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ROSE BOWL GAME: OHIO STATE VS WASHINGTONDecember 29, 2018K.J. HillPasadena, California Q. I saw you walking into Lawry's wearing your sunglasses, and I thought, man, that looks like a guy who's going to the NFL. He looks like a pro, man. K.J. HILL: Why do you say that? Q. Because you just look like a guy ready for the next level, just the way you were handling yourself. But just for real, tell me about the thought process. I'm not going to ask you to tell me what you're doing, but everybody -- you reach this point in your career and you have options just like you had options in your recruiting. How much thought have you given to it at this point? K.J. HILL: I've been giving it a lot of thought, you know, because this is my fourth year. I have one more year of eligibility left. I've been talking with my family about it and the coaches about it, so I feel like I'll just have to make a decision after this Rose Bowl. Q. What I saw was a guy who had confidence in himself, but I knew that about you already. If you have confidence in yourself, it also could mean you could come back here and have a chance to get your hands on the ball. We know a lot of guys are leaving, but if you were here next year, what do you think your role would be in this offense? K.J. HILL: You know, with all the seniors gone, Parris, Johnny, Terry, I'd have to take on that role as being the leader, the leader-leader of the room, you know, and then, you know, I'd have to -- I'll have Ben and Austin also as seniors, so I feel like with those three gone, we'll have to be the next three to step into those shoes. Q. When I talked to your high school coach earlier this year for a story, he was saying he thought you would come back. Have you talked to him at all? K.J. HILL: I have talked to him. Q. Did he tell you that? K.J. HILL: Yeah, he told me that. I listened to him. I've still got to call him back and talk to him again, but that was a good -- there's been good talks around with people in my circle. Q. When you go through this process, I'm always interested in the process. Is it stressful, or is it like interesting, or is it like -- when you have options and you're like, that's a good thing, there's no bad choice for you here, right? K.J. HILL: Right. Q. So is it kind of cool to think about, or is it driving you crazy? K.J. HILL: It's kind of both. You know, because it's like what can the future hold, and then like also it's a good position to be in, you know, so I'm just trying to enjoy the process, take my time with it and make the right decision. Q. When you think about what you've done so far, do you feel like, man, there's still something I want to do here, there's something I want to prove at Ohio State, or do you feel like I've accomplished so much, I feel good about my college career? K.J. HILL: I feel like I can do both. You know, I had a great -- I feel I had a great season this season. If I was to leave, I would be leaving on a good note, and then again, if I did come back next year, a lot can happen, you know, with more touches on the ball, you know, being in the offense as a leader, potential captain. There's a lot that comes with it. There's a lot of potential. Q. This Washington secondary, you guys tore up Michigan and they were the No. 1 defense in the country but a lot of people have respect for this Washington defense. Especially when you look at their secondary, they seem to have a couple NFL guys back there. What do you see when you think about these defensive backs of Washington? K.J. HILL: You know, you get excited you're playing against potential first-rounders in the country, so you want to take on the challenge and try to show that you're a potential first-rounder, too. So that's our mindset going into it. And then all respects to them, we've been watching them, they're a pretty good secondary. But I just like to take on the challenge and always compete against the best in the country. You know, it's the Pac-12. You're going against a different style of teams, and I feel like it's our mindset, just like because it's a lot of hype going around this defense, and I feel like we play good when we know what we've got to come in and do. Q. You guys kind of handled Michigan when they were playing that man-to-man against you guys. What does Washington do? Is there anything similar between Michigan and Washington? I know someone was saying that Washington tries to keep everything in front of them. K.J. HILL: Right. They don't like to allow big plays. They're mostly like a zone team. So with a zone team, it's different from playing against a team up north with man and everything because it's not just beat your man, it's spacing, timing with the quarterback, so we've been working on that since we got the nod to go into the Rose Bowl. Q. When you guys had an offense like this, done what you've done with this receiving group and with Dwayne, of course you want to play great every game, but this is the Rose Bowl, it's the last time around for you guys. Is there an idea of you want to show one more time, show the whole world exactly what this Ohio State offense can do? K.J. HILL: Yeah, definitely. We've still got unfinished business, showing that we're the best offense in the country and the best offense that probably has come through Ohio State. I feel like we've just got to put the dot on the exclamation point using this game. Q. Whether you're facing a team that plays a lot of man or a lot of zone, what's the attitude of this offense in terms of maybe believing that no matter what a defense does, you guys have an answer for it. Have you guys sort of developed that? Seems like over the course of the season, you guys have -- especially the last few games, found yourselves as an offense, do you feel like no matter what they do, we have an answer? K.J. HILL: Right, I feel like we go out, start of the game, we run what we see on film, they might switch it up, they might not, and we go with what's working, and then I feel like at halftime, we make our adjustments, and then that's when the big plays come with Coach Day dialing it up. Q. We know obviously Coach Day taking over now, just we saw it this year, but with him as the head coach, what are sort of your expectations for what this Ohio State offense is going to be like next year and in the years ahead? K.J. HILL: I don't feel like there's going to be a dropoff. Coach Day turned the offense around and now him being the head coach, it probably is going to be even more explosive being the OC going to a head coach. But yeah, like I say, I feel like it's not going to be a dropoff. Q. Have you seen any different in the last few weeks in Coach Meyer, how he's handled Coach Day and how he's preparing him? K.J. HILL: You know, you just see him kind of teaching him the ropes almost. Coach Day walks around in him in practice. They're always talking. I feel like he's just showing him how it's going to be, what to do, everything like that. But I feel like Coach Meyer is doing a good job with him, too. Q. How has Coach Day handled it? K.J. HILL: He's handled it great. He knows he's got big shoes to fill at a big-time university, so I feel like he's all ears and no talking. Q. Talking about big shoes, you've got Terry leaving, Parris leaving, Johnny leaving, maybe you going on to the next level. How are the young receivers outside of Chris stepping up? What have you seen out of Jaelen Gill, Blue Smith, Kam Babb? K.J. HILL: I feel like they're just trying to play up to that level that Parris, Terry and Johnny set in the room, the standard. I feel like they're all developing. They're getting better, and in this bowl prep, you know, a lot of young guys got the reps, and we was just coaching them up, helping them, and when they made a big play, we got excited for them, and I just feel like their confidence is going out the roof, and with Coach Hartline working with them, it's going to be great for them and take off in their careers. Q. Has any specific one of them really shined during this time when they got all the reps? K.J. HILL: I'd say all three. All three was making plays that we've never seen before, and you know, we just get excited just like watching your little brother get an A or something on a test. Yeah, I feel like all of them are getting developed right now. Q. You talked about Ryan Day and how he changed the offense. How different does it feel from when you came in, the offense as it is right now? K.J. HILL: I feel like the offense is more explosive, you know, and then obviously the confidence that we have going on to the field, knowing we're going to make a big play at any moment, I feel like that's the difference. Q. Has what Ryan Day brought in and what Brian Hartline has done to adapt the wide receivers room made your group more NFL ready? K.J. HILL: Oh, definitely, because they came from the NFL, Coach Hartline played in the NFL. With that combo and learning, it's just -- it just helps you get ready for the next level and knowing what's going to happen, and helps you play at a higher level and think on a higher level when you're on the field. Q. Is there a moment you can point to where you think back and say, wow, that was the moment that I knew we were advancing in a different direction, a different way? K.J. HILL: I'd say TCU. You know, I feel like TCU was a pretty good, athletic team, and when we were playing against them, like back -- I think the offense was like not doing -- not getting right there, but like, I mean, we made those adjustments, because they said you're going to get punched in the mouth, now it's time for us to punch them back, and we're going to come out swinging. You know, we took that in, and then I just remember Coach Day's confidence, Coach Hartline's confidence, just staying calm and just coming out and exploding, making big plays all over. Q. For your future, do you have a timeline in your mind when you want to figure out, finalize your plans for next year? K.J. HILL: Not really. You know, I was just trying to have fun at the Rose Bowl, play in the game, get the experience, and then I feel after the Rose Bowl I can make a decision. Q. When you look at this Washington secondary, what stands out to you? K.J. HILL: I feel like they're pretty -- got great athletes all over the field. They're sound, you know, play the ball well, and mostly we just see like a lot of zone. They all play off of each other, passing receivers off and stuff like that. Q. Do you guys like the challenge of going up against a secondary like this? K.J. HILL: Yeah, definitely. It helps us -- it helps us as an individual and helps us as a team to show that you can play with the best of the best and show you're up there. Q. We don't get to see practice that much, so when we see it, Urban is a fiery guy, and we don't necessarily see that from Ryan, but he's also not the head coach. Have you seen him be able to be that kind of -- have that kind of intensity? K.J. HILL: Definitely. We see it in practice during the offensive periods, during scout, and when the offense is not going the way it's supposed to go, he gets it back right. He's got that fire in him. He's got that dog in him during games, the way he's talking to us, the way he's calling it. So I definitely know he's got it. Q. It seems like it's like a different type -- like even during games, we see Urban yelling, and he has something a little bit different than Ryan Day. Are they different at all in how they portray the fiery leadership? K.J. HILL: I'd say yeah because Coach Meyer, I feel like Coach Meyer, he's kind of like old school with it, you know, like -- and then Coach Day, he's new school with it because they might talk our language or something like that. I think it's in that way. Q. When you talked about wide receivers you feel are NFL ready, what role does a quarterback play in that? K.J. HILL: I feel like it plays a huge role. Having a great quarterback helps you as a receiver in your timing and that confidence running your route on the field at all times. Q. Do you feel like Dwayne is an NFL quarterback? Is he ready for that? Is he an NFL quarterback now? K.J. HILL: I feel like he is. You know, the sky's the limit for Dwayne. The throws he makes, the throws he makes that people don't see, the way he handles himself off the field, I feel like him coming into the season, he treated himself like a pro and acted like a pro this whole season. Q. Is there anything on the field that you see like specifically, maybe just the way he plays or like something specific that you saw, you're like, yeah, that's an NFL kind of -- K.J. HILL: I'd say how he steps in the pocket, how he's not afraid to get hit. You know, he stands firm in there, the way he's communicating on the field, pointing out stuff, telling people to get where they need to get, being a leader. At that level, I can see it. Quarterback is always the man and stuff, telling them what to do because they're the general on the field, and I feel like Dwayne can be a general. Q. He's had a busy kind of last couple weeks with heading to New York, coming to LA and being kind of the center of attention with his decision and stuff. He's kind of become this over the course of this year, kind of this high-profile quarterback, one of the most talked-about figures in college football. Have you seen him change, especially over the last couple weeks with the amount of press he's gotten, the amount of attention he's gotten? Has he been kind of the same old guy to you guys? Have you seen a difference in him? K.J. HILL: I really feel like it's the same Dwayne. He's handled it since high school, it's just at a different level. Like you say, he's always been confident, and I feel like that's why he's the same person, because of his confidence. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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