|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROSE BOWL GAME: MICHIGAN STATE v STANFORDDecember 28, 2013Tony LippettPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. How has your trip been so far? TONY LIPPETT: It's been amazing. We got to see heard about like on TV like Hollywood. Mountains and stuff like that. It's been good. Q. Have you ever been out here before? TONY LIPPETT: No, I've never been out here. Q. What did you think it was like? It met your expectations? TONY LIPPETT: Met my expectations, electrifying, and it's been all what I thought it has been. Q. Where are you from? TONY LIPPETT: I'm from Detroit, Michigan. Q. What is it like trying to find the cracks in the opening, both sides, you against their defense too? What kind of challenge is that? TONY LIPPETT: It's going to be a tough challenge, figure out what they do. And they're very smart, and most of the players are very athletic. It's going to be a challenge. Go out there and play hard and play together and take advantage of preparing as best you can. Q. And when you look at them on film, what do you see? TONY LIPPETT: Their defensive back, very athletic, very smart, they stick to what they know and it's like‑‑ they're very athletic and very capable of making it. That's what makes it. Q. Have you seen anybody famous yet, anybody you considered famous? TONY LIPPETT: I haven't seen, I haven't seen yet, but some of my teammates have seen (indiscernible) staying at the hotel (indiscernible). Q. What's it been like so far? TONY LIPPETT: It's been it's amazing. It's been a bunch of sightseeing as far as buildings, just stuff you see on TV a lot. Like Hollywood. It's great seeing it in person, not on a movie or TV or something like that. And that's always a goal or milestone I wanted to see. I hear it's great out here. And I just wanted to keep seeing stuff that I haven't seen before. Q. What have you had time to do so far, besides football stuff? Have you had time to get around and do much? TONY LIPPETT: I went downtown Hollywood yesterday, and it was just great down there. And one thing that just made the highlight of my trip so far, I went to the Wax Museum last night. And it was amazing. It was Stevie Wonder out there. Looked like it was fake. It was fake, wax on his face. I went up to him and he wasn't moving‑‑ he was moving but he wasn't like moving like he was real. And then I turned around and he kind of grabbed me. I was like, what? He was real. I didn't know he was real. He did not look real at all. Q. So it was really him? TONY LIPPETT: No, it wasn't really him, but it was a real person. So I think it's great just seeing stuff like. That stuff amazes me so much. And the wax museum, that was the highlight of the trip. Q. You guys get a chance to go to the Pacific Ocean all? Did you guys get a chance to do that? TONY LIPPETT: No, I haven't been to the Pacific ocean at all. Q. Tell me about the game. What is it about Stanford that you watched and noticed? What stands out to you about them? TONY LIPPETT: What stands out is how they know their system and they play‑‑ they're very athletic in their system and they do like exactly what's told to them. Like, they're always‑‑ they always seem to be in the right place at the right time and like there's not a lot of big plays given up on them. And that's why they're disciplined and within their system. So that's one thing I've seen how disciplined they are in the system and they don't let a lot of people get behind and try to bottle people up. Q. Is there anybody to compare them to that you guys have played this year defensively in terms of style? TONY LIPPETT: I don't know. One team might be, like, say, they're kind of like ‑‑ resemble‑wise a little bit would have to be probably Minnesota. Minnesota had a tough defense. And they were up in your face from time to time. (Indiscernible) and things of that nature. So I would probably say a little bit of Minnesota. Q. Does it feel like a long journey for you, three, four months ago, does it seem and feel long to you from August, September? TONY LIPPETT: I feel like the season always goes fast. I feel like everything before the season always go slow. Every time the season comes, it's week after week. And sometimes you forget what day it is something like that because you're always looking forward to the next game or something like that. So that's the way I feel about that. Basically I feel like the season goes fast. Everything else goes slow that I can anticipate and all that aspect. That process is always slow. Q. Now that you're out here I think I asked you this Media Day, do you feel your legacy is secure win or lose in perhaps a lot of fans' eyes? Is this how you guys view yourself, and does this season depend on the results of this game? TONY LIPPETT: Yeah, this is a big game for us. And we made it to the Rose Bowl, and that's all good and everything, but we're coming out here and we're trying to win. That's the ultimate goal. We came all the way down here so we can win. The experience is great. The Rose Bowl Committee is great. Everything is great. But at the same time, we came out here to win. So that's one thing that we try to focus on. Q. So you're from Detroit? TONY LIPPETT: Yes. Q. So how did you end up at Michigan State? Did you always want to go there, or what else were you thinking about? TONY LIPPETT: Growing up I didn't know too much about college life at all. I really started learning about college like my tenth grade in high school. So I wasn't always interested‑‑ I didn't watch a lot of college football and stuff like that. I just knew I wanted to go and play at the next level. And my journey here, I started to like get close with the coaches here and I started to like come on this, come on like to basketball games on my official visit. And I just like the camaraderie around here and I just like how my high school coaches‑‑ how this coaching staff is similar to my high school coaching staff. That's one thing that influenced me to come here. That's basically it. Q. As a receiver, what did you feel like the advantages of playing in this program as opposed to some other, or were you a receiver coming out of high school too? TONY LIPPETT: No, I was a quarterback coming out of high school. I played quarterback. And some advantages playing wide receiver here and other than playing like quarterback and like ‑‑ Q. You knew coming in you would be a receiver? That's what you would be recruited at? TONY LIPPETT: I was recruited as a wide receiver. This is a Big Ten school, and that's always good to play at a Big Ten school. And it's a big stage. And I always wanted to play on the big stage. So that's one thing that influenced me to come here and just the hope and faith of excelling at whatever school I'm at. That was the one thing. Q. Out here in California, the people that have gone to the Rose Bowl watched the Rose Bowl, they're accustomed to here comes Michigan, here comes Ohio State, Wisconsin. You guys have not been here for so long. How do you guys view that? Did that bug you guys at all that from a national perception it seemed like you had those programs out in front and then you guys trying to crack through? TONY LIPPETT: I just say like, I mean, like we haven't been here for a while and we anticipate‑‑ we wanted to come to the Rose Bowl. We always talk about like have faith and belief, the dedication, and work hard. If you always work hard, you always put all your effort and time in, and most of the time only good things can happen. So we are fortunate enough this year to win the Big Ten, win the Big Ten Championship game and come to California. So we're proud of ourselves and everything like that. But at the end of the day, we came here to win. I don't really think about like Ohio State, Michigan, things like that. Q. You guys are regarded as kind of grind‑it‑out, old school, but as a receiver, you feel like there's plenty of opportunities for you also to kind of shine and (indiscernible) type of game? TONY LIPPETT: I feel like Coach Warner and offensive staff put together a good game plan, has me working out the kinks now. I feel like if a play presents itself for them and presents itself on the field, and we gotta do our best to make the play on the ball. And that's one thing we try to do as a wide‑out group. Q. Curious, we talked to you guys, talking about the defense, and the people who aren't talking about defense are talking about the run offense. Can you talk about kind of (indiscernible) flying under the radar (indiscernible)? TONY LIPPETT: As a wide receiver, as a quarterback we try to make plays on the ball come our way. I know Stanford run the ball heavily. We have both solid defenses and. Everybody thinks it's an old‑school game, which it probably is. But at the same time, we feel like we can throw the ball. And I'm sure Stanford feels they can throw the ball. That's just one thing we're going to try to do, try to find the right combinations, the right adjustments and things that I'm able to produce on Wednesday, January1st. Whatever day it is. Q. I think both Stanford losses were big receptions. Thinking about the defenses, wear teams down, definitely an opportunity for a big play. Are you guys looking for that spark, that one game (indiscernible) type of play? Do you guys think about or talk about maybe that one play can be the difference? TONY LIPPETT: Yeah, Coach Warner always say it's about the inches and you don't know which play is going to hit big. You've got to be prepared and focused and determined and like laser‑eye focus. And that's what we try to do. We never know which play is going to hit. They can draw it up and say this and that, it can probably be a play that never worked in practice but can be the game‑changing play right then and there. That's one thing we tried to do. We just try to keep our thing and always try to find answers because we never know which play is going to hit. Q. Stanford's quarterback (indiscernible). They have very different styles of play. Do you have any different game plans depending on who you're matching up against Carter, being more physical, the line is going to back you up a little bit. Is that the way maybe you guys are going to check the play (indiscernible) or the way you get off the ball? TONY LIPPETT: These are some solid corners there, great at their technique and things of that nature. Like you said, they're both physical and they both play the ball. We're going to try to go back, keep watching film and keep trying to get on their tendencies and attack them like we attack any other corner we play. We try to focus in on our technique and make the best of that play. Q. So what's been a cool thing you've seen so far? Michael Jackson? TONY LIPPETT: Last night I went to the Wax Museum. That was probably the coolest thing I've seen since I've been here. That was amazing. I'm just into stuff like that. It's crazy, but that's something I'm into. Q. What besides Michael Jackson? TONY LIPPETT: I took a picture with Jack off Titanic. That's probably my favorite movie. I don't know why, but that's my favorite movie. Titanic, that's one of my favorite movies. And I took a picture of Barack Obama, Washington. It was like a scary picture in there, like Michael Myers and Freddie Kruger and all of them. That was pretty cool. Q. Are you going to the Improv? TONY LIPPETT: Yes, going to Improv. Q. Now that you guys have made the Rose Bowl, that's been the focal point (indiscernible)? TONY LIPPETT: We always try to aim high. We always try to aim high. That's one thing we try to get to. We try to get to the National Championship, the Rose Bowl, one of the BCS games so we can work our way into this elite status that a lot of the teams are in. And at the beginning of the year that's always the goal. I figured that's the goal for a lot of teams. That's one thing we try to work up to. Q. Your perspective on Jeremy, coming out of spring, there wasn't much buzz about him. Riley moves over there. What did you see from him especially in the off‑season and then during the season to allow him to do what he's done? TONY LIPPETT: I feel like Jeremy has always been like a big play guy. Like a lot of times he touched the ball like he can be out of there, because, I mean, he got good size, got good speed and things of that nature. I always told him like keep grinding, keep doing what you're doing. Stay on task, stay on task. Remain humble. And just keep moving forward. And like a lot of good things can happen from that. As you can see now a lot of good things are happening. And we're here. Q. Were you surprised when you saw how he came on like that during the fall? He looked so different as he looked in the spring. TONY LIPPETT: I wasn't really surprised. Like I wasn't that surprised. I mean, that's my roommate. And I always know he can do. I always knew what he could do. It was just that point in time when he could actually put it all together and just consistently do it. And that's one thing he's been doing. Q. He's your roommate off campus? TONY LIPPETT: Yes. Q. Just you two? TONY LIPPETT: Yeah, just me and him. Q. Tell me something about him that nobody knows. He seems like a quiet guy, kind of private. TONY LIPPETT: I know he like‑‑ I don't see that. He likes leftover food a lot. That's one thing he do, he don't like wasting food. He eat food like two days old. And it sit in the refrigerator, he takes it out puts it in the microwave and eat it. Let's see. Like you say, he's pretty quiet, pretty laid back. And sleep during the day a lot. Sleep like 4:00in the afternoon, go to sleep until like 7:00, 8:00. Q. He's that same quiet guy? TONY LIPPETT: Uh‑huh. Q. Never gets wild or loud? TONY LIPPETT: No. He's chillin'. Q. Coach Warner over there just said that the key to the offensive turnaround this year was when you and (indiscernible) Notre Dame game started grabbing what you call 50/50 balls and (indiscernible) can you talk about that a little bit, how that happened? TONY LIPPETT: One thing was we had to get our stuff together. We had to like‑‑ we had to communicate with each other and just be ready to make that play, whatever the play is. We just had to buckle down and get it together. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|