Q&A: ALABAMA’S QUINNEN WILLIAMS
Q: What's the biggest challenge in defending Kyler Murray?
Williams: “The biggest challenge I feel like is he can do both, he can run the ball and he can pass the ball. Any time you have a dual-threat quarterback, they can do both efficient like he does it, it's always a great challenge.”
You talked about Kyler Murray, but you mentioned the run game, too. Talk about how Oklahoma can run the football.
“They can run it real well. They can run it through the gap. They can run it outside, so making them onedimensional will be a big thing, making them want to throw the ball more, we want to put the game in Kyler Murray's hands, making them onedimensional.”
How about the OU offensive line’s role?
“They're very good. They really feed off each other. You can say they've got great chemistry. They cover for each other very well. Those guys are going to be a really big part of this game.”
You guys have played so many games, kind of blowouts this year. Do you feel a little bit more battle tested after playing Georgia so close?
“I feel like playing everybody we've been battle tested the whole season. We've been battle tested, and we've stayed undefeated. This whole year has been a battle, not just the SEC Championship game.”
How much of your conditioning is tested in a game like this with Oklahoma and how quick they play?
“Oh, it gets tested tremendously. You've got a quarterback who can scramble, you've got a quarterback who can run. Conditioning is not really a problem for us, not really a thing, because we've worked for the whole season to play four quarters, 60 minutes, and even more than 60 minutes if we have to. We really don't feel like conditioning will play a big part in this game.”
Certainly after the Heisman announcement (Murray beat out Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa) it seemed like it almost provided motivation for the defense. Was that the case?
“For me personally it wasn't. I can't speak for everybody, the whole defense in general, but we never brought it up. We never talked about it. If he won the Heisman or if he didn't win the Heisman, we were still going to try to get after him, discourage him and just affect him, Heisman or no Heisman, we were just going to come into the game and play like we were going to play. For me, I'm going to do my job regardless. I don't care if you're a Heisman or not a Heisman. The Heisman is a trophy, just an accolade to me.”