SAN ANTONIO, Texas — After practice at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio Saturday, offensive lineman Tyler Johnstone talked about what he needs to do when facing All-American and Hendricks award winner Jackson Jeffcoat in the Alamo Bowl. He also discussed adjusting to practicing away from the Hatfield-Dowlin complex, the team’s activities in San Antonio and a possible future in front of the camera one day.
How has adjusting to Texas been, especially with weather similar to Oregon these past few days?
“Yeah, it’s been cloudy and a little dreary. It makes me miss Arizona. My short stay there was nice in the sun.”
With the facilities being so nice at Oregon, would you say practicing at a high school before the bowl game has been an adjustment?
“It’s a little bit different. The turf is a little older. It’s a lot more compact in that locker room, that is for sure. I think that is just it, getting yourself organized in the locker room, getting ready for practice, putting all your stuff away in the bag everyday. The facilities are nice, the weight room is really nice here. It’s different but I think we are adjusting pretty well.”
You have been in the spotlight a lot for this game because of the talent of Jackson Jeffcoat, so mentally where are you now with the game now two days away?
“I’m ready,” Johnstone said. “Going into games like UCLA and Stanford when I was going against guys like Trent Murphy and Anthony Barr, those are guys of really high caliber, first round guys after this year and I think they have prepared me for this game. I am just really excited for the competition.”
What do you think is Jeffcoat’s biggest strength?
“He is just really good at keeping your hands off of him. You extend your arms out to get him and he is really good at timing and he will get his hands off you and slap them away really quick. It’s hard to stay latched on a guy like Jeffcoat.”
What have you been doing in your off-time in San Antonio?
“We have been pretty busy. We went to SeaWorld, which is cool but we have all seen Blackfish, so we were a little skeptical about that. We enjoyed the rollarcoasters. We had a good time after that. When we are at the hotel we are just relaxing and watching movies…We take a lot of naps and just relax.”
With coach Aliotti announcing his retirement yesterday, what was the impact it had on you and the team?
“Coach Aliotti has always been a constant variable, he has always been here. His heart lives with the Ducks,” Johnstone said. “He’s going on his terms, he is not getting forced out. He is going to finish his career where he wanted to finish his career and I think that is what we all hoped for so I am really happy for the guy.”
Do you see the announcement being a distraction for the team with the bowl game coming up?
“I don’t think so,” Johnstone said. “I don’t think coach Aliotti necessarily wanted to announce it beforehand anyway, but he figured this would be the time to do it and coach Helfrich figured this was the time to do it. Coach Al has made sure it is not about him. The first thing he said was ‘You guys I want you to know this isn’t to ‘win one for The Gipper’. This is about us, this is about you guys, and we’ll figure it out once the season is over.’”
Do you see his departure being a hard adjustment for the team?
“This team is really good at dealing with changes and circumstances. We have been used to it throughout the season or the past seasons. We accept change and we move on.”
So you have a little gig with Moose Time and yesterday you tested people on Oregon trivia outside of the Alamo, so do you see a career in television for the future?
“Yeah, I think it would be a lot of fun,” said Johnstone. “I think I would be good at being some kind of show host. It is easy for me to improvise and just talk to people and that is my strongest point. I would never want a job just sitting behind a desk or indoors all day, so I would like something fun like that, not necessarily journalism but just something on television.”
Follow Beth Maiman on Twitter @bethamaiman