National Championship Q&A: Indiana players preview clash with Miami

Indiana football wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, tight end Riley Nowakowski, offensive lineman Pat Coogan and linebacker Aiden Fisher spoke with the media Tuesday ahead of Indiana and Miami’s clash next Monday in the national championship.

Below is their full Q&A — as well as a transcript of the conversation once it becomes available.

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Wide Receiver Elijah Sarratt

Q. I guess just early on we’ve asked you it feels like a lot this season about sort of week to week, is it man, is it zone, what are the tendencies in coverage you see in the opponent? What do you see out of Miami and the way they’re going to approach receivers in your position?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, from what we’ve talked about, what I’ve seen, they’re mostly zone on the year, cover four, cover two. But they do run man a lot. I’ll say that’s the second coverage, cover one, like a lot of one-high safeties most of the time. It’s changed up between them. But so far, it’s either cover four, two, or one. Coach Hetherman, my brother, actually, knew him, played with him at JMU, speaks highly of him. It’s going to be a challenge. He’s been having those boys fly around. I’m sure it will mix a couple coverages up. It will be a good one.

Q. I want to take you back after the 2023 season, JMU finishes the regular season. Are you aware that Curt’s interviewing? Was there anything in the locker room? What was the mindset of the players, and when did you become aware that Indiana was a possibility?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, towards the end of the year, there were rumors on Twitter and stuff and everyone was talking about he was taking calls and everything, and people were tracking his flight. They tracked his flight all the way to Bloomington. And that next day or something we were about to have a team meeting, and it was announced on Twitter.
And he came in and basically told us: I got to take this job at Indiana. It’s what’s best for me.
It went from there. Before that, yeah, people were tracking his flights, rumors on Twitter and stuff. So it was crazy.

Q. I’m curious, what do you do in terms of getting amped for a game, pumped for a game? Do you listen to music? Do you watch “Gladiator”? What do you do?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Big music guy. I try not to be locked in all day, so in the morning I’m just chilling. Rod Wave is the first one I turn on because he’s a chill rapper, not too hype. And then I throw on some gospel just to keep me calm, thank the lord and everything.
But as it gets closer to the game — I have this playlist that I’ve had. Right when we get to the stadium and I go out for my own pre-game warmup, that’s when I turn it on. And from there it’s just locking in and just embracing the moment. I take a couple deep breaths when I’m on the field, look at the stadium, embrace the moment. And from there, I’m just ready to go.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

ELIJAH SARRATT: Always the same playlist. I add and take stuff out of it if I’m listening to it or not listening to it. But, yeah, it’s the same playlist.

Q. When did you become a good jump ball wideout? How do you try to build hand strength? It appears you have extremely strong hands.

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, for real, for real, I have always been pretty good at jump ball since I have been in high school. I just naturally have been good at it and been able to adjust my body and stuff. Just blessed with that ability.
Hands-wise, really just the amount of catches I catch a day and the amount of work I put in, really. That’s all it is. After practice, I’m getting catches in. I don’t really do too much like strengthening hand stuff and all that, but just catch footballs. That’s really it.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

ELIJAH SARRATT: I always get at least 100 after practice. And then in between practice, I don’t really count. But if I’m just sitting around while we’re in special teams or something, I go with the quarterbacks and catch some passes. Just try to accumulate as much as I can.

Q. So you went to Fernando at some point, there’s a story out there, and looked at some of the back shoulder throws from some NFL guys and said let’s put this in. Take us through that. Which NFL guys did you see? Why did you think, hey, we can add this? And take us through the conversations with Nando and how that played out.

ELIJAH SARRATT: It was Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, to be specific. Since I’ve been watching Davante Adams and since he’s been with Aaron Rodgers, he’s done a great job of getting the release off the ball, and then around 12, 14 yards, Aaron Rodgers just throwing a laser and just falls out and it drops in the bucket.
I tend to win off the line more times than not, so I felt like I had a good chance of it. Now, I know, like, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams, that’s a whole ‘nother level that I someday pray I can reach to.
But Fernando, he was with it on that, same day after practice, we got a couple reps in, just trying to work it, be similar with how they were looking with it, and just went from there. And then just communication after that. I try not to be picky, I just try to tell him let me get my hands on it, and he does a great job putting it on the money, and we just go from there.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

ELIJAH SARRATT: No, it wasn’t from week one. I don’t remember when it was. I think it was closer to the Illinois game is when I sent it to him. And from there, we just kind of remind each other about it and go from there.

Q. As you guys prepare, Coach Cignetti has said we’re treating this like we have done every week. It’s something you have done throughout playoffs, and it’s worked. How have you been able to do that, and what do you think he’s been able to impart in you so that you have been able to come in calm, cool, collected?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Really just like you said, keeping things the same, eliminating the clutter and keeping things in the locker room. There’s going to be a lot of talk on social media about how big the game is, how big the moment is. We’re treating it like any other game. That’s what you have to do. You don’t want to make the moment bigger than it is.
We understand it’s the national championship and a lot of people are going to be watching, but we’re going to treat this practice week the same. Go in, work every single day leading up to that game.

Q. Going back to 2023, when you had a conversation with Coach Cig, do you remember it at all? Do you have any recollection of it? How happy are you that it worked out?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Same thing like he always is, walked in the office, feet kicked up, chilling, How do you like it here? We’re chopping it up. He’s asking me what other visits I went to. I told him, and he didn’t really like that answer and he was just like, This is the place for you. You know I’m going to take care of you. You know I’m going to get you the ball. You’re cool. You know the strength staff and everybody.
That’s kind of all I needed to hear. He told me about Curt, how good Curt is, how good he thinks he is, which Curt lived up to that and more. After shaking his hand and stuff, I knew it was the best fit for me, the comfortability and familiarity and everything.

Q. Cignetti has talked about changing the way people think and eliminating the noise and clutter. You personally, how do you train your mind to get to that point?

ELIJAH SARRATT: It’s really a daily process and really believing what he says when he says don’t pay attention to all the outside noise. You have to actually try not to do it. I delete Twitter each week because I try to really embrace what he’s saying and not really worry about what everyone else is saying.
Just a daily process of listening to what he’s saying and then believing in it and asserting it to yourself.

Q. Coach Cig said yesterday this group out of every team he’s had is best at taking the message that he gives and putting that on the field. Why are you so good at that?

ELIJAH SARRATT: We have a great group of vets around, a great group of vets that have been there, done that, and we believe what he’s saying. We understand what he’s saying has been working. The vets have done a great job keeping us in the moment, keeping the young guys on their toes and everything.
It really hasn’t been too hard. We understand our goal, and we understand how we’re going to get to our goal, and it’s just by doing what we’ve been doing, staying in the moment.

Q. Obviously Miami’s run defense is very prominent this season. I’m just curious, I know it’s a broad question, but if it gets to a point where the running game can’t get going, more for you guys to have opportunities outside if it gets to that point. How comfortable and confident are you feeling if it gets into that situation where Mendoza can drop back and find you guys more?

ELIJAH SARRATT: I’m always comfortable when you got somebody like Fernando back there throwing you the ball. And of course I believe in myself and the guys in the receiving room with me.
So I’m always confident no matter who we’re going against, no matter if it’s Miami, no matter if it’s Indiana State. So, very confident in my beliefs. It’s going to be a challenge, of course. They’re in the national championship for a reason, but I will always go into every game being confident.

Q. Elijah, you answered this to some degree since I raised my hand with the question, but you talk a lot about blocking out the noise. You can’t ignore what it is. And if you look over your shoulder, you will see the National Championship banner all over the place. In your quieter moments with yourself, do you talk to yourself and say this is kind of fun that we’re here and doing this and we are playing for a national championship? Do you have that time to yourself without external noise?

ELIJAH SARRATT: Yeah, 100%, knowing this is my last couple of weeks here in this facility here in Bloomington playing with this team. When I’m home talking to my mom and dad and brothers, like dang, it’s crazy how everything works out. Just to be here in this moment, yeah, it’s definitely exciting.
I’m trying to be calm because I understand nothing really matters too much unless we win that game, but I definitely — these last couple of weeks have been like, man, just playing in the big bowl games, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, all of that, it’s been cool watching these games, watching legends play in these games, and for allowing me to make some plays and see my guys make some plays in these games has been exciting.

Tight End Riley Nowakowski

Q. When you look at Miami’s defense, they have some aggressive defensive ends. Just your thoughts on the defense and the fronts they present.

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: They’re fast, they’re physical, and they’re violent. It’s kind of what they pride themselves on, just being a violent, physical team, and it shows on the film and at all three levels. The D-lines, you got those two edges, those are good players, you know?
So they play really violent, and then linebackers are filling gaps, and you even got guys on the third level, safeties, cornerbacks, coming down, sticking people. That’s one of their greatest strengths, how violent and fast they play.
They’re not worried about making mistakes. They know their brothers are going to have their back. They’re all rallying to the ball, all chasing it. That’s their biggest advantage, just how violent and how fast they play.

Q. At Wisconsin last year, how aware were you of Curt’s viral moments? Did any of them come across your timeline on social media? How aware were you of him before you got into the transfer portal and things like that?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: The Google me one had come across my Instagram feed, but honestly, in season, you’re in your own little bubble so you don’t see a whole lot going on outside. I was aware of the standings of Big Ten and how Indiana was doing, but I wasn’t super aware of Coach Cignetti and what he was doing. They weren’t on our schedule, so it was not in my mind at the time.
Once I got into the transfer portal, I started looking at college football as a whole. And as you do at the end of the season, you look at where everybody ended up and how everything shook out, and I was like, Oh, wow. That’s special to turn that team around like that.
After our last game of the season, checking everything out, see who made the bowl game and all that stuff, That’s when I figured that out.

Q. We asked you before the Rose Bowl about losing that weekly rhythm of recover, prep, game. How much does it feel like you have that back? I understand it’s a little bit more of a gap between the Peach Bowl and the national title game, but how much more does it feel like maybe from the Rose Bowl to the Peach Bowl to this game you have kind of that rhythm back at least in this confined space?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Yeah, it definitely feels like we’re right back in it, which I personally appreciate that rhythm both mentally and physically that your body gets in of prepping and getting back in playing shape. I appreciate it a lot.
And Cig really values his rhythm too and being in our normal schedule. I think it’s been really good, and we’re trying our best this week to continue that normal schedule and just kind of keep it rolling. That’s the best way to do it, approach every game kind of the same way.

Q. When you came in here, I think it might have been after the playoff selection show, you said Cignetti has this mindset that he instills that he hasn’t won a game, like, ever. How does he try to instill that and when you are the top team? You’re playing a huge game this weekend. How much does it help you guys to have a chip like that instilled already when it’s like this guy has won everywhere he’s been, but he still works like he hasn’t?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: First of all, he does it by example, right? He comes in every day at 4:00, 5:00 a.m., and is watching film until everybody has left the stadium. That’s the first thing.
Every single time he talks to us, he’s going to hammer on the point that nothing we got before is going to earn us anything in the future. Every single game has to be approached the exact same way.
I think just having that hammered into your head every single time you see him and hear him talk, eventually it gets the message across. When I saw you here, that’s kind of all you think about.
I think it’s just always reminding us and, honestly, personally, from his point of view, never getting complacent. Complacency is easy when you’re winning games and doing well. It’s just kind of him not getting complacent, and we always just attach onto that and ride with it.

Q. Charlie Becker has really emerged. What has led to that? And you have seen it happen in practice. Help us understand a little more why he’s gone where he was to an elite receiver now.

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Yeah, I think Charlie has always had the skill and the potential. I watched him through spring ball and fall camp, and I thought this guy is a phenomenal receiver. And obviously we had a loaded receivers room at the beginning of the year with Coop, E.J., and E.
So we started off with them, and I think E.J. got a little banged up one game, and so Charlie came in. I think Charlie always had that potential, but it was an older room that was in front of him. He got that opportunity and made the most of it.
If you asked anybody on the team, before he started getting as much attention and as much time as he’s got, if he was able to do that stuff, I think everybody in the locker room would be fully confident that he had that skill. But it was just a matter of showing the rest of the world.
We got a lot of guys on our team that are like that. It’s a very next-man-up mentality, and we don’t feel like there’s a lot of drop-off when we go to that next man. Charlie has that star potential. It just goes to show he had that opportunity and seized it.

Q. You guys talk a lot about filtering out all the noise and clutter. You turn on the TV, you see all this positive noise, all the promos for the game next week. How do you filter that out when you’re watching TV or something like that in your house?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Yeah, me personally, I switch the TV off. I don’t watch a lot of TV during the week. Even in the training rooms, we have TVs in the training rooms on, just normal stuff, sports stuff. ESPN was talking about the national championship, and I just went over to the monitor and turned it off. We don’t need to hear this.
We try to eliminate all that, whether it’s good or bad. We don’t need to hear the talk about us. I think that’s the messaging throughout the team. You don’t need to be going on social media, searching up your name or checking out what they have to say.
It’s probably a little better stuff now than maybe at the beginning of the season. People may have a little more belief. But either way, good or bad, it doesn’t help us out much. Everybody can say whatever they want about us. It’s not going to help us win a game. We have to tune that stuff out, and I think the whole team is in on that.

Q. When you’re chasing this common goal of a national championship and you have these high highs, like Big Ten Championship win, Rose Bowl, etc., Cignetti has talked about changing the way people think. How do you train your mind to stay so level-headed through this journey?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Me personally, that’s how I was raised. My parents told me never get too high, never get too low. That’s something I have carried with me my whole life.
Cig brings in people who are like-minded in that way. He’s not going to bring in a lot of big, flashy guys. He’s big on character when he chooses who he wants here. That helps out a lot. If you have a big group of guys, all of good character and have a similar mindset, it kind of pulls some guys along that might not fully be there yet.
I think that’s how he helps lead the team in that way. He brings in guys that collectively bring everybody along with him. I think that’s part of it. They talk about our age a lot recently. I think that’s part of one of the advantages that we have in our age, just a little bit more experience, a little bit more knowledge that winning a big game is exciting and great, but winning a big game just gives you an opportunity for another one so you have to refocus and get with that.
Hopefully the older guys are able to impart a little knowledge on the guys who haven’t been there before. Hopefully that helps us out.

Q. Coach Cig called the last couple of years surreal from him. When you reflect as going from a walk-on in 2020 to five years later, preparing for a national championship, how do you describe this journey?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Yeah, it’s what I dreamed about when I started all that. It’s definitely — it’s kind of like a dream come true. I thought — I always believed in myself that I had the ability to do this, but to see it all play out, I got to thank the man upstairs. You can’t do it yourself.
You can’t do any of this yourself.
I have been lucky to have a good set of circumstances where I was not only able to get an opportunity to be on a scholarship but then able to play for a really good team here and compete for a national championship. It’s just a lot of opportunities that you get. It’s something special. It’s a really cool thing to be part of.
I haven’t really fully reflected on it yet. I’m kind of focused on this next game, but hopefully after this next game I will have a second to sit down and think about that.

Q. Obviously everything throughout prep and in game is very businesslike. Curt Cignetti asks you guys to play 1 to 150 the same. But have there been moments in which football has felt fun during this run, especially with the dominance it feels you guys have experienced during games?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Yeah, definitely. Shoot, for me, every day football is fun. It’s definitely a businesslike approach and you have to be intentional about everything you’re doing. You have to be on top of your stuff.
But the day football isn’t fun for me, I’m not going to play anymore. I love this sport. I enjoy it a lot. And I think that’s a great balance you have to strike, enjoying yourself and having fun with the sport while also being able to approach it like it’s a little bit of your job.
I think there’s definitely every moment, every time we step out on that field, I’m having fun, I’m enjoying it, but it’s that mentality that this is serious work and needs a lot of focus and attention.

Q. Riley, we get to this level, teams are so elite, and usually there are certain superstars that stand out. With this team, it’s just a group across the board, especially the receivers are so deep. How fun is it to play in a situation where there’s no true superstar, it’s just a bunch of guys who are great and you’re one of them?

RILEY NOWAKOWSKI: Shoot, it makes my life easier, and I like to say all the time, so much skill on offense, so many great players on defense, it really does make everybody’s job easier. We have six different guys scored touchdowns last game. That’s special. Having six guys score touchdowns in the semifinals is insane. It speaks to the depth that we have across the board.
It helps out all our receivers because you can’t solo one guy out. We have two running backs that are both phenomenal. One guy gets tired, put the next guy in.
There’s no drop-off. I think that’s critical to how successful our team has been.
Obviously you have the defense, too. You have guys all over the place making plays. And we have had some guys go down, but next guy steps up and he’s making plays too.
Daniel Ndukwe had two sacks and a blocked punt. That’s huge. That’s a guy that hasn’t played much this season, but he comes in and he’s played in the Rose Bowl and now the Peach Bowl, and he’s had a big impact in those games.
It’s huge. All the talent we have all around, it’s a joy to be part of. It makes my job easier. You don’t have to fight and scratch as much. It opens things up. I’m happy to be part of it.

Offensive Lineman Pat Coogan

Q. Yeah, Pat, obviously a lot has been made, again, about a team that’s big, strong, fast, physical. Violent was a word Riley used. We heard that before, and you guys heard it, but when you look at the football, take the noise off the table. The guys in the trenches, what do you see from Miami’s defensive line and defense overall?

PAT COOGAN: Well, they are. They are very physical, very violent. They are special players, especially on the outside, and it’s not like their interior drops off at all, either. All across the board, really talented players. The physical attributes are there. They maximize their physical attributes.
They fly around and they’re a fast, violent group that’s coached really well and do their jobs well. It’s going to be a huge challenge for us and one that we have to prepare for and be ready for.

Q. As a guy who played on this huge stage last year, how do you try to maybe pull from that experience, try to impart what you learned last year with this whole squad around you that really hasn’t experienced this game yet?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, I think it’s been similar to what we have been talking about during this whole playoff run, just being where our feet are and maximizing each day and each opportunity.
Maximizing our practices, making sure we go out on the practice field and have the best day possible and really taking what we’re learning in the meetings and putting it onto the field.
At the end of the day, it’s another football game, right? The stage is big. The stage has been big the past couple of weeks.
The game is between the white lines. I think we have done a good job of having that headspace and having that mindset, never making it bigger than it is, and really just making sure we’re putting in the work and putting in the prep so that when we get to game day we put our best foot forward.

Q. You guys, we have seen more six-lineman stuff recently. Does that change anything for you as a center or, like, do you kind of remain just between the tackles in terms of your checks, your reads, the stuff you’ve got to communicate?

PAT COOGAN: Are you saying like…

Q. When you bring in the extra lineman. Go a little bit heavy.

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, it’s just a package that we have. The defense could sub in their heavier package in relation to that. So I’m always aware of it, definitely.
Sometimes they don’t match, though. Oregon matched a few times and other times they didn’t. First 11 personnel they went heavier which they never did during the season. They went 5-2. And then other times when we brought in that heavier package, they stayed in 4-2 base.
So you just always good to be aware of it, especially as a center, because the specific plays that are within that package consist of a specific mic ID, so you got to be aware of it for sure.

Q. Curt said he appreciated your effort being 20 yards down the field on the fumble recovery, but he said you had some work to do on your technique with falling on the ball. He did give you a hard time in the moment or any time after that?

PAT COOGAN: No, I haven’t heard anything from him. There’s always stuff to improve on. We actually did work on that. We did a drill early in fall camp at the end of practices just falling on fumbles and stuff. We’ve worked on it, believe it or not, but there’s always room to improve.

Q. I wanted to follow up on that. Just the mindset that enabled you to be 20 yards down the field. Is that something you try to do all the time and just the approach it takes to show that level of effort.

PAT COOGAN: It’s definitely a mindset that’s been instilled in me from an early age, just way back when chasing after the ball. Because you really never know, right? Those abilities to hop on loose balls can really change the game and change the outcome of a game. They happen very so often but they’re big moments. They’re really big moments.
It’s happened a few times to me in my career. Yeah, any one of us could have been in that position because any one of us runs after the ball and takes great pride in that. It just so happened that the ball bounced our way and bounced my way.
I was happy to be there for my quarterback because he’s been there for me many times, escaped pressure, whatever it may be. He’s had my back numerous, numerous times, so I was happy to have his for once.

Q. With the stakes what they are, I don’t know if this is the toughest offensive line you guys have faced all year or not, but with the stakes added in there and how good they are, is that pressure on you guys as a line to succeed or is it relishing the challenge or a little of both?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, it’s one of the best, but at the same time, we take great pride in protecting the quarterback no matter who we’re playing. I think that’s just an absolute key emphasis for us this week to protect the quarterback and obviously run the ball. That’s part of who we are and our DNA.
But no matter who we’re playing, we have to protect our quarterback. We have to protect the quarterback in every situation, every down. We know how special he can be and how good our offense can be when we give him the time to execute. No matter who we’re playing, we need to protect the quarterback and it’s the same message this week.

Q. Coach Cig said yesterday that this team is the best he’s ever had at taking the message he gives you guys and putting it on to the field. From your perspective, what makes this team so receptive his message?

PAT COOGAN: Certainly I think he always says and it’s true, it’s a very veteran group. It’s a mature group. It’s a group that’s been around the block, played a lot of football, and a group that knows how to take messages and put them on the field because of just how much football we’ve played, how much football a lot of guys have played together and sort of like that. So I think we have done a great job of, like he said, just taking that mindset and putting it into between the white lines.
It certainly starts with him and just a mindset that he implements within our program and even starting back in January, February, he’s saying the same stuff he’s saying before we walk out for the Peach Bowl, right? So the messages don’t really change. I think that’s why we see that success. It’s ingrained in our minds.

Q. You mentioned for this run, last year’s run, being where your feet are, maximizing practice days, everything leading up to these games. When you’re having these high highs, I guess what went into training your mind to reach that point where you can be grounded, not make the moment too big?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, I’ve learned from a lot of great veteran leadership at an early age, a lot of great coaches. This is my fifth year. I’ve played a lot of football. I’ve been around success. I’ve been around failure. I’ve been around everything in between. I’ve kind of just learned throughout the years of what really matters in the moment. Obviously how to win with class but also how to handle failure. So I think everything in between has molded me and my mindset.
And certainly, there’s a great amount of joy after victories, and there’s a great amount of — just very proud of the group and stuff like that but I also understand and know how much more there is to get done because I have been in those shoes, and I think especially last year, that playoff experience helped me and kind of just shaped me and my mindset.
But at the end of the day, I’ve been around it all it feels like, so it’s really just shaped me kind of into the guy I am today but also surely the player, right? And just how I handle everything: Success, failure, adversity and everything in between.

Q. You guys have been fighting the outside noise and blocking it out. Most of the time it was negative. Now here you are, you see promos on ESPN. Any time you turn on the TV, there’s a promo. You guys are talked about. How do you guys filter out the good noise?

PAT COOGAN: We understand that outside noise is exactly what it is, it’s outside. It has no impact on our ability to go perform on the football field. It’s not going to score us any touchdowns. It’s not going to convert any third downs defensively. It’s not going to stop any third downs or get us off the field.
That’s exactly what it is. It’s all clutter. It’s all noise, it’s all distraction and like I said, we have a very veteran group and a mature group, and certainly Coach Cig instills that mindset of eliminate all noise and clutter.
We really do. We try our best to. We’re humans as well, so sometimes it gets difficult. But I believe we have done a great job of doing so and we need to continue to do so.

Q. You talked a little bit about pulling from your experience from last year, but how important is getting back to kind of a normal week of preparation after having so much time in between the Rose Bowl and the Peach Bowl and the end of the season?

PAT COOGAN: Yeah, it’s great. We really are starting a normal week here. I think it’s getting everyone back into the groove and normal preparation. Coach Cig and Coach DO have done a great job of implementing schedules that make sense and schedules that help us and maximize the hours within the building.
So I’m excited for the workweek. It’s going to be a great week of prep. We just got to put in the work.

Q. Taking away the experience of being in the national championship last year, is there a national championship game previously that stands out to you most growing up? And which game would that be, do you think?

PAT COOGAN: That’s a great question. Probably the one I remember vividly because I was in high school was 2019 LSU. That was a big year. And just the Alabama years, kind of growing up in the mid-2010s or whenever that was.
Besides that, it feels like it’s all mixed together now. But, yeah, those couple times. Thanks, guys.

Linebacker Aiden Fisher

Q. Did you expect Curt to stay at JMU? What were you hearing as players at the time, and then what was your thoughts when that was all kind of going down that week right after the season?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, after the last game, I don’t think anybody really expected him to leave. And then we had some fans that were tracking flights in and out. So then once we saw it was Bloomington, we all looked up: What is Bloomington? I was with all my buddies at JMU, they all looked at me and were like, You’re going to Indiana.

And it was just kind of a funny scenario. But I don’t think anybody expected him to leave or come here, but sure glad he did.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, he addressed the team in a team meeting before we started the bowl prep for the Armed Forces Bowl. He initially planned on coaching us in that bowl game. Obviously that’s not how business went down, and that was kind of it after that.

Q. Were you tracking flights?

AIDEN FISHER: I was not tracking flights, no.

Q. We talked to you about the three-linebacker setup and how it’s evolved for you guys and how much you guys trust it. How much does it allow you, maybe — a year ago, I think, it felt like we were asking everyone on the defense about that defensive line. How much does that three-linebacker setup allow you guys to be creative with what you do on the defensive line? Because you can always trust that you can put four down and you don’t have to worry about coverage versus playing heavy against the run. Just the versatility and the dynamism that having all three of you on the field, when you go to those sets, really gives the defense?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, we have a lot of sets, a lot of three-linebacker sets. We can show up internal. We can show up on the edge. We can have somebody play the rover spot, the hokie/stud spot. That helps us in certain situations, down in distance, things like that. But it makes our defense a lot more multiple, being able to blitz different guys, drop different guys. And Coach Haines, he doesn’t care who drops, it’s a 305-pound D-tackle or linebacker.

Being able to have those guys on the field, it helps our defense be a little more multiple, but it’s also a big thing for the offense because you have no clue who’s coming, who’s not. It’s huge to have those guys that built their confidence, they’re playing the way they are right now. We’re at a good spot with the three-linebacker setup.

Q. I’ve asked a lot about the way Cig has changed habits of guys he coaches. Are there times off-field you walk around and say, like, this is new for me? I have learned how to live this way, how to operate that way because of Cig?

AIDEN FISHER: All the time. I was on the phone with my mom about two days ago. I don’t even remember what we were talking about. I was just like, Yeah, I hope somebody doesn’t get complacent. And I was like, Wow, I have been with Cig way too long. And she said, Yeah, I said the same thing the other day. She used the word “complacent.”

It’s funny when you’ve been with somebody for so long you start talking like them a little bit. Everything he talks about is true in football and in life, complacency kills. Everything about just the way he makes this football program makes you a better person too.

And I think my mom gets that when I’m texting her: No more talking about the last game, on to the next.

It’s funny how long I have been with him and the things that rub off on me.

Q. The metrics suggest you guys are one of the best teams in the country in the last 15 or 20 years. Are you guys aware of it? If you are or aren’t, why do you think you guys have played to a standard that’s not excellence this year but has some historical context to it?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, I’ll save that question for after this next game. It won’t mean really anything unless we walk away with a win in this game. I’m proud of where the team’s at right now. I think we’re playing well all together, and we got to put it on the field Monday night.

Q. I think Cig said something along the lines that this team, out of any team he’s had, has done better at adhering to the message and going along with that. Why is that so? Why have you guys been able to adhere to that message so well?

AIDEN FISHER: We all know Cig’s been in these positions before. He’s played in big games. At the end of the day, players just want to win. Whatever he deems is the most important thing, we’re going to follow that.

We have an older team of veteran leadership that has been in these big games. We have been in the situations that we’re facing right now. So it’s all about taking the past experiences and kind of moving forward with them.

And obviously Coach does a great job with that, but having the older guys we have, taking the message and relaying it to the younger guys, relaying it to the room, and our assistant coaches do a great job with it too.

It’s just making sure we’re all adapted to one message and that we’re on the same page at all times.

Q. Fernando talked about delayed gratification being a mindset that this team really embodies, where you’re able to reset after these high highs. How do you train your own mind? What goes into it to have those moments reset and move on, treat every game, like he said, as the national championship?

AIDEN FISHER: The good thing is I think we built a couple of experiences off doing that. Last probably two months has been a lot of highs for us. And then there’s been some lows in there too. But it’s all about take it, enjoy it for the moment, and then move on.

I think, when you get in the postseason especially, that’s how you have to live. We took the 24 hours after the Peach Bowl or the Rose Bowl to enjoy it, and you’re on to the next thing.

I think that’s why we keep moving forward. We’re not satisfied with anything. We just want to earn more opportunities to play with each other, earn more opportunities to prove ourself as a team, as an individual. And that’s how you be successful.

Q. It was brought up that this — how historic this team has sort of become over this year. The last month, you guys are favorites heading into each and every game so far, and heading into next week. How vital is it to keep that “chip on your shoulder” mentality when you’re cream of the crop right now?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, we know it won’t mean anything unless we walk away with a win in this game. I don’t think anybody is really paying attention to all this stuff that people are putting out there. We have a lot to clean up from that Oregon film, a lot of sloppy plays, especially in the second half as a defense and the one long drive they had before the half.

We know there’s so much more room for improvement. All the things that you guys have pointed out, historical things, doesn’t really mean anything to us right now. We’re all focused on Miami. They’re a great team that has a lot of weapons that are really good on the line, at least the offensive side.

We have a lot to deal with, a lot of handle. Everything else will take care of itself, and we just got to win this game.

Q. Cig told us yesterday he was going to address in the team meeting the worst thing you guys could do is make this game bigger than it could be. Even though it is the biggest game, how do you, as one of the older guys, a veteran, a leader, keep that into perspective and disseminate that message to the younger guys?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, I think it’s kind of two sides for me. It’s a four-quarter football game. It’s the same amount of time, you’re playing it on grass. You’re still in helmet, cleats, and pads. It’s just football.

The other thing I told the linebackers yesterday is it’s an opportunity that’s rare. So I just kind of encouraged everybody to block everything out for one week. Just give me one week of everything they have and just prepare like it’s your last game of the season. I just need everybody to kind of understand the opportunity we’re having right now.

At the end of the day, we’re going to prepare the same way we prepared for Old Dominion in week one, just because that’s the way we’re wired, the way we do things. And if not, it’s a disservice to yourself, to your team.

So I think just making sure we’re on top of everything, but knowing that this opportunity is rare, put your everything into it so you can walk off the field with no regrets and it’s something that you’ll hold with you for a very long time.

Q. Aiden, when you face a team that I think the quarterback has thrown for 3500 yards, a thousand-yard rusher, close to a thousand-yard receiver, what kind of problem does that present?

AIDEN FISHER: Yeah, they’re really balanced on offense, great O-line, great running backs. Receivers are great. They have somebody who can break a game in No. 10 and a good quarterback who is an experienced veteran who has been doing this for a while now, and then a really good OC with a good scheme.

When you put all that together, you get an elite offense that’s exactly who they’ve been throughout the playoffs, throughout the whole regular season. It’s definitely a big challenge for us and something we’re excited for.

It’s about all limiting their explosive plays and stopping the run, first of all. They’ve had a lot of success running the ball, they have great running backs, a really good O-line. It’s going to be on us as a D-line and linebackers and front seven to stop that first. Once the pass game gets going, they get dangerous too.

It’s a lot to minimize for them, but great offense, and we’re excited for the opportunity to match up against them.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about the ways you guys have started games. Several games I can think of off the top of my head, you have had sacks, interceptions. Is there anything that goes into that that makes that first drive unique for you guys, or is that just the way it’s played out?

AIDEN FISHER: It’s just the way it’s played out. I have seen all the stuff about different things for our team. It’s funny and kind of ridiculous to me, but we watch film, we study, we prepare.

A lot of people have put things out, but we just do a great job preparing. We have things that we can see within our preparation, and then we have the best D coordinator in college football. So when you match up those things, you get off to fast starts as a defense. Yeah.

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