QUESTIONS FOR CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS HARLON BARNETT AND MIKE TRESSEL, LB RILEY BULLOUGH, DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN, DB DEMETRIOUS COX, LB DARIEN HARRIS AND DT JOEL HEATH DC HARLON BARNETT: Thanks for having us again. The Cotton Bowl is a great experience. Really enjoying ourselves last year here, along with the win. But the best bowl -- and I'm not just saying it because we're here now at the Cotton Bowl, but it was the best bowl experience that I've personally ever experienced. My family felt the same way, and I know a lot of the staff and players felt the same way as far as the hospitality and how they take care of you. The site is an awesome site. Play at AT&T Stadium. Awesome experience. And we look forward to having another great experience here this year. Q. Riley, the impetus of this game is to make [Jake] Coker have to throw. You just cannot let Derrick Henry run it 40 times. That means you're going to be making a lot of intricate calls. What do you see on film for them? Obviously you're not going to give us game plan. But things you see on film for them that go into your thinking and making those calls to put the game in Coker's arm? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: Well, Coker, he's a game manager. He does a great job. Talking defensively what we want to do is stop the run. That's kind of what we want to do each and every week, especially this week going against Derrick Henry and that Alabama offensive line. So we feel like if we can take away the run as best we can and put the game in Coker's hand to throw it, you know, that's what we really want to do. Q. For you, Harlon, obviously Coker is a good thrower. He's probably an underrated quarterback, to be fair to him. But you have to put the game in his arm. You can't let Henry run it 50 times down your throat. So I'm curious, when you watch them on film without giving away details, are you able to see some keys and some things? Have you picked up on some tendencies that you think maybe others haven't? DC HARLON BARNETT: Well, I'm not going to say others haven't because they do what they do. Similar to Iowa and that, they're going to do what they do. They're going to try to run the football, establish the run, and then work the play-action game off of that. So as Riley [Bullough] said, our game plan every week is to stop the run obviously and then try to make them one dimensional. He's a game manager, like Riley just said. That's what we've been talking about. We know how Coach Saban is. He's going to want them to not turn the ball over, dink and dunk it, and then take shots when they feel like appropriate time to take shots down the field. So we have to be prepared for those type of things. I think we will be. And look forward to the challenge.
Q. Harlon and Riley, 's defense they really step it up against some of the top rushing attacks in the nation. Ohio State comes to mind, some of the games earlier in the season. A lot of hype about Derrick Henry. But the Spartans always come to play. So what have you seen on film making any slight adjustments for him or just preparing how you guys always do? DC HARLON BARNETT: We're preparing like we always do in a lot of ways. Obviously he's the Heisman Trophy winner. Big back, man, always falling forward. So we're going to have to wrap him up and gang tackle him and swarm to the ball. That is our mindset at all times against everybody. But, obviously, with him being the Heisman Trophy winner, bigger guy. Haven't seen a guy quite this big in some time against our defense. So we've got to really rally and gang tackle and swarm to the ball and make sure we're disciplined in everything that we do. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: There's no smoke and mirrors with Alabama. They're going to line up and do what they do. So really just comes down to who can be tougher for 60 minutes. They're going to try to run it straight at us, and we're going to try to stop them. There's nothing too crazy about it. You just got to line up and play and see who's willing to continue to battle it out for 60 minutes. And in my mind and the other defensive guys' minds, that's what it comes down to. Q. Harlon, RJ [Williamson], I mean, kid's back now. I'm just curious. Because you talked about guys coming back from injury. The most difficult part is to be in that game-ready shape. How is he? Do you expect him to play significant reps? DC HARLON BARNETT: He's doing well. We do expect him to play significant reps. Practiced all last week, the last time we were out at home, and then practiced yesterday. He looks good. He's always been in the meetings, so he understands. He's a smart kid. So he understands what they're trying to do, how they're trying to attack us. And he's running around well. He looks good, so we look forward to having him back. Q. Riley, Coach Dantonio said yesterday because of so much time off for Christmas, it was going to be physical the first couple days of practice here. How was the physicality of practice yesterday? You guys kind of feed off that. He said you would like it to be physical. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: That's kind of what we pride ourselves on, is practicing like that. And yesterday kind of felt like a fall camp practice. It was long. We were hitting each other. But we feel like that's what makes us great. We feel we have to do those things in order to play well during the games. So we definitely got after it. We'll do it again today. But we don't think of it as anything special. It's just kind of how we practice and how we do things.
Q. Riley, Lane Kiffin was just in here earlier. He had a lot of praise for 's defense, specifically No. 30 and the middle that being you. Going up against such a great offense, you guys being such a great defensive unit, how does it kind of feel for this to kind of being a benchmark game considering since five years ago and Alabama played and now [Michigan] State has had so much success since. How does it feel to kind of use this game as a benchmark defensively, offensively, just to see how far the program has come? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: It's just a great opportunity for us. We're going to be on a huge stage. There's going millions of people watching. So it's just another opportunity for us to get our names out there and to represent ourselves, our family, and our school. And that's what we're all looking to do. Tremendous opportunity so we're excited. Q. Riley, what is it about Derrick Henry that has appeared to make him unstoppable this year and can he be stopped? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I think the biggest thing with him, obviously a big back. We haven't really played anyone that big. But what he does well is he doesn't go down. Takes him two, three, four guys to take him down. And he's always falling forward. So he makes the two-yard gains turn into five or six. And if you continue to do that for an entire game, you know, it wears down the defenses. That's what you see what happens as the third, fourth quarter comes around as you watch film on these guys. So the biggest thing for us is just to play the entire game, not get lazy, do our job each every play. Once again, he's a great back. We're just excited for the opportunity to play a team like this. Q. Having watched every Alabama game this year, Derrick Henry is physically imposing. He imposes his will on guys. So how important is it in this game for your defense, Harlon, and your defense, Riley, to physically punish him, to make him in the fourth quarter feel a little bit of what he's given out all year to people? DC HARLON BARNETT: It's very important. Again, that's what we pride ourselves on is playing fast, physical and violent at all times in every game, not just because it's Derrick Henry. But if you're going to pound a back up in there or if you're a team that runs your quarterback a lot, we expect them to get a lot of hits on him and guys flying in there. And he should feel it after the game; he should. We're a tough, physical defense like we pride ourselves on. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I keep saying the Alabama offense likes to wear defenses down. But as a defense, we like to wear the offenses out. We think that's going to be a big role in this game. So we're just excited. It's going to be a great game. Just a tremendous opportunity. Q. Riley, a lot of your teammates describe you and Jon [Reschke] as the chief mind-game
operators and trash talkers on the field. How does that manifest in a game? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: That's funny. Me and Jon, we like to play loose. And we do that in practice so it just carries over into games. We just like to have fun and have energy, and we pride ourselves on that. "Spartan dogs defense" is what we call ourselves. It's just about having a lot of energy, being tough. But at the same time having fun. Q. How can you tell when it's getting to somebody, Riley? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I think around the second or third quarter when you're talking to them and they don't say anything back and then we just keep talking. I think they might think we're a little bit crazy, but that's just kind of how we play. Q. Coach, there's a lot of staffs who would never want anyone to say publicly that you smile and nod your head. Why? DC HARLON BARNETT: Because that's how we talk to our guys. There's nothing wrong with being a little crazy out there. This is football. We all know nuts. If you're anybody that's going to run full speed into somebody and hit them and think it feels good, you're a little nuts. And I'm one of those people, so I love that. That fires me up, man, you know? That's all right. It's all fun. It's all fun. It's all legal, and that's why we play this game. That's why I always talk about the other guy must come out when you're playing football. When you're playing football, that other guy has to come out. And we all have that other guy in us. Q. Riley, I think you and Jon sent out some tweets. Maybe it was after Derrick won the Heisman Trophy or maybe after you found out you were going to be playing them. You sent out some tweets. And, Harlon, maybe you had something to say about that, too. Can you kind of recount that? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: Yeah. It was after Derrick Henry won the Heisman. It was just all in good fun, just good competition. Just kind of tweeting him just to let him know that we're here. You know, nothing trying to get after him or anything like that. It was all in good fun. And the guys that know me and Jon know we're always kind of joking around like that. As people always say, I didn't realize it was going to get that much attention being as immature as I am, which I should have known. But it's all in good fun. Just excited for the opportunity to play a back like that, someone who's won the Heisman. So just a great opportunity. DC HARLON BARNETT: It was nothing disrespectful. Riley was just saying he's looking forward to playing against him. You always want to play against the best. If you think you're the best and one of the best, you want to play against the best and prove it out. So I thought it was great.
Q. Harlon, a lot of talk about Alabama's offensive line, one of the best in the country. Ryan Kelly, I believe, won the Remington Award just over Jack Allen. How exciting has it been for these players to really get fired up especially the D-line, Lawrence Thomas, Shilique, just to get excited and get ready to take on such a vaunted unit and try to dominate down in the trenches? DC HARLON BARNETT: They're looking to it. AWAL, as they call themselves, our defensive line, Animals Without a Leash. They're looking forward to it. They're the strength of our defense. They've been told that this is no secret. Our defensive front is the strength. As well as they play is going to be as well as we play on defense. And they're looking forward to this challenge. We understand that Alabama calls themselves the Trench Mob. So you've got the Trench Mob versus AWAL, and we're looking forward to seeing what happens. Q. Riley, you guys have immense respect for Alabama. You've made that clear on the record and off the record what you feel about them. But when you watch them on film outside of Ole Miss, it didn't appear to me at least watching any game that those teams wanted anything to do with Bama. You wanted them. This is a game that you guys wanted to play the best. You wanted to play Alabama, and you got them. Do you think that gives you an edge when you watch film, the fact that you guys are going to step on that field thinking, "We're not only going to be there, we wanted you." Do you think that gives you an advantage? LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I think whenever you have an opponent you've got to have the confidence that you're going to win and if you don't have that, you've already lost before the game started and I feel like we have confidence but at the same time we do respect Alabama obviously. Like I keep saying, just the opportunity we have to be on this grand stage, play in the Cotton Bowl against an Alabama team, is something years down the road we're going to look back on and it's going to be a special time. So we're just enjoying the moment, and I'm excited for this game coming up on Thursday. Q. Coach, when Coach [Pat] Narduzzi left, there was uncertainty. There's been such stability in the program and such continuity in the staff. Take us back a year ago Cotton Bowl week to what you saw as the challenge and what the journey has been like from then to now. DC HARLON BARNETT: Huh, well, you know, Pat had been having different opportunities throughout the last several years leading up to last year. And we always want to see what's best for him. He and his family, he was waiting for the right -- what he thought was the right situation for himself. And so he was keeping us informed on what was going on. And his
opportunity of possibly being able to go to Pitt. Obviously he was able to go there, get the job, and then the transition started to occur a little bit. But he still had to coach out the game. So he did a good job like he always does, and we still stayed together as a staff. By being together so long, it didn't really sway us one way or the other. We just kept rolling. And like Coach D mentioned even yesterday, he said the program was to the point where we just keep going. We've won without Connor Cook. We've won without our middle backer in the Rose Bowl. We've won, he said, without Coach Dantonio in 2010 after the Notre Dame game. He was out a few games. So he said, "We're to the point now where we just keep on going and keep moving forward." So we're excited and happy for Pat, and he's going to do great things at Pitt. But the program just keeps rolling along, and we all got it going and let's go. We're here now in the Playoffs. Q. Coach, as an unrelated follow, if I could ask you for one memory between, I believe, '85 and '88, when Coach Saban was on the staff, anything that has stuck with you from your time playing under him? DC HARLON BARNETT: I said this before, I don't know if it's any one thing. The basis of how I teach defensive back is from him. That's my foundation of coaching defensive backs. Excellent defensive back coach. He was never my head coach, but he was my DB coach, D coordinator at, and again in Cleveland with the Browns. So Nick and I go way back. And then to get into the college coaching thing. I GA'd at LSU one year down there with him. He's been a mentor, excellent coach. But for one thing to stick out. He's always been fiery. He's always -- you know, what he is, he's an excellent teacher if you can muffle out all the yelling and screaming. I tell people that all the time. But if listen to him and take what he's saying, you can grow a lot from him. And he always when I was down at LSU with him, he would tell the players, "Harlon, tell them. I used to be worse than this when I was younger." And I said, "Yeah, you were, Coach." He's a fiery guy but has a great attention to detail. Great attention to detail. Q. Harlon, a lot of people don't get to see Derrick Henry-likes. But these guys have practiced against Le'Veon Bell. How much of an advantage is it that they can go back and remember what it was like to go against Le'Veon? When you watch Henry, do you go back and think about going live again against Le'Veon and how you perceive him and picture and visualize going against him? DC HARLON BARNETT: They're different backs, believe it or not. They're both big, but Le'Veon was more of a -- he could shake you down. He could do anything he wanted to do.
Obviously, he's one of the best backs in the NFL right now. Whereas, Derrick Henry, he's like Riley said, what you think could be a two-yard gain could end up being a four or five-yard gain and because he's always falling forward and just naturally just a big guy, just falling forward. Whereas, Le'Veon wasn't always just trying to just be a big guy trying to run you over. He's more of a "stick your foot in the ground and try to make you miss" guy. DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: I definitely agree, two different backs. The one good thing about it, though, is that they're big in size. They're both big in size. And Henry does a great job, like you said, getting the extra yardage. So did Le'Veon but they just did it in different ways. That's the big thing, just trying to contain him and understand that he has a different style of play. Don't go into the game thinking I played against a big back before because we haven't played against Derrick Henry before. So just try to be prepared for that for the most part. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I was on a scout team my freshman year, so I went against Le'Veon every day. Obviously a tremendous back. It was a challenge every single day to bring him down. But like they said, it's hard to compare them. Two different running styles, both big but different running styles so it's hard to compare them. Q. Shilique, your coach just mentioned the defensive line have nicknamed themselves AWAL, Animals Without a Leash. And you're going against the Trench Mob as Alabama calls themselves. From a defensive lineman's perspective, just how exciting is it? How have you guys like you and Joel [Heath] and LT (Lawrence Thomas) been get being ready for that? DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: Practice, preparation, constantly just studying film, evaluating it. They have a great offensive line. You can tell. They won the award for best offensive line. And it shows on film. Those guys are big, and they do their job well. And they stick together for the most part. Us as a defense though, we like that challenge, of course, because it gives us an opportunity to better ourselves and better understand what we could go against in the future and also just shows where we can improve. And this may seem like this is a one-and-done game. But you always improve on your technique. And just understanding your opponent. I think we could do a great job of playing against such a great O-line, and it will help us understand how we can be better as a team and then also better as individuals. Q. Coach, some of the folks here in the room and the media have gotten to know Nick Saban a little bit down through his years at Bama. And they found the guy has got a little bit of a sense of humor. Away from the field, he can be all but -- human. What are your recollections his sense of humor and/or his compassionate side?
DC HARLON BARNETT: Well, some of the things you can't say with his sense of humor that I thought was funny because the guy has certain sayings he says and all this kind of stuff. I won't share all of those. But just as far as -- I know everybody sees him in a different way and some people can't stand him and some people love him. I'm good with Nick. He's been good to me. But even just going down to -- prior to LSU, going down to LSU, I had just stopped playing professionally. And he called me one summer about doing -- this is when he was head coach at -- being the sideline reporter for football games because he remembered that I was a communications grad from. And then I went to broadcasting school when I was playing with the Browns when he was coaching there. So he remembered all that stuff and called me about coming to do that. So I did that for his last two years at, '98, '99. I was a sideline reporter. And right after the game, I interviewed him. Before he came and met with the media, it was me and him. So, "Coach, how you doing?" And I would ask him. so I thought I was going to be one of you guys at one point in time. But God had another plan for my life. So now I'm here coaching. But that's just one story on him. Like I said, we go back to '85. And he's an excellent football coach. Q. How do you come up with your trash talking? DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: I kind of don't trash talk. It's not really my thing. I just go out there and play. I think your actions should speak louder than your words. And that applies for the field also. If you feel like you're better than someone or you feel like you know that you can dominate them, let that show by your actions. You don't need to talk to them about it. You don't need to make them feel less, dehumanize them, and make them feel less about themselves. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: I think I'm a little bit different. It's different every game. Sometimes I just say random things. I think the guys think I'm crazy sometimes. But you know, it's just heat of the moment things, all in good competition. So that's just kind of how it goes, I guess. Q. Shilique, you say you don't trash talk but you are pretty demonstrative on the field. And a lot of guys talk about how you are the personality of this team. Talk about how you take that to the field and how that translates to your success. DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: Well, I don't trash talk other teams. I trash talk my teammates, though. No. Honestly, I just keep the mindset that you try to be a leader above all else. And don't change who I am to be the leader, though. The reason I am in the leader standpoint is because of who I am. I just try to wreak havoc for the most part. Part of the defensive line, we don't get much
recognition when it comes to media. But we know that if a lineman doesn't get up to our backers, we're doing a great job. And they commend us enough and let us know that we're doing such a great job. So it's kind of like we're helping them help us at the end of the day. So we try to take that mindset to the game and that's it, just wreak havoc. Q. Harlon, going back to Cotton Bowl Media Day in East Lansing, you mentioned back in '88 you wrote a rap song over the summer about winning a national title. Should the Spartans advance to Glendale and play in that game, any chance we might get to hear a couple bars from that? DC HARLON BARNETT: It has to be after the game. We have to win it. We have to win it. These guys heard it, but that's been a few years ago. But I already had somebody ask, Hey, if we win it, then can we put it in our book? I said, "Yeah, you got it. I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you." It's fun. It's just all in fun. Q. Your comments on Riley's beard. Is this kind of a power deal for him? Does he derive super powers from that facial? DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: Actually, I really do like the beard. It's the hair that's the problem. (laughter) No. Honestly, I think he does. I think it all comes from -- I don't know if you have ever seen the cartoon the Crimson Chin. But that's why I think he's like a superhero with that beard. It gets really wild and really crazy. LB RILEY BULLOUGH: Just adds to the crazy effect. Talk trash and have a big beard and long hair, people think you're extra crazy. Q. Shilique, I was mentioning to them earlier, when you watched Alabama this year outside of Ole Miss, teams seem to be intimidated by them and they had an advantage right away. You folks wanted them. You certainly have all the respect in the world for them. So it wasn't a disrespect thing. But you wanted this game. How much of an edge does it give, like Ole Miss had in that game, that you're not intimidated by Alabama being on the field. You respect them but wanted them. DE SHILIQUE CALHOUN: I don't think it gives us an edge. I think that's just kind of how you should go into the game as a competitor. You know, you want to play the best. You want to play one of the top teams. And we have that opportunity, you know? It's going to be a great battle because we both look forward to playing each other, but I wouldn't necessarily say it gives us an edge. Wouldn't necessarily say that. DC MIKE TRESSEL: I guess what I'd like to say is the Spartans are fired up to be part of the
national College Football Playoff. We want to thank the Cotton Bowl for the first-class manner in which they host this event. It's awesome every year, and we're excited to be able to play a great Alabama team. Q. Mike, Alabama they've been very complimentary of your defensive unit in total. They know they're going up against one of the better units they're going to play all year. So I guess just looking at Alabama's offense on film, whether it be Derrick Henry or whether it's Coker throwing the ball deep. Just what kind of challenges do they immediately present maybe against what -- not shortcomings but just things you might struggle against in taking on Alabama? DC MIKE TRESSEL: Well, they have obviously the Heisman Trophy winner who is huge and fast. They have the award-winning top offensive line in the nation who's huge and strong. They have receivers that are fast, go vertical, make big plays. And then Coach Kiffin does a great job of designing things to put linebackers and safeties in conflicts to try to isolate people. So there's no doubt we have our work cut out for us. But we will play fast, and we're looking forward to it. LB DARIEN HARRIS: Yeah, to echo what Coach Tressel said, just the fact that they're such a well-rounded offense is major in their success. They can kind of do it all obviously. It starts with having a Heisman Trophy winner back there. So if they have to hand it off 30, 35 times, they can do that. But if they want to spread the ball around, they can do that as well. Three great receivers on the outside that can all make plays and the quarterback who isn't afraid to throw the ball down field. Q. Joel, what is it in particular about Derrick Henry that makes him appear unstoppable? And how confident is this defense that you can stop him, much the way you did Zeke (Ezekiel) Elliott? DT JOEL HEATH: He's a tremendous athlete. He has tremendous size. Full running back. And, as you look at him, you've got a guy who can run with power but can also, you know, run with speed and quickness in his feet. So you've got a guy who has many dimensions to his game. But then, as I look at our defense, I look at a defense who has tremendous athletes and people who have a will and desire to want to be great. And so I think, as you look at it, as you're looking at just the way our defense plays, we play to try to stop the run. That's our goal in mind. That's what we think about whenever we come out and step on the field. It's not always about the pass, but it's about stopping the run. That's the way we kind of look at it. We have tremendous athletes on both sides of the ball. And that's kind of the way we look at it. Q. Mike, you predicate your defense on stopping the run. You can't let Henry own this game. So you've got to get the game into Coker's arms. When you look at them -- you're obviously not going to reveal your game plan -- but are you seeing some things on film that maybe other people haven't done that are giving you some thoughts on your game planning?
De De, knowing that their plan is to try to get it into Coker's arm, how much do you as the leader of that secondary mentally preparing those guys for that? DC MIKE TRESSEL: Well, first off, in terms of stopping Henry and the run game, we have watched what everybody else has done. We've taken notes of things that have worked well. We also try to learn from where breakdowns happen. Moving into a playoff scenario, we've had extra weeks to prepare, try to put some twists on what we've done in the past, fill gaps maybe a little bit differently than we have in certain situations. But, for the most part, we're going to do what the Spartans do, which is play very, very fast, fill the hole very, very quickly, get multiple hats to the football. And the best way to stop Henry is to have more than one person there. Once you move past that, though, I will say this: Coker and their receiving core are very, very capable of throwing the ball around. So we're going to have to make sure we mix in our play calls and have a feel for when we make sure they're not able to isolate corners or safeties. Because there's going to be times they're definitely going to try to suck everybody in and isolate. So there's going to be a little bit of a chess match going on. DB DEMETRIOUS COX: To follow up on what Coach Tressel said, it's, obviously, the goal of our defense is to stop the run first always. But in the back end we have to do our job. And we know we have to trust these guys up front to get it done. And then we stop the run second. We stop the past first from the back end. Q. Demetrious, the secondary have really rounded into form as the end of November came around. Now you've got RJ [Willimason]coming back for the bowl game. So, just from a mental standpoint, what's it mean to have you guys be finally healthy, playing your best football going up against a team that, as Coach Tressel just mentioned, does have the ability to stretch the field with their receivers? DB DEMETRIOUS COX: I feel like, you know, towards the end of the year everybody coming into form is just an experience thing and a confidence thing. I feel we had younger guys back there at times. And, you know, this is the first year I've been getting 80 snaps a game. And now that we're in a comfortable spot, everybody's getting healthy, it's really kind of a settled down feeling. We've always had guys that can make plays and stuff. But I feel like we will play well. And then, you know, every once in a while we had a lapse in the defense or something in the back end. Now we're making those plays down field and stuff like that that we weren't earlier in the season. Q. As part of the defense, what are some of the things that get you all fired up during the game? LB DARIEN HARRIS: You know, first it starts with just the fact that we enjoy watching each
other make plays. I think that's the main thing about this defense and the unselfishness of how we play. And when De De makes a great interception, I want to see him get up and celebrate. When Joel gets a big sack, I want to see him get up and celebrate. That's the types of things that get me and the rest of the defense fired up is just watching everybody else around us make plays. Because we understand that, you know, for us to be successful, all 11 guys got to do their job. And for us to be successful, all 11 guys got to be out there making plays. What gets me most fired up isn't myself doing something out there. It's watching one of my brothers get the job done. DT JOEL HEATH: I think we know the expectation for the season. I think coming into each game we know the intensity we have to bring. And, that being said, you know, all the work we do is based upon the season that we want to have. And the intensity that we bring to each game only gets us further and closer to that. So that's really where our intensity comes from is knowing that we have the next level and next step for us as a program and as a team. DB DEMETRIOUS COX: Yeah, I completely agree with both of them. And I think reminding each other of all the goals that we had set at the beginning of the year, where we are now, the Big Ten championship and in the playoffs, stuff like that keeps -- it keeps us motivated. Keeps guys, you know, playing fast and having fun the way we do it. Q. The first one here is for Joel. Joel, I know you refer to yourself as sort of the old man here on the roster. How would you describe, Joel, from that point of view, what you've seen the program start at when you arrived and build to now? And, if you could identify one turning point, what would that be? DT JOEL HEATH: I think there's been a certain level of confidence that we've been given throughout these years. I think it comes down to all the close games we played in, all the victories that we've had. And so, as I look at it, I think our turning points are kind of our biggest games. And, as I've been here personally, you know, I've gained a lot of experience. I've gained a lot of playing time experience. And many different things that I've learned along the way from guys ahead of me. And, you know, I might consider myself the old man, it's simply just because of things that I've kind of gone through and adversity and different things. But, you know, being able to I guess be mature in a sense, be mature in the way I live my life and what not. So yeah. Q. Demetrious, with what's happened with the no-fly zone and the pedigree of that position group, what pressure did people feel, you think, in that position group on this group coming into this season to live up to that lineage? And, again, if there was a turning point where things clicked. DB DEMETRIOUS COX: I don't feel like there's a certain pressure, you know, to live up to the no-fly zone. I kind of feel like the no-fly zone thing is, when you come in and you learn, you know, from Coach Barnett and you bond with the other defensive backs that are in the room,
that's where the no-fly zone thing kind of comes. We're not no-fly zone because of social media or something. But it's not like a lot of pressure. But I feel like we hold each other accountable and we tell each other, you know, when guys come in, take it personal when someone catches the ball on you. It's not okay, someone catches the ball on you so you don't care. We tell each other you should take it personal. It should kind of make you tick a little bit. You work -- you finish every play to get the ball out and do what you got to do. And that's the standard that we continue to live up to. And Coach Barnett upholds that, and he kind of keeps us on our toes at all times. Q. Joel and Darien, Mark Dantonio always talks about reaching higher, and this program they've done that. You win the Rose Bowl and amazing comeback win against Baylor. Now you guys are finally in the playoffs. How much does this kind of feel like a culmination of the journey of the past few years and just being able to try to accomplish what the teams before you couldn't get done and try to win a national championship? LB DARIEN HARRIS: I don't think it's anything that teams before us couldn't get done. I think the teams before us were the ones that set the foundation for what we've been able to do and set the blueprint for how this season has gone. So I think they deserve all the credit, if not more credit, for how this season has gone for us. But, when you look at our class and now De De's class as well, the two oldest classes on this team, we're guys, kind of like Joel said, that have seen it all. We've been here for the tough time. We were here for the 7-6 year. We're the only two classes on the team that were here for that year. Just the fact we've been able to persevere through all those different things has been great for us. You know, my class as well as -- I mean, I guess every class on this team now has never lost a bowl game, which I think is major as well because we understand the importance of these games. And we're not just here to have fun. We're here for a business trip. The goal, first and foremost, is to win these games. And now in this playoff situation where there's a game beyond this one, there's even more of an added, you know, business side of things because we really understand that the spotlight is going to be on all four teams in the playoffs. That being said, it's something new for us. It's a new experience. It's one that Alabama has already done, obviously, last year. So, you know, we're coming here to win. You know, we expect to go out there and play as hard as possible. We also expect Alabama to give it their all as well. DT JOEL HEATH: Like Darien said, it's just a foundational thing. It started from the beginning, started from back in '07. And it's kind of grown and developed. And I think, in order to reach higher, you have to have some foundation. And so that's really what Coach Dantonio has preached for quite some time is just making sure that our goals are set before us but also,
you know, reaching higher with those goals. So it's just a tremendous testament to what Coach D has established in this program going forward. Q. Mike, RJ Williamson -- Harlon said not only does he expect him to be back but to get significant reps. Most people don't know this nationally, but this is the healthiest your defense has been all year. To be at this game at such a high level and to be game planning now with your best health, how much of an advantage is that for you? DC MIKE TRESSEL: To play in a game like this, we need to be at our best. Coach Dantonio talks to us individually about exceeding our potential and playing at our best or coaching at our best in the biggest situations. And, obviously, this is the biggest situation we've been in as a program. So every one of us needs to be at our best. But it's a huge advantage that our defense is at its healthiest. RJ will play a lot. RJ is looking like he hasn't missed a beat. So he certainly has some roles and has gotten back into shape. You know, that's always a concern when you're out for a while, getting back into football playing shape. So it's nice that we've had weeks stacked on top of each other where he could play football. We are excited. And the goal is, every single one of us, whether it's coaching or playing, to exceed our potential this week in the biggest situations being at our best. Q. Joel, it's fair to say, when you came to, you were a kid. And you've grown into a man. And it's been a journey. You waited your turn. You redshirted. You waited to play. And now, by all accounts, have played yourself probably into the NFL draft. I'm curious what you learned about you in this process and how different you are today as a man? DT JOEL HEATH: Yeah, I think I learned I can be confident. I can be confident in my abilities and the things that I've done. I think that's really tremendous to be able to kind of look back at yourself and see where you've grown and where you've developed. And I thank you for the compliment as well. But it's just kind of tremendous how you develop as a player, but as a person as well, as you play football and the things that you've acquired and learned over the years. So I know I'm confident. I'm confident in my abilities and confident in things that I've been able to accomplish. Q. Your trash talking linebackers get a lot of publicity. I guess Riley in particular. What words best describe him when he's on the football field? LB DARIEN HARRIS: No, Riley is great. Riley's great. Riley is the guy that keeps us loose out there. He's the guy that's the leader of this defense. He's a middle linebacker, so he has to be the leader of this defense. He's extremely passionate about this game, and he's passionate about coming from the Bullough family. So, you know, every team is going to have guys that trash talk. I mean, that's not just a
thing. That's all 100, 200, however many teams there are in the country. Everybody is going to have trash talkers on their team. That's what makes sports fun. That's what makes the competition fun. It's all in good fun. It's all in mutual respect. And just the fact that he does it in his own way, you know, makes Riley, Riley. He's the most, you know, unique person I think I've ever met in my entire life. And I think that's what makes him great. We love him to death. You know, I'm happy that I got the opportunity to play with a guy like that. DT JOEL HEATH: Yeah, I think the way I describe Riley is like a controlled wild animal. He has a high IQ and a high sense of football. But, when we get on the field, man, he's a different guy. He turns it on. And he's just crazy. He's just a crazy dude. And also very intelligent. DB DEMETRIOUS COX: I feel that Riley -- he keeps the enthusiasm at its highest even those days when, you know, we're deep in the camp or deep in the practice and we're hurting. He makes it fun to be out there. He makes you keep wanting to go hard and have fun. And he's really very unpredictable. You never know what he's going to say or what he's going to do. But he's very, very talented, very smart, and probably one of the toughest people I've ever met in my life with playing through injuries and stuff like that. And, you know, I feel like we're all blessed to have each other in this moment right now. Quotes by Caption Northwest, Inc. 425-343-4946 -- College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic --