Here's the full transcript of Donte Williams' comments from Trojans Live tonight:
On what his day was like ...
"To be honest, I found out right before the team meeting. So waking up and everything else going through the day, it was just a normal day for me. It was just making sure my guys [are] ready to play and getting ready for practice. Next thing you know, right before the team meeting, Mike and Brandon pulled me in and talked to me and pretty much to be honest those two and Dr. Folt gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. Since then it's pretty much been nonstop since the team meeting."
On what he can change ...
"We have a lot of games left, but the season has started. It's hard to make huge changes right now, so my biggest thing is about enhancing everything we do. How can we enhance everything we do, whether it's the way we lift weights, the way we eat, the way we practice, the way we play. Just enhancing everything we do. That's the biggest message right now, making sure that we pretty much take care of all the little things. Because too many little things become huge and big things that cost us. They cost us penalties, they cost us dumb mistakes. They cost us as a team. They cost us as a university. That's the biggest message I have. Making sure we enhance everything we do. Everyone in this organization needs to do something a little bit better than what they were doing before, including myself."
On the transition ...
"I'm a person that's very fortunate because a lot of these guys either I've recruited here or I've recruited at past places. So I believe I have a great relationship with the guys on our team. I have a great relationship with the staff we have in place here. And a lot of these guys' families I even know pretty well. So I think the change that is happening right now is a lot easier for me than maybe it would be for someone else. A lot of guys are hurt. I'm really grateful for the opportunity that Clay even gave me a chance to come to USC. I'm greatly appreciative of the opportunity he gave me, and right now it's time for us, like I said, as a university, as a team, as a whole organization to pull tighter together. We still have the same message. Everybody says about going 1-0 in the game, I'm more on the facet of going 1-0 every day. If we go 1-0 every day and we do the best we can every day individually and we do it in the organization as a team then we're going to love the results that we get."
What is your message to the fans?
"The atmosphere this past game was electric, so it's based on us and the product we put on the field to make sure the environment stays that way and gets even better. I'm about making sure the Coliseum is sold out. What we need to do is put the best product on the field to make sure that happens. The administration here is doing everything possible to give us the things we need to succeed. And we're going to make sure that we put our best foot forward and we match their efforts, and will."
What do you want to fix on the field?
"To not have the stupid mistakes and play more together as a family, as a team. Like everyone says those words, but at the same time you have to go live by those words and when you do stupid things that cost the team you're not protecting your family. We have to be strong enough to be able to get one another and appreciate the person next to you that they're getting on you because they care about you. ... That's all the coaches the way we coach, that's the players the way they play, we have to all be held accountable for things that we're doing. One thing we have to do is we have to eliminate the dumb mistakes. Once we eliminate the dumb mistakes, you're going to see true Trojans football."
How does your role change on game day?
"To be honest, it changes a lot on game day. Coming to USC was the first time I've ever been in the box. I'm grateful for that opportunity, but at the same time I love being on the field. I love being around the guys, I love hyping those guys up and being fully involved. It's nothing like seeing a player dead in his eyes what's going on. Because I don't believe in just because a person makes a mistake you just yank them out. If you take them out of the game and you look in their eyes when they made a mistake and they look shellshocked, they look like a lost dog or something like that, then you [take them out]. But if they look at you like, I know what I did, I'm ready to go back in, I'm ready to dominate ... you can't see that in the box. I see those things on the sideline so just being more involved, and it's not just now defense with me being involved in the decisions that we make that can help our whole team make sure we be 1-0."
On what his day was like ...
"To be honest, I found out right before the team meeting. So waking up and everything else going through the day, it was just a normal day for me. It was just making sure my guys [are] ready to play and getting ready for practice. Next thing you know, right before the team meeting, Mike and Brandon pulled me in and talked to me and pretty much to be honest those two and Dr. Folt gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. Since then it's pretty much been nonstop since the team meeting."
On what he can change ...
"We have a lot of games left, but the season has started. It's hard to make huge changes right now, so my biggest thing is about enhancing everything we do. How can we enhance everything we do, whether it's the way we lift weights, the way we eat, the way we practice, the way we play. Just enhancing everything we do. That's the biggest message right now, making sure that we pretty much take care of all the little things. Because too many little things become huge and big things that cost us. They cost us penalties, they cost us dumb mistakes. They cost us as a team. They cost us as a university. That's the biggest message I have. Making sure we enhance everything we do. Everyone in this organization needs to do something a little bit better than what they were doing before, including myself."
On the transition ...
"I'm a person that's very fortunate because a lot of these guys either I've recruited here or I've recruited at past places. So I believe I have a great relationship with the guys on our team. I have a great relationship with the staff we have in place here. And a lot of these guys' families I even know pretty well. So I think the change that is happening right now is a lot easier for me than maybe it would be for someone else. A lot of guys are hurt. I'm really grateful for the opportunity that Clay even gave me a chance to come to USC. I'm greatly appreciative of the opportunity he gave me, and right now it's time for us, like I said, as a university, as a team, as a whole organization to pull tighter together. We still have the same message. Everybody says about going 1-0 in the game, I'm more on the facet of going 1-0 every day. If we go 1-0 every day and we do the best we can every day individually and we do it in the organization as a team then we're going to love the results that we get."
What is your message to the fans?
"The atmosphere this past game was electric, so it's based on us and the product we put on the field to make sure the environment stays that way and gets even better. I'm about making sure the Coliseum is sold out. What we need to do is put the best product on the field to make sure that happens. The administration here is doing everything possible to give us the things we need to succeed. And we're going to make sure that we put our best foot forward and we match their efforts, and will."
What do you want to fix on the field?
"To not have the stupid mistakes and play more together as a family, as a team. Like everyone says those words, but at the same time you have to go live by those words and when you do stupid things that cost the team you're not protecting your family. We have to be strong enough to be able to get one another and appreciate the person next to you that they're getting on you because they care about you. ... That's all the coaches the way we coach, that's the players the way they play, we have to all be held accountable for things that we're doing. One thing we have to do is we have to eliminate the dumb mistakes. Once we eliminate the dumb mistakes, you're going to see true Trojans football."
How does your role change on game day?
"To be honest, it changes a lot on game day. Coming to USC was the first time I've ever been in the box. I'm grateful for that opportunity, but at the same time I love being on the field. I love being around the guys, I love hyping those guys up and being fully involved. It's nothing like seeing a player dead in his eyes what's going on. Because I don't believe in just because a person makes a mistake you just yank them out. If you take them out of the game and you look in their eyes when they made a mistake and they look shellshocked, they look like a lost dog or something like that, then you [take them out]. But if they look at you like, I know what I did, I'm ready to go back in, I'm ready to dominate ... you can't see that in the box. I see those things on the sideline so just being more involved, and it's not just now defense with me being involved in the decisions that we make that can help our whole team make sure we be 1-0."
