Pressure bullets: Kerry Coombs, Shaun Wade and the Ohio State Defense dissect the confrontation with Trevor Lawrence and the powerful attack by Clemson

Here is a summary of what Coombs, Jonathon Cooper, Haskell Garrett, Justin Hilliard, Tommy Togiai, Shaun Wade and Pete Werner had to say:

Kerry Coombs

• Coombs sees many similarities between Ohio State receivers and Clemson receivers, and he hopes that the Buckeyes ‘defense having the opportunity to practice against talent in his own receivers’ room will help his own defense.

• Coombs says Trevor Lawrence is “deceptively fast” and “one of the best college quarterbacks of all time”. He says Lawrence does a great job avoiding pressure, his pre-snap recognition and improvising when the piece is changed.

• Ohio State and Clemson recruit against each other for the same players: “I think they are great recruiters and do a phenomenal job when they put kids on their campus. I think it’s a big battle. I think we do a good job of identifying the same kids all over the country. ”

• Coombs compared Tommy Togiai to Robert Landers in terms of his rise. He says Togiai is “strong as an ox” and “relentless”.

• Coombs said he never saw anything in his coaching career like he saw this year with Haskell Garrett, who was shot in the face in August and is now an All-American defensive striker, and “I’m happy. I hope I never see that again. ”

• He believes that Garrett gained “a new lease on life” and that, after his gunshot wound, his own interactions with Garrett were brilliant and optimistic.

• On Clemson’s explosive offensive: “I don’t think anyone will stop them. You want to try to slow them down. … If you came into a game and said we were going to take something, they have other ways to beat you.”

• He says that Jonathon Cooper “pushed all of his chips into this confrontation” and that “we will see Coop’s best effort in this game.”

• Coombs says this game “means a lot” to Shaun Wade and that “there is no doubt” that getting kicked out in the first half of last season’s Fiesta Bowl “was very difficult for him”.

Shaun Wade

• Wade respects Clemson’s receivers abroad and in the slot, saying the Tigers have a group of talented gamemakers that the Buckeyes’ secondary needs to focus on.

• On his tribute to the American main team: “I feel that, in the end, I can always do better … I’m not focused on that, I’m just trying to win a national championship.”

• Wade was sent off in the first half of the fight between last year’s Fiesta Bowl and Clemson, but he says there is no pressure to play well this time: “At the end of the day, it is a team sport, not a sport for me .. .. It’s a new team, a new day, new knots. I’m looking forward to the chance to play. ”

• Wade believes his aiming penalty changed the momentum of the game and helped give Clemson an advantage.

• On whether Ohio State-Clemson is a rivalry or not: “I characterize how we never beat Clemson. So we have to beat them. … In our past history, we never beat them, so that is our goal and we will start from there.”

• Wade believes that everyone on the team this year played a part in last season’s loss to Clemson and that everyone on the team still has a bad taste in the mouth after the defeat.

• He says Sevyn Banks is a player to watch on Friday: “Watch, he will definitely make moves … He’s focused on the laser.”

Jonathon Cooper

• This is the third time Cooper will face Clemson during his career in Ohio: “In my first year, I didn’t see much of the field and last year I was out, so I didn’t see the field. This year, to have the impact I do on the team and being healthy means a lot. ”

• Cooper says he “does not regret” going back for another season, although this year did not go as planned with the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Cooper does not believe that Ryan Day is approaching this game any differently than any other: “With Coach Day, he approaches each game with the same intensity and the same mentality.”

• On Pete Werner’s change of position: “I feel that what he has advanced most is leadership … He is someone the boys can trust.”

• Cooper says that the players would have loved to go to New Orleans to enjoy the city and the food there – and for him, personally, the seafood – but in the end he says “we are going there to win a football game. It’s all Business. ”

• Cooper: “Our keyword is to fight, and with everything we face this year, we just keep fighting. … With Coach Day as our leader, he did a fantastic job.”

• Cooper said with a laugh that he “probably won’t” return for another year in Ohio.

Haskell Garrett

• On the All-American award for his second team: “I’m very honored. It’s not just me out there. It’s a group of guys. It’s not just my honor, it’s theirs too. … My success is our success.”

• Garrett is impressed by Travis Etienne’s vision, speed, downhill running and his penchant for hitting holes: “We have a big challenge ahead of us.”

• Garrett is happy that there is not such a long preparation for the playoff game this season, as opposed to the weeks break during most seasons.

• Garrett, who did not participate in Ohio’s virtual Senior Day, says he has not decided whether to return for another season or enter the 2021 draft of the NFL: “I am still debating this, and this is something I do.” I will have to go with me and my family after the season. ”

• On the importance of putting pressure on Trevor Lawrence, but also of protecting himself against his running skills: “It will be a big challenge. He is a dynamic quarterback. Usually such big, long guys don’t run much. … But we know what the game is changing a lot and many of those defenders are double threats … We need to be aware that he can extend the plays and if the play breaks and there is good coverage, he will try to do it with his legs. ”

• Garrett does not believe that Clemson does much differently in attack or defense than any of the teams the state of Ohio faced in the Big Ten, but the Tigers are disciplined and consistently perform their duties.

Tommy Togiai

• Togiai believes Clemson’s offensive line works very well together and does a good job of opening loopholes for Etienne and Tigers attackers.

• Togiai says that during the first part of the quarantine he worked to get faster and faster and believes that this is shown on the field.

• Togiai graduated from Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho, the same school that quarterback / utility player Taysom Hill attended: “I only talked to Taysom a few times, but he’s a nice guy. He’s one of the guys you wonder why he is one of the guys who made it out of Idaho. ”

• Trevor Lawrence is “faster than he looks,” says Togiai, and Buckeyes need to be aware of their race tracks and maintain discipline.

• It is “incredible”, says Togiai, to see the adversities that Haskell Garrett overcame to reach this point in his career.

Pete Werner

• He says the biggest challenge in defending Etienne is that he is dangerous both on the run and on the pass.

• Although the state of Ohio has only played two games since its fight against Indiana, Werner believes that the defense of the Buckeyes solved some of the problems that were shown during that game: “I can’t wait to show the nation, to show everyone that we recovered from the problems that were exhibited in the film. ”

• Giving up on big moves, he says, is one of the biggest reasons Ohio State lost to Clemson last season. He credits Lawrence with his great playing ability and says that Buckeye’s defense needs to maintain discipline when defending him.

• Working your way from a special team player to one of the defensive leaders and team leaders has been a big journey, says Werner.

• On Ryan Day’s leadership: “He has defended the players first. We talked about so many obstacles that stand in our way and he is a guy who will always be by his side. He always asks players what he can do for them and what we need him … He’s a guy you always want to be with and be surrounded by your leadership. ”

Justin Hilliard