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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 10, 2008

Morgan Trent

Q. (Question regarding having fun on the field.)
MORGAN TRENT: The pressure was off. I don't want to say that. I don't know what it was. If we could have pinpointed it earlier, I guess we would have done that. I can't really say one thing.

Q. The defensive linemen said they felt more comfortable with the scheme. Do you think that's fair, or is that just them talking because they got their way?
MORGAN TRENT: Probably a little bit of both. It's something we ran a little bit last year, that package. So maybe they're more comfortable in it. I'm not exactly sure, but they played extremely well, put great pressure on the quarterback, so that definitely helped us.

Q. Have you thought about what Saturday will mean for you?
MORGAN TRENT: A little bit. I don't think it'll really hit me until I get there, until I'm out there and doing everything for the last time. Being here so long, I guess you look back and say you maybe took something for granted, some of those games, so I think it'll really hit me on Saturday.

Q. What's your favorite moment? Do you have a game or a moment that you remember?
MORGAN TRENT: A lot of them. We've had some great victories, I have, in the stadium at Michigan. One of my favorite was, I wasn't even playing, I was a red-shirt freshman, the year we beat Michigan State; that triple overtime game was great. Penn State in '05 was great, but this year Wisconsin was great. So there's so many you couldn't really name.

Q. Secondary-wise, coach just said that a lot of you played your best game. What do you think allowed that to happen on Saturday?
MORGAN TRENT: I really don't know. I can't pinpoint one thing. Obviously it was a different scheme we ran. Everything was instinct. We were in tune, we were making plays, we were getting three-and-outs, and honestly what was helping is our offense was keeping the ball a little bit. They were having great drives, so we weren't on the field the whole game. We were on the field, but 20 plays the first half, so we were extremely fresh, and that really helps.

Q. A lot of coaches say that the first year of a transition is always the hardest on the seniors. Has that been the case? Has it been a struggle for you guys in a sense?
MORGAN TRENT: It's tough because we have a sense of urgency. We're not going to be here next year, so we don't want to hear that it's a transition year and this year we're going to struggle but next year we'll be fine. We don't have that time to enjoy next year, so it's tough for us because we want it right now. Obviously sometimes it doesn't work out like that, but I would agree that it's definitely hard on the seniors.

Q. What did you think of how Brandon played?
MORGAN TRENT: I thought he played great. That's what -- he's been playing -- he's extremely comfortable there. He's played there his whole career. I'm not saying he hasn't been playing great at safety, but he's real comfortable there. It allows him to blitz and do a little bit more things that he hasn't done lately, so I think he's been great there.

Q. Obviously you have your own ideas and some of the way things have been played in the past and the new coaches have their ideas. Is it hard to kind of let go of the old and embrace the new?
MORGAN TRENT: It can be hard, but you don't have a choice. It's kind of you have no choice but to buy in. It's not about what we did last year; that's out the window. In order for us to be successful, you've kind of got to buy in, and as tough as it may be, just do it their way. It's a struggle at times with us and the coaches, but they win out.

Q. How much input have you guys, seniors, been able to give to the coaches?
MORGAN TRENT: Yeah, we can go to our coach, Coach Shafer and Coach Gibby, and talk to them and give them ideas. They listen. They won't always agree with us, but they'll definitely explain to us why we're running the defense that way and what we're trying to stop and all that.

Q. I know it's like ten years ago, but do you remember the first time you ran out on the field in a Michigan uniform?
MORGAN TRENT: Boy, that's a long time ago. Everybody jokes about me, of course. I see Ron Bellamy, and he jokes that I was there and I played with him. I feel old. It's been a long time. I do remember that game as far back as it was.
It's so different as far as you don't -- you really have no idea what you're getting into back then. The main thing you're thinking is don't trip coming out and make sure I don't fall when I try to hit the banner and all that stuff.

Q. Is it you don't know what you're getting into in the whole scheme of things, being in the program?
MORGAN TRENT: Yeah, you hear about the stories and how great a tradition it is and what it means to play on that field, but you don't really understand it, I guess, until you've played some of those games and you've seen what's happened.

Q. What does it mean to you five years later?
MORGAN TRENT: It's serious. It means a lot to go out there, win or lose. Honestly, great players have played out there. There's legends and great games, and to be a part of that is important.

Q. Is there more pressure on the upper classmen to emphasize that to the freshmen, being that you guys were here and they haven't been, and how do you think they've grasped that?
MORGAN TRENT: A little bit. For us that have been there before, there's only a handful of us to kind of pass that on, pass that tradition on and let these guys know. They really see it going out there and playing. You kind of get it firsthand. It's something you pick up pretty quick.

Q. When you get on the field in Michigan Stadium, what is the thing that captures you? Is there something consistent every time you play there, just looking up and seeing all those people?
MORGAN TRENT: Yeah, the amount of people packed in, obviously. I don't want to say a small place, but you guys are sitting on top of each other. It's a different venue. There's other great stadiums, Penn State is a great place to play, a lot of people. But the whole field, the big house, is a different feeling that you really can't describe.

End of FastScripts

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