Christian Wilkins: "Jalen Hurts is as good as ever."

Here are a few transcriptions from early today at the Sugar Bowl press conferences.

Christian Wilkins | Defensive Lineman

On what has evolved in Alabama’s offense since last year:

“A lot of their players individually have made big strides, which makes their whole offense a lot better. Jalen Hurts is as good as ever. He can throw the ball a lot better. You can see the improvement from being a young freshman to now a vetted sophomore. He’s got good backs next to him. They’ve got great depth there, a lot of guys that can hurt you in different ways. They’ve got a strong O-line up front and the skill on the outside is really leading that group.”

On how it feels playing Alabama three years in a row on such a big stage:

“It doesn’t really feel any different. The last two times we played them with obviously a lot at stake. Now you’re more comfortable because you know the personnel, you know your opponent. You have more confidence, too. You’re ready to go, you know what they’re going to do, and you just have to go out there and play.”

On playing Alabama a third time:

“It’s definitely fun, I’m up for it. I came to Clemson to compete at the highest level, and Alabama’s the best so I’m glad we get to play against them.”

On who Jalen Hurts reminds him of:

“He’s like a mix of [Malik] Rosier and Lamar Jackson. He’s really fast and can hurt you with the run. He makes big throws, and he’s one of those bigger, thicker quarterbacks. So, he’s kind of a mix between them, but he’s a different player too.”

On the feeling of beating them to win the National Championship last year:

“Just winning the National Championship, no matter who it’s against, was great. But to beat a team that everybody looks up to as the model program was even better. That being said, they don’t lose to a team two times in a row much, so we’re really going to have to bring it. They’re going to be ready to play against us. They had a year to sit around and think about it and let that loss marinate so I’m sure they’ll come out ready to play.”

Ryan Carter | Cornerback

On Jalen Hurts’ progression and thoughts on him as a passer:

“He’s doing a lot of good things for their offense I feel as a whole. I know they’re doing a lot better job as far as getting Calvin Ridley more involved as opposed to last year. Just from watching them on film, of course Calvin Ridley’s a special player. We’re just going to have to do our best to limit him. I think at the end of the day, I would want him to throw the ball more than scramble.”

On success of getting off the field on third down last year:

“I think we just took a lot of pride during film study, just making sure we get off the field, like you said, because it’s just big for us to get off the field and give our offense a chance to get the ball and create momentum.”

On being down 14-0:

“I thought we just tried to do our best to keep our composure. It was definitely tough to be down 14-0, but I think at that point we just really had to recollect, you know, and just come together and find a way to get back in the game by any means necessary. I felt we just did a good job as far as not losing our heads… we’ve been in that situation before, so I thought a lot of guys were just poised and our offense gave us a chance to get back on the field again.”

On if he feels like Alabama would be limited without Ridley because they target him so heavily:

“Yes I do for sure. I think he’s a big reason why they have success, and we’re going to have to do our best to try and limit those big plays. Calvin Ridley’s just a special player for them, and again, if you take away him, it’s a whole different ballgame. So we’re going to do our best to try and limit his success and limit what we can do defensively for him to not as much of a big receiving game as possible.”

On what he learned and took away from last year’s game:

“I think from a defensive standpoint we just learned a lot about knowing ourselves within, don’t let it get too riled up or become overwhelming. There are going to be times in the game where things don’t go our way, it’s just a part of football. I think we just learned a lot about ourselves internally, and I thought we did a great job collectively as far as rallying and not giving up. That’s one thing that I would say about our defense. We never give up as far as if we‘re down. If things aren’t going well, we still find a way to create momentum, big plays and turnovers. I think that’s another key factor for us going into this game is creating turnovers. We’ve done really good these last few games at things like that and making plays on defense. I think that’s going to be very big for us in this game as well.”