Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland
Q. How has this year been?
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: It has been unbelievable. I mentioned before, you can’t put into words the kind of kids we have here. Nobody would know it unless they’re there. And I said that the first day when I came into the weight room and Mickey Marotti was training them and I watched. And I went, Look at all of these great looking kids but, more importantly, look at them work! And then look at them come off the field or out of the weight room. You don’t get that very many places. The way they’ve accepted me coming in, the way they go about business every day, it is a special place now. It really is.
Q. You and Jeff [Hafley] work together really well. What are your thoughts?
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: So happy for him. Selfishly, I wish he was still here. We worked tremendously together. He does a great job, but I’m happy for him. At a young age, he’s got a chance to have a very good — a great job. And he will do a really good job. And I’m so proud of him, the fact that he stayed and he is putting everything he has into this right here. A lot of guys wouldn’t have done that.
Q. One of the big matchups within the game, secondary against their passing game, what’s your take on that?
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: There’s no question that it is. There’s no question it is. But we’re going to have to change it up. We’re going to have to be on our “A” game. When you get in a game like this, that’s what you do. We didn’t get here by not being able to do that. Our guys know that. Now you’re just having to take another step up the ladder. It is a challenge.
Our secondary knows that. They’re the best receivers we’ve played against as a core. But the other thing I keep going back to, you better stop the run because if you let them run the football and then have those three receivers with that quarterback, you’re asking for trouble.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: Yeah, I would say he’s really, really good now. I mean really, really good.
Q. How do you game plan for a quarterback like Trevor Lawrence, such a mobile quarterback like that who has a really strong arm?
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: Well, obviously you have to know that he can do a number of things. He can throw tremendously, but he also can run. He also has a really good running back. He has a lot of things. So we have to do a great job of having some variation.
Q. What’s your relationship with Coach [Ryan] Day? He has such an offensive background. Does he lean on you to run the defense?
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR GREG MATTISON: He is a great head coach. He’s done a tremendous job. He has a philosophy that it’s the power of the unit, every unit, linebackers, D-line, secondary, offensive line. All coaches there have to do their job. And when you have nine units all working together, then you have something special. And he’s a very, very strong believer in that.