody was coming back. All our defense that had been in our defense for a while, so I knew everything was going to be all right. Q. That was the final selling point that this is the right decision? AHMAD DIXON: 100%. Q. How do you think that will help your draft spot? AHMAD DIXON: I don't really care about the draft spot. If a team passes up, they'll realize what they passed up on. Whatever team gets me, they'll know they got a great player. Q. (Question regarding style of play.) AHMAD DIXON: I've been a physical guy. I've been smaller than most. But I've always been fast, never scared of anything. When the safety position kind of changed, I was worried a little bit. It started becoming more of coverage. As I started, I just said, Don't change what you do, just keep doing what you're doing. There's other guys out there play the same way I do. Q. I know you've had to worry about it, but did you just have to play your game, that kind of thing? AHMAD DIXON: At the beginning of the season, that was something I was worried about. As the season went on, after that first game, I got that hit, I went and I asked every coach on our staff, Was that hit legal? Was that a good hit? Was that a dirty hit? 'Cause that's the way I planned on hitting the whole year. They said, That was a clean hit. You'd like that every time. After that, I was like, Okay. Q. You did it through practice and stuff, How far can I go? AHMAD DIXON: How far can I go? What are my limits? I figured it out. Went over my limit one time, had to pay for it. For the most part I figured out my limit and it worked out for the good. Q. I was thinking, How many games is Ahmad going to play? AHMAD DIXON: That's what everybody was asking. How many games do you think you're actually going to get to play? I told everybody, I'll get to play every game. But I ended up having to sit out the first half of one. It was a learning experience. I learned from it. I enjoyed it. While that was going on, I enjoyed it for a little while. Q. You said yesterday that these coaches believe in you, have faith in you through everything. Did part of that include the problem you had earlier this year where they believed in you? AHMAD DIXON: 100%. The first thing they did, they sat me down and asked me what happened. I told them everything that happened from the robbery all the way up until, everything. They knew everything that happened. Okay, you're going to move forward from it. Whatever happens when it happens, we're going to deal with it then. Q. What did that mean to you? I don't think it surprised you. AHMAD DIXON: It didn't surprise me. I mean, it lifted up a burden. Most teams, most guys would be like, I have to worry about this. Coach told me, Don't worry about that. When the time comes, we'll deal with that. Whatever punishment comes, we'll deal with it. They told me, Just play ball. Keep doing what you're doing. Till then, keep doing. Q. Where you are now, is that affirmation that you made the right decision four or five years ago? AHMAD DIXON: Yeah, 100%. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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