Highlights from our final player and assistant interviews heading into the UCLA game ...
Su’a Cravens
--on how big this game is
“If you win you go to the Pac-12 Championship and if you lose you go to some bowl game. It’s a lot on the line. But at this point in my career, it’s just another game. Let’s go play.”
--on Josh Rosen vs. Brett Hundley
“He’s not going to move around as much in the pocket but that’s not really his game. His game is to throw receivers open, even when you have them covered. We’re gong to have to get pressure on him.”
--on Rosen vs. Vernon Adams
“You don’t have to worry about Rosen running for 40 yards down the field if you slip and fall. He’s pretty fast. He’s a good athlete, but we’re not worrying about him running a read option or anything, or taking the ball and creating with his feet. We’re worried about him using his arm to beat us. … He had a good run down the sideline against Washington State. I think a safety couldn’t catch him. Like I said, he’s an athlete. But we’re going to do our best to get pressure on him.”
--on the keys to defending UCLA
“Put pressure on the quarterback, stay disciplined in coverage and don’t give up explosive plays. If we do that and make them drive the field every time they have the ball, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. I think they’re one of the more poised offenses. They’re going to run what they run no matter what the situation is. Being like that, if you don’t remain disciplined on defense they can gash you for some big yards.”
--on UCLA TB Paul Perkins
“Don’t let him get outside. Once he gets to the edge he’s a tough back to get down.”
--on the apparent lack of emotion from USC going into this game
“Everybody’s going to try to hype it and make it bigger than what it is. We know it’s a big game but we’re just going to go out and play.”
--on whether that’s a backlash from Oregon — Helton said USC got caught up with emotions vs. the Ducks
“I just think we made the game bigger than what it is. We got to the stadium, the crowd was yelling, I think we lost focus. We were caught up in the emotion. This week they’re going to try to be chippy, it’s rivalry week, it's who runs LA, all that nonsense. We’re going to go out and play football.”
--on whether Oregon neutralized him
“They game-planned around me a little bit. They got it to where I was kind of transparent on the field and didn’t get to make as many plays as I would like to. But there were some plays where they ran at me and I’d make a mistake and they just took advantage of it. They did a great job.”
--on whether he thinks of this being his last game at the Coliseum
“Yeah, but at the same time I have other things to focus on, like this game. I need to play the game and worry about all that other stuff later.”
--on what it mean to him that the team can still win the division and play for a conference title
“I’m not happy about how we got here. I don’t like stuff being given to me. It’s not as sweet as it would have been if we would have won out. But we have a situation to do what we planned on doing, so it’s good to be in this situation. We still control our own destiny. But I just wish we would have done it a different way.”
--on the rivalry
“It doesn’t matter to me. It’s a big rivalry but you got to go play the game. I don’t really think about them. It’s just another team in my eyes.”
--on whether that would change if USC beats UCLA
“Nah, it would be the same thing. We just beat anther team. Now let’s go beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship.”
Justin Wilcox
--on the challenges UCLA’s offense presents
“You’re defending a really good run game with good players and good scheme with a pass game to boot with excellent quarterback and very skilled receivers. Whether you’re playing an odd front or even front or man coverage or zone coverage or you’re pressuring them, it all comes down to us executing and focusing every snap. Every play can be the difference in the game.”
--on Rosen
“He does not look like a freshman. He is not a guy that stares at one guy. He goes through progressions like a veteran quarterback.”
--on whether getting pressure on Rosen is a priority
“I think it always is. Everybody’s pass game is a little different, everybody’s protections are a little bit different, you see certain things from certain teams, so we’ll have a plan going in for that.”
--on the team’s response after an off game
“When you don’t play like you expect to or feel like you’re capable of, it’s disappointing and it’s frustrating. The key is that you own it and you don’t just turn the page immediately. You have to go in and own it and fix it. Every single person in the room on defense, the coaches, every position group, every player didn’t do a good enough job for us to win the game. As a competitor, you want to come out and get another chance.”
Chris Hawkins
--on how exactly the secondary struggled vs. Oregon
“We were just busting coverages. Some people not running up where they were supposed to be, overthinking the plays. It happens in football and sadly for us it happened that day.”
--on facing UCLA
“You’re going to see me very excited. I might talk a little mess, I would say. I know some guys on their team. I’m pretty calm right now, but when Saturday hits, it’s an early game, you’re going to see a lot of energy from me. … It’s time to get right. We got to go win this game for our seniors.”
John Plattenburg
--on Rosen
“Pretty good quarterback, pretty good accuracy, and I would think for a freshman, pretty good poise. He can get out the pocket, he will run around.”
--on UCLA’s receivers
“All of them are pretty good. It’s a great school. But Thomas (Duarte) really is the key for us this week, and Jordan Payton also.”
Marvell Tell
--on whether UCLA’s offense presents a similar challenge to Oregon’s
“Nah, Oregon has a lot more speed, I believe, on the offensive end, mostly from the receiving corps. I believe Oregon has a lot more speed.”
--on Rosen’s best quality
“He can pick you apart, he’s real smart, an intelligent quarterback.”
Adoree’ Jackson
--on facing UCLA
“It’s just another game for us. We just got to play up to our ability, don’t get caught up in the atmosphere or the hype of the game, just play ball.”
--on whether he’ll play more offense this week
“I’m not sure. If I do then I do and if I don’t I don’t. I still have to do my job on the other two phases of the ball, defense and special teams.”
--on whether he knows going into a game how much offense he’ll play
“It just depends. Sometimes they let me know I’m playing a lot and other times I may just assume I’m playing a lot. It depends on the game plan and how the game is going, if they need me or not.”
--on whether he’s frustrated by not playing more offensive snaps when the offense is struggling
“Not at all. It’s probably something that the coach saw. Maybe he didn’t need me. It was 14-14, we were scoring at the time, there’s probably not a need for me to get in. Special teams, I just wanted to do what I could. When I scored on the first special teams play, I was thinking about getting another one.”
--on whether he had it in him to play more offense
“Yeah, I had a lot of energy left. But at the end of the day its what coach is seeing and what coach thinks is best for me.”
--On whether he ever thinks he doesn’t have enough energy
“Not at all. I feel like once I get a little breather on the sideline, I just take a couple seconds, a good two, three deep breaths and get ready to go back out there.”
--On UCLA’s offense
“They can beat you with the run, they have a great running back, Rosen can run as well. And then they have good receivers where if they scramble they can get open, we just have to plaster.”
--on whether there is significance to him making a big play vs. UCLA
“Not at all. I feel like every game is probably the same. I just want to make a big play, no mater if it was the first game of the season or the last game of the season. At the end of the day I feel like I need to make a play, for myself, for my own satisfaction. That’s how I feel like I’m doing something right in my eyes.”
--on how he feels about the rivalry
“Other people might have hate towards them. To be honest, I don’t feel any disregard or scorn. It’s a great school, a great program. They’re in LA as well, just around the corner. I don’t really have no feelings toward this rivalry. It’s just me going out there and playing ball. I’m not too big on the rivalries and hating another school. I got much love and respect for the guys that are over there.”
--on how close he was to choosing UCLA over USC
“They were real close. It was between them and USC. They were there. For me it was just the comfortability of being here, knowing most of the players. And then outside of football what could be in store for me hen I get done and graduate, networking, meeting a lot of people, job opportunities, and USC just being a big brand. Jut having that on your resume is enough.”
--on whether UCLA pitched using him on both sides of the ball
“Both schools did. It wasn’t nothing about what they were selling me, it was more just me thinking outside of football and what I want to do, networking, branding.”
Su’a Cravens
--on how big this game is
“If you win you go to the Pac-12 Championship and if you lose you go to some bowl game. It’s a lot on the line. But at this point in my career, it’s just another game. Let’s go play.”
--on Josh Rosen vs. Brett Hundley
“He’s not going to move around as much in the pocket but that’s not really his game. His game is to throw receivers open, even when you have them covered. We’re gong to have to get pressure on him.”
--on Rosen vs. Vernon Adams
“You don’t have to worry about Rosen running for 40 yards down the field if you slip and fall. He’s pretty fast. He’s a good athlete, but we’re not worrying about him running a read option or anything, or taking the ball and creating with his feet. We’re worried about him using his arm to beat us. … He had a good run down the sideline against Washington State. I think a safety couldn’t catch him. Like I said, he’s an athlete. But we’re going to do our best to get pressure on him.”
--on the keys to defending UCLA
“Put pressure on the quarterback, stay disciplined in coverage and don’t give up explosive plays. If we do that and make them drive the field every time they have the ball, I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. I think they’re one of the more poised offenses. They’re going to run what they run no matter what the situation is. Being like that, if you don’t remain disciplined on defense they can gash you for some big yards.”
--on UCLA TB Paul Perkins
“Don’t let him get outside. Once he gets to the edge he’s a tough back to get down.”
--on the apparent lack of emotion from USC going into this game
“Everybody’s going to try to hype it and make it bigger than what it is. We know it’s a big game but we’re just going to go out and play.”
--on whether that’s a backlash from Oregon — Helton said USC got caught up with emotions vs. the Ducks
“I just think we made the game bigger than what it is. We got to the stadium, the crowd was yelling, I think we lost focus. We were caught up in the emotion. This week they’re going to try to be chippy, it’s rivalry week, it's who runs LA, all that nonsense. We’re going to go out and play football.”
--on whether Oregon neutralized him
“They game-planned around me a little bit. They got it to where I was kind of transparent on the field and didn’t get to make as many plays as I would like to. But there were some plays where they ran at me and I’d make a mistake and they just took advantage of it. They did a great job.”
--on whether he thinks of this being his last game at the Coliseum
“Yeah, but at the same time I have other things to focus on, like this game. I need to play the game and worry about all that other stuff later.”
--on what it mean to him that the team can still win the division and play for a conference title
“I’m not happy about how we got here. I don’t like stuff being given to me. It’s not as sweet as it would have been if we would have won out. But we have a situation to do what we planned on doing, so it’s good to be in this situation. We still control our own destiny. But I just wish we would have done it a different way.”
--on the rivalry
“It doesn’t matter to me. It’s a big rivalry but you got to go play the game. I don’t really think about them. It’s just another team in my eyes.”
--on whether that would change if USC beats UCLA
“Nah, it would be the same thing. We just beat anther team. Now let’s go beat Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship.”
Justin Wilcox
--on the challenges UCLA’s offense presents
“You’re defending a really good run game with good players and good scheme with a pass game to boot with excellent quarterback and very skilled receivers. Whether you’re playing an odd front or even front or man coverage or zone coverage or you’re pressuring them, it all comes down to us executing and focusing every snap. Every play can be the difference in the game.”
--on Rosen
“He does not look like a freshman. He is not a guy that stares at one guy. He goes through progressions like a veteran quarterback.”
--on whether getting pressure on Rosen is a priority
“I think it always is. Everybody’s pass game is a little different, everybody’s protections are a little bit different, you see certain things from certain teams, so we’ll have a plan going in for that.”
--on the team’s response after an off game
“When you don’t play like you expect to or feel like you’re capable of, it’s disappointing and it’s frustrating. The key is that you own it and you don’t just turn the page immediately. You have to go in and own it and fix it. Every single person in the room on defense, the coaches, every position group, every player didn’t do a good enough job for us to win the game. As a competitor, you want to come out and get another chance.”
Chris Hawkins
--on how exactly the secondary struggled vs. Oregon
“We were just busting coverages. Some people not running up where they were supposed to be, overthinking the plays. It happens in football and sadly for us it happened that day.”
--on facing UCLA
“You’re going to see me very excited. I might talk a little mess, I would say. I know some guys on their team. I’m pretty calm right now, but when Saturday hits, it’s an early game, you’re going to see a lot of energy from me. … It’s time to get right. We got to go win this game for our seniors.”
John Plattenburg
--on Rosen
“Pretty good quarterback, pretty good accuracy, and I would think for a freshman, pretty good poise. He can get out the pocket, he will run around.”
--on UCLA’s receivers
“All of them are pretty good. It’s a great school. But Thomas (Duarte) really is the key for us this week, and Jordan Payton also.”
Marvell Tell
--on whether UCLA’s offense presents a similar challenge to Oregon’s
“Nah, Oregon has a lot more speed, I believe, on the offensive end, mostly from the receiving corps. I believe Oregon has a lot more speed.”
--on Rosen’s best quality
“He can pick you apart, he’s real smart, an intelligent quarterback.”
Adoree’ Jackson
--on facing UCLA
“It’s just another game for us. We just got to play up to our ability, don’t get caught up in the atmosphere or the hype of the game, just play ball.”
--on whether he’ll play more offense this week
“I’m not sure. If I do then I do and if I don’t I don’t. I still have to do my job on the other two phases of the ball, defense and special teams.”
--on whether he knows going into a game how much offense he’ll play
“It just depends. Sometimes they let me know I’m playing a lot and other times I may just assume I’m playing a lot. It depends on the game plan and how the game is going, if they need me or not.”
--on whether he’s frustrated by not playing more offensive snaps when the offense is struggling
“Not at all. It’s probably something that the coach saw. Maybe he didn’t need me. It was 14-14, we were scoring at the time, there’s probably not a need for me to get in. Special teams, I just wanted to do what I could. When I scored on the first special teams play, I was thinking about getting another one.”
--on whether he had it in him to play more offense
“Yeah, I had a lot of energy left. But at the end of the day its what coach is seeing and what coach thinks is best for me.”
--On whether he ever thinks he doesn’t have enough energy
“Not at all. I feel like once I get a little breather on the sideline, I just take a couple seconds, a good two, three deep breaths and get ready to go back out there.”
--On UCLA’s offense
“They can beat you with the run, they have a great running back, Rosen can run as well. And then they have good receivers where if they scramble they can get open, we just have to plaster.”
--on whether there is significance to him making a big play vs. UCLA
“Not at all. I feel like every game is probably the same. I just want to make a big play, no mater if it was the first game of the season or the last game of the season. At the end of the day I feel like I need to make a play, for myself, for my own satisfaction. That’s how I feel like I’m doing something right in my eyes.”
--on how he feels about the rivalry
“Other people might have hate towards them. To be honest, I don’t feel any disregard or scorn. It’s a great school, a great program. They’re in LA as well, just around the corner. I don’t really have no feelings toward this rivalry. It’s just me going out there and playing ball. I’m not too big on the rivalries and hating another school. I got much love and respect for the guys that are over there.”
--on how close he was to choosing UCLA over USC
“They were real close. It was between them and USC. They were there. For me it was just the comfortability of being here, knowing most of the players. And then outside of football what could be in store for me hen I get done and graduate, networking, meeting a lot of people, job opportunities, and USC just being a big brand. Jut having that on your resume is enough.”
--on whether UCLA pitched using him on both sides of the ball
“Both schools did. It wasn’t nothing about what they were selling me, it was more just me thinking outside of football and what I want to do, networking, branding.”
