Calais Campbell – December 5, 2024
Download PDF version
Thursday, December 5, 2024
DT Calais Campbell
(How much do you think this rest is going to help you guys close moving forward to take on a team like the Jets?) – “Hopefully it helps a lot, we’ll see. At this point in time of the season, everybody’s beat up and bruised. It was just mental toughness; who’s the most resilient and who has the most fight inside of them. Even with the extra couple days, it’s still whatever week it is in the season. It’s all heart and ‘want to.’
(How happy are you guys just to be back home?) – “I’m very happy to be back home. Our fan base, they bring a lot of energy on game day and make it a lot more fun when you make plays. When you make a big play and the crowd goes crazy, that’s a special feeling. You never take that for granted, so being home, I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully we make a lot of plays and win this ball game.”
(What did you say to FB Alec Ingold when you found out he was going to be nominated for the second time for the Walter Payton Man of the Year?) – “I haven’t talked to him yet. I haven’t had the chance to talk to him but I’m going to definitely give him his congratulations. I mean he’s such a great guy; a force on the field, a force in the locker room as a leader and obviously he’s doing great stuff for the community and just a guy that I admire a lot.”
(He said he heard you speak when you won the Walter Payton Man of the Year, and he said you were a real inspiration in what he thought he could do as a player in the NFL.) – “Wow. That’s awesome. That’s what you do it for, right? When I won and had to get up there and give a speech, the main motivation was to inspire people to do more. And so to hear that, that’s pretty sweet. That’s what it’s all about.”
(He was a rookie, and he was there for something else, but he was probably obviously, maybe in awe of you or maybe he didn’t want to go up to you. So now that you know, how cool is that?) – “It’s very cool – the fact that he was a rookie is crazy. (laughter) It has been a while though. I’ll say that he’s just a guy that I admire. To have any kind of influence on the next generation of younger people to go out there and do great things in the community, that’s a great honor. Obviously, there’s a lot of people that are in need in this world and for us, we’re extremely fortunate and blessed to be able to play this game. Sometimes, especially when football isn’t going the way you want it to go sometimes, being in the community just puts things in perspective. We still have this incredible job; we still have the ability to impact people and affect lives, so it’s a great feeling and I’m happy for him. I think he’s very worthy of the nomination and I hope he wins it all.”
(Defensive Coordinator Anthony Weaver talked about the importance of a pass rush on getting home to QB Aaron Rodgers, I’m sure you’ve played against him before. Why is it so important for you guys to be kind of coming after him on Sunday?) – “I feel like every game is important for pass rush, but when you have a quarterback that can make every throw and has done it a thousand times before, you’ve got to try to make him uncomfortable. So you’ve got to get in his face, you’ve got to get him off the spot, you have to get him just kind in positions he doesn’t want to be in. Now he also makes plays in uncomfortable situations too, so he’s kind of a guy that you have to always worry about. But you give yourself the best chance to win by getting him off his spot, getting to him, get him down, hitting him – that’s always the formula in my mind. I like to have influence and know that we’re the reason why we’re winning ball games and so we have to get to him early and get to him often.”
(I’m curious if you have any thoughts on the College Football Playoff and the University of Miami getting slightly left behind.) – “Yeah, I’ve been having some disagreements with some of my friends that played for other teams, like Alabama. I feel a certain kind of way. I feel a certain kind of way. I think that Miami should be in the playoffs. I think that the team is capable of beating anybody, and we can put up points at the highest level. Obviously, the selection committee has a tough job on their hands because there’s so many teams that feel like they’re worthy, but I don’t see how you could watch Miami every game and think they’re not one of the best 12 teams and have a chance to compete for a national championship, I just don’t see it. It is what it is; you can’t cry over spilled milk. And we should have won those games, but you lose two games against teams that are pretty good teams on the road, last second, they’re close ball games. It’s not like we got dominated like some teams did, we just lost a tough ball game on the road which is turnovers and everything that played a role. Now, I guess people say that we don’t have any big wins, but you can only beat who’s on your schedule. You can’t go and schedule better competition so you can beat better people, you just go beat who’s in front of you. But I think that even the way – I wish Georgia Tech would have beat Georgia. They had it won and then Georgia kid made a heck of a play on that fourth-and-one forcing a fumble – because he got the first down, but he forced the fumble, gave his team a chance to win and found a way to win in eight overtimes and so you have to tip your hat to them. But I think if Georgia Tech wins that ball game, I think they can’t not put Miami in; but it’s just circumstantial football, that’s all it is.”
(What did DT Da’Shawn Hand say about it earlier?) – “I mean (Da’Shawn) Hand, I didn’t actually talk to him directly, but I talked to a lot of other guys that played for Alabama. I’ve been going back and forth – I’m sick. I’m sick to my stomach but it’s football. At the end of the day, control what you can control. If you win your ball games, you don’t got to worry about it. You make it hard on yourself when you lose, but I think that team right there is good enough to win a national championship this year. They’ve come a long way, because it didn’t used to feel that way. So it’s good to be back in that kind of mentality. Maybe they come to light one more week and they fix their mistake, but if not, it’s still cool to see that we have a shot.”
(Has the topic come up with QB Tua Tagovailoa and WR Jaylen Waddle, or only DT Da’Shawn Hand?) – “No, a bunch of guys. I’ve been talking to all the guys that I played with before that played for Alabama. I’ve been pretty much – anybody I know that played at Alabama, I’ve been picking a fight with because I feel like we should be in before them, but it is what it is.”
(What do you think about LB Chop Robinson in this matchup against T Olu Fashanu, his former college teammate?) – “I think that’s very beneficial for us, because he has familiarity with him and that’s one of the biggest things that rookies don’t really have. So it kind of allows him to be more of a vet for this week and hopefully it pays off. Obviously, it goes both ways, because he also is familiar with Chop (Robinson) too from all the time they practiced and stuff. We’ll see how it goes, but I like our chances because Chop is developing to be a pretty good player. He’s getting his confidence, you can see, he’s getting to where he wants to be, so I’m getting excited for him.”
(One last thing on the Miami thing, does three losses for Alabama compared to two for Miami – does wins and losses have to factor in more to this? I know they value the SEC and probably undervalue the ACC, but does just your record have to factor more into the decision?) – “I think so, and I also think the SEC this year is not the same as it’s been in years past. I don’t know if it’s because of the NIL, whatever it is, but the parity across the league, across all conferences has been way different. I’ve seen a lot of SEC teams lose early in the year when they played against teams outside the conference and then go into the conference and dominate. I don’t get it, but it is what it is. But I think the record should matter too. They got three losses and only one of them I think is a ‘good loss’ in theory, if there is a good loss. Once again though, if you win, you don’t have to worry about it, but I do think that they’re overvaluing the SEC this year. I guess when the playoffs come and we see what happens, we’ll see how it goes. I am an avid football fan; I love football, and I think the playoffs is a great addition, going to 12 teams instead of four. Just more football, more games that matter, it’s good for the sport. I’m just happy that we have these conversations, but I do wish Miami was there.”
(What sort of history might you have with QB Aaron Rodgers, good or bad? Any games stand out?) – “Quite a few, quite a few histories with Aaron Rodgers. We used to train together for a while, so I know him personally. He also went to junior college with my brother, so I remember when my brother was in college he was like, ‘Man, we got this guy. He’s an NFL player,’ and I’m like, ‘At Butte Junior College? Come on, man. What?’ Turned out to be Aaron Rodgers, so he probably could be a scout because he knew what he was looking at. (laughter) Then competing against him on the field, I’ve probably played against him, I don’t know how many times, it’s a big handful. I feel like it’s been kind of back and forth, of course, but there’s definitely a couple games that stand out. I did get to him three times one game, so that was kind of nice.”
(I was going to ask you if you sacked him.) – “Yeah, it would be nice to get to him three times again, I don’t know if that’s happening though. I don’t know if I get enough opportunities these days anymore. It would be nice to have an old vintage matchup with an old time great. One of the first old-timers still hanging around, it’s a little easier for a quarterback than it is for a d-lineman, but he is still impressive. He can still make every throw, he’s scrambling around back there, making guys miss, throwing the ball down the field. At moments you see brilliance like it’s still the same guy that it was 10 years ago when we were competing.”
