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ROSE BOWL GAME: OREGON VS WISCONSIN

December 29, 2019

Isaiahh Loudermilk

Pasadena, California

Q. You guys have so many things going on. Last night, Beef Bowl, the game, what's its like to take in the experience?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: So far it's been amazing. This is definitely going to be one of those experiences I'm going to look back on for a long time. Everything we've done so far, from Disneyland to Beef Bowl to hanging out with some of the guys around the city, you know, it's been an amazing experience.

Still got a couple more days left of it, and then the game. We're all just taking it in right now and just enjoying everything.

Q. Everything you've heard before you guys got here about the game, how does it compare to that?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: It's definitely lived up to my expectations. (Indiscernible) Rose Bowl, huge bowl for Wisconsin historically. It's one of the bigger ones for us. So coming here, had pretty high expectations, honestly. But everything has met my expectations. I've had a wonderful time. End it with a win, too, will definitely make it a whole lot better.

Q. Last night at the Beef Bowl, what did you put away? What was the meat like?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Put away two. I stopped there. Felt like probably would have got sick if I ate a little bit more. But the meat was amazing, the sides were amazing. Everything was amaze. Great experience.

Q. If it was June and not three days before a game?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Oh, possibly four. But two felt like a good place to stop right now with the game coming up.

Q. When you look at Oregon's offense, what has really stood out to you as one of the most impressive aspects of them?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Probably their run game. Running the ball, their offensive line is (indiscernible). Have some great players along that line. So we're going to have to be physical with them. That's definitely a big thing because they've got some big guys up front. So one of the things I think they do really well is run the ball.

Q. When you started looking into them for the prep for this game, was there anything that surprised you that you're like, oh, I hadn't really looked at Oregon until now, and now this surprised me?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Their run game. Always thought as Oregon, they would go more like spread and finesse, and then watching film, seeing how they run downhill, they're a physical team. So that was definitely something that surprised me watching the film.

Q. CJ Verdell stand out to you, and what do you see out of him?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: He'll definitely be a player we need to watch out for. But I think we have a good game plan. So just have to wait and see.

Q. Obviously you've got a great running back in Jonathan Taylor that you go up against. How would you compare the two, or is there is a comparison between Taylor and Verdell?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: You know, I don't really think I would compare them. Jonathan Taylor, he's a special talent. He's a special person, too, outside of football. Being able to play with him the last few years has been incredible.

So I don't think I can really compare. Jonathan Taylor is just -- everyone knows he's (indiscernible). So I'm excited to watch him play too.

Q. You mentioned the run game. When you look at Oregon's passing game and quarterback Justin Herbert, what do you see?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: He's an excellent quarterback. He throws the ball well. Another thing he does well is run. He's an athlete. So we're going to have to keep him contained, get pressure up front quick to help our back end out, because he's a special player. He'll make plays in a game. That's guaranteed. We'll have to keep him contained.

Q. How's LA been so far for you?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Awesome. It's been a blast. I've been able to get out and do some stuff. So far it's been really fun.

Q. When you look at Oregon's offense, does it remind you of anything that you guys have seen so far?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: It has bits and pieces, a little bit of everything, run game-wise. I feel like we've seen some of the stuff they do, you know, early and late in the season, kind of -- there's still a mix of stuff we haven't seen that Oregon does do.

So we've been (indiscernible) all the stuff we've seen and stuff like that, all the stuff we haven't seen yet that will probably come up during the game.

Q. You played against Ohio's State's offense, best in the country, Oregon is certainly up there as well. When you look at them, do you see that high level of offensive line?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Yeah, yeah. Watching film the last two weeks, I really tried to study the O-line a lot because they are -- that's a great group, are physical, athletic.

So watching their O-line shows it's going to be a physical game. They're going to come out, they're going to get some (indiscernible). We have to bring the physicality and hopefully (indiscernible).

Q. That's what Wisconsin wants to do, right? I know Chris was talking about it last week, they're going to come hit you in the mouth, and that's kind of what you guys like.
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Yeah, yeah, we want to make it as physical as possible. It's kind of what we pride ourselves on, is being the most physical team. So every game we want to go out there, we want to be the one throwing the punches.

So come Wednesday, we'll come out and be as physical as we can.

Q. What are your thoughts on Justin Herbert? What is the scouting report for trying to stop him and what he brings to the table?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: He's definitely got a lot of tools. Throws the ball well, runs the ball well. So definitely have to keep him contained, get pressure quick up front because you give him too much time, he'll be able to find someone and he'll be able to make some plays.

But we'll just do what we always try to do, get pressure up front, keep him contained, help our back end out.

Q. And just watching some film on him and whatnot, is there anyone you compare him to as far as other quarterbacks in the Big 12 or Big Ten?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Can't really, you know, think of any that I would compare him to. He can do it all. He'll run when he needs to. He's a really good athlete. He can throw the ball well too. So it's kind of a mixture.

Q. Did you participate in the Beef Bowl at all?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Yeah, yeah.

Q. How was that experience for you?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: That was great. That was a great experience, from the time we walked in to the time we left. Everyone was having a blast. So try not to eat too much food, and I accomplished it.

Q. Did you weigh yourself before and after?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: No, no, I'm not going to weigh myself for a while. I'm nervous. I'm nervous to weigh myself, honestly.

Q. Were you nervous about like how you would feel the next day?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Oh, no, no. I set a limit on how much I would eat.

Q. Coach Leonhard just said that this is probably going to be best group you guys have faced all year. How do you prepare for something like that?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: We've been preparing the same way we've prepared every game, really taking a look into every aspect of the game. Especially for us as a defensive line, we've really been studying the O-line run game. So we've been preparing pretty much the same as every other game. We just had a little bit more time.

Q. Has that been weird, like having so much time?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: It really is kind of weird. Normally you get five -- pretty much five, almost six days, sometimes, to go over film, to study, to practice. We've had two weeks, the last two weeks, to get as much from the film and learn as much as we could.

So it's kind of been drawn over a longer period, so we kind of slowed it down a little bit and kind of taken our time. But it's definitely different. But it's good to get to know as much as you can about your opponent.

Q. You've got one game left. Next year's team, I've been talking (indiscernible) everybody should be back (indiscernible). Do you guys anticipate that, there's enough to carry the load (indiscernible)?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: I think definitely we'll be (indiscernible) everyone coming back, everyone is going to learn more in the offseason, everyone is going to grow more in the offseason.

So until next year (indiscernible) the D-line as a unit should be (indiscernible) a lot of people coming back. Keeanu is going to grow. Keeanu is definitely going grow. He's a special talent. So excited for that.

Q. Is this kind of just (indiscernible)?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: He is. We joke around with him all the time. He just turned 18 not recently, but it was like during the fall camp at the beginning of the season, someone said he had just turned 18, and it was like, yeah, and he was still doing what he's doing now 17 years old during camp. So he really is just a puppy. He's going to be special.

Q. During bowl prep (indiscernible) stood out to you both sides of the ball?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: I guess it's been kind of a mixture of everyone. A lot of young guys will get some good reps during bowl prep. I can't really think of, you know, just one guy who really stood out. Everyone worked. I feel like everyone grew during the bowl prep. It was a big time for everyone to get better and learn.

Q. (Indiscernible) offensive effort, couple weeks to prepare now. What stands out? What type of challenges do you feel like you'll face that maybe you haven't faced?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: I'd probably say athletically, they got an extremely athletic line. They've got an extremely big line, extremely physical line. So we're going to have to come ready to play as a D-line and as a defense because they're going to come out, they're going to be physical.

That's what we pride ourselves on, is coming out, whoever we're going against.

Q. As a running game, what have you seen from that, the offensive line, but just how does that play into the running game, into the rush and tackle?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: They've got a really good running game. They're able to -- watching film, they're able to open up holes, especially against Utah, watching that film. That's a great defense, great defensive line too. We're going to watch film on that, try to figure out how we can prevent that. So we'll just have to come out and be physical is pretty much the key.

Q. You have practice a couple hours from now?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Yeah, I've got meetings right after this, and then practice at like 12:00 or something like that.

Q. How was the food yesterday?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: It was good.

Q. How many did you have?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: Two.

Q. Are you taller Chewbacca?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: No, he's bigger than me.

Q. Did you get a picture with him?
ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK: No, I didn't get a picture, I just got a video of him. It was when we first walked in, I made eye contact with him. He was really far away. And turned around and started walking away, but came down the stairs and started walking straight at me, sizing me up.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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