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SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: MISSOURI v AUBURNDecember 2, 2013Donovan BonnerATLANTA, GEORGIA THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Missouri linebacker Donovan Bonner. Donovan, could you talk about your team as you prepare to face Auburn in the SEC Championship? DONOVAN BONNER: Right now, yeah, we're just kind of focusing on doing the basics. They run a high potent offense averaging 300‑plus yards a game, so we have a task on our hands this week. Q. Looking at this match‑up it's kind of strength on strength. You guys are very good against the run. Obviously, you mentioned they're a very good running team. So what is the key to shutting down that read option and keeping that contained? DONOVAN BONNER: The key to that is basically you have each guy has to know his assignment at any given time. We have a gap defense, so if one guy gets out of his gap, that could be bad for our defense. So we're just focusing on knowing our assignments, basic stuff, fundamentals. You have to stay with the quarterback. Marshall is obviously a great runner, probably the best runner other than Manziel that we faced this year. So just focusing on knowing our assignment and being in our gap when we're supposed to be there. Q. Why does it seem it's easier said than done to maintain that responsibility against an offense like this? DONOVAN BONNER: An offense like this, you just have to do it. Like I said, if you mess up one gap, you go for a big run. We're just going to study film a lot. More than we've already been doing. Trying to focus on the basics, like I said, just trying to execute when we need to execute. Q. Going back to that running game, how difficult is it to stop a running game like this that kind of looks like a spread, but they have a lot of power and triple option there and obviously the read option? DONOVAN BONNER: It's very difficult. It's not an easy offense to stop. They do a lot of motion. So guys, especially at my position, linebacker, you have to focus on looking at your keys and knowing what's going on instead of looking at the fly motion and like zone read. They can pull it out and run with the quarterback. Sometimes they can raise up and pass it. It's really a triple‑threat offense, man. You just have to be conscious of what's going on around you, and not get caught up in all the other stuff and just focus on what's in front of you. You have to trust your keys as a linebacker and also the safeties too. So if they scream downhill, and it's play action, that could be a pass also. So we're just going to focus on trusting our eyes. Q. How important is it for that defensive line to help you guys out at linebacker to make sure they don't get to the second level? DONOVAN BONNER: It's very important. Like I said, everyone has a gap. You know, if he defensive line can get pressure and keep some of those athletic linemen off the linebackers and they can help us, that's a big key. Q. Staying on that same topic, your defensive ends have been so good getting that vertical pressure. With what Auburn does, does that kind of negate what your defensive ends can do as far as that goes? As far as just racking up the big stats and tackle for loss stats? DONOVAN BONNER: It can kind of neutralize that, but our defensive ends are pretty athletic, physical guys. They can get to the ball also I mean, really, if they keep doing what they've been doing all year, we should be fine. Like I said, Auburn has pretty athletic linemen. Guys that can get to the second level, sometimes even third level. It's just our job as linebackers to try to shut off those blocks and the D‑line's job to neutralize those blocks and chip off the linemen to get to the back field. Q. You guys have been getting the tackles for loss and the sacks. What team has had the most success running the ball against you guys? DONOVAN BONNER: Running the ball against us? A lot of teams have had success, but it's what we do on the sideline to adjust to that. If you look at most of the games, guys have had big runs against us, and we just go to the sidelines. Coach Steckel's with us, Coach Kuligowski. We'll just adjust and find out what we did wrong on that play. That comes from the guys upstairs in the press box. They do a great job of that. We just try to limit our mistakes. We do a mistake once, we do a good job not making that same mistake. Q. Auburn not only do they spread you and have read option, but they do it at a pace that most teams don't. How much does that factor in? You talk about trusting your eyes, but if the ball's going to be snapped in the next five or so seconds, how do you guys adjust? I know you played against it with A&M. But all Auburn seems to be running it faster than most? DONOVAN BONNER: Yeah, we're accustomed to fastball. Our offense does it in practice at a tempo that I believe no team has done this year. So we do it actually faster in practice just to prepare in case something like this happens. We're pretty good with the fastball. We've played fastball in my years here. We've played a lot of fastball teams coming from the Big 12 to SEC. So fastball is kind of a trend now that teams are trying to go to, because you get guys that are tired. When you're tired and fatigued, you don't focus on what's going on and what's in front of you. So we do a good job of training and being aware of what's going on even in our tired situations. Q. Just to follow up, Michael Sam obviously having a great year. What makes him the player that he is? DONOVAN BONNER: Really, Michael Sam has something a lot of guys don't have and that is drive and determination. Coming in, he was a two‑star recruit and a guy that I watched grow over the years. He's just a beast on the field. I've watched him mature on and off the field. He's obviously having a great year. He helps the defense out a lot. He's become a leader. He was in the shadow of some great defensive ends over the years. I mean, Otis Smith, Jacquies Smith, D‑linemen. (Indiscernible) it's his time to shine. He stepped into that role, and he's really excelled at a level that no one expected. Q. I was wondering, how difficult do you think it's going to be after such an emotional win with such high stakes to come back and get refocused on another big game this week? DONOVAN BONNER: Our job right now is just we're past that big win. It was obviously a big win. But we don't have time in this conference to dwell on the past. We're already on Auburn right now. We do a good job of letting stuff go. Even when we had a loss to SouthCarolina, we had to let that go, and we did a good job of that. So that game was big. People are still on that, but we're pretty much on Auburn right now. They're a great team. Just not focusing on them in the slightest could hurt us in a major way. Q. Do you see any parallels between you guys and Auburn? Both coming off of tough years and people not expecting much out of you before the season? What sort of parallels do you see? DONOVAN BONNER: It's just two teams that had rough years. I think what they did is they probably did the same thing we did. After a tough season, you grab a group of guys and you set goals. Seniors get together and set goals about how you want the team to do and where you want the team to go. They trusted in our coaching staff and they got back to work. Obviously, they're having a great year. We both had tough years last year. Both coming off big wins. They had a great win against Alabama. We had a great win against Texas A&M. Our situations are pretty much identical. It's really exciting. It's what SEC ball is all about. If you knew the two teams that had the toughest seasons last year would be in the SEC title game, people wouldn't believe that. So it's really just what is so beautiful about SEC football and this conference. It's a great conference. It should be a good game out there. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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