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00:00 >> Steve, what's preparation been like as far as for the bowl game and
00:04 how you guys have maybe focused now on just this one game?
00:08 >> Honestly, no different.
00:11 You gotta attack this game just like any other one.
00:13 Play the team as dynamic as them, whether they have some star guys playing or not.
00:18 You have to prepare.
00:19 Lincoln Riley is a crazy offensive line, one of the best in the game right now.
00:22 You have to respect that.
00:24 They recruit just as well as anybody, so you kinda just have to treat it like a
00:27 regular game, like a championship game.
00:29 That's how they're treating it, I hope.
00:31 So, yeah.
00:32 >> Steven, what are the advantages having faced that offense for you?
00:36 >> Honestly, football is football is football.
00:39 So I'm trying to tell these guys in here that it's like,
00:41 as long as you know their scheme, it's just like any other team.
00:45 They're gonna show you what they're gonna run in that first half,
00:46 really that first quarter.
00:48 Just don't be shocked by anything.
00:49 Watch your film and treat them just like every other game.
00:52 As long as you're watching it and you understand what's coming,
00:53 then in the second half, nothing's gonna change.
00:55 I mean, as far as me playing them in the past years, I look forward to it.
01:00 I feel like I've kinda had a leg up on at least being able to read some things
01:04 offensively, like it doesn't change the rest of the football is football is
01:06 football.
01:07 Especially with that OC and just that side of the states,
01:11 how they run football, all the RPO action with that offense.
01:14 They have numerous athletes on that side of the ball.
01:16 I think they've passed it to like eight or nine guys in that room.
01:20 That's ridiculous.
01:21 So being able to spread the ball out like that, they don't care who gets it.
01:24 They're just, it's just plays.
01:25 So for me playing, it's kinda just making sure I don't try to get ahead of myself
01:30 and overthink things and just read out my keys and do my job.
01:34 Play what I have.
01:35 >> What's the challenge of playing against the guys you're gonna be playing against?
01:38 Aren't the guys gonna be playing for them most of the year?
01:44 >> It's a challenge, I think, in not letting yourself get ahead of anything.
01:50 I wouldn't say you'd be playing down to them.
01:52 They're great athletes just like anybody else.
01:54 But not taking it for granted, not taking it lightly.
01:57 They haven't played maybe as much.
01:59 But realizing that they're athletes on the field.
02:00 They're at a Division I program and they got recruited by a great team.
02:03 Regardless whether they played off season or not, they're up next.
02:06 So you have to respect that and have that mentality that they're gonna be a good
02:10 player and a good athlete.
02:11 They're gonna give you everything they have.
02:12 So- >> For your drop season,
02:14 is, sorry, other than having a mistake attack game,
02:17 has this season played out pretty much the way you hoped it would when you
02:20 decided to go back home?
02:22 >> Honestly, yeah.
02:23 You hindsight 2020, I would have hoped I could have ended up with some more sags
02:26 personally.
02:27 But as far as the defense, we've done some great things.
02:29 And I'm proud to be a part of that.
02:30 I've never succeeded like this in my life.
02:32 This is my first year going to a bowl game, going to a championship,
02:35 winning over five games.
02:37 I've been ecstatic to be here, be around this coaching staff,
02:39 be around these players.
02:40 It's really turned my outlook around football around.
02:43 I'm excited to go out on top.
02:44 >> You guys have lost a couple tough ones in a row.
02:46 How important is it to get a W in this bowl game because of that?
02:50 >> I think looking past those,
02:51 we try to treat everything as one game season.
02:54 We've preached that from game one all the way through game 13,
02:57 that it's a one game season.
02:58 But one thing that I think we are trying to emphasize to the guys is going to
03:01 the offseason with the losses, it changes how you look on the off season.
03:05 It leaves that bad taste in your mouth.
03:07 If you lose a few or whatnot, and you're able to come out on top against a good
03:11 team in a bowl game at a good site, you go into that offseason with a little bit,
03:15 still that chip on your shoulder, but a little bit of a smile on your face,
03:17 understanding that you guys still have what it takes.
03:19 And you just let a few slip away.
03:20 >> Having not been to a bowl game, then, what do you tell some of these younger
03:25 guys who might not understand how special this, you've been doing it for a while?
03:28 >> One thing that I'd say to you guys as I walked in here,
03:32 every day playing this game is another day in paradise.
03:34 And some days paradise is great and sunny, and some days paradise is rainy.
03:39 I mean, I've had a lot of rainy days out there in Colorado.
03:41 So I'm excited to be with a team that was able to make it this far.
03:46 I think that it's one thing that I'm trying to tell these guys not to take for
03:50 granted.
03:51 If you would have asked me every single season leading up to our first game
03:54 at Stanford, I would have told you we were gonna have a great year.
03:57 All our preparation, all the athletes we had, guys get drafted,
04:01 guys who are now making plays in the league.
04:03 I would have told you that we were gonna be a great team in the back and
04:06 we were gonna compete.
04:07 And it always worked that way.
04:08 So I mean, football changes things.
04:10 It's any given Saturday in this league and anybody can win or lose a game.
04:14 And just don't take these days out on this field for granted.
04:18 Eventually they're gonna end for some sooner than others.
04:21 But just appreciate what you have and appreciate this opportunity.
04:24 >> Steven, you've been around this program for a year now.
04:26 You've seen Ashton come from a year ago now until now.
04:29 He's changed a lot in his game and all that.
04:32 What do you see with him when you're out there on the other side?
04:35 Or when you're watching film, I guess.
04:36 >> I think physically, from what I understand,
04:39 he just didn't play as much in last year.
04:41 Played a lot more three with the dynamic edges that they had last year.
04:43 I think, honestly, I think physically, he's gotten stronger, faster.
04:48 I think mentally his game has changed completely.
04:53 I think when I first came here, it felt like, and
04:56 obviously just me being this is my fifth year, spent a long time playing.
04:59 And with a lot of older guys at Stanford, I had a leg up.
05:03 A lot of smart coaches, Shaw's a great coach, a great mind.
05:06 His dad was there a lot, really Shaw, a great defensive mind.
05:09 So being able to try to take that knowledge and
05:11 just push into guys has been amazing.
05:14 But Ashton, specifically, I feel like has just been a sponge.
05:18 He's taken everything in.
05:20 One thing that I feel like sometimes you see with guys is,
05:23 especially when they're coming in with a lot of hype.
05:26 Ashton was gonna be a good name, we knew that before the year started.
05:28 But he had no level of pride, no ego that got in the way of learning.
05:33 He learned from me, he learned from guys who
05:37 maybe don't get as much playing time as him.
05:39 Guys who came in early, like our coach, that was a new stat.
05:45 You know what I mean?
05:46 Sometimes it's hard to understand what a coach means and
05:49 put your ego to the side and learn how he wants to learn.
05:51 But Ashton did everything he was supposed to do and more.
05:53 He put his ego to the side, he learned for this team,
05:55 did everything he needed to, played inside, he played outside.
05:58 Did things that don't always equal plays, but the next level understands that
06:03 that's exactly what you need to do to get to that level and succeed.
06:05 So if I hadn't graded Ashton on his ability to just learn this year,
06:11 it's been an A plus.
06:12 He's really just tried to absorb everything, the good things, the bad things.
06:17 He doesn't focus on anything too long, he stays in the precious present.
06:20 >> Steve, and obviously with Caleb Williams going to league,
06:23 they're gonna be rolling out Miller Moss under center.
06:25 When you kind of fire up film and break down him and scout him,
06:28 what's something that kind of pops out to you guys?
06:30 >> So watching him play the game this year,
06:32 most extensively in the Notre Dame game, I believe.
06:34 But seeing him, honestly, it's their scheme, you know what I mean?
06:38 They know what they're recruiting, it's a pretty similar guy.
06:40 And why I think it's very hard to match up to Caleb Williams
06:45 dynamically as a player, even his mind.
06:47 I think that Miller Moss is gonna be a great quarterback there in the future.
06:53 I think that this is just the start for him to be able to come out and
06:56 try to prove himself.
06:57 And that's what I'm trying to tell guys around here is that,
06:59 just don't take guys for granted.
07:01 Don't take these guys lightly.
07:02 They didn't have the year they wanted to, Caleb Williams is gonna be gone.
07:05 And a lot of people think that USC is gonna fall.
07:08 I'm here to tell you right now with that staff, I don't think they will.
07:11 I think that they may not go 11 and 2 next year,
07:14 whatever they went the past years.
07:15 They may not have a Heisenkamp next year, but they've got some athletes.
07:18 They've got a great running back room.
07:19 Marshall Mosey's gonna be really good.
07:20 I've got a buddy over there, Austin Jones, who was at Stanford originally.
07:23 That receiver room, which I already mentioned, is ridiculous.
07:26 They continuously bring in offensive line.
07:28 It's a legendary school.
07:29 Guys are always gonna wanna go there.
07:31 And with that staff and the way they recruit, I think that Miller Moss is just
07:35 one example of them being able to recruit and recruit well and
07:39 bring guys in continuously.
07:40 >> Since you're so familiar with them, do the coaching staff and
07:43 your teammates come to you and ask you more about your opinion on Richmond?
07:48 >> I think in some regard, yes.
07:50 I think that everything that I have reiterated to them has been exactly what
07:54 they already know.
07:55 We're gonna see RPO.
07:56 I don't think Caleb Williams being out changes that one bit.
08:00 I think we're gonna see exactly their game.
08:02 We're gonna see it over and over again.
08:03 While they may do what any program does when they have a younger guy or
08:07 guy who's a little less experienced, and they may keep that at his hands a little
08:10 bit more and maybe get it out to the perimeter more or
08:13 actually run downhill instead of a little bit more of the real option action.
08:18 I think that we're gonna see exactly what they have.
08:20 And I think our coaching staff knows that.
08:21 But I've been glad to have been all ears and
08:25 been able to give any type of point of advice or opinion that I have.
08:29 >> Have you been to San Diego?
08:30 >> I've never been down to San Diego.
08:31 This is my first time.
08:32 Me and the boys used to take some trips down to LA on weekends.
08:35 That's like a six hour drive from Stanford.
08:36 This is eight.
08:38 For some reason, we never made that trip.
08:40 But honestly, I'm most excited other than the game is to go to the zoo.
08:43 I've never been to the zoo.
08:44 >> [LAUGH] >> How'd you do against USC and Stanford?
08:49 >> So we beat them at USC my junior year, great time.
08:52 That was before Caleb Williams.
08:54 So that's one thing I try not to mention to people.
08:57 I think last year they beat us maybe like 49, 14 or somewhere in there.
09:01 I think I feel like individually I did well.
09:03 I didn't get any sacks against them last year.
09:05 Caleb Williams is, like I said before, a dynamic guy.
09:07 He's a dynamic athlete.
09:08 And he's able to avoid a lot of sacks.
09:11 You have to be careful around him.
09:13 But good luck to him with the next level.
09:15 I know he's gonna do well.
09:16 >> When you have a young quarterback, how important is it to get to him early to
09:20 kind of affect him, let him know you're there?
09:22 >> I think it's important.
09:23 I think it's in how you attack the game,
09:26 how our coaching staff goes in with the mindset.
09:27 You have to get on this guy early so
09:29 that you can get him kind of those cold feet for the rest of the game.
09:32 I feel like we tried to have that mentality against Florida State, for
09:35 example, or a lot of other teams.
09:36 But whenever you let them sit back and find their rhythm and
09:40 get comfortable, that's the problem.
09:41 Really with any team, whether he's a veteran or not, back there,
09:45 if you let them find their rhythm, they're gonna start to pick you apart.
09:47 You have to get to them quick.
09:48 You have to let them know.
09:49 And it's a mind game for everybody.
09:51 It's a mind game in the line of scrimmage.
09:52 If you're getting to the quarterback, you're beating him up front.
09:55 Our secondary is probably locking down their offensive perimeter.
09:59 So it's really just a mind game.
10:01 The more you can affect them mentally, the better the game's gonna go.
10:04 >> What are your favorite animals at a zoo?
10:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]
10:10 >> I think maybe, I would really like, I love the aquarium in Monterey, but
10:15 I love to go see when they have any type of water animals,
10:18 like alligators, stuff like that.
10:20 I don't know if they have a polar bear at San Diego Zoo.
10:22 That'd be really cool to see.
10:23 Maybe a rhino.
10:25 My girlfriend really likes giraffes.
10:26 I wanna take a video.
10:27 She thinks she can beat a giraffe in a fight.
10:28 >> [LAUGH] >> So I don't know,
10:31 it's one of those weird questions,
10:32 what animal do you think you can take in a fight in its natural habitat?
10:34 She said a giraffe.
10:36 No way.
10:37 So I wanna take a video next to this giraffe and just have somebody take a picture.
10:40 So I'm taller than her.
10:41 I want her to see how big this giraffe is.
10:42 That's probably one of the most exciting things to see is a giraffe.
10:46 >> Who'd you say?
10:47 >> I feel like I'd take an alligator.
10:50 You know what I mean?
10:50 I feel like if you're able to get on it and you have to hang on.
10:53 If you don't hang on, it's over.
10:56 But literally, it'd be over.
10:58 Yeah, yeah.
10:58 So I would like to say that, but then again, in its natural habitat,
11:03 I can't swim that fast, I know that.
11:05 >> It feels like an all or nothing proposition.
11:08 >> I had a friend say a hippo once.
11:10 >> No way. >> No way.
11:11 No shot.
11:12 I don't think that friend could take a tuna fish, but tuna fish is a fish.
11:16 >> [LAUGH] >> She don't want to push it before you
11:21 get on it.
11:22 (laughter)
11:24 Thank you.