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ROSE BOWL GAME: MICHIGAN STATE v STANFORDDecember 29, 2013David YankeyPASADENA, CALIFORNIA Q. When you guys came in did you foresee the success of being in four straight success bowls? DAVID YANKEY: No, I'm not going to lie, there aren't many teams in the country who have gone to four straight BCS bowls, so it's an honor and a testament to all the hard work we put in. Q. Is that something you talked about as a group? DAVID YANKEY: We talked about it and after making it to the Orange Bowl we were red‑shirt freshmen most of and you say then going to the Fiesta Bowl it became an expectation where we were working toward that every year. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: We just hung out. My family got in town the day before yesterday so I hung out with them at the hotel and stuff. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Yeah, it's always a good trip down here. No complaints from me. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Now you see what I was saying earlier, I'm along for the ride. There aren't usually too many questions for offensive linemen.. Q. Where are you from? DAVID YANKEY: Georgia. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Yep. Those were the big draws. I got on campus and I knew I wanted to go there. Q. How many cuts did you eat last night? DAVID YANKEY: Just one. I was exhausted for last night. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Yeah? Not me. I was done. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: I have not been able to wear them yet. I really want to. They're floating around here somewhere, I think. Hopefully at some point during the week I will. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Hey, how's it going? Q. Everybody talks about defense. How about the fellows up front. Talk about your "O" line. DAVID YANKEY: Our offensive line is excited for this game. We have a lot of talented young players and guys who have a lot of experience as well so I think we're going to get a chance to play a lot of guys and go up against a Michigan State front seven. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: I don't know, I just kinda sit up here, not too many people want to interview an offensive linemen, but it's fun. Q. What is it about offensive linemen? They seem more bonded? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah, it's a brotherhood, we have to communicate on the field and end up hanging out off the field as well. Q. Stanford offensive linemen, seems like you guys are always a step ahead. Is it because of the literal IQ? DAVID YANKEY: I think it's a combination of all those things. A lot of times we're in the meeting room and it's almost like a think tank we're brainstorming with Coach Bloomgren how we want to best attack a situation and he gives us leeway and freedom to use whatever technique we feel is best to be successful. Q. How is it like to play with Kevin Hogan? DAVID YANKEY: He's absolutely awesome. I've loved him since day one and last year he stepped in and was just‑‑ kind of getting his feet wet, playing really well but he wasn't completely there as far as leadership and in the off‑season he took it upon his shoulders to be a leader of the offense and the team in general and he's done a great job of growing, and I love the way he plays and the way he commands the huddle. Q. Speaking of the huddle, last year at the Rose Bowl, what was Kevin like in the huddle calling the plays, what do you expect to see this year now? DAVID YANKEY: He's always calm, cold‑blooded, ready to compete. I think I remember his first‑ever start at Oregon last year, just no butterflies, really, if he does you can't tell at all. That's the way he's been since day one. Q. What are the "O" linemen like? Joking, or all business beforehand? DAVID YANKEY: On game day it's all business, in practice we can joke around but on game day it's all business. Q. Everybody wants to talk about skill positions, but what about the guys like you? Do you have a special name? DAVID YANKEY: I don't know about a special name but everything starts at the line of scrimmage and starts in the trenches and we take that very seriously. Q. How difficult is it for an offensive linemen? DAVID YANKEY: It's vital to an offense. It's the only way the offense can get started. We talk about getting a play started and getting our assignments handled so that the running back can go and do something special. You get guys like Tyler Gaffney out in space on safeties and some cool things happen. Q. Are you aware when he goes by you and he's out in space there? DAVID YANKEY: A lot of times you can feel it. You feel the defensive linemen or line backers try and react to it, get off the block and a lot of times you will feel him brush by as he's running. Q. Take me inside. Talk about being in the huddle. DAVID YANKEY: They're going to be excited but we're always excited and businesslike once Kevin gets in the huddle. We know he's running it and he's going to get the play in and we will run it. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Definitely. Sometimes even as simple as the flow of the game. How much you're out there. A game like Oregon we were out there for almost three quarters for time of possession and we got to go out there and keep running plays and you start to feel really smooth out there, you understand how the defense is playing and it's nice to be in the rhythm as an offensive linemen. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: We went last night and it was excellent. I'm not going to lie I only had one, I went really light. Q. Wait a minute! You're carrying the Stanford offensive linemen and you only ate one? DAVID YANKEY: I know, it's embarrassing but it was so filling! They had great sides, creamed corn and mashed potatoes, it was beautiful. I held myself back. I held myself back. Q. Who was the guy that carried the team last night? DAVID YANKEY: We put it on our freshman and charged them with having a competition of who could eat the most and I'm not sure who came out on top but I'm sure all of them were feeling it this morning. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: The Michigan State defense is really aggressive. They're a penetrating defense, they give the offensive line a lot of issues right off the bat. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Just a lot of preparation, physical practices, because we know they're a physical front and we love physical games and we're ready to go. Just play after play, bash heads a little bit. Q. How excited are you to be playing a team that kind of matches you guys? DAVID YANKEY: I'm excited. Anytime we get to play a team that has a physical mentality, it's always a fun game because you go in play in, play out and really, really test your will against a very good defense, one of the best in the nation. Number one in a lot of categories. Q. What are some things that stand out? DAVID YANKEY: They're physical, they're athletic, they're well coached and they've got a lot of veteran guys. They have fourth and fifth year players and they have sophomores and juniors sprinkled in but they are veterans, too, and they do a good job week in and week out. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: I don't know about the hype but I've seen him on film. He's listed at 250 but he looks bigger and plays bigger. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Those two guys are the guys I'm primarily looking at and they're both good defensive tackles, probably couple of the better guys I will go against all season. Hoover is huge! Really long, big guy. And then Micajah Reynolds, No. 60, he's playing nose for them and he's really good. I had no idea he played offensive linemen last year, obviously a versatile guy. Q. Does Michigan State remind you of anyone you played this season? DAVID YANKEY: They remind me a lot of our defense but in a completely different scheme, you know? Veteran guys who know what they're doing, really physical and who know how to make plays and they happen to be in a 4‑3 instead of a 4‑3‑4 arrangement or scheme. Q. Utah and USC, have you guys learned from those games and bounced back? DAVID YANKEY: I think we definitely have. We always talk about it doesn't matter what the other team does as long as we're prepared and doing our job. I think those are the bigger issues in those two games as opposed to what kind of style offense or defense we were playing. Q. What have you seen from that line backing core? DAVID YANKEY: They fly around. It goes along with being veteran guys. Like I said earlier, they will literally hold their position and wait. You have no idea it's coming and as soon as the ball is snapped, they are creating havoc. Q. What does this game mean to you. DAVID YANKEY: This is a huge game. Anytime you get to play in the Rose Bowl it's a big‑‑honor. It shows that we have worked hard to win the Pac 12 and we want to finish the season right. Q. How do you get this team "pumped" and not over the top? DAVID YANKEY: There is no question about getting up. Everyone knows how good it felt last year and to give up that feeling or to walk away with a loss would be absolutely devastating to us. We're all fighting to get that trophy right there. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: I think that's definitely where is it started, the mentality they brought in from 2007 and Coach Shaw has done a great job of not letting that go. That's at the heart of what we do here. We want to be a physical team year in, year out. Q. When you were in high school and thought about Stanford football, what were your impressions then? DAVID YANKEY: I had no impressions of Stanford football back then. I was going to high school in Georgia and, you know, was just beginning to think, all right, there is a chance I will probably play college football because I started getting recruited and didn't hear about Stanford football until junior year, obviously I knew about them as a school because of the academics. Q. I guess things are different than they used to be at Stanford. How physical is the football really in practice, not just in games? DAVID YANKEY: Yeah, in practices, it's just about as physical as ever. I think we're a team that has some of the most physical practices and that's why it translates on game day, it's hard to just teach yourself to suddenly hit on game day, play in and play out. I think practice is a big part of that. Q. Is there kind of a term for that dichotomy? You guys are tough on the field, I've heard Coach Shaw call it physicality, does he pound that into your heads? DAVID YANKEY: No, it's something we talk about "Nerd Nation" type of thinking. Q. The fact that you guys are playing Michigan State, this is the 100th Rose Bowl. How cool is it just to think about that? DAVID YANKEY: It's incredibly cool being here last year thinking, oh, this is the 99th Rose Bowl, wouldn't it be cool if it was the 100th? And low and behold we end up here again and it's the last of the BCS games, there is a special quality to it. Like you said, the Rose Bowl will still go on but it's kind of an end of an era, in some sense and we're excited to be part of that. Q. Does it lose anything next year, you think. DAVID YANKEY: I don't think so, it's the granddaddy of 'em all so they will keep that status. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: I think we need to go out there and be the more physical team and consistently move the ball and keep our defense rested. If our defense is rested they can be really, really good, but if they're on the field for a long time it's tough for any defense to be good. Q. (No microphone.) DAVID YANKEY: Just week in and week out. The Pac 12 is a tough conference. We have legitimate opponents every week and you can't ever let up. It was that determination. We got lucky while Oregon losing to Arizona and getting back to the Pac 12 championship game and we were able to take care of business. Q. What do you think is responsible for Stanford's football success? DAVID YANKEY: I think a lot of guys who want to be really good in the classroom and really good on the football field, you know? Those are the type of guys that Coach Shaw recruits every year. They want guys who are competitive, firey and who are going to try to exceed all the time. Q. It's been said some places that because of the type of person‑‑ there are some people that can't get into Stanford and that might be part of it. How are they able to succeed in football and in the classroom? You are playing guys in the Pac 12 that can't get into Stanford. DAVID YANKEY: It's that type of competition, we have to compete in the classroom as well and it's not just being on the football field. We realize it's an investment in your future and getting a Stanford degree is one of the best in the world. Q. Did you submit to the draft board? DAVID YANKEY: Yes. Q. Do you have a response? DAVID YANKEY: No. Q. They don't give you much time. DAVID YANKEY: No, it's pretty tough. I think I'm going to talk with Coach Shaw more after this. Q. Talk about Trent Murphy. DAVID YANKEY: I don't know. He's crafty. He's very crafty on the field. Q. How is he off the field? DAVID YANKEY: It's a combination of both, his personality and‑‑ we like to have a lot of fun with Trent. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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