Last night, SEC Gridiron Live discussed Saturday’s SEC Championship and other issues including Auburn quarterback Cam Newton’s reinstated eligibility. Here goes.
SEC GRIDIRON LIVE: WEEK FOURTEENExclusive Interview with Auburn Defensive Lineman Nick FairleyTim Couch – “Nick, I’ve got to be honest with you, as a quarterback I’m a little nervous standing this close to you. I’ve seen what you’ve done to some of the quarterbacks in the SEC this year so I know you like to punish the quarterbacks when you get there.”Nick Fairley – “I try to just work on my technique right before I get there. You’ve got to beat the block in front of you. That’s mainly what I focus on. You’ve got to beat that guy, so once I beat him, I try to let it pound. You know, you can’t take that many poundings as a quarterback, so when I hit him one time he says, ‘I’ve got to watch out for that number 90.” I’m just trying to get there and deliver a message to them that I’m coming all night.”Tim Couch – “Dream shot – you break free, you beat your man off the line, the quarterback’s in the pocket – where is your favorite place to hit the quarterback?”Nick Fairley – “I try to go for him and wrap him up and put my helmet to his chin so when I do pick him up I have all my body weight on him.”Tim Couch – “You’ve been a leader in the SEC with tackles for a loss. What is it about your technique that helps you get off the ball so quickly and into the other team’s backfield?”Nick Fairley – “Basically I just try to use good hands to stop them before they get their hands to me. I try to get rid of them as soon as I can.”Tim Couch – “What gives you the motivation to be the great player that you are?”Nick Fairley – “My motivation is my granddaddy. His dream was to watch his grandkids or his kids play on TV. I would always go up (to his house) Sundays and watch football with him. So mainly he just motivated me to go out there and do my best and I wish he was here to see me.”They Said It:South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson –
- “One thing I do think we have peaked is our confidence level. We have finally done some things that these kids believe in themselves and they know they can get certain things done that we were doing very poorly earlier in the year. And I don’t know if there’s any more important aspect in the game than the mental aspect. If you don’t have confidence, even if you’re talented, you’re going to struggle. In that respect I really hope we are peaking. I think we’ve played some really good defense lately. Our players believe in themselves and are starting to play better together and play better as a team.”
South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on tailback Marcus Lattimore –
- “I feel that he has a lot of heart. You can’t coach heart. You’ve got to have that will power and you’ve got to be determined to make that play. I think that’s what he’s got.”
Marcus Lattimore on Alshon Jeffery –
- “Some of the things he does…he never drops the ball. It’s crazy. I see it in practice and in camp every day. But he does it out there in front of big crowds and just embarrasses you. I just love watching him play.”
Tim Couch on the NCAA declaring Cam Newton eligible to play –
- “I’m just glad we get to see Cam Newton out on the football field and we get to see the type of football player he really is. He can put all of this behind him and move on as a player and Auburn can move on as a football team.”
Randy Cross on Auburn quarterback Cam Newton –
- “The South Carolina coaches were making the point earlier this week that this guy is just one heck of a player. He doesn’t do it by himself; he gets lots of help. If you look at both Dyer and McCalebb, between them they have over 1,600 yards, they have 14 touchdowns, so those two players basically make your normal running back behind a normal quarterback, but there’s nothing normal about this Auburn offense.”
Tim Couch on Auburn quarterback Cam Newton –
- “When Cam decides to throw the football, especially deep down the field, he likes to use a little technique called the rocker step. And that’s all it takes guys, is that extra split second to get behind those defenders.”
Tim Couch on the South Carolina defense –
- “They’ve been great in the last three games. They’re peaking at the right time going into the SEC Championship game.”
Tim Couch on South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia –
- “Remember last year’s SEC game; Tim Tebow was the star quarterback going into that game much like Cam Newton is but the “other” quarterback in that game, Greg McElroy, walked away with MVP honors. Don’t be surprised if Stephen Garcia has that type of impact on this football game.”
What was the biggest surprise in the SEC?Tim Couch – “The biggest surprise for me was the Auburn Tigers. This was a team that last year lost five games. They had a lot of question marks coming into this season. They lost their top running back, Ben Tate, to the NFL. And they had questions at their quarterback position. As funny as that sounds now, who was going to be their quarterback? Chris Todd graduated, Kodi Burns moved to wide receiver. Cam Newton was certainly thought of as a good player but nobody knew what kind of player he was.”Randy Cross – “Mine was Tennessee. November 1 Tennessee is 2-6. They go on this run at the end of the season. The 2-6 wasn’t surprising; the run over the last month, I think, was a little surprising.”What was the biggest improvement in the SEC?Randy Cross – “To me it was Mississippi State. I think Dan Mullen and his football team are here to stay in this conference. They have the offense; they play some defense. I think his offense is finally starting to catch a little bit of traction.”Tim Couch – “Mississippi State certainly had an outstanding year but I’m going to go with the Arkansas Razorbacks. This is a team that finished 8-5 last year, 3-5 in the SEC, and now this year they have a chance to get to a BCS bowl game and they’ve done it with balance. They’re not relying solely on the arm of Ryan Mallett, and Alfred Davis has really helped take this football team to a new level.”What was the biggest disappointment this season?Tim Couch – “That’s got to be the Florida Gators. If you look at this football team and all the talent that’s around these guys, they had an entire off-season to replace Tim Tebow and find out if John Brantley was the guy, if he could fit in this system. If not, change the offense around him. They didn’t do that and they left him out there and this kid really struggled the entire season and brought the entire team down.”Randy Cross – “I came up with Ole Miss and Georgia because I think both of these teams have no excuse for not being right there at double-digit wins. They both have all sorts of talent. With talent like AJ Green, the year that Aaron Murray had, that offensive line we thought was so special going in, parts of that defense changing into a 3-4, both of those teams to me were disappointing.”Keys to the SEC Championship gameRandy Cross on Auburn – “It’s trench warfare for Auburn. It’s not about the toys, it’s not about the skill guys, it’s about those O- and D-lines, but especially that D-line. Get in there. Get after Garcia. Get after Lattimore.”Tim Couch on Auburn – “I’m going to go with the offensive line for Auburn because they’re going up against a South Carolina defense that’s ranked number one in the SEC in sacks. They’re going to have to find a way to slow those guys down and give Cam Newton the time he needs in that pocket to throw the football down the field to those great wide receivers.”Randy Cross on South Carolina – “If you’re South Carolina, no lead is safe. Auburn came back and beat four teams that had them down by double digits. Don’t let off the gas.”Tim Couch on South Carolina – “They have to take advantage of a bad Auburn secondary. Alshon Jeffery absolutely exploited them the last time these two teams came together. Alshon had over 190 yards receiving, making big play after big play in that game.”Buckle UpRandy Cross – “We’ve talked about all the skill guys – Garcia, Alshon Jeffery, Lattimore. The offensive line for South Carolina – with all those talented guys behind you, you guys better buckle it up and bring it.”Tim Couch – “I’m going to take that Auburn offensive line going up against that South Carolina defense which is, as we mentioned, number one in the SEC in sacks. The guys up front have to protect Cam Newton.”Video Views:Picks of the Week – Click here to check out the crew’s picks for Week 14.In the Trenches – Click here to view this week’s “In the Trenches” segment.Social Media Sound Off:SuperCam on SECGridironLIVE.com’s live chat – “Auburn hasn’t lost all year and they aren’t gonna start now!”Cockadoodledoo on SECGridironLIVE.com’s live chat – “Spurrier will out-coach every one of Auburn’s guys.”Justin Martin on Facebook – “Some of you are forgetting that we had the last game won until four 4th quarter turnovers. Garcia had a fumbling problem and that problem has been fixed. South Carolina is a totally different team now. If we use Bama’s first half plan and stick to it, we will pull the upset. We don’t have to shut Newton down. We just have to limit him. South Carolina will be the SEC Champions.”Jordan Matheson on Facebook – “Nobody has slowed down Cam for a full game yet. We shut down Lattimore at the beginning of the year. We are 10 times better since then. The best thing our defense does is stop the run and crush quarterbacks. Pressure gets to Garcia and defense comes up with a big play. Tigers go to Arizona 38-28.”
Plenty of quotage here.
