University of Tennessee Athletics
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Vol Profile - Casey Clausen
September 13, 2001 | Football
Vol Profile: Casey Clausen
VOL PROFILE: Coming from California, what was your biggest shock coming to Tennessee?
Clausen: I think the biggest thing was the people. I think the people are a lot more laid back, a lot nicer then they are out in California. This whole type of environment, and the atmosphere in the South is cool and I like it a lot.
VOL PROFILE: What's your favorite thing about UT?
Clausen: I think the best thing is obviously the football, I think the atmosphere, the pride and joy the fans have for Tennessee football...it's crazy and that's why I came here.
VOL PROFILE: Do you have a hero or role model you try to mold yourself after?
Clausen: When I was little I looked up to David Robinson, who was a basketball player. I think my role models growing up were obviously my parents, my mom
and my dad. They raised me, and the reason I am where I am today is because of them...so I would have to say them.
VOL PROFILE: Your parents fly out to your games, does that give you any extra motivation knowing that they are in the stands?
Clausen: It always does, you appreciate your family a lot more when you are away from home, and anytime they get a chance to come out here I try to play
as hard as I can for them. So it's always a special privilege for them to come out and watch me play.
VOL PROFILE: What would you consider you favorite or most memorable moment on the field?
Clausen: I think my most memorable moment was my first start against Alabama, finally getting out there and being the quarterback for Tennessee, being the guy, it was a great moment. Hopefully, there are a lot greater moments that lay in the future.
VOL PROFILE: Your brother is starting at LSU this year, did you have any influence on that decision?
Clausen: He wanted to play football in the SEC, and he got it down the about 3 or 4 schools in the SEC and he felt really comfortable with the coaches there. I'm really happy for him that he picked LSU, and it's pretty cool that he is there, and hopefully he'll have a good college experience and career at LSU.
VOL PROFILE: Was Tennessee on of the final choices?
Clausen: He had interest, but at the same time he wanted to go to his own school and do his own thing. I'm happy for him where he is and I'm excited for him.
VOL PROFILE: Will you look at the LSU game any differently?
Clausen: No, I think it's going to be great. We've got a bunch of family coming in and we've grown a pretty good relationship with the people at LSU, the players and coaches, so I think it's going to be fun and exciting, and pretty neat to see my brother across the sidelines.
VOL PROFILE: You broke Peyton Manning's freshmen passing record last year, do you feel any extra pressure to continue at that pace?
Clausen: Not really, I think the biggest thing is to just go out and improve and get better every single day. I think one of the things we do here at the University of Tennessee is work hard and be the best that we can be, I think going out there and just trying to compete and do the best we can and hopefully everything else will take care of itself.
VOL PROFILE: What are your interests outside of football?
Clausen: I love to water ski. I love outdoor sports, snowboarding, playing baseball, and basketball. I love Sportscenter, I love watching sports. Pretty much anything else besides football I love doing.
VOL PROFILE: Do you believe the schedule will have any effect on the motivation this year?
Clausen: I think it's a challenge for us, I think if we take one game at a time we can beat anybody in the country. I think one thing we can't do is look ahead to anybody, because if we do we'll get beat. So I think the biggest thing for us is to take one game at a time, and go out and win every game.
VOL PROFILE: How do you plan to keep the motivation going this year?
Clausen: I think with the teams that we play. We have eleven chances this year to go out win every game, I think we have to take each one of those games and go out and put 110% into each game and win them all.
VOL PROFILE: Are there any pre-game rituals you do to prepare yourself for the game?
Clausen: I don't have any real weird ones, the biggest thing is to just listen to music and relax. I don't get all hyped up, cause I am a quarterback, I'd probably throw it 25 ft above the guy's head. I just listen to music and relax, just basically chill. When I go out there I focus and just try to have fun with it, I don't get all up tight about going out there and playing like some guys. To me it's always fun to go out there and compete and I enjoy every second I'm out there.
VOL PROFILE: Is there any significance behind your number?
Clausen: Well I was 14 in high school, and last year Cedric had 14, so if I couldn't be 14 I'd be 7. A lot of quarterbacks have been 7, my high school coach was number 7 in high school and college at UCLA. I like the number and 7 and 7 is 14, so it's cool.
VOL PROFILE: If you could tell people anything about you, what would you want them to know?
Clausen: Just that I'm a hard worker, I'm going to try to go out and compete and play as hard as I can. A lot of people think all we do is play football, but we also go to school and get an education. I just want to go out and work as hard as I can and do the best I can and just try to play hard and be a good person not only on the field, but also off the field.
