Big 12 Conference Football
Championship Game:
Arizona State vs. Iowa
State
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Arlington, Texas, USA
AT&T Stadium
Arizona State Sun Devils
Xavier Guillory
Xavion Alford
Cam Skattebo
Sam Leavitt
Postgame Press Conference
Arizona State 45, Iowa State 19
THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions for the
players.
Q. Xavier, this had to be like a whole redemption tour
for you after being denied by the NCAA eligibility last
year. Talk about what are your feelings right now. You
definitely put in the work and the sacrifices to be
where you're at right now.
XAVIER GUILLORY: It's surreal. I can't put words on it.
I'm blessed to be in this room next to these three guys,
being on this team.
When I made the switch, I want to credit Coach Dillingham
and the staff and the university. They took a chance on me
off the portal knowing I could be ineligible. When the news
came back, the only thing that changed was I couldn't play.
These guys stuck by me the whole year, motivated me,
kept me going. Each and every day, I showed up in the
building even though I knew I couldn't play. It's a blessing
because we all talked about winning the championship,
and we knew we could do it. We put the belief in each
other.
So whenever I was granted eligibility and the next year
came, it was a clean slate. I could sit and pout about it, or I
could be ready for this moment.
It's just a blessing to be here. I just can't put any words on
it, really. Can't put any words on it.
Q. Xavion, you've played state championships in this
stadium. To do it in front of your friends and family,
doing it at the collegiate level, what does it meant to
you, being a kid from Texas?
XAVION ALFORD: It means a lot. You see this game a
lot growing up and dream of playing in it. You see this
stadium a lot and dream of playing in it. I got to play here
before now at the high school level. I got to do it again.
Third time.
The last time I was in here, confetti was raining. I took it as
a sign this time the same thing would happen. Especially
with these guys and the belief we had in the team.
Coming into the game, the whole week, we knew we could
win this game, and I told them that. Everything we've been
doing the whole year, our culture has been a championship
culture. Even though we don't say that. Even though we
don't say, oh, championship culture, we've been building a
championship team the whole year.
To come out and finish it off like that, to continue pressing
and twisting, not be done, it shows we're here to work, and
we'll be here regardless of who believes in us, each and
every week, each and every day. We love being the
underdog. We love when we see that on the media. We
feel like we're in our place. Coming in here, it's a blessing
to be on this team with these guys.
Q. Sam, I'm curious, can you tell me a little bit about
how Cam is on the sidelines, especially when you guys
aren't in the game? What's he kind of like?
SAM LEAVITT: He's a little bit of a spaz, you know, but
he's just talking over scheme and telling me what he sees
on the field and exactly what he's thinking. Talk about a
super cerebral player. He's one of the best that I've played
with, if not the best.
I think back to his little run around and throw. Shouldn't
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have done that, probably, but he knew where I was at so it
wasn't going to be intentional grounding so it was a super
smart play. Yeah, the kid's just unreal.
Q. Cam, you were having a lot of your teammates sign
your belt after you got that. Why did you want to do
that?
CAM SKATTEBO: My O-line because we wouldn't be in
this position if we didn't have them. Me and this guy
scoring touchdowns, those guys have put in the effort to
get better every day. You see week in and week out, they
get better and better and better.
I don't know how many yards I have this season, but
they're the reason for it. Even being in the Heisman talk is
awesome, and those are the reason -- that's the reason.
Those guys up front. And I just want to keep spreading
love to those guys because they deserve it.
Q. Cam, playing at a non-Power 4 conference or a
smaller school, something like that, what did that do
for you to make that transition to a Power 4 conference
and become a better player?
CAM SKATTEBO: I had coaches at that level who were
better than that level and developed me to become to the
level I'm playing at now. Coming to ASU and having
Coach Aguano and Coach Dillingham pushing me and
making me better because they know what it takes to be
successful at this level, I've been set up for success
because of the level of coaches I've had and the
teammates I have that trust and believe in me. The reason
I'm here is because of them.
Q. Sam and Xavion, obviously, you know, DB,
quarterback. When that targeting play kind of
happened, what were both your initial reactions, and
what was your reaction as to the explanation of why it
was targeting and why you got ejected?
XAVION ALFORD: Honestly, with the different types of
targeting, I thought it was a clean hit. His head was up.
It's football, you know. It happens. Obviously, you know,
we can't really -- we don't really have the outcome on that,
can't control it.
Obviously, in good spirits and next man up. Keep the next
man up mentality throughout the team. Even offensively,
everybody talked about we had JT go down, but the
offense was the offense. We believe they do what they do.
They score points. Skat, Sam, X, all the receivers,
everybody stepped up. We're one team, and that's the
thing about this team. We're just together. Until that 60
minutes is erased off the clock, we'll play our hardest, play
as hard as we can and compete. That's all.
Q. Sam, on the fourth and 1 in the first half, you were
deep in your own territory, what did you see in the
buildup of the play that led you to gamble out there?
That's a tough decision to make. What was the
discussion? Ultimately the play turned into a big gain.
What was the reaction?
SAM LEAVITT: We know on fourth and one they were
going to play cover one or cover zero, essentially, whether
it was all out or zero route. So we knew we would have a
stutter and go. If we gave big action, we've got Number 4
in the backfield. Everybody has to account for him.
So I just gave good action, pulled the safety down, and
then Melquan was able to give a bluff and go and just take
off down the field. Great call by Arroyo. I was pretty
shocked that he called it that early in the game. We
practiced all week, were successful 100 percent throughout
the week. Big-time players make big-time plays in those
kind of moments. Essentially, I'd call Arroyo a player for
that.
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