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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: MIAMI VS WISCONSIN

December 28, 2017

Derrick Tindal

Miami Gardens, Florida

DERRICK TINDAL: I really enjoyed it, just staying around the boys and enjoying them and being in relationships with them. It was great.

Q. This match-up with the University of Miami, they've got some receivers that have been dinged up and knocked out of this game, but they've still got some playmakers on that side. What do you see in terms of what your responsibilities are going to be in this game and matching up with those guys?
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, just a bunch of fast guys, but I feel like we can run with them pretty well. I'm from South Florida, too, just like them. No, a bunch of great receivers, man. So much depth. Just for 82 to go down and a couple more dudes, and they still look like they ain't missing a beat. They've got great receivers, young guys, and they're going to be a problem in the future. We've just got to stay focused, lock into our technique, and just be comfortable with ourselves and go out there and have fun.

Q. How are those guys acclimating to the weather? You know when you play in a game, it's a whole lot different, the energy expended, the length of it, than practice?
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, they've been doing pretty well, just staying hydrated. But I just feel like we can't do nothing different. You've got to control your excitement, though, because you can lose a lot of energy out there with the heat. But we should be pretty good; it's a night game, and I feel like they're ready.

Q. Did you show your teammates around down here at all?
DERRICK TINDAL: Yeah, I'm the host. I just took them out around to little places I know. I took them home with me for Christmas, let them enjoy a little southern meal, gave them a little collard greens, which they ain't had a lot of before. But just took them to spots, just showed them little fun spots. Safe fun spots, though, you know.

Q. What was the experience like when you first got up there and had to get used to that cold? You've got to have some good snow stories, what that was like the first time you experienced all that.
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, it was fun at first, but like when I went there on my visit, I went to visit in the snow so it was fun. I enjoyed it. I remember the first day I got up, it was snowing and we had class, and I got up, looked out the window -- don't tell my coach this. I looked out the window and laid back down because I saw the snow falling.

Q. Your freshman year?
DERRICK TINDAL: Yeah.

Q. What did you get in the class?
DERRICK TINDAL: I passed the class. Yeah, the first couple days I looked out there and that snow, it was kind of discouraging.

Q. How tough was it? There's other South Florida guys that have come up and joined this team. How much did you try to help those guys when they got up there?
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, it's not impossible. It's not that hard. Once they got up there, you know, you live in it a couple days, you get used to it. Then at first you're down here, 60 degrees feels freezing, but then you go up there, get used to it. Now when it gets 30 up there, I be happy, like it's 30 degrees. I've got my short-sleeved shirt on. I come down here, it's like 55 degrees, I'm outside in a tank top shirt on. My family is out there in jackets freezing, and I'm just laughing at them because it's the only thing they really know, how bad it can get.

Q. I got a chance to talk to when ton the other day about his dad, the injury the whole year. What's it been like to see him on his little scooter at practice; it looks like he's trying to stay as engaged as he can even though he can't play for you guys anymore.
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, he can't play with us, and we really miss him on the field, but just the toughness he's shown fighting through that. I know how hard it is to lose a parent, and he did a good -- he's doing a great job with it because when I lost my mom, I was having a drought for a while. I didn't want to talk to anyone, do anything. But he bounced back very quick, very fast. He had an injury -- just every great player needs a good story. That's all I told him it is. God gives his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers. He stands strong through it, and I commend him for that. I feel like he's got a great career ahead of him, and he's going to take advantage of it.

Q. He said it was hard even when you guys were playing well during the season because he'd look at his phone thinking my dad is going to call or he's going to text, and then he went home for Christmas and he said everywhere he went he was looking for his dad.
DERRICK TINDAL: I understand that because there's still times today I wake up and be like, mom, I'm going to call my mom, but then I realize I can't call her. You know, it gets kind of tough. But like I said, man, he's sticking through it, staying tough. He's a tough kid, and he's going to be all right.

Q. How much did your dad help you through your whole ordeal? Have you guys gotten closer since?
DERRICK TINDAL: I mean, me and my dad always had like a close relationship, but when I went to school, went off to school, we would talk on the phone -- we didn't talk every day, but when we did talk on the phone, it was like two, three hours we would sit on the phone and just talk. We built up a very close relationship, and he's a big part of why I'm here today, through all the waking me up in the morning, doing some push-ups, do this, that. I probably used to be kind of mad, like man, I ain't trying to do this. At the end of the day, everything he did helped me get to where I'm at today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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