Chargers’ rookie defensive end Joey Bosa took a few minutes with the Tampa Bay media for a conference call to discuss a number of subjects regarding Tampa Bay’s upcoming trip to San Diego. Below is a full transcript of the call.

(On keeping himself in shape without playing first four games)
“It was definitely a process. It was all new to me. Obviously, I’ve never been through anything like this before in my life, so I knew I had to stay focused and stay in shape to be ready. When I showed up and unfortunately an injury happened and it was kind of hard. I was really down on myself for missing all that time and then coming in and hurting myself right when I get in there. So, it was a process to get ready, but the whole organization here; coaches, players, really helped a lot, so it wasn’t too bad of an adjustment.”

(On what made his transition a smooth one)
“I think I just stayed confident and kept my work ethic throughout the whole process. I was at home working my butt off six days a week. You can never replicate playing football exactly, but I did my best I could and you know, coming in here obviously, with great players all around, it was an adjustment missing all of camp and having to show up and jump right into defense, but like I said, we have great guys around us and guys like Brandon Mebane and [defensive tackle] Corey [Liuget] really helped me adjust.”

(On whether he has spoken with former Ohio State teammate Noah Spence)
“Yeah, we were just texting yesterday, just excited to see each other out there and hopefully both have a good game. Yeah, Noah, he’s a testament to turning your life around because he never let a bad decision of his turn him around and I’ve always known he’s a great kid and any coach that ever asked anything about him to me, I always gave him the best. But, I’m happy. I knew he would work as hard as he can to get into the position he’s in now and I’m really proud of him and I’m excited to see him out there this Sunday.”

(On Noah Spence coming back from his shoulder injury earlier in the season)
“I think just his work ethic and his motor. Noah can run literally for days, just training. I remember training, trying to keep up with him running and training and he’s always just first of the line working. He was a good guy to watch when I was young at Ohio State, but I knew if he kept his head on straight and kept working like he knows how to, he would make something of himself and he is doing just that. I am proud of him.”

(On whether he believes the team can turn the corner after losing multiple leads in the second half this season)
“I mean, I’m just proud of this team because I could see any other team really getting down on themselves after losing the games we have and kind of separating and falling apart, but we come into work every day, we don’t let our record define us and we know we are going to work hard every single day. I don’t think it’s really turned the corner because we’ve had great performances and we know what we can do. I guess that’s a good word for it, just finishing and really getting all sides of the ball to click, but I know we can do it and we’ve shown it more than once and I’m really proud of this team for staying together after some tough loses and some tough injuries, but I think we’ve got a good team here, great team.”

(On where he was during the Ohio State versus Michigan game)
“I was at a teammate’s watching it with some guys. It was not fun, not fun at all to watch.”

(On why it was not fun to watch even though Ohio State came away with the win)
“Yes, they did win, but the process to that win was not fun to watch.”

(On Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer)
“I hate him [laughs]. No, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. No, I love Coach Meyer. He gets a bad rep because people say he treats guys differently and that’s the truth. If you go into his program and you do what you’re supposed to do and you work hard and you’re a good guy, he’ll love you and he’ll give you every opportunity in the entire world to succeed. He’ll put his word on the line for you, but if you go into the program and mess around and not do what you’re supposed to do, you get on his bad side. So, I mean, there were people who didn’t like him, but I felt like that’s why. We have a great relationship. He’s like another father away from home for me and he did a great job with me and he’s doing a great job with [Ohio State defensive end] Nick [Bosa] right now.”

(On people calling Urban Meyer obsessed with winning)
“Yeah, I mean, he’s a different kind of person. To be what he is, you’ve got to kind of work a little differently upstairs, but he’s a great guy. He has a lot of love in his heart, a lot of love for his team and he really is obsessed. He wants to be perfect. He wants every single thing to be perfect. I think he understands it’s not going to be perfect, but he still works every single day to get there, but that’s why he is one of the best to ever do it.”

(On his younger brother, Nick Bosa and Ohio State Head Coach/Assistant Coordinator Greg Schiano)
“[laughs]’Baby Bosa’, he’s been having a great week. He texted me yesterday, he’s like, ‘Wow, I’m just so happy, having a great week. The whole team’s just been really pumped up about the win and getting a chance to hopefully go to the Playoffs.’ Coach Schiano, I got to see him. I went to see Nick for my Bye Week and I got to see everybody there. I think all the guys like him there. Coach Meyer obviously does a great job of getting the best assistant coaches in the world around, so Nick likes him so far.”

(On whether he grew up a Miami Dolphins fan since he was born in south Florida)
“My dad played there, so we were Dolphins fans. It was never easy being a Dolphins fan, but we tried.”

(On the Chargers defense)
“I think, I mean, I love my defense. I think we’ve been playing really well. If you just look at the film, you look at how tough we play, how physical we play. O-line doesn’t really come and attack us because they know we’re going to hit them in the mouth. Obviously, takeaways have been great the last few weeks, but we’ve just got to continue working and finishing the fourth quarter and finishing the second half because as good as we want to be and as physical as we are in the first half, if they come out and run down our throat and score all these points in the second half, it means nothing. So, we’ve just got to keep working on staying consistent and I think we’re playing good ball right now.”

(On transitioning to the NFL after having a standout college career)
“Yeah, I mean, you’ve got to understand it’s the NFL and everybody’s great. Winning games in the NFL is really, really hard to do and I have a greater appreciation just after a short few months of being in the NFL for winning because losing only four games in three years, you get spoiled and then coming here, you’ve got to absolutely fight for every win. That’s not just in San Diego, that’s all around the league. Winning is tough to do, so I just have a better appreciation for winning and how hard it is to do after experiencing it.”

(On whether losing brings out a level of grit because it is not something he is used to)
“Yeah, I’ve been in plenty of situations where it’s the game on the line, so it’s not every week like it is now. I mean, I’ve definitely had a few double overtimes or the last-second plays in college, so I’ve been there and I understand what it takes. I guess it happens a little more often now.”

(On his first impression of Noah Spence the first time he watched him play)
“It was just raw talent. When I first saw him, he really just kind of ran around the corner, didn’t really have any moves in his arsenal and then we progressed. I mean, coming in, I kind of knew he was the guy and he was who I’d watched, him and [former Ohio State defensive end] Adolphus Washington. Both were the ends then and just to watch some guys like that as a freshman, I was a little intimidated because I knew I was going to have to turn into that one day, but at the same time, it was great having some great players to watch as a young player at Ohio State.”

– Transcription of the conference call was provided by the Buccaneers communications department