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University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Fiesta Bowl Defensive Quotes
December 29, 2006 | Football
PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. -- Select Oklahoma football defensive coaches and players met with the media Friday morning to discuss the upcoming Tostitos Fiesta Bowl matchup versus Boise State on Monday, Jan. 1.
Defensive assistant coaches Brent Venables and Bobby Jack Wright, linebackers Rufus Alexander and Zach Latimer, defensive end C.J. Ah You and defensive back/return specialist Reggie Smith spoke in the final press conference at the J.W. Marriott Camelback Inn.
The enitre Sooner team takes part in the official media day Saturday morning in what will be their first trip to the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., in which they will play the New Year's Day game.
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DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRENT VENABLES
On what he expects from Boise State:
“You would expect them to come in here very inspired. The pundits might have said that they might have no chance, not us. We don't believe that for one bit. They are very good at what they do. You can see that they have a system in place and it's been in place for some time. They're confident in what they're doing, that's why they've had success.”
On Boise State running back Ian Johnson:
“He's a terrific back, really the total package great vision, balance, strength, explosion, very patient runner. Understands schemes where the linebackers sit and where the safeties sit and makes the right cuts. He breaks a lot of tackles. The people we've talked to say however fast he looks on tape, he's a lot faster in person. He's probably the best running back we'll see.”
On Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky:
“He's a senior that's had a tremendous amount of success. He makes all the right decisions. He's very athletic, very mobile, very efficient at running their offense. The precision and aggressiveness of their offense, obviously, goes through him. He's a very confident player ... makes a lot of big plays. He's a scrambler looking to throw and that's a threat that worries you.”
On if moving Reggie Smith from cornerback to strong safety was the key for the defensive improvement:
“That, as well as the improvement at the cornerback position. When Marcus (Walker) came in during the Oregon game, he came in not just staying deep and making them throw in front of him, he executed the defense and made plays. As Lendy (Holmes) got his experience, I really started to see his aggressiveness, his assertiveness, his play-making ability.
“Between the two over the last six or seven weeks is that those two corners is not only that they have been consistent, but that you hear (their names called) over the PA. That's something we haven't been used to in a couple of years in making game-changing type plays with a great deal of consistency.
“Reggie moving (to strong safety) gaves us more consistency in making the right checks, being in better position on the ball ... guys being in the right place. As he gets more comfortable, he'll be making more big-time plays for us as well.”
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CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BOBBY JACK WRIGHT
On defending Boise State quarterback Jared Zabransky:
“Very few times is he ever out there where he's forced to make bad throws. He only has seven interceptions over the entire season. They have a great protection scheme where they go max protect, keeping their tight ends, or they move him outside. Everything he gives us maybe the best we've seen all year. When he does go to move around, he has a great feel in the pocket and he knows how to slide with it. He is a scramble-to-throw guy. They've made some big plays on their opponents when he does start moving the pocket or scrambling out of there under pressure.
“The receivers do the best job of any corps of receivers we've faced of redirecting their routes. They know exactly where to go to get open. He knows where they're going to end up and does a good job when you pressure him. And we're a pretty big pressure team. We'll be bringing pressure all night. So, that's one of the key things for us especially in the linebackers and secondary group, is that when he is on the move, when we do flush him out of there, that we lock up and get ready for those guys to redirect.”
On his impression of OU's defensive progression:
“There was a period of time when you realized that these guys were getting it, they were catching on and playing at a high level. We've been extremely efficient. That stretch after the Texas game we clipped off six or seven in a row the defense played extremely well. The biggest thing during that stretch run was our scoring defense. We weren't giving up many points, which was key in a lot of those games that were tight games. We had to play well on defense.
“This team, when you talk about the team concept, is probably at the consummate level for us because we've had to play together as one offense and defense.”
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SENIOR LINEBACKER RUFUS ALEXANDER
On Boise State running back Ian Johnson:
“He's a great running back. You can see it on film. Breaks a lot of tackles; makes a lot of big plays with his legs. He's a real vocal part of their offense. If he gets going, it will be a long day for any defense that plays against him. He's a complete back.
“When you play for a back that's patient, that waits for his blocks to set up, it's real hard to contain that. You just wrap him up as soon as you can. He's a real patient back and you see it on film: he waits, he waits, he waits and then he just bursts with his acceleration.”
On what makes the Boise State matchup interesting:
“Their quarterback scrambles a lot and makes a lot of plays with his feet. He buys time for his offense and makes big plays on the field.”
On if Boise State derserves to be in a BCS bowl:
“They've won 12 straight games. They haven't lost a game this year and only one in the last two years. It would be wrong to say they don't deserve a chance.”
On his cousin, Gerald Alexander, who plays for Boise State:
“I've talked to him. We've talked on the phone a couple times. We haven't had a chance yet to meet up, but I'm looking forward to meeting up with him. Probably after the game or something.”
On when he found out he had a cousin who played for Boise State:
“Probably a few weeks after we found out we would play them.”
On the importance of winning the last game:
“Every game is important that you play, especially when it's your last one. It's more important to a guy when he's a senior in his last game when you don't have anything else to look forward in college. Just having that last game just kind of catapults you into next year. The whole feel over the summer, the whole feel coming into next season kind of helps the team morale if you win that game.”
On if there is a different element of pressure in a national championship game:
“No, not so much. It was a just a game you had to go out there and play. Everything that surrounds the game sometimes overwhelms, you know -- the fans, all the people talking about us being in the national championship game, the commercials and things like that. The game is just pretty much like another game.”
On if the team had thought about a circumstance where they could be playing in the BCS National Championship Game:
“We haven't really talked about it. It is what it is. We're out here in a great bowl against Boise State. We've got to focus on that instead of dwelling on things that happened in the past.
“We have a pretty strong team, mentally, and we knew where we stood and where we was going to be at. We didn't even dwell on the Oregon loss. Everybody else kind of made some fuss about it but we kept on winning, trucking along as a team.”
On how the defense improved after the loss to Oregon:
“I think each game motivated us to play better. I don't think we really played that much better after Oregon, it just came maybe like four or five games later. Each game, we got better. I feel that the Oregon game made us really play better. I just believe that we got better as a defense, just got more comfortable.”
“It started to just be a lot more fun. When you give up big plays, it kind of brings down the whole mood of a game. When you let people get a whole lot of yards on you, it kind of overshadows the victory and you feel like you didn't accomplish what you wanted to accomplish. But, we started to shut down people, stopping the run most games. It kind of picked everybody up. We all just started having fun out there.”
On if practicing against Adrian Peterson is a great advantage:
“Of course. I think he's one of the best backs in the country. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like I went up against the best. It's amazing, some of the things he does on the field whenever we're in practice.”
On playing in the “BCS Cycle” (all four BCS bowls in a career):
“It's an honor. It just speaks so much about this school, about the tradition Oklahoma has for one class to go through all four BCS bowls.”
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SENIOR LINEBACKER ZACH LATIMER
On how he breaks the monotony of practice:
“You tend to do things better with a smile on your face than like, Oh man, we're out here at practice again.' If you've got a smile and you're not thinking about things, the day goes by a little faster out here.”
On why he chose to come to Oklahoma:
“Basically, it was the guys on the team. I'm so glad that I came here because I met some lifelong friends. I'm very happy with the decision I made to come to Oklahoma. I went to all four BCS games. That's an added bonus.”
On if his father, Don Latimer, who played for the University of Miami and the NFL's Denver Broncos, gives him advice about playing football:
“Does he ever. After every game. That was a good job you did here but.' He always has a but' in there or something. He's on me 24/7/365. Before I can even get dressed (after the game), I've got a message on my answering machine telling me what I did wrong in the game. He's helping me because it helps me to see what things I need to do better come the following game. We've been watching film since flag football almost on the VHS downstairs.”
On if Boise State deserves to be in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:
“There's only two undefeated teams in the nation right now. If anything, I would think that they deserve to be in a better bowl game than them playing us right now. I'm just happy that we're getting to play them. That's all fine by me. They're the ones that have more of a gripe than we do.”
On Boise State running back Ian Johnson:
“Watching him on film, (he's a) great, shifty back. Hits the hole. Explosive when he needs to be. He also has the speed to get around the edge and take off for a long one. It's something where we need to keep our feet and head in front of him and, hopefully, we can make it a long day for him.”
On playing his last collegiate game:
“I'm looking forward to playing the game, but you kind of want to prolong it with my fellas a little more. I know that once it's over, it's over and we're going to be going our different directions. I'm having a good time and, hopefully, we can close it out with a win.”
On defensive struggles early in the season:
“We knew that we weren't sorry. We knew that we weren't terrible. We just knew that we had to get some things corrected. Went in there, watched film. Extra time in the film room and actually simulated game situations in practice and made sure that you don't just tap off when you get to the ball carrier. Actually wrap him up, make sure that you have him and then let him go. Those things were leaps and bounds that transferred over for us on game day that really helped us out. I think everyone just took it as a challenge. We just needed to get the job done.”
On defending Boise State's offense:
“When they want to run the ball, they run the ball. When they want to throw the ball, they can throw it too. They do everything well. Its something where you can't just zero in on one thing. So, you've got to make sure you can stop the run and stop the pass or something's going to hurt you. You have to be sound in all areas.
“Anytime a team has a great running back, our whole defense takes it as a challenge to stop him. It's not just one person that's going to stop the run. Everyone takes it as a challenge. Hopefully, we can contain him.”
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SENIOR DEFENSIVE END C.J. AH YOU
On his impression of Boise State:
“For any team in any conference to go undefeated says a lot about the team. They have a high-powered offense and I think they're the second-leading rushing team in the nation. That's a testament, right there, to how good they are. Some people are trying to make them the underdog, but we don't look at them as the underdog. They are definitely a good team and we're going to have our hands full.”
On Boise State's offensive line:
“They are big up front. Big, strong guys. They are athletic and can move around. I definitely think it will be a good matchup. They take pride in their running game and we also take pride in our running game. I think it will be a lot of fun to defend. If we can contain the run and limit the number of yards they get, I think we will be OK.”
On if he believes Boise State's offense may change for this game:
“I don't think they'll change. They've gone through the season undefeated and were pretty much unstoppable. I don't think they'll change anything up just for us. They've got a good system going on there.”
On his Fiesta Bowl experience:
“I've been enjoying the warm weather though, lately, it's been a little cold. We've been having a lot of fun out here. The Fiesta Bowl has been showing us a great time and we're at a great place.”
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SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE BACK REGGIE SMITH
On what types of problems a scrambling quarterback poses:
“It can give us some big problems in the secondary. We have to stay locked down on their receivers. Their quarterback is a good scrambler and he's good in the drop-back pass.”
On how Oklahoma will defend the Boise State receivers:
“We just try to stay on top of them, make sure they throw short throws. We don't want them to get deep because if they get deep they have a chance to get behind us. They have some big, fast receivers.”
On Oklahoma kicker Garrett Hartley:
“He has a massive leg. I watch him in practice kick 60-yarders. He's doing great. When he gets on the field, it feels like automatic points.”
On who stands out on Boise State's team:
“Personally, probably Ian Johnson, the running back. I've watched him a couple times and he's a real, real good running back. He has great patient, good feet. Great feet, really. I've seen him against Oregon State and scored four or five touchdowns, a couple of them he just ran past all the defense.”
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