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BATTLEFROG FIESTA BOWL: NOTRE DAME VS OHIO STATE

December 28, 2015

Joey Bosa

Glendale, Arizona

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Joey, how do you approach what could be your last game? Are you nostalgic about the whole thing?
JOEY BOSA: No, pretty much approaching it how I do every game. Just take one game at a time. I think that's the same mindset we all got as a team coming into this week.

Q. Size up Notre Dame on offense.
JOEY BOSA: You look at them, it's like looking at yourself in the mirror. Athletes everywhere. Big, athletic offensive line. Quarterback that can run with the ball. Really talented receivers. There's weapons everywhere. It's going to be a challenge.

Q. Can you tell how Kizer is coming along? Look comfortable back there?
JOEY BOSA: Yeah, he can definitely move around, which is always a threat, having to worry about keeping our gaps on the passer so he doesn't slip out of there, get some extra yards.

It's going to be tough containing him.

Q. How much extra responsibility do you have with two guys out?
JOEY BOSA: Definitely big hit missing Tommy and Adolphus. A lot of guys have stepped up these last few weeks in practice. We have guys playing inside, guys playing outside who haven't before.

Yeah, it's definitely a challenge for our room, but we definitely accepted it. I think we're doing well.

Q. You won't be coming off the field much?
JOEY BOSA: No, probably not. Probably not.

Q. How good of a player is Ronnie?
JOEY BOSA: He's about as good as it gets at the position. I'm lucky enough to go against one of the best tackles in the country every day in practice. That, of course, helps my advantage.

He's long, athletic, he can run. He's definitely a great athlete.

Q. Is this a matchup that excites you because of that?
JOEY BOSA: Yeah, I always love going against the best in the country. Definitely will this week.

Q. Where do you stand on the potential to declare for the NFL Draft?
JOEY BOSA: I'm going to wait until after this game. All my focus right now is on beating Notre Dame. That's where it's going to stay.

Q. Do you need a good game to declare?
JOEY BOSA: Like I said, we'll focus on the game right now and we'll see afterwards.

Q. That's respect to your team, correct?
JOEY BOSA: Yeah. I mean, a lot of talent on our team. We don't need to be pulling away from our mindset of what we need to be doing.

Q. What do you think about the mindset of this team? This is a team at one point thought they would be playing for a national championship. Has this team refocused?
JOEY BOSA: Our team, we're definitely not pretending that we're not upset that we're not playing for it all because that's always the ultimate goal. But we have a great opportunity in front of us. We're playing one of the best teams in the country in a great bowl game. I think we're all really excited about it. We're happy where we are.

I think we're definitely pulling together as a team.

Q. How do you guys get the win in January? What's the key to the victory?
JOEY BOSA: I think the most prepared team will win. We've been working and preparing as hard as we possibly can, like we try to do every week.

I think if we just come out like we did a few weeks ago against our rivals, I think we definitely have a chance to come out with a win.

Q. With the changes on the defensive front, what are some of the things you have to adjust to playing more inside? How does that affect you?
JOEY BOSA: Just playing three technique is a completely different animal than playing end. I've been working on getting the basics down, some techniques in practice these past couple weeks. It's been a process. It's definitely different taking on double-teams.

I think I'm slowly getting there.

Q. Did you have any history there playing inside?
JOEY BOSA: I mean, other than just third-down and pass-rush situations, I'm really on the outside. When I was younger in high school, I played a little bit of inside.

Q. Talk about the traditions of Notre Dame, what it means in this game.
JOEY BOSA: Two tradition-rich programs, probably two of the most in the country, that get to come and play. I don't know how many times they've got to play each other. It's awesome anytime we get an opportunity to play a great team like Notre Dame, it's definitely exciting.

Q. Do you see yourselves playing for pride more than anything?
JOEY BOSA: We just want to finish the season the right way. We've worked so hard the whole off-season, this season. You never want to go out with a loss.

Q. When you look at the way you guys lost your one game, do you think there's a case to be made this tournament needs to be expanded from four to eight?
JOEY BOSA: Never thought about that. Certainly would make the season pretty long. I don't know. There's a lot of great teams. Can't see it changing anytime soon after it just changed.

That would be pretty cool if we got an opportunity like that.

Q. NFL talent on the other offensive line. Do you feel this is an audition for you and Notre Dame?
JOEY BOSA: You look everywhere on both teams, there's probably no two teams with more talent and NFL prospects. Really an exciting matchups. I'm excited just to watch two very talented teams go play each other.

Q. Notre Dame and Ohio State are two of the six most winning programs of all time. Does this feel like a big-time traditional bowl game, that prestige?
JOEY BOSA: Yeah, like I was just saying, having two tradition-rich teams like Ohio State and Notre Dame, it's always great to get to play another great team. You could kind of compare us to Ohio State, another school with such a long tradition, tradition of excellence like we have here at Ohio State.

Q. DeShone Kizer, does it help that you go against Cardale in practice?
JOEY BOSA: It's definitely an advantage to get to go against some of the best players in the country every day in practice. Definitely helps out when preparing for some of the athletes we're going to be playing in this game.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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