Q. What's your excitement level to test yourself?
LEONARD MOORE: Definitely excited. I am not going to say motivated by who we're going against, but being excited to get after it.
Q. When you look at the wide receiver room of Ohio State, two really good guys. How big of a challenge is this for you and how really excited are you to kind of step up and play two guys like that?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, it's definitely a huge game. Obviously this is what you expect it, to be a challenge being the National Championship game. It's definitely going to be about trusting my technique and trusting what we've been doing all year.
Q. How much has all these games you've had the opportunity to play in gotten you ready as a freshman for this moment and this challenge?
LEONARD MOORE: It's definitely helped. Obviously you've got to be mature, you've got to be poised to be out there at cornerback most definitely. But it's definitely helped me being in big moments, being in moments where the season is on the line, if you don't make a stop, stuff like that.
Q. Being named the freshman All-American Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman, what does that honor mean to you and is it something you could have envisioned two or three games into the season considering you obviously didn't have that opportunity to be on the field as much early on?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, it's definitely a blessing. I thank God. It's an honor especially. It's a testament to my teammates and coaches and stuff putting me in position, helping me, stuff like that each week. Right now I'm not worried about that. I'm trying to get a win.
Q. Not to take anything away from you and what you're capable of, but how much has B-Mo been instrumental in -- if you rated his skill 1-10, his help towards you off the field?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, he's huge. Can't give him nothing less than a 10 of course. He's just been a huge role model, and it's worked for me for every week of the season and helped me know that no moment is too big. I'm obviously a freshman but never to give myself an excuse. I'm out there being a football player.
Q. What's it like watching Christian make the types of plays he does?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, it's definitely huge. I'm proud of him. Everybody is proud of him. It's exciting to see, and we know what Christian is built of. We know what he's made of. When he can go out there and make big plays in big moments, it shows how clutch he is and it shows that he'll always rise to the occasion.
Q. What about the defense as a whole in terms of the turnovers? How critical has that been to the success of this defense, that you guys have figured out ways to get these turnovers?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, I think that obviously as a defense you're not going to be perfect, but you're going out there to obviously stop them as many times as you can, and sometimes you are going to let up a touchdown. But obviously as a defense, this just shows what we're made of as a defense and our leaders, it's a testament to them, but obviously being able to rise to the occasion in big moments and make stops when you need to.
Q. What makes Coach Golden such a good defensive coordinator?
LEONARD MOORE: I think his aggressiveness and he's not playing not to lose. He's playing to win the game. He's playing to force turnovers. Obviously he's playing a lot of man coverage, which that helps us out.
Q. Has Ohio State seen as much man coverage in the tapes that you've watched as much as y'all play?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, I think definitely a lot of teams have went to the zone mindset when playing them. I think Kent State played a decent amount of man. That's their identity.
But I think that going into this game we're not going to change who we are. We're going to play man coverage like we do every week. We're going to go out there and challenge their receivers.
Q. Real quickly, the play Jaden Greathouse made against Penn State, has he ever juked you or any of your teammates like that in scrimmages?
LEONARD MOORE: I can't recall that. I'm not going to lie, I don't think he's ever juked me like that. But that was definitely a crazy play. That was a huge play, and that just shows how good of a player he is.
Q. Going back to that same building where you made your first start, what's it going to be like to go back in there for the championship, and when you left, were you aware the championship eventually would be back there?
LEONARD MOORE: Yeah, that's a great stadium to play in. Turf feels good. It's definitely going to feel weird walking back into that same stadium playing a different team this time. But it's going to be cool especially.
Obviously that's where it started for me, and that's where it's going to end hopefully with us hoisting a trophy.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports