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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: MIAMI VS WISCONSIN

December 28, 2017

T.J. Edwards

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. Sort of that old saying in bowl games is whoever wants to be there the most wins. What do you say to somebody that thinks Wisconsin would rather be in a playoff right now, that their heads maybe aren't here?
T.J. EDWARDS: I mean, I think everybody in the country wants to be in the playoff, but you know, just with how the season turned out, it's not where we ended up. But we worked like crazy to get to this point, and we've had a really good season thus far. This last game is our national championship.

Q. How quickly do you guys move on from a loss like Ohio State, especially where not just losing the Big Ten but where you were playing for a National Championship at that point?
T.J. EDWARDS: You know, it definitely sticks with you for a little bit. But moving to a really good bowl game like this and playing a really tough opponent kind of makes it go away a lot faster because you're preparing a lot for this team, and you have to be at your very best mentally and physically to be able to beat teams like this. You can't really have your focus anywhere else.

Q. You guys have a chance for a 13th win, which would be a program record. Where would you say Wisconsin is when it comes to sort of that national chopping block versus when you got here? You guys have put four consecutive 10-win seasons together and you have a chance to win a second straight New Year's Six bowl.
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah, I mean, I definitely think we're up there at the top with a lot of those elite universities. We've earned our right to be up there, and I think winning this game and playing our very best football game is going to do very good things for us. It's very important to us that we play our very best game. And if you don't, we're not going to win.

I think for people to keep putting us in those conversations, we have to win big-time games like this.

Q. For you personally and looking ahead to next season, how much is the decision weighing on you in terms of what you want to do or I don't want to think about it right now while the season is still going on?
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah, it's very tough for me just because, you know, it's almost -- I'm never a guy who wants to be selfish, and it's almost kind of a time where you have to take some time to yourself and kind of choose what you want to do. It's kind of an uncomfortable thing for me just because we're at the end of the season, and I want to finish this thing off strong. It's kind of hard for me to think about. I think at first, it was kind of tough to think about both, and once I started looking at it as a blessing to be able to think about it, I kind of was able to calm my mind. So yeah, I'm still weighing my options and still kind of on the fence both sides. We'll see over the next couple days.

Q. Does this game have any impact on it, whether you win or lose? Or are you trying to push that aside?
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah, I mean, I think initially it's kind of the first response anyone would have. But I think you kind of have to push it to the side a little bit and look at the overall picture. You know, but it definitely would help. But either way, no matter how this game goes, I've still got a tough decision to make, but I'm just focused on this game.

Q. Obviously they have the turnover chain; you guys do very defensively statistically well. Is it going to be that kind of game; is defense going to have to hold the offense down to win it, and are you up for it?
T.J. EDWARDS: You know, I'm sure most might think that. I know our defense and offense are ready for this game. It's a very good opponent we have at hand, and I do think turnovers are going to be a big part of the game. We obviously don't have a chain or anything like that, but we do create some ourselves. It'll be exciting. I think both teams bring a lot of energy and a lot of fans. Our fans travel well, and it's basically a home game for them. But it's going to be fun. I think the atmosphere is just going to be crazy.

Q. Just backpedaling, what made you pick Wisconsin when you decided to go to Wisconsin?
T.J. EDWARDS: You know, I just kind of felt kind of the family here and the history I think is so big at Wisconsin. Once you truly step on campus and you realize how much people care about the athletics and the academics are so strong, and it's only like an hour and a half from home, so mom was happy with that, and it was kind of hard to say no.

Q. We actually talked to your high school coach this week, and he said that he doesn't want to speak for you, but he thought maybe decommitting from Western Michigan was one of the hardest things you ever had to do because you were a guy that was really like, if I commit I'm going to stay.
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah.

Q. How difficult was that for you, and what was kind of your thought process when you originally -- you said you didn't really go to many camps, things like that. How difficult was it to ultimately make that decision?
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah. I was committed to Western Michigan for quite some time, so I really built a really strong bond with those guys and Coach Fleck and all them. Decommitting was very hard just because it's never kind of been my thing to back out on something like that. But ultimately it's for the best, and it's worked out pretty well up to this point, and I'm happy to be around that. It was very hard, but I think at the end of the day, it was what was best for me.

Q. Why did you not go to many camps? I think Coach said the main reason because you felt obligated to your high school team.
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah.

Q. What was your thought process there?
T.J. EDWARDS: Yeah, I just thought it was weird to me to be focused on myself when we were trying to build up a strong team. I went to like one, and it was a position I've never played. I played quarterback in high school, so I was doing like defensive drills and stuff. I just wasn't comfortable doing it at all, so it didn't really make sense for me to go to many camps to be honest with you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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