Everything Arkansas defensive tackle Cam Ball said at SEC Media Days

Arkansas had its turn in the spotlight of SEC Media Days on Thursday, including defensive tackle Cam Ball. Ball met with media members and talked about wide range of topics.

Here's everything Ball said:

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CAM BALL: I'm blessed. First, I want to give all the glory to God. And rest in peace to my father, the one and only Iceman. He passed away about a month ago. He told me how he doesn't care how he gets here, whether he be pushed in a wheelchair or drug here, he just wants to be here.

I know God called him home. He's not here in the flesh anymore, but I have him right here on my chest, so whenever anybody talks to me, they'll see him.

CAM BALL: Just him being my coach in general. All the life lessons he taught me. My father was more so like my best friend. I didn't really look at it like a father/son relationship.

Just out in the backyard, barbecues, shooting basketball, playing horse with him, pick-up games and all the life lessons. I was blessed to have 22 years of a great father figure in my life.

CAM BALL: Coach Pittman, he's a great guy. Before coach -- I've known Coach Pittman since eighth grade. He was recruiting me at Georgia, and when he got to Arkansas, I said, Coach, I can see myself playing there because I didn't want to stay here. I wanted to go out experience life on my own.

Coach Pittman, he blessed me with the opportunity to be a Razorback. I'm forever grateful for him. He's a hard-nosed coach. He's going to love on you the same amount he gets on you. He's a great guy.

 Q. Going into your fourth season at Arkansas, how do you prepare for games in the tunnel before you take the field?

CAM BALL: My main thing is, first of all, give all the glory and honor to Jesus Christ, make sure I talk to him, pray. Just remember my notes, my plays and just take it one play at a time, one game at a time. I just prepare for every single game as if it was the game for last week. It really doesn't matter who the opponent is or anything, just take it one play at a time.

CAM BALL: Taylen, he's just a great God-fearing man, even better person rather than player. We follow Taylen however he wants to lead. We believe whatever Taylen says. He's more of a doer than a talker.

Taylen has become more vocal than he was last year. His play just really talks for itself. I'm excited to see what he can do year two under Bobby Petrino.

CAM BALL: Last season, I mainly did all that with a bum little arm, had an arm injury. I'm coming off surgery. I'm healthy and cleared. I'm ready, eager, hungry to go. Really, I'm just preparing as if I did last year. I know this is my last year. I've got to give it my all. And it's a little more motivation now with my father. There's really not much to be said other than I'm doing this for him. I'm excited. I'm ready. Getting goosebumps talking to you about it now.

CAM BALL: Taylen is an outgoing guy. Taylen, he has his spurts of where he can get on guys and get on his offensive line and get on players. But more so, Taylen be chillin' to be honest. He stays to himself and he's just a cool, calm, collected guy.

If you get on his bad side that's one thing else now, but Taylen is a great player, great person.

CAM BALL: This is my fifth year. I can't say throughout all my time with being at Arkansas we had to be top five of having the toughest schedules.

To be honest, it's a little motivation, too, at the same time, but we just practiced and practiced and practiced. We try to make our practices hard so the game can be easy. And we just take every game at a time, whether we're playing the number one team or a non-ranked team, it doesn't matter. We're just going to take it and use it how we do.

CAM BALL: I'm excited about our defensive line room this year. We lost key guys last year. Landon Jackson off to do big things, Eric Gregory, Keivie Rose, Anton Juncaj -- but we got a lot of guys out of the portal I'm really pumped about, whether it be Justus Boone, David Oke, Ken Talley, Phillip Lee.

And we also have a bunch of hungry guys that's ready waited their turn. I'm excited.

We have a great coach, Coach Deke Adams. He's very good at developing guys, and he developed me. And we also have a great addition now of Coach Wilson. And also have Coach Hop as well.

It's going to be a great year, man. I know we have a lot of naysayers and haters and stuff of that nature, but we're just going to take one practice at a time, one play at a time.

CAM BALL: I treat every game like it's the same. I don't really have a personal vendetta with anybody. I'm just excited to just lace my cleats up every week for 12 weeks straight and play in front of whoever steps in front of us.

CAM BALL: Whenever we do play Auburn -- this is Coach's third year -- he's telling it to us: Y'all don't take any different approach than what we do for the last week's game. This is just another game as well. We don't more so look at it as -- of course us as players, being it's Travis Williams' home team, we want to have a little more edge to it.

But he tells us constantly, this is just another game we're going to prepare for like any other person. Playing behind Coach Travis Williams, I love it, man, it's amazing. He's a family man.

Our whole defensive staff are just family guys. The way we approach every game just behind Coach Travis Williams, it's just with passion.

With him, his pregame speeches, they have you ready to run through a brick wall. And at the same time he can be serious and come back with a nice cool little rap. Travis Williams, he's one-of-a-kind guy and I love him. And I'm glad he's my defensive coordinator.

CAM BALL: Most likely not. All my teammates, they wanted to go to UGA or stay in the city. I've been here all my life. I wanted to go out and experience things on my own and meet different people and be in different situations, be in uncomfortable situations because that's going to help me achieve my goals in life after football and better become a man.

So that was my whole purpose and my main focus of going 10 hours away from my home city. That's what I feel like I did. God has a plan for everything. I feel like that was his plan for me, to go 10 hours away.

CAM BALL: It's going to be an adjustment at first, just like anything. But I'm pretty sure once I get my feet under me, we're just going to keep our head down, keep working wherever it's at, God willing, if I do make it to the NFL.

CAM BALL: Stadiums I like playing in, so LSU. I know we played in Baton Rouge this season. I'm excited. Their fans are always, wow, man, it's always loud there. I'm excited to play there.

I've never played in Austin, Texas against the Longhorns. That's a rivalry game for the state of Arkansas, excited to play there. Never played in Neyland Stadium, excited to play there. Excited for the whole season. This is my last season and I want to leave my mark being a vocal leader and being a dominant football player.

CAM BALL: I can say with this being my fifth year that this is the closest that the team has ever been. Just the accountability is different. We hold ourselves to a higher standard, and I feel like we all got the same goal and we just want to win.

We're not thinking ahead to postseason. We're not thinking about self-accolades. We're just all trying to win and make each other better. When fall camp starts, it's going to be a really competitive and physical fall camp, and I'm excited for it.

CAM BALL: I'm a big chef. I love cooking. I got that from my dad. I've got my own business, if you ain't all heard of it. It's called Ball's Barbecue. Do your research, if you haven't. It's going to be jumping pretty soon now. But I specialize in ribs, chicken. My girlfriend, she do the sides with the baked beans and mac and cheese. Shout out to Cassidy. That's one of my biggest experiences, just having my teammates over and selling plates to my teammates and people in Fayetteville, in general, just doing that. I'm so grateful to be a Hog, and God has blessed me to be there for five years, meeting so  many people, impacting so many people's lives.

Just being at Arkansas, in general, it's just a blessing. I'm overall grateful for my experience to be a Hog.

CAM BALL: Probably. I don't know. Arkansas, a lot of barbecue spots there. I'm not worried about competition, but I just gotta be smart about where my business is at; but wherever I am, Ball's Barbecue, that's where it will go. I talked to Coach Pittman about going into business with me. He reminded me again about how he wanted to invest in it. I'm going to hold him to it. If anybody in this room, remember, you see Ball Barbecue, Sam Pittman, he helped me.

CAM BALL: I really love "BBQ Pitmasters." That's my show.

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