Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Lemonier drops four-letter word on Alabama

AUBURN - Auburn sophomore defensive end Corey Lemonier may be from Hialeah, Fla., but he got a quick introduction into the Alabama-Auburn series last year.
Lemonier, who met with the media Tuesday, discussed the difficulty in stopping Alabama's running game as well as his hatred (his words) of the Crimson Tide.
Here's what he had to say.


What do you think the key will be to have success defensively on Saturday?

“Just everybody playing their responsibility and gang tackling. You have to do that to win this game.”

Is that something you guys did against South Carolina?

“I felt like we did that. Containing Marcus Lattimore, who was like their biggest strength. Against Alabama, Trent Richardson's their biggest strength. We need to take him out of the game.”

Physically, what goes into stopping the running game?

“Just mentally preparing in practice. You might not get the look you want but you've got to be mentally prepared, just going into the film room and studying your guy.”
Nobody gives you much of a chance to win this game. Does that bother you?
“It doesn't. That's how it goes. You've just got to play and just prove everybody wrong.

Do you talk about that at all, nobody gives you a chance?

“They’re going to talk about it. They haven’t talked about it recently. I heard that we’re like a 21-point underdog. So it’s good to be an underdog.”

What did you guys learn as a defensive line from facing Georgia?

“Just everybody rushing the passer, playing their gaps, being fundamentally sound. Just do your job, basically.”

Anything you can do defensively to catch them off guard?

“We’ve been watching film and the guys we’re going to go against and they give off keys, so we’re just going to play off that, try to seize the opportunity.”

What have you seen from their quarterback?

“I don't think they put the pressure on him too much. They just run the ball; they're great at that. And he just makes plays when he has to. We've just got to eliminate the run game.”

What’s the key to beating their offensive line?

“They’re good. They're big and physical. We've just got to be physical right back. Just get after them.”

What does (defensive line coach) Mike Pelton tell you about this game? Obviously, this is one he played in and he’s been around it for a long time.

“He just says that he hates Alabama and he's like, 'You should hate them, too.' And we do hate them. Everybody in our d-line room hates them. I'm not from Alabama, but being here for one year, I just hate Alabama.”

When was the last time the defensive line played at a high level?

“We had some plays here and there every game, just not frequently. I think we had a pretty good game the Ole Miss game. We got after them.”

What do you hate most about Alabama?

“Watching that 30-30 (ESPN Special “Roll Tide, War Eagle) really makes me hate them even more.”

What sticks out to you about last year's game:

“Just perseverance to fight back, basically. Just fighting back and never quitting.”

Did you learn more about this rivalry from playing in it or what happened in the aftermath?

“I really didn't like Alabama even during recruiting. During the season, playing against them, hearing all the trash talk, that made me hate them even more.”

Was there a lot trash talk in last year's game?

“Just coming back big deficit, that's all I remember. We won, so...”

Did you gain extra confidence from that game? Coming back?

“Oh, definitely. The guys that played from last year know how to win and knows how to beat them are back. We're just going to try to do it again.”
Knowing they’re going to line up and try to run the ball at you, what does that do for you as a defensive line?

“It just keeps you on your toes, because they'll run, run, run and then throw it over your head. Basically you've just got to stop the run and make them one dimensional. That's what we're trying to do, make them one-dimensional.”

Does it fire you up at all that there’s a guy who is trying to win the Heisman (Richarsdson) against you?

“Definitely. Two years ago, they stopped (Mark)Ingram. Who says we can't do it again?”

Do you see more attention since you had that mid-season sack run?

“I don't really care about that. I'm just trying to help my team out as much as possible.”

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