Highlights from our last round of interviews before the Holiday Bowl ...
Su’a Cravens
--on what it would mean to close out his USC career with a win
"I just want to win. I’m a competitor. I’m not going to make the game more than what it is. It’s another game. But we got to prepare for it. It would be nice to get the win."
--on avoiding three losses in four games
"At this point that doesn’t matter. What’s happened has happened. It’s in the past. Like I said I’m a competitor. I don’t want to lose any game."
--on the trajectory of the program
"We have a lot of talent on this team and I think Coach Helton has the right identity and he’s taking this team forward. Everybody needs to buy in, the recruits that are coming in need to buy into what he’s doing. And I can tell you it’s not going to be the same drama that we’ve been having, and that’s a step in the right direction."
--on whether there is a sense of stability
"Yeah. If you had the same team all over with Helton as the head coach, I think the season would be a lot different. He’s a guy that we love. He’s a guy that we know what we’re getting out of him. Nothing’s going to change. When you have a team that will play for a coach and die for a coach, there were games this year that we needed a little extra motivation that we didn’t have and we gave up. I think with Helton as the head coach this year, I think we’d have chance at making the Rose Bowl or the playoff."
--on Wisconsin’s strengths
"They’re like a really, really big Stanford. Stanford is big but they’re twice as big. Big Ten football’s different from Pac-12 football. They’re going to try to be physical with us, kind of what Nebraska did to UCLA, just kept running the ball and running the ball, I think that’s what Wisconsin’s going to try to do to us."
--on how Wisconsin's physicality on film resonates in the locker room
"It gets our attention. I don’t think fans want to see a 10-7 game with Wisconsin running the ball he whole time but there going to run what they want to run and I think that’s their game plan and we got to stop it. They definitely got my attention.
"Everybody’s getting ready for a physical game. If you don’t come out strong, if you don’t come out fast then they’re going to march right down the field and take about seven minutes off the clock. ...
"They’re going to run the ball. They’re going to be real heavy in the run game and they’re not going to hide it. They’re gong to come out with 21 personnel, 12 personnel and run the ball and that’s what we’re expecting. ... I think if we get them into a passing situation then our chances will increase to win."
--on whether this is a more fun matchup than facing a spread team
"I don’t know. I’m a DB at heart so I like the 1-on-1 matchups, throwing the ball and go make a play when the ball’s in the air type game. But this matchup coming up on Wednesday is going to be real tough."
--on what it means to him to be a Trojan for life
"I think all of 'SC nation, 'SC family, knows how I feel about them and how I feel about being a Trojan. It’s in my blood. I got it tatted all over my body. No matter what happens after this, no matter how far along I play in my career, I will always be a Trojan."
Interim offensive line coach Mike Goff
--on Zach Banner playing left tackle
"I think any time, especially on the offensive line, you can't limit yourself to one position. Ultimately, if you have aspirations of playing past college you have to be very flexible and you have to be able to play many different positions. You just never know. We have an old rule: The more you can do the harder it is to cut you. So for Zach Banner to evolve into a left tackle, the kid has so much potential. Whether it’s left tackle or right tackle, you want to be known to play both, so in case anything happens you’re able to do that."
--on whether he could be better left tackle?
"Because he’s primarily been a right tackle there’s an adjustment period. I think if he takes it serious and he goes ahead with a determination that, yes, there is the potential that he could be a fantastic left tackle. But it’s not something that just happens. You don’t just wake up and say, hey, I’m going to be the best left tackle. It’s something that he has to work at and continue to hone his craft if he wants to be a dominant left tackle."
--on how valuable of an experience this is for Chuma Edoga
"Any chance that you get to start against such a great opponent like the Wisconsin Badgers, this is going to show a lot to himself. I’m excited about this opportunity for him. This is going to be something that he’s going to remember going into the offseason. Chuma has so much athletic ability. It’s going to be amazing when he grows into his body. You think about the fact that he’s still 18, 19 years old, it’ll be good."
--on the next step for Chuma
"He just needs to continue to know what he’s doing. Anytime you get thrust into the starting role, you need to prepare. It’s just the little things. If he takes care of the little things, the sky is the limit for him."
Cody Kessler
--on the trajectory of program
"The future is bright for this team. This year we had everything in place but some things happened that we couldn’t control as players, especially me. And it was unfortunate. But if things stay on track and we can stay out of the spotlight, stay out of the drama, keep everybody focused, then I really think this team has, the athletes are there, the coaches now, with Coach Helton, I know he’s going to hire a great staff, the coaches are there, the players are there, we just got to eliminate all the distractions outside. I really think this team can do it because we went through some dark times over the last few years and had a lot of being in the spotlight for negative reasons, which really did distract this team and kind of took away from the main focus of football. All the pieces are there. They just got to be smart the next few years and I know Coach Helton is very good at that. He’s going to eliminate all the distractions. He’s not gong to be anything negative with this team. The players really do help one another out, so I’m excited to see how this team is going to continue to build and move on."
--on his approach to playing his final game
"I’m just treating it as any other game. This being my last one, I obviously want to leave on a high note, but we know it’s going to be a tough challenge. These younger guys are really about wanting to win for the seniors, let’s send them off the right way. At the same time I said don’t make it about us. It’s just another game, win for yourself, win for the guy next to you. AT the end of the day we’ll look back on it and then we can celebrate the seniors in the locker room after. …
"I want to win for everybody, for Coach Helton, the players, the young guys, the seniors, Pat Haden, that whole office and organization. You always want to win and represent your school. This whole school has been through a lot these last few years and these guys deserve it. But it’s going to be hard. It’s not going to be easy. You can’t just expect to walk out there and expect to win. We have to go out there and play a very physical game and stay focused."
--on whether he anticipates it being emotional
"Maybe after but not during the game, no. I’ll be exited to put the jersey on one last time but probably after the game I might get a little emotional, I don’t know. I just stay focused and keep blinders on."
Su’a Cravens
--on what it would mean to close out his USC career with a win
"I just want to win. I’m a competitor. I’m not going to make the game more than what it is. It’s another game. But we got to prepare for it. It would be nice to get the win."
--on avoiding three losses in four games
"At this point that doesn’t matter. What’s happened has happened. It’s in the past. Like I said I’m a competitor. I don’t want to lose any game."
--on the trajectory of the program
"We have a lot of talent on this team and I think Coach Helton has the right identity and he’s taking this team forward. Everybody needs to buy in, the recruits that are coming in need to buy into what he’s doing. And I can tell you it’s not going to be the same drama that we’ve been having, and that’s a step in the right direction."
--on whether there is a sense of stability
"Yeah. If you had the same team all over with Helton as the head coach, I think the season would be a lot different. He’s a guy that we love. He’s a guy that we know what we’re getting out of him. Nothing’s going to change. When you have a team that will play for a coach and die for a coach, there were games this year that we needed a little extra motivation that we didn’t have and we gave up. I think with Helton as the head coach this year, I think we’d have chance at making the Rose Bowl or the playoff."
--on Wisconsin’s strengths
"They’re like a really, really big Stanford. Stanford is big but they’re twice as big. Big Ten football’s different from Pac-12 football. They’re going to try to be physical with us, kind of what Nebraska did to UCLA, just kept running the ball and running the ball, I think that’s what Wisconsin’s going to try to do to us."
--on how Wisconsin's physicality on film resonates in the locker room
"It gets our attention. I don’t think fans want to see a 10-7 game with Wisconsin running the ball he whole time but there going to run what they want to run and I think that’s their game plan and we got to stop it. They definitely got my attention.
"Everybody’s getting ready for a physical game. If you don’t come out strong, if you don’t come out fast then they’re going to march right down the field and take about seven minutes off the clock. ...
"They’re going to run the ball. They’re going to be real heavy in the run game and they’re not going to hide it. They’re gong to come out with 21 personnel, 12 personnel and run the ball and that’s what we’re expecting. ... I think if we get them into a passing situation then our chances will increase to win."
--on whether this is a more fun matchup than facing a spread team
"I don’t know. I’m a DB at heart so I like the 1-on-1 matchups, throwing the ball and go make a play when the ball’s in the air type game. But this matchup coming up on Wednesday is going to be real tough."
--on what it means to him to be a Trojan for life
"I think all of 'SC nation, 'SC family, knows how I feel about them and how I feel about being a Trojan. It’s in my blood. I got it tatted all over my body. No matter what happens after this, no matter how far along I play in my career, I will always be a Trojan."
Interim offensive line coach Mike Goff
--on Zach Banner playing left tackle
"I think any time, especially on the offensive line, you can't limit yourself to one position. Ultimately, if you have aspirations of playing past college you have to be very flexible and you have to be able to play many different positions. You just never know. We have an old rule: The more you can do the harder it is to cut you. So for Zach Banner to evolve into a left tackle, the kid has so much potential. Whether it’s left tackle or right tackle, you want to be known to play both, so in case anything happens you’re able to do that."
--on whether he could be better left tackle?
"Because he’s primarily been a right tackle there’s an adjustment period. I think if he takes it serious and he goes ahead with a determination that, yes, there is the potential that he could be a fantastic left tackle. But it’s not something that just happens. You don’t just wake up and say, hey, I’m going to be the best left tackle. It’s something that he has to work at and continue to hone his craft if he wants to be a dominant left tackle."
--on how valuable of an experience this is for Chuma Edoga
"Any chance that you get to start against such a great opponent like the Wisconsin Badgers, this is going to show a lot to himself. I’m excited about this opportunity for him. This is going to be something that he’s going to remember going into the offseason. Chuma has so much athletic ability. It’s going to be amazing when he grows into his body. You think about the fact that he’s still 18, 19 years old, it’ll be good."
--on the next step for Chuma
"He just needs to continue to know what he’s doing. Anytime you get thrust into the starting role, you need to prepare. It’s just the little things. If he takes care of the little things, the sky is the limit for him."
Cody Kessler
--on the trajectory of program
"The future is bright for this team. This year we had everything in place but some things happened that we couldn’t control as players, especially me. And it was unfortunate. But if things stay on track and we can stay out of the spotlight, stay out of the drama, keep everybody focused, then I really think this team has, the athletes are there, the coaches now, with Coach Helton, I know he’s going to hire a great staff, the coaches are there, the players are there, we just got to eliminate all the distractions outside. I really think this team can do it because we went through some dark times over the last few years and had a lot of being in the spotlight for negative reasons, which really did distract this team and kind of took away from the main focus of football. All the pieces are there. They just got to be smart the next few years and I know Coach Helton is very good at that. He’s going to eliminate all the distractions. He’s not gong to be anything negative with this team. The players really do help one another out, so I’m excited to see how this team is going to continue to build and move on."
--on his approach to playing his final game
"I’m just treating it as any other game. This being my last one, I obviously want to leave on a high note, but we know it’s going to be a tough challenge. These younger guys are really about wanting to win for the seniors, let’s send them off the right way. At the same time I said don’t make it about us. It’s just another game, win for yourself, win for the guy next to you. AT the end of the day we’ll look back on it and then we can celebrate the seniors in the locker room after. …
"I want to win for everybody, for Coach Helton, the players, the young guys, the seniors, Pat Haden, that whole office and organization. You always want to win and represent your school. This whole school has been through a lot these last few years and these guys deserve it. But it’s going to be hard. It’s not going to be easy. You can’t just expect to walk out there and expect to win. We have to go out there and play a very physical game and stay focused."
--on whether he anticipates it being emotional
"Maybe after but not during the game, no. I’ll be exited to put the jersey on one last time but probably after the game I might get a little emotional, I don’t know. I just stay focused and keep blinders on."
