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In His Words: OJ Swift
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The Tribune handed the mike to O.J. Swift and here's what he had to say:
I feel like I've been having a pretty good year, but I'm trying to get better every practice. I'm trying to focus and lead by doing, not so much by talking.
I got a lot of junk during the Arizona game from the players about my feet. I'm going to end up getting a touchdown at some point.
I was super hot when I ended up with the ball twice against Arizona and couldn't do anything with it. I was open on both of them, but one of them was really my fault. I tripped, and I was kind of disappointed in myself.
I put those shoes up because they gave me some bad luck. They're finished. I have them hanging in the locker room. That was my first time wearing those shoes. They were Nike Air Zooms that are mids and they did not work out. Now I went back to some Nike low tops and those are much better. I'm glad I changed shoes, but I can't really blame them. It's my fault I didn't stay on my feet.
I had another chance (to score on an interception) against Sacramento State. I saw the ball, and I guess the dude who was trying to catch the ball grabbed my feet. I couldn't shake him. That was another opportunity that I let get away.
It does feel good to get the turnovers cause that's all coach (Rocky Long) talks about is getting turnovers and giving our offense a chance to score. We're always trying to put them in a better position.
To have good coverage, you have to make sure you concentrate on your man and use your help. When you know where your help is at, you know where to steer a guy. When you're man-on-man out there on an island, you just have to concentrate.
I don't do any talking on the field. I just try to play on. If you're talking about it, you're not thinking about your own game and you start trying to fight instead of doing your job. I just like to concentrate and be quiet. No one really says much to me either, except when my teammates say good job or give me a hard time. I haven't had the other team talk any junk to me. It might come, but it hasn't happened yet.
I've gotten used to being pretty far away from home. New Mexico is a lot different from Florida, but I don't get homesick anymore. My family got to come out here last week, so that was nice. I'm not homesick anymore.
I don't have a lot of time off, but I like to watch a lot of football when we're not playing or practicing. I don't do too much. I sit around the house and watch games.
The best football game I've seen was probably the Monday Night Football game (between Tennessee and New Orleans). I really like Monday Night Football, but I also like watching a lot of college football, too.
My favorite team to watch is the LSU defense. They fly around and really get to the ball. I like watching the defense. We like to do what they do. We like to force turnovers. They have teams scared to come across the middle. And by the fourth quarter, they've hit other teams so much they're dropping the ball.
I think I've improved on my coverage since last year. I've tried to get better and use the right technique all the time.
I don't go through any pregame routine. I'm not a hyper guy, so I don't have to do anything special to get ready to play. I just go out and play. I do put my headset on before the game and listen to a little rap and hip-hop. I probably listen to Pastor Troy the most before a game.
After a home game, I just like to go get something to eat and hang out with my teammates.
If I wasn't playing football, I would like to play basketball. I play a little basketball in the offseason, but I'm short. I think it worked out the best that I just stick with football.
My goal for the rest of the season is to win the last eight games so we can win the conference championship and the seniors can go out on a good note.
We know to beat BYU, we have to be real good in coverage and be real good with our eyes. We have to attack the ball.

