Everything Luke Fickell Said Before Facing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl

The Cincinnati football coach spoke about Desmond Ridder, his senior class, Nick Saban and the impending Cotton Bowl matchup with No. 1 Alabama.

DALLAS — For the final time before the actual game, Nick Saban and Luke Fickell spoke to the media early Thursday morning about the Cotton Bowl matchup.

Here's what the Cincinnati head coach had to say:

Transcript: Luke Fickell Cotton Bowl Press Conference

OPENING STATEMENT

CINCINNATI HEAD COACH LUKE FICKELL: Good morning. Well, the last 30 or so hours are the longest time, I think, in all that we do, I know for us and for me. So we're right here on the cusp of kind of finishing up the preparations and we’re excited about tomorrow.

And it's been a long time coming. That's the unique thing about having three and a half weeks or so. Not just to prepare but to kind of get everything ready for this incredible opportunity that our guys have given us is finally coming to that point.

And I know our guys are excited. I know our guys have been preparing and thinking about this for quite a while and are really, really excited about this challenge.

So from all of us, I think that it's close to that talk being over and about time for us to go back out there and do what it is that we love to do. And I think everybody in this program is really excited about what's to come tomorrow.

QUESTIONS

Q. With the extra preparation time, what's been your approach to exotics or trick plays? I know it can be tempting when you have the extra time to want to insert things. How have you approached it?

COACH FICKELL: Well, I think trying to find that balance. When you've got this much time, you go from normally kind of breaking down six games, five games maybe, and some specific things to all of a sudden looking at 12 and 13 games. And then all of a sudden, looking at some things from the year before and maybe even some things from where guys have been in the past. And it can kind of bog you down.

And really for us, we got to do a really good job at not giving our guys too much. So for us, I'm not saying they're a trick team. You obviously always throw in things here and there, try to anticipate what might it be.

But for us, we try to stick with the plan that we've done all year and not go too much into it and give them too many different things and too many different expectations. It really comes down to the adjustments that you're going to have to make.

We all know there's something different offensively and defensively that we're going to see. And our ability to make some of the adjustments after the first drive or two or even at halftime to us is a bigger deal than trying to give them everything and try to assume different things that you're going to see.

Q. I realize you're focused on the game and the moment. But have you gotten a sense over the past couple weeks maybe from being around people like Guid ‑‑ Gino (Gino Guidugli) and [Armon] Binns, what all of this means to the program from a historical perspective?

COACH FICKELL: No, I have not. I don't know that ‑‑ as you know me well enough, that's not something I spend a lot of time doing and probably something that I need to take a better look at.

But I think when it's all said and done, we'll have the opportunity to kind of look back at it and recognize the things that it has done and will continue to do for the program.

We're never about completely understanding, studying the past, but we're always about continuing to move forward. But if we don't understand where we're coming from, then it's hard to appreciate where it is that we are. And I understand that much about it.

But maybe at some point in time, I'll be able to sit down with those guys and get a little bit more insight here after the next few weeks hopefully.

Q. I asked Coach [Nick] Saban this and I'm curious from your perspective, getting a chance to get into the playoffs, he's obviously been here before. But from a coach's perspective as well, what have you learned from your guys as they get ready for this first‑time experience in the playoff that maybe you haven't seen before with all this prep time before the game?

COACH FICKELL: Last year was different, we didn't have nearly as much prep time for the Peach Bowl against Georgia just because the season was pushed back so much. So we've been fortunate, at least, to not be in if the playoffs but be in the bowl games where we've done different prep.

This has definitely been different. I think our prep for the past bowl games, with the exception of last year, was a bit different, just how things were going and how we were leading up and how we were using the time and a lot of development of young guys.

But I think ‑‑ I can't say it's been a whole lot different to be honest with you. We've been very fortunate this year to have a 30‑some seniors that give us that maturity and give us that sense of being like pros that I think they've really handled this in the best way.

Understanding that we've done this thing in three phases, phase one, phase two, and phase three and didn't want to get into real game prep, which is that phase three, too soon. So we were able to try to get the guys' minds to not overdo it early in the preparation about what we're going to see come Friday night or Friday afternoon. But really kind of these last few days really get into that last phase prep.

So our guys have been really mature about it, been pros about it. But I think you're seeing that from yesterday. I saw yesterday they're a little bit antsy now and really, really excited and ready to get this thing rolling tomorrow.

Q. What significance do you think it has that the best all‑around game that you guys played is against the best team you've played so far, Notre Dame? And what relevance does it have going into this challenge?

COACH FICKELL: Well, I just think that our guys are competitors. And I think we talk about our quarterback (Desmond Ridder) in particular a lot of times, at least I do. And the greatest attribute that he has is his competitive spirit. And at the biggest moments, he plays his best. That's what we've got to expect.

We've been on some of those stages. I'm not saying that we've been on a Cotton Bowl stage like this in the playoffs. But playing at Notre Dame this year was big for us, handling just all the hype around it and even the environment, the atmosphere and going into that game.

So I think that our ability to handle that and grow through that, through some of the other things, the ups and the downs that we had in that middle part of the season, just happened to handle some expectations and happened to handle not playing quite maybe up to the standard of what not only we thought but obviously people outside of us thought.

A lot of those things are a build‑up for where we are today. And hopefully, we'll be able to draw upon all those things to help us here tomorrow afternoon.

Q. How much do you think about and prepare for what you say to a team in a locker room before they go out for a game like this? And do you have a thought in your mind what your message will be to the guys before they play this game?

COACH FICKELL: I think the messaging starts all the way back when we first kind of phase one of this thing. And even though we weren't preparing maybe in those first two phases for just what we're going to see as far as schematically from Alabama, we were really kind of into the messaging of what it is that we needed to do and how we needed to be thinking how we were attacking this thing.

I don't know that the last minute before we take the field is anything that's going to make a huge impact on the game, but I think the last two and a half weeks, just the mindset of how we have gone about all of this, it comes back from the entire season. It comes back from the end of last year, to be honest with you.

Everybody's a little bit different. And it's hard to have somebody come in and speak to your team because they don't really know what these guys have been through. They don't really know what makes them click in a lot of different ways.

And I've talked about a little bit. This isn't a team that wants to ride the, "Hey, let's shock the world" or do anything like that. It's a team that really believes in what it is they've done, loves challenges. And so for us, that's kind of been the message.

We understand that it's a larger challenge than maybe anything we've faced in the past, meaning a team that obviously has been in playoffs seven times and, as we refer to, the champs.

So I think the messaging is kind of specific for who our guys are and what they've been through. But it's definitely about, hey, these are the champs and in order to beat the champs, you're going to have to play at your best.

Q. Just curious how much you're going to be able to use previous experience from being a defensive coordinator going over these next 30 hours leading up to the game? Or is it entirely different being in the head coach's seat to where it's a whole new deal?

COACH FICKELL: It is. I try to not meddle in too much of some of the other business. And I'm not saying I'm not in there with the defense, I'm not in there with the offense. But I think sometimes as you come down the stretch, everybody's kind of got to do their thing.

And you can start to ‑‑ like I said, you've watched 12, 13 games and even some of the games from the previous year. You start to imagine too many different things, where we just got to continue to focus on the things that we've done and really be ready for the adjustments that we need to make.

And I think that's where we've been good. That's where we're going have to be really good tomorrow, is with this time, we know we're going to see some different things.

As opposed to trying to assume too many different things here in the last 30 hours, let's focus on our kids, let's focus on the things that we do. And let's make sure that we've got our minds ready to the adjustments that we need to make. And how we're going to convey those things to our guys with us on the sideline or even at halftime.

Q. Just looking at the fact that you committed to this team a few seasons back and had that 4‑8 season to start off and success from there, just what can you say that’s kept you in Cincinnati? And what it feels like to be at this stage, to finally break that proverbial glass ceiling and to have this team where it should be?

COACH FICKELL: There's no doubt it's the people. Doesn't take long to walk in that locker room and when you've been through the stuff that those guys and we've been through together, that's what for me is always what I love.

Sometimes it's what I've missed as a head coach. You don't have quite the same connection as you do when you're coaching a position or even just coordinating a defense. As a head coach, you're a little bit different. You don't have some of those ‑‑ like I said, as much time with the guys individually as I would like.

So to be able to kind of hold to your word and see things through and really kind of see how these guys ‑‑ I don't say me, how this group of not just young men but coaches have built what it is that we've got. For me, that's very difficult to walk away from.

And when it really comes back down to it, that's what's always driven me. That's what will continue to drive me. That's what keeps me along with the ability to continue to grow.

And that's the great thing about Cincinnati, is we keep talking about we want to become a top‑ten program. And we've got a ways to go still on developing everything from not just our program, facilities, and all those kinds of things. For me, that's also, I'd say, the selfish part of it that keeps you motivated, or me motivated, is seeing where we can continue to grow this program over the next three, four, five years.

Q. Is that where these seniors come into play? You kind of need those guys, don't you, to keep the other guys from being overwhelmed about the bigness of the moment, I guess?

COACH FICKELL: Yeah, I think. Everybody's a little bit different. And the great thing is, like we've said all year, we've been in a different place this year than we have in any other year that we've been here in the last five and really relied upon those older guys.

Even though they were heavily favored in a lot of the situations through the season, where they were when they first started in that 4‑8 year and how rough it was, I think, has really kept those guys grounded and make sure that they reiterate to the young guys how difficult this really is.

So with that being said, as you walk into some of these big moments like this, you throw more upon those seniors. And you throw more upon those guys that played a lot of football. Hey, I don't think and I don't believe that they're going to be overwhelmed in the moment.

They understand that they're not out there by themselves and they're doing everything together. And I think for us that's kind of been the driving force in a lot of the things we've done. And it's going to continue to be the driving force tomorrow afternoon.

Q. Just your relationship with Desmond [Ridder], how rewarding is it to see him get this opportunity after he decided to come back for the season?

COACH FICKELL: Well, it's similar in some of the things that we go through as coaches with opportunities, to see him kind of do it the right way, to be honest with you.

And everybody has options and everybody has opportunities. Desmond had one last year. Who knows where he would have been had he maybe decided to come out.

But it's so gratifying to see a guy that, in my opinion, did it the right way. Took a lot of information in, sat with the people that were closest to him, and really felt like he had room to grow and things he still wanted to do and believed in his teammates and the people that were around him.

So he's a great example of what can happen when you truly do believe not just in your own abilities and yourself but in the people that are around you. And him coming back and being that example and continuing to raise his game, hopefully, will be an example for a long, long time here.

A lot of guys, as you continue to grow the program, are going to have some of those similar decisions that Dez had. And when you really enjoy what it is that you do and the people that are around you, it's amazing how far you can continue to grow.

Q. Coach [Nick] Saban talked earlier this week about the challenges of dealing with success. You've dealt with that on some level as an assistant and head coach. But this year specifically, have you learned anything new about that process?

COACH FICKELL: Yeah, that it's always different. And just like every year, every season, your team is different. You can have the same guys. We had a lot of the same guys last year, and it's different this year just in several different ways. Dynamics is a big part of it.

But I think that handling those different things, it's not always yourself because, obviously, we know what's going on inside our own heads more than anything. And personally been through it a lot, just from where I was in the past.

But every time you're going through it, it's a bit different because of the people that are around you. And I mean that with a lot of times 18‑ to 22‑year‑olds. And who you're depending on and who you're counting on has a big part of that.

So everybody handles it a little bit different. You hope you can continue to pound into their minds the things that you want them to recognize and understand and see, and the traps that are out there with all the different things that can happen.

But what it comes down to is, hey, this isn't one guy. This isn't two or three guys. It's amazing what the group of guys have got to be able to handle this together more than anything else.

Q. You received a lot of high praise from Coach [Nick] Saban. He said that he has a lot of respect and admiration for what you've been able to do in building the program at Cincinnati. How much admiration ‑‑ without making this too much of a love fest, how much admiration do you have for Coach Saban and what he's been able to do throughout his tenure as a coach at Alabama and beyond?

COACH FICKELL: If I've said it once, I've said it several times. I don't have a whole lot of mentors. Again, just not being in a whole lot of different places.

So the fortunate thing I've been able to do is to study guys from afar. And unfortunately, never really have got a chance to know Coach Saban or even spend any time around his program other than studying it from a distance.

And I've said it from the get‑go, when he went to Alabama, I thought there was nobody that did a better job, not just coaching but evaluating and bringing in and developing talent than what I observed he did and he did throughout his program.

And one of my great mentors in Jim Tressel always said, “It's one thing to be able to get to the top of the mountain. It's another thing to be able to sustain it.” And he used to always say, “It's ten times harder to sustain that greatness once you can get there and reach those tops of the mountains. “

And obviously, what Coach has done there over his time is, in my mind, unprecedented, not just getting to where he's gotten to but the ability to stay there and continue to grow in the midst of our world today with, I say, complacency and all the different opportunities for others.

It's amazing to see how many different people he's done it with, too. And I don't just mean players. He's had such success with turning over coaches and turning guys into head coaches. And new guys come in and they become a part of the system and not themselves and they continue to grow.

So I can't say enough about him. Like I said, I don't know him all that well. I've visited with him maybe a couple times. But for the last ten, 12, 15 years, I've studied pretty much everything that they've done as a program, whether that's been recruiting or a lot of the defensive stuff.

Q. From the outside looking in, obviously, being in the College Football Playoffs is one thing. But I wanted to ask you just from an organizational standpoint within your program where you're at today and where you, obviously, want this program to continue to grow, from everything within your program to continue to sustain what you have accomplished this year, obviously, moving forward within the program at Cincinnati.

COACH FICKELL: Well, it's all about people. And one of the more difficult things is, and as we know in this profession, continuing to keep the core nucleus of the people that are around you. Because to me, it's a little bit harder to develop these young guys.

And I'll go back, what Coach [Nick] Saban's done is to me so uniquely different with a lot of the maybe turnovers and different people that he's done it with.

I know for us and our program, to be able to keep as much of our core nucleus of people together so that our 18‑ to 22‑year‑olds are continuing to hear and see a very similar message year in and year out, but the same types of people that they're around, whether they're being recruited by or developed by, to me is a big deal.

And as we take that next step and try to become a top‑ten program, it has a lot to do with being able to sustain and maintain the people that you've put around these guys. And we've been very fortunate so far.

This is a big step for us to continue to grow. And some of the things that we're doing, moving leagues and having the ability to take care of the people that are around us even more so that they feel like this is an opportunity for them to continue to grow. And they don't have to go someplace else in order to get some greater opportunities and some greater opportunities to take care of their family as well.

So I think all those things for us, for me, and continuing to grow this program have a lot to do with the people. And we know that it's about the kids, and we know it's about recruiting. We know it's about continuing to develop those guys.

But the people that do that, the people that are around them on an everyday basis are really the key to what it is that our program's all about. And we do it with great people, and we got to continue to do it with great people.

Q. It seems very much that your team has benefited from a lot of study in terms of analytics, particularly around the things your defenses do as opposed to what offenses do based on tendencies. Once again, you had all that extra time and probably some extra data collected. What has been your approach to analyzing data going into this very important game?

COACH FICKELL: We used it. And we try not to allow it to overcome what it is that we do. And us as coaches, obviously, we studied a ton. With all the extra time, you're looking at those things. And I think the uniqueness of what coaches got to do a great job of is figuring out what they can give their young men and what they believe that they can handle. Because it ultimately comes down to being able to react and react really fast.

And if we bog them down with some of the different things that we maybe understand or maybe studied or maybe we've seen over this excess amount of time, it can sometimes maybe not allow them to use their instincts and the things that give them an opportunity to be a great football player.

So that's where I think really good coaches do a great job at understanding the people that they're coaching, what it is that they believe they can handle, what's too much, and what's not enough. And to find that balance, to me, is really key.

And you're challenged greater ‑‑ you're challenged even more sometimes when there's more time, like in this preparation with three or so weeks because sometimes you want to do a little more, and you want to give them a little bit more. But you kind of got to make sure you go back to remembering who they really are and what it is that you believe that they can really handle. And just save some of that stuff to be able to make some of those adjustments and some of those things that might happen once you recognize the way the game is going and what it is that you might need to do.