GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- If you want to get pumped for the Florida, Auburn Top 10 showdown, then do not go any further than Kyree Campbell's interview from Tuesday night.
The Gators defensive tackle is ready for some "big boy football."
Full transcript below:
On the redzone defense
“It’s a mindset that you just get prepared. It’s a mindset. You just need a blade of grass and we’re going to defend it. Our redzone defense we take very seriously. We want to hold them to three points or nothing.”
Do you put this game on the defense’s shoulders? Control pace?
“I mean, yeah, it’s both sides of the ball, really. Offense has to go out and execute. Defense, we have to execute as well. Our big thing is staying in our gaps this week. They’re a gapping offense, so if we get out of our gaps it’s a home run for them. This week is really about disciplined football.”
Good to have that look against Towson last week?
“Yeah, we did some things on our side defensive wise that we could have done a lot better. Just getting those things, those small things right, technique, and fundamentals. I think we’re going to be ready this week.”
What were some of those things?
“Hand placement, footwork, keeping base, staying in your gap, not getting out of your gap too fast. Simple stuff like that. It’s simple stuff like that that wins you the game.”
Is that what led to Towson’s explosive plays?
“Yeah, sometimes yeah. Getting out of our gaps, not doing our assignments.”
Easy game to get up for but is it hard to manage emotions in the game early?
“Shoot, me? I’m ready. I don’t know what you’re talking about, get up for. I’m ready. I’ve been waiting for this. This is big boy ball right here.”
Easy to get too excited early in the game?
“Nope.”
Objective to get to the freshman QB and confuse him?
“The objective is to hit him. He’s a freshman quarterback but he protects himself a lot. Every chance we get to hit him we’re going to try to hit him.”
How does he protect himself?
“He slides. He gets out of bounds. What did they compare him to? I think they compared him to Johnny Manziel trying to protect himself on that side. I don’t know.”
Who compared him to Manziel?
“Not our coaches, somebody else.”
How can the Swamp affect opponents?
“Man we need everybody there. That atmosphere, the crowd yelling, crowd screaming, they can’t hear. It’s going to mess them up. We need everybody there.”
Crucial to set that tone at kickoff?
“Crucial. I mean it’s just, this just goes back to mindset. I mean personally our philosophy is if we gotta get you ready to play Auburn then you don’t need to come out there on the field. You gotta get yourself right. It’s a big game, big week.”
No, with the crowd
“Oh. I mean, like I said, I love the crowd. When they're hype, they hype us up and the defense gets ready to go.”
Do you even mention national championship expectations, or look at how this could be a quarterfinal?
“Really we just take it one game at a time.”
Challenge Auburn’s run game presents? Pretty confusing, effective
“I see them just trying to gap block and like I said, we’ve got to stay in our gaps. What I see from film is they position block, so it’s not really a mauling-type thing. We just got to stay in our gaps, come off the ball, we got to play our defense.”
Some voting Auburn top-5 while Gators have dropped twice in polls after wins, feel like an underdog?
“I really don’t care what ESPN has to say, honestly. I keep it 100. They dropped us, oh well. They don’t respect us, oh well. We’ll get it.”
Prove it next month?
“You’ll see.”
Use that as motivation?
“Hell yeah.”
Any of that up in the locker room?
“I mean, honestly, from practice today, I can see how our guys, defensively we’re attacking, tackling. It’s going to be a…yeah, you feel me, it’s big boy ball.”
Home with a sold out crowd, they’ll be loud when you’re on the field, what energy does that give you?
“Shoot, the louder the better. Offense can’t hear, offense can’t do what they want to do really, they’ve got to go off the silent count, so and then the crowd really, I don’t think most people know this but the crowd really does affect the offense. So that’s why I said we need everybody there, we need the atmosphere. Everybody.”
Feed off that?
“Yes, yes. I love the crowd, I love the crowd, especially on our home side.”
If they have to go to a silent count, how does that change what you’re watching?
“It really changes their offense, because it’s not them doing what they want to do, so they got to do something that they’re not used to doing, or, our crowd gets loud, so. I don’t even know what to say, I’m not listening to the crowd, the crowd don’t faze me it fazes them.”
But if it does faze them, what are you watching?
“Oh watching the ball, watching movement, watching body language.”
Threat the DL poses to a freshman QB?
“A big one. A big one. A great threat. That’s all I’m saying.”