Samuel named top Aggie
Utah Statesman: How satisfying was it for you to have a break-out game against a defense like Troy State’s?
James Samuel: It was satisfying. I didn’t really look at it as how good the defense was going to be, I just went in there and tried to do what I could do.
US: Have you ever been part of a team that has played in as many nail biters, and how nerve- wracking has it been?
JS: It’s nerve-wracking because you don’t know what the outcome is going to be. It’s a weird feeling, because with me, all the games we’ve had tight games and it came down to like the last field goal I just turn around and close my eyes … If I hear the crowd go wild, then I know if we’ve won or not. I never really look at the last play.
US: How much has the team improved in the clutch from the beginning of the season?
JS: Earlier in the season we weren’t clutch (laughing). It wasn’t close. The last game as a team we came through, [but] there were two games we should have pulled through. I think the coaches would give up two of the games if we would have pulled out the BYU game. That’s the one I wish we would have pulled out, and Louisiana Monroe we should have pulled out. It would be a totally different season if we would have pulled those two out.
US: What are some of the things you like to do on road trips to pass the time?
JS: PlayStation. If there’s a computer at the hotel, I’m like the Internet pimp (laughing).
US: Which teams that you’ve played talk the most trash, and what are some of the most creative things that you’ve heard?
JS: When I’m one the field, I’m in a zone. Honestly, I don’t pay attention. I don’t talk trash; I don’t say nothing. I don’t waste any energy. I can’t tell you, because, honestly, I don’t pay attention.
US: Being that you’ve have two concussions this season, what are some of the precautions you’ve had to take, and how serious were the concussions?
JS: Just rest. They [the coaches and trainers] don’t tell me [how serious]. I mean, I know how serious they are more than they do, because it’s on me. They’re [the concussions] more at the time of the situation, they hurt right then and there. But then after that, it’s like ‘hey I can go back in,’ but they wouldn’t let me.
US: How did the USU bench react when you saw the Troy State wide receiver covered with mud following the one end zone play?
JS: I don’t know, [but] it was funny. I didn’t see the play well, but I seen him running off the field, and heard everybody laughing and clapping and stuff. Somebody was like, ‘you look like the Heisman Trophy or something,’ because you know it looked like he was dipped in bronze.
US: What has been the hardest adjustment moving from California to Logan, Utah?
JS: Woo hoo, where do you want me to start? Weather [and] lifestyle, like how it is so fast in California. It’s more social out there than out here. Out here it’s just a quiet town. The atmosphere [as in] the breathing. Just some of the cars that’s driven around here; there’s some more old cars driven around here. I’m not saying it’s bad, it’s just different.
US: What do you think is the valley’s worst radio station?
JS: I don’t know. I never listen to the radio, because I don’t have a radio in my car. I hardly ever listen to the radio.
-jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu