Malik Nabers, Jarrick Bernard-Converse talk LSU's Citrus Bowl win

LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers, the MVP of the Citrus Bowl, and cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse both met with the media after the Tigers beat Purdue. Here’s everything the pair said after the Tigers capped a 10-win season.

Q. Congratulations on getting the Player of the Game award, 163 with nine catches and getting to throw one. What does it feel like to deliver on a stage like that?

MALIK NABERS: It is a big stage to come out in Orlando in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and come out at a high level and win the MVP award. Three drops that I could have easily caught could have changed that. I am very happy with the outcome of this game and hoping to carry on into next year.

Q. Jarrick, a lot has been made about what Purdue is missing, but those of us that cover you know what you’re missing as well. Can you talk about the job the secondary did and the defensive front to fill in those holes, whether it’s Mekhi, Jacobian, whomever, Jay stepping up big again.

JARRICK BERNARD-CONVERSE: We wanted to go out there and attack the game plan and execute on every phase, starting with the front or all the way to the back end, we wanted to go out there and just do our job and get this tenth win.

Q. Malik, for you, what does a performance like this allow you to be able to do in taking this type of momentum into your junior season?

MALIK NABERS: This performance, it shows that I am able to come out here and perform at a high level with anybody in any conference. It us something that I can build on to next year, keep my confidence up.

Q. So 63 points in this Bowl game is a record. What can you say about contributing to that record?

MALIK NABERS: It is a team effort. We were gritty. We came out a week early. We could have had any reason to not come out here and play fast. We had some time off, had some fun, but we were locked into understanding what our main goal was, to come out here and win and get our tenth win.

We had fun, but when it was practice time, we practiced executing. When it was game time, we came out, as you can see, and executed at a high level, so that was key.

Q. Also for Malik, obviously you’ve had some disappointment this season, but to look at the whole season from start to finish and to finish with this MVP trophy, how do you look back on the entire season that you’ve had?

MALIK NABERS: I think it made who I wanted to become. At the beginning of the season wasn’t how I wanted to come out in my sophomore season. We all don’t wish to come out and be emotional like I was.

To come back and see all my teammates lifting me up through week-after-week, it made me strong and it made me want to perform at a high level with them. So this is like my — I believe my second MVP of my whole, you know, life, and I am really going to be appreciative of this one.

Q. Coach talked about it but the play calls they called today, rotating the quarterbacks, having fun is what it looked like you guys were doing. How important was it to go out there and have fun as this team one last time before you push on this next year?

MALIK NABERS: My coaches, you know, Coach Kelly, Coach Hankton, they always talk about having fun, don’t be so stuck up and to try to get all the highlights. If it is destined for you, it is going to come. Today was destined for me to have this amazing game. My coaches put me in different positions. I switched from Z to W in the Auburn week and switched back to Z this week and didn’t have a lot of time to know all the new plays. I digged and I focused on what I had to do for the team and I came out very successful, and I appreciate my coaches.

Q. Jarrick, the final moment of the season is Quad Wilson, a walk-on, returning a Pick-6 for a touchdown and the entire, pretty much, team rushing the field. What was it about him doing that in that moment that was maybe so exciting for y’all?

JARRICK BERNARD-CONVERSE: That is what you look for, guys like getting into the game, guys that don’t usually see the field, younger guys making plays. To see a play like that, it is unreal. We just had to have fun, and we just really enjoyed that moment and to see him go out there and make a play like that.

MALIK NABERS: I want to answer this, too.

To see Quad, Quad is on scout team every week, pushing us to go harder, running fast around, keeping everybody up. To see him come in this game, probably not thinking that he was going to play in this game and make an impact on this game, I am very proud of how he handled it. That is why we were so proud of him doing that, because we understand what he came in here and did for the scout team, for the offense, and very proud of him.

BRIAN KELLY: For the record, Frank Wilson got the penalty for that one, because he ran onto the field as well, so that’s not on me. That’s on Coach Wilson, and he’s happy to take that 15-yard penalty by the way. I said, ‘You are good with me.’