#UNC press conference with Davion Gause
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But right now, we just focus on Wake
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Forest and taking it one game at a time.
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We ain't looking at Duke or we ain't
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looking at NC State right now. We just
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focus on Wake Forest right now and
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taking it one game at a time.
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Davon, where have you seen the most
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improvement offensively over the last
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handful of games? Where have you seen
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the the most improvement?
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Um, I feel like we've been improving a
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lot tremendously like over the year,
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like especially in passing game, run the
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game. So, we just taking it step by step
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and progressing week by week.
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Caroline.
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Yeah, you know, to go off of that
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question, um, what do you think is
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different in particular about this team
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over the last, let's say, four weeks? I
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mean, a lot more competitive games,
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things like that. What do you think has
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changed and what do you think is
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different about you guys?
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Um, nothing really different. We just
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kept fighting, keep swinging, and taking
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it one game at a time and just coming
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together as one more and just staying at
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it. Right.
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Yeah. There you go. Um, Michael Lombardi
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said yesterday you're you're considered
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the nickel back on offense. I guess like
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a third down back. You said you're
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you're the best in pass protection. How
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much does your role then change week to
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week based on on what other teams are
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going to be giving you?
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Um, it definitely depends on what the
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def what what the opposing team is doing
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and their game plan and how we going to
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use each other. But I think it just go
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by the game as the game going on. Did
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you know going into the Stanford game
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that you might see a bigger role because
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of of pass protection pickup and then
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obviously they were trying to get you
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isolated on some linebackers out there
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in the past.
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Um I was just ready for my moment right
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there and it came. So
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did did you guys I'm sorry. Did you guys
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talk about halftime that first drive you
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caught three passes for 51 yards. Was
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that an adjustment made at halftime to
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see if we can get you isolated out there
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in a passing game?
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No, the plays were just working. So, we
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just stayed at it and kept going back at
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him.
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Adam, Mark, you done?
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Go ahead. Go ahead. Thanks.
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Um, Bullet, uh,
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tell us, take us through the play of
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hurdling the guy. Um, I mean, I think it
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was a guy you had to make miss as soon
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as you called it, which
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that looked a little tricky there and
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then you hurdled the dude. Like, take us
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through that play if you can.
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Um, I was just I had a wheel rock, but I
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was actually hot. And then I actually
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didn't see the corner. He like kind of
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bumped my hip and I felt it. And then
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when I got to 29, I was just in my mind
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like heard him
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and then I just heard him.
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Yeah. I mean, we know there's something
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done before, I guess, right? UC
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Charlotte maybe last year, I think. I'm
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trying to think of the game.
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Yeah.
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Um, and then the touchdown. What? That
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was a what? That was a match up on a
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linebacker. Is that right?
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Yes. 35.
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Right. Right. like is that that's
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something you guys looking to exploit
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there maybe a running back on
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linebacker?
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Um yes definitely especially like those
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linebackers that middle linebackers that
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don't really supposed to be like they
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don't really the opposing team really
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don't want them outside covering like
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that.
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So we look for matchups like that to
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pick on like those kind of linebackers
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kind of
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great.
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Yeah. So where does that come from
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exactly? Because of course I see a bunch
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of photos of you actually hurrying over
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the guy from Charlotte. Is that
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something that you've always kind of had
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just you through your athletic ability
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or did you do hurdles in high school?
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No, I never did hurdles. I just tried it
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when I was like 12 years old in little
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league and I just been doing it ever
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since.
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Shelby. Yeah, I guess um just kind of
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going away from it, but um a lot of the
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players have spoken about um just the
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importance of like Sunday night football
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and I'm curious like from your
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perspective as one of the guys that's
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maybe you're not competing, but you're
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cheering on those younger players.
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What's been your favorite part about
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that session? My favorite part about
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that is seeing the guys, the younger
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guys grow with like grow grow each week
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of them doing Sunday night football and
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them just going out there and making
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plays each and every Sunday when they
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get their chance and some of those guys
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stepped up even in the games like when
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they number was called. I guess just a
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quick follow. I mean my I know that you
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know Deont kind of like started you know
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showing those those flashes
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you know Sunday night football basic
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periods. What um stood out to him early
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on from your perspective?
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What stood out to him
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or stood sorry stood out to you about
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him rather um in maybe those development
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areas?
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Um his explosiveness when he hit the
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hole.
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Yeah. Were there any like maybe there
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was one Sunday night football game where
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he had like a crazy play like anything
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in particular stand out?
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I don't I don't think Jud was on Sunday
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night. I I don't I don't know.
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Okay. But like maybe
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Yeah. Yeah.
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Okay.
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Ron D being one of the few returners,
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man. What have you told all these new
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guys about what to expect in these
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rivalry games coming up? Um, they going
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to be hard fork games and it don't
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matter what the record is between either
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team. It's just going to be hard fork
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games and the best team going to win
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that week.
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How much is Bill talking about coming
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into this final stretch here with all
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the state teams?
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Um, he didn't really hit on it too much,
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but he just said like our last stretch
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is like instate teams and it's going to
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be hard for games, but right now we just
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focus on Wake Forest.
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Jeremiah.
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Yeah. D for you guys, the running back
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room in particular. I mean, we've seen
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some games it's, you know, Demar's
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night, some down it's Benjamin Hall's
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night. The other day was your night. You
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see kind of more so in the passing game.
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Uh, what do you think it is about this
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group of running backs that kind of
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allow us for, you know, maybe depend on
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what the matchup is, you know, different
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guys are kind of more productive, some
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um, I feel like all us bring different
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abilities to the table. So whoever like
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I feel like we all just stay ready and
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then when our number call we all just
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make plays. So you
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talk about those different abilities.
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How do you think um you guys kind of
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complement each other in that way you
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know to where you know obviously you
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talk about your pass and the different
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things you do. You see how long runs you
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see how hard runs. How do you think you
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guys kind of complement each other in
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that uh in that back?
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Um they go hand in hand especially. They
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go hand in hand because
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I just go hand in hand.
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Adam Sho.
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Yeah, I did actually. Right along lines
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what Jeremiah was saying like bullet is
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there is is there a sense with the
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running backs that if you get hot during
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a game, they'll stay with you. The
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coaches will stay with you. You see what
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I'm saying? Like there have been games
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where you've had two carries, three
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carries. I think at Syra just had 15
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carries. Is there
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is that the sense that you get going
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into the game? If I get hot, they're
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going to keep feeding me or or is it
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something different?
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Um, I want to say is if we get hot,
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they'll keep feeding me. It just be like
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you got to have that stay ready
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mentality and go with the flow of the
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game and when your numbers call that you
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just got to make plays. But that goes
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like for the whole offense like make
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plays, get yards, and we'll come out
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victorious on that.
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Yeah. And I'm I guess along those lines,
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I'm sure Freddy is not saying as your
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game plan like, "All right, Bullet,
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you're getting 12 carries. Demon, you're
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getting 10 carries." Like, there's no
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sort of planning out how many carries or
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touches a guy is going to get.
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Yeah. Yeah.
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Shelby,
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I know you're um really close with
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Jordan. He was in here after the um the
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last game kind of bragging on you a
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little bit. Tell me just from your
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perspective, what's impressed you the
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most about what he's been able to do
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either on the field or from a leadership
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standpoint this season?
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Um, his leadership grown tremendously
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and what I've seen most from him is his
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hard work that he put in in the spring
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and the summer and it's paying off a lot
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this season and just like him being a
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student of the game. Yeah, I I would
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imagine that, you know, a lot of players
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have spoken about how everyone came
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together a lot after the Clemson game.
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Um, what was Jordan's role making in
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that? What were some of the things that
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he was saying to you guys just when
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everything was kind of going on around
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him?
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Um, everybody was really saying that
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like it wasn't like what the opposing
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teams were doing. It was just
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self-inflicted wounds. So, it wasn't
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really like us focus on what other teams
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was doing to us. It was just like us
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getting us getting us back to what we
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know we was capable of like what we were
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seeing in practice and us just focused
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on the fundamentals and playing
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complimentary football.
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Perfect. Good stuff. boat. We only get
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double times to appearance.
