Florida 22, Charlotte 7
Q. This defensive performance to start the season, what do you think has gone into this, and what has allowed you guys to be so successful so far?
SHEMAR JAMES: I'll say effort and just teamwork, and I'll say just the physicality up front and in our back seven.
Q. You and Scooby were performing a pretty good little tandem. How is that going?
SHEMAR JAMES: It's going amazing. We're always on the same page. He always knows what I'm doing, he always know what he's doing, so that allows us to play fast.
Q. How has he evolved as a linebacker? What have you noticed in his evolution?
SHEMAR JAMES: I would say him just being more comfortable in the defense. When you know it, you play faster. So I would say him not second-guessing himself, sort of like what he did last year.
Q. Talk about your defense every ballgame keeping people out of the end zone, making big plays on 3rd down, et cetera. Talk about the mentality that goes into when the other team gets 3rd down on you?
SHEMAR JAMES: Yes, sir, like Coach Armstrong said, it's a privilege to play on 3rd down. When we come with our 3rd down package, guys want to get the quarterback and get the stop on 3rd down.
Q. That's kind of an improvement over last year, isn't it?
SHEMAR JAMES: Yes, sir, most definitely.
Q. You guys had to come in preparing for two quarterbacks and they kind of rode with Jalon Jones. The adjustment for that, he did scramble a little bit, but you guys managed to corral and contain him and keep him from being a major factor in the game.
SHEMAR JAMES: Because he likes to use his legs a lot, so kind of just limiting him to do that, make him throw in the pocket, and we kind of came out successful while doing that.
Q. Three sacks, too; what was the pressure like tonight? You had one of them.
SHEMAR JAMES: Yes, sir. You know Coach Armstrong, he's a big pressure guy. He wants to get to the quarterback and hit him, so that's what we did tonight.
Q. That forced fumble that Scooby had on the first drive of the game, obviously Charlotte recovered, but how do you think that sort of set the tempo defense, making a play like that the first drive of the game?
SHEMAR JAMES: Most definitely. It gave us that spark to start the game, and we kind of rode with that throughout the whole entire game.
Q. You guys were favored by four touchdowns, and it was a closer game than some might have expected. How do you build off of this because now you go into pure SEC play for two months here?
SHEMAR JAMES: Yes, sir. Like you said, just building off of it, getting back to the film room tomorrow, correcting our mistakes and just getting better for Kentucky next week.
Q. In terms of momentum, do you feel after such an emotional win last week, do you feel like this was kind of to be expected a little bit?
SHEMAR JAMES: Not at all. You know Coach Armstrong and Coach Napier always say don't play down to the competition; raise the standard; set the Gator standard. For any game, we play a faceless opponent, so that's what we tried to do tonight, but unfortunately we came out with the W, but it was kind of a little bit sloppy.
Q. Just talk about those guys in front of you on the defensive line, how easier they make your job?
SHEMAR JAMES: Oh, so easy. Cam Jackson, Caleb Banks, Chris McClellan, like some big guys you don't see every day walking around. They made me and Scooby's jobs a lot easier, playing behind them and allowing us to run free to the ball.
Q. What did you think of Ricky's catch? Were you able to see it?
SHEMAR JAMES: I did. It was amazing. He does that almost like every day, so I was kind of used to it, like Ricky did it.
Q. What's his impact on this team from a leadership standpoint and also what he brings on the field?
SHEMAR JAMES: Like you said, a great leader on and off the field. It's always amazing to get a leader that can also play good ball.
Q. He does that every day, that catch, something along those lines?
SHEMAR JAMES: Yes, sir.
Q. When you see Coach Armstrong on the sideline and his personality, is it kind of bleeding over to you guys?
SHEMAR JAMES: Most definitely. He says smile, like just smile sometimes. We're playing in the Swamp. It's a blessing to play in the Swamp. He kind of told us, we always had our game face on; he was like, smile. He hit me, why you not smiling. That kind of cracked me up.
Q. (No microphone.)
SHEMAR JAMES: Wingo is a great player, a great teammate, a great linebacker to play next to, and that's just Wingo being Wingo.
Q. Any thoughts on Kentucky, what you guys are going to bring? It's the first SEC road game.
SHEMAR JAMES: It's an SEC game. We've got to bring it 110 percent every single game, especially an SEC game. But we'll look at Kentucky tomorrow and Monday, but right now we're just kind of celebrating our win against Charlotte.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports