Phillips on facing Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader, 'It's a big challenge'
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On Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis's post-game comments stating he felt the Clemson defense disrespected him and the receivers by playing man-to-man coverage: "We have one of the best secondaries out there. We have unbelievable confidence in everybody that's on the field. They're on the field for a reason and they're at Clemson for a reason. We control what we can control. We can't control what he says or anything. Or what anyone says. We just believe in ourselves and who we put out there."
On sophomore cornerback Jeadyn Lukus: "He has great confidence now. This camp was the best camp I've ever seen him have. Early in his career, when you first get here you got to start learning the playbook that can be a lot for a freshman and a sophomore, but he's really coming along and gaining that confidence. DB is one of the hardest positions to play, a bad play can happen but you have to flush it and move on in the game. [I'm] very proud of Jeadyn Lukus and his progression of how he came in and where he's at now."
On learning the status of starting cornerback Nate Wiggins, who suffered an injury late in Saturday's game: "We're gonna need Nate. He's a great player -- first-round talent. We need all the guys. I'm very proud of Nate. A scary situation for sure. Happy that it wasn't serious. Maybe [we] get him back this week or next -- not sure of his status. But very happy it's nothing serious."
On playing undefeated Syracuse (4-0) on the road: "Most of my family is from upstate New York. I've been up there a few times. It's a great environment -- that dome. It gets very loud. Syracuse is a very good team. I know they're gonna pack that dome out. So we got to go up there and be ready to play a good road defense and be ready on our side. Just be prepared for whatever it is."
On facing Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader, who rushed for 195 yards and four touchdowns against Purdue, after the elusive Travis: "He's a little bigger. He likes to run too. I think I was watching one game and he had almost 200 yards rushing, or something like that. He likes to use his legs and throw the ball as well. So, we got to be prepared for that and really cage him in and have him inside the box as much as possible. Not let him get comfortable in the run game. So, it's a big challenge for us for sure. We got to prepare for it."
