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00:00 What zoo do you most want to go to?
00:02 That's a great question.
00:04 You know, obviously heard a lot about the zoo out there.
00:07 Personal favorite of mine is the manatee.
00:09 The sea cow. I think I could take him on.
00:12 I would have to work on the whole underwater thing.
00:15 But I think that could be arranged.
00:19 I think that would probably be my number one.
00:22 Would be to go after the manatee.
00:24 Pick on someone maybe a little bigger than me.
00:27 But they're so nice.
00:29 Yeah, they're nice.
00:30 I want to avoid probably the gorillas, the bears, all the big ones.
00:35 You know, could see maybe a giraffe.
00:38 Getting after one of those guys.
00:40 Steven just said that was a bad idea.
00:42 You think?
00:44 I don't know a ton about giraffes.
00:46 Maybe we'll learn a little bit when we head out there.
00:49 About the bowl game.
00:53 [Laughter]
00:55 What's preparation been like for you guys on the offense?
00:59 Kind of a sour taste in your mouth from the last game.
01:01 Yeah, obviously we didn't really end the season the way we wanted to the last two games.
01:06 That's kind of stuck with everyone through the last couple weeks, month or so.
01:11 So it's kind of brought a little more sense of urgency to bowl prep
01:14 because it is a little different.
01:16 You get some time off and then you're kind of a little bit back into camp mode.
01:20 You've got a lot of time off to prepare for one game.
01:22 So it's kind of built up that sense of urgency, especially in our room,
01:26 to finish the season out right, to send guys out the right way,
01:29 and to set this program up the right way going into next season.
01:33 So I'm trying to get that sour taste out of our mouths, out of our fans' mouths,
01:38 and go take on a really good opponent.
01:41 You had problems talking when he first came here.
01:44 You wanted to win him right now, not just for the future.
01:46 Talking about raising the bar.
01:48 Certainly you guys have had a couple tough losses.
01:50 Winning ten games, getting the ACC Championship game
01:52 is something that's rarely accomplished.
01:54 What does it mean to be part of his first team that was able to win right away?
01:59 It's really special.
02:01 We have a special group of guys, a great core group of guys that was here.
02:05 And then we brought in a lot of guys like myself,
02:09 on the offensive line, really everywhere, that have contributed
02:13 and kind of bought into what Coach has preached.
02:16 I had a little inside info on what that was like, obviously,
02:20 and to be a part of that, obviously I wanted to continue to play for him,
02:24 play for the staff, and they've done a ton for me over my whole college career.
02:28 And that's something special to be a part of, for sure.
02:31 I'm excited to see where this program goes in the future.
02:34 I think the sky's the limit, to be honest with you.
02:37 What do you think of when you think of USC?
02:40 Pedigree.
02:41 Obviously they're one of the top dogs, the blue bloods of college football,
02:45 and they have been for a long, long time.
02:48 A program with great tradition.
02:49 They're going to have talent everywhere on the field.
02:52 Obviously they've been on the wrong side of some close games
02:54 against some really good teams,
02:55 so they're a lot better than their record team will show you.
02:58 They're going to have dudes all over the place, man,
03:00 and they're going to be athletic.
03:02 And we've got a good challenge ahead of us, especially offensively,
03:06 just because a little bit of change for them on the defensive side.
03:09 So we're trying to figure out what they're going to do
03:12 and just be prepared for a lot of different things,
03:14 which is kind of what comes with playing in a bowl game.
03:17 You're expecting even with the opt-outs,
03:18 the guys who step up will be just as athletic, just not as experienced?
03:22 Yeah, absolutely.
03:23 And we've obviously got some on our team,
03:26 and that's the nature of this bowl season.
03:29 We're so happy for those guys to be able to take care of their families
03:33 and do what's right for them.
03:35 It'll be a good challenge for us.
03:37 Like I said, they're going to have talent all over the field,
03:40 and it'll be up to us to make plays and have guys step up.
03:43 Eric, you mentioned the pedigree of USC,
03:45 but they've taken a lot of flak this season for how they've performed
03:47 defensively, like you said, and they're making a change at D.C.
03:50 When you kind of start scouting them, like what do you see?
03:54 Like what shows up that maybe USC does well that they may be able to get
03:58 a ton of credit for?
03:59 Yeah, I think they get to the ball.
04:02 They have some really talented guys up front,
04:05 some guys who can rush the passer,
04:07 and they've got some length and some size in the box
04:10 that maybe you don't normally see a lot.
04:13 But, you know, obviously, like you said,
04:16 they haven't had the season they wanted over there,
04:18 and they're going to be coming out looking to make a statement,
04:20 and we know that.
04:21 So we're excited for the challenge, and like I said,
04:24 they're going to have some talented guys who are looking to prove a point
04:27 who maybe haven't played as much.
04:29 So we're excited about it and looking forward to it.
04:32 Eric, without Jawar, it's going to be different offensively,
04:36 but those other guys have played well, especially Isaac.
04:38 But even when Maurice has been put in there,
04:41 those guys have proven they can do it, right?
04:43 Yeah, absolutely they have.
04:45 You know, Isaac obviously has carried a lot of the load too,
04:49 and Maurice has shown that he can handle the rock,
04:52 and we're comfortable with everybody in that room, with Bama as well.
04:55 We have no doubt that those guys are going to be able to step up,
04:58 and Coach Barclay does a great job of getting those guys ready to go,
05:02 you know, no matter who's back there.
05:05 We never really know up front who's back there until we see them
05:08 get through the line, to be honest with you.
05:10 So those guys all bring a different skill set to their--
05:13 and have their own individual game,
05:15 and we're excited to see them step up and have a great performance.
05:19 As an offensive lineman, he protects Jack, is a good friend of Jack's.
05:23 How's his mindset as he is approaching the bowl game?
05:26 He's excited.
05:27 Obviously he wants to finish out on the right note,
05:30 and he's trying to continue to be a great leader
05:34 who he has been all season, and he's done a great job for us
05:37 offensively just kind of being our rock
05:39 and keeping us where we need to be, not getting too high, not getting too low.
05:43 He's kind of that older guy who's been there, done that.
05:48 He's been to a lot of different places.
05:51 He played USC last year, so he's trying to give everybody a little intel
05:55 and some things that maybe we wouldn't know otherwise.
05:58 So excited for him to close out his college career the right way.
06:03 Eric won ten games here as a quarterback with the team,
06:07 but the nature of the position is if you lose the next game,
06:09 everybody's down on you.
06:10 How does he handle the ups and downs of that?
06:13 It's kind of crazy to look at this and say--
06:15 Yeah, he's a mature guy, and he knows the deal that comes with playing quarterback
06:20 at a Power Five school is you're going to get more of the credit
06:23 and you're going to take more of the blame than you really deserve.
06:26 So he does a great job, and he has kind of been steady throughout the year.
06:32 He tries to just keep a level head, and he's done an incredible job,
06:37 and I couldn't be more happy and more proud of him.
06:40 He's been a great leader, a great quarterback to take us through
06:43 Coach Brown's first season here.
06:45 I couldn't be happier with how he's played and what he's done for this program.
06:49 I don't know that people understand truly what he does every day.
06:53 He never leaves the building.
06:55 He's here from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
06:58 He loves football, loves his team, loves these guys.
07:01 So it means a lot to him, and I'm really happy for him.
07:06 Eric, when there's time--you guys obviously have done a lot of other things,
07:11 but when you get time to do things, is that when Coach Brown--
07:14 you've been around him for a few years--is that when he gets creative?
07:17 It seems like in his bowl games past there are a lot of wrinkles
07:20 and things that he throws in there.
07:22 Yeah, you know, you give the mad scientist some time in the lab,
07:25 he's going to come up with some stuff.
07:27 So it's exciting to see when we get the practice script every day,
07:30 what's on there.
07:32 Obviously we're going to have our bread and butter stuff that we do,
07:34 but he's going to sprinkle in some fun new stuff.
07:37 He's always watching football, burning tape,
07:41 trying to see what he can learn from other people.
07:44 It's exciting to play for a guy like that.
07:47 It's been a lot of fun for six years now.
07:50 All right, cool. Thank you, guys.