Cornerback Jarren Williams
Q: Have you had a chance to look at the past month or so – to go from where you were to where you have been in the last two games and kind of absorb all of that or are you focused on the day to day?
A: Yeah, you've just got to play it day by day. Things happens week to week with guys going down, so you've just got to stay ready. When that opportunity came, I treated every week like I was going to play, so I was prepared myself for that moment.
Q: Do you feel like with the opportunities that you've been given, you have earned a role in the rotation maybe more than you did before you got on the field?
A: Really, that's not my call. That's up to the coaches, but whatever is asked of me, I'm ready for it going forward, yeah.
Q: With regard to (Defensive Lineman) Leonard Williams who has been going through some physical stuff this year and stayed in the lineup. What has that shown you this year and what have you learned out of watching him operate and play through stuff?
A: I'm not too sure what he's been fighting through, I just know he's been banged up pretty bad. Seeing a guy compete at a high level every week, that's a lot of respect and it makes me kind of want to follow suit. You've got guys like that putting it all on the line every week. Even with the way this season's been going, he's still battling out there, not really tapping out. So, a lot of respect for him.
Q: As a small school guy, you talk about the mindset you have to bring in as an undrafted, small school guy. You're competing against guys from big schools, high draft picks and things. How do you think you did with that? Is it always kind of an uphill, underdog mentality?
A: No, not really. It's just believing in my own ability. I can't get too caught up on the narrative of like, it's being hard for small school guys to make it, or we can't compete with Power Five or anything like. I can't get too caught up in that. I just at the end of the day, just have got to believe in my own ability and that I belong here.
Q: Some of your teammates and coaches have said that you were pretty aggressive from the start which often does not happen with a small school cornerback. Is that just your mentality that if you're going to be here, you're going to go down or come up swinging sort of thing?
A: That's kind of how I was taught to play the game. My dad taught me to play that way, always aggressive. This is an opportunity for me, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, I just can't let it slip away, so I've got to do everything I can to stay.
Q: With regards to (Head Coach) Joe Judge, I'm curious how you've seen him handle these difficult times as you've been losing. I know you haven't been around here a long time, but how has he kept you guys motivated and how do you feel like you guys respond to him during these tough times with the losing games?
A: Everybody in the building has got a lot of pride. We're all pros in the sense to where we want to win. Nobody's throwing in the towel. Yeah, we might have been eliminated from the postseason, but nobody is throwing in the towel. We've still got two games left that we're trying to win – especially with this one coming up.
