PHOENIX, Ariz. — Clemson entered the Phoenix Convention Center first on Saturday morning for media day.

Sure, the Tigers are a 7-point underdog at most Vegas sportsbooks. One wouldn’t know that talking to Clemson’s players. Many of them repeated some version of “to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

Keep in mind Clemson is 14-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. And the players weren’t saying it in a contrived, “nobody believes in us” way. They’re well aware that the national perception is that Alabama will win the national title, because — well, because Alabama.

Shaq Lawson, Clemson’s best pass rusher, admitted he’s about 60 percent after spraining his MCL against Oklahoma. His knee still hurts and it has limited him in practice. That probably was the biggest news that emerged from the Tigers’ media day.

Oh, and Clemson cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who models himself after Darrelle Revis, may have been the most publicly confident player on either side during Saturday’s interviews.

Here are some notable quotes from Clemson’s players and coach Dabo Swinney.

CLEMSON TIGERS

QB DESHAUN WATSON

On his relationship with Derrick Henry

“We’re friends. We got to know each other a little bit and that friendship is going to last for a long time.”

On whether the Heisman Trophy voting should wait until after the postseason

“It really doesn’t matter to me. The Heisman is for people that have their own opinions. I really can’t control if someone votes for me or not. I just have to do my part and play ball.”

On if he’s disappointed that Henry won the Heisman

“At the end of the day, I want to win a national championship. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of. But it’s real good motivation. I’ve just got to some back next year and grind harder.”

On if Clemson must prove it can play “big-boy football” against the SEC champion

“We don’t have to say anything about it. We’ve been playing big-boy football for the longest. Just look at the record and look at the stats. We don’t have to say anything about it.”

CB MACKENSIE ALEXANDER

On how he loves playing 1-on-1 coverage

“Most D coordinators aren’t going to put a kid on an island out there. You think somebody else (is) going to put their job on the line like that? I want to see it if y’all have seen it. There’s a lot of good college coaches. If you guys can prove it I want to see it.”

On Alabama QB Jake Coker

“He’s a great player. He does what he does. I think we’ve seen better. But he’s a great player.”

On how much being a lockdown corner helps the defense

“When you’ve got a great corner — it’s basically what they do to (Darrelle) Revis. You allow your safeties to move around and make plays. I say Revis because he’s one of the best in the game at doing that.”

On Alabama’s receivers and what they do well

“They’ve got good receivers. We’ve faced good receivers this year also, so this won’t be a shocker, how good they are. I’m not really worried about any of the receivers. We’re worried about ourselves, making sure we’re OK, we know what’s going on, what’s the game plan and everything will take care of itself.”

On Alabama receiver Calvin Ridley

“He’s a good player. He moves around a lot. They do a lot with him. You can tell they really trust him and they like him. He’s their guy.”

On the attitude he brings to the field

“When we play it’s a different ball game. Film ain’t the same. He gets to feel my heart and my passion. It’s all about an attitude. Who wants it more? You’ve got to go out there with a passion. I love the game. Most people don’t love the game. They love what the game can do for them. I love the game. The game is me. That’s me all day. So when I go out there, you can feel me. You can feel my heart out there.”

On what Ridley may see watching him on film

“You can watch film on us and watch our defense, but until we get out there in your face it’s a different ball game. You can really feel our passion about the game.”

On being an underdog

“We’re an underdog and we’re 14-0. It’s all a brand thing. Everybody cares about the Alabama brand. I understand there’s a lot of fans and they’ve done it for a long time, but it’s a new year and it’s our time.”

On what he expects to see from Alabama’s offense

“I expect them to do a lot of stuff. This is the last game of the season. It’s Lane Kiffin. He’s a good offensive coordinator. He does a lot of good stuff and they’ve got the players to do it.”

On whether he’ll shadow Calvin Ridley

“You’re going to have to wait until the game to find out.”

On his trash talking

“I tell people all the time: I don’t talk trash. I speak facts. I’m a quiet guy by nature. I’m big on facts. I don’t go out there and open my mind like that and talk out of curiosity just to see what he’ll say. I just speak facts. People don’t like facts nowadays. They want you to lie to them. I ain’t going to lie to them.”

On what exactly he tells receivers

“I tell them I love them. I don’t think they seem to like that very much.”

On if he cares about the underdog role

“We understand who we’re playing and what we’re playing against. I understand that they’re a bigger brand than Clemson, but that’s all. Oklahoma’s a bigger brand than us too. Look what we did. Notre Dame was too. And we handled our business. When that ball is snapped, that’s when we’ll know what’s up.”

On whether he’s glad to be playing Alabama

“Everybody wants to play Alabama. It was like the Texas Longhorns and USC when Reggie Bush was out there. The Longhorns were looking to knock them off. It’s the same situation.”

DL SHAQ LAWSON

On how his knee injury is affecting him

“(It affects) getting off (the line of scrimmage) like I want to. I can do little things (in practice), but not a lot.”

On whether he relishes the chance to play Alabama

“You want to play the best to be the best. Alabama is considered the best right now. And that’s what we want to do: Beat the best so we can be the best.”

HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY

On enjoying the trip to Arizona

“I’m too blessed to be stressed. This is such a joy and a privilege coaching football at a place like Clemson. I’ve got a great group of young men. We’re in Arizona playing for a national title. I love what I do and always have. I don’t try to hide that.”

On enjoying his job and working with players

“This is a people business. Just about like every other business in the world is. If you don’t have good relationships, you’ll have a hard time being successful in whatever role that you have. The relationships that I have with my players are the best part of this job. Coaches who don’t focus on that are missing out. We have such an opportunity to impact these guys’ lives. … The media and the world judges us on the outside from a scoreboard. But that’s just not my driving force. My driving force. My driving force in this business is to build great men. And to do that you have to have great relationships.”

But you guys have fun.

“Well is that against the rules? That question right there is what’s wrong with society. I mean, it’s like, a big deal if somebody enjoys what they do. Like we’re supposed to be miserable going through this. I don’t understand that. Sometimes you make a decision and you can’t believe some of the comments and things just because you did what’s right. But that’s where we are as a society right now. There’s no rule that says you can’t have fun. When you’re passionate about what you do, that’s because you love it. When you put your heart into something, you go above and beyond to be great at it. Maybe there’s a lot of people out there doing things they’re not passionate about. Or maybe their heart isn’t in it so they’re not having fun. But that isn’t the case here.”

Is there more pressure to win in Tuscaloosa?

“No. People don’t like to hear that because Alabama is the mecca. But I promise you they don’t like to lose in Clemson, South Carolina. They don’t like to lose anywhere. They fire coaches now after one year, two years. Some of these places out there in la-la land. You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s like, what? It just doesn’t work that way. There’s no smoke and mirrors. Coach Saban talks about The Process all the time. And he’s right. There is a process that you have to go through to build a program. Some of these places have a job for two years and they fire them, it’s crazy. That comes with the territory and you know that when you get into this business. I don’t think it’s right, but that’s just the way it is. It’s a very judgmental business and a very judgmental society that we all live in.”

On Alabama’s offensive progression as the year went along

“They’re tempo, no-huddle. But they have this brand that they still live behind. They’re spreading the ball out. They do some zone read. They run Coker. When they’ve needed him to be an equalizer for them, he’s been very effective with his feet and his arm. I think they’re a much more complete offense now than what I’ve seen.”

LB BEN BOULWARE

On Derrick Henry

“He’s bigger. He’s a big, big dude. He’d much rather run you over than outrun you. If he can’t do that, he’ll definitely try to outrun you. For him being that big, he can fly. I think all-around he’s a great player. I think us facing physical backs this year helped us get acclimated to those types of runners. So hopefully that’ll help us out with this game plan. He’s definitely a different animal when it comes to toting the rock. So hopefully we’ll have a good game plan to slow him down as much as possible.”

On what it means to face Alabama

“It definitely means more facing Alabama. I think if you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. They’ve proven it over a long time that they’re the best team in the country. They’ve proven it this year that they’re one of the best teams in the country, too. If you want to be the best you’ve got to beat the best, and right now, that’s Alabama.”

What stands out to you about Alabama’s offense beyond Derrick Henry?

“I was impressed with Jake Coker to Michigan State. When Michigan State slowed down Derrick Henry, he was able to throw the ball for a lot of yards and be accurate. There’s Henry, there’s Coker, there’s Ridley, there’s Mullaney. They’ve got a great offensive line. All around, they’re a great team. This is definitely the best team we’ve faced this year.”