Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 12/29/2021

Isaiah, I asked Myron [Tagovailoa-Amosa] and Kurt [Hinish] about how the defense improved mid-season and really hit its stride late. Marcus talked about doing less. How have you seen that shown on the defensive line, the pressures you bring? Certainly, I think being exotic and doing a bunch of different things is the strength of how [Marcus] Freeman likes to call defense. It seems like he realized doing less was maybe the way to go with your group.

Yes, we just noticed towards the end of the season that doing less was just the best thing that we were good at. We just worked our craft at the simple stuff and the simple drills we were doing. We just perfected our craft, and that was the best thing that was working.

We have been working all the way throughout rest of the season this last game to show it off, but this has been working throughout the whole entire season.

Isaiah, following up, what does it mean when you talk about doing less? I mean, is that scheme? What does it mean to be more reactive? And kind of philosophically, how did that play out for you guys defensively?

What I mean by doing less is just less of more exotic stuff we were doing on third down and first down type of stunts.

And with my game, I started doing a little bit less, just focusing on my craft and what I can perfect. That’s what I mean by doing less. Like, less stunts, and me personally doing less exotic moves and doing what I can do, since I know what I can do on the field.

With so much extra time to prepare for this game, do you feel like you have a better read on the opposing offensive tackles than maybe you would on a weekly basis?

Yes, I definitely do. We have probably three weeks before this game – three, four weeks before this game, a whole month. We have been watching film over and over, just watching Oklahoma State and their offensive line and their quarterback, running back, trying to perfect everything that we are doing against them. We just had a better read on what Oklahoma State is doing.

Isaiah, we talk about the challenges that Oklahoma State’s offense will present. But what are the opportunities for the defense of Notre Dame going into the game?

The opportunities for the defense, it’s great for the corners and safeties when you have a great match-up against the receivers. It’s great for the defensive line when you have a mobile quarterback going against a great running back and an offensive line.

But it’s just a great opportunity for us, for the whole entire defense. There’s playmakers all over the field, especially the quarterback, running back, receivers, and everybody.

Isaiah, we have heard Marcus [Freeman] use the phrase with us a couple times: Be football players and not fitball players. I’m curious if that’s something he talks with you guys about? If so, what does that mean? Does that have anything to do with the idea about doing less? Or is it just kind of a separate saying that he likes to use?

That pretty much goes with doing a little bit less. Rather than fitball, everyone has a gap. We do have ‚Äì everyone has a gap. But with football type of players, you just find ball and get ball. That’s the type of defense we are. We put pressure on offense, and it’s not much of a fitball. That’s more conservative. This defense, we are going after them every single play.

I was hoping you could describe a little bit about the energy, what it’s like going into this game this Saturday, and how does it compare to these past postseason games that you have experienced. Any differences you noticed or anything like that?

This is a game with just new beginnings, beginning the Coach [Marcus] Freeman era. As everyone knows, our new head coach is Coach Freeman. It just brings more of a hype to this game.

This is one of Coach Freeman’s first game, New Year’s Six bowl game. It’s just a great atmosphere. We’re coming into this game to win the game.

Isaiah, what is your timeline for making a decision on next year, what you want to do? And since you guys did a bunch of good-on-good in practices, I don’t know how much you matched up against Blake Fisher. Could you give an assessment of where he’s at after missing essentially 11 1/2 games?

My decision time, I’m not really focusing on that since we’re getting closer to the bowl game. But it’s definitely going to be before January 17th. That’s the deadline. It will be well before that.

But since we are going against one-on-ones and good-on-good, with Blake Fisher, he didn’t have a dropoff at all. He’s still the big Blake Fisher that we know from the first game at Florida State and fall ball and spring ball and everything. He didn’t have any dropoff at all. He’s great at right tackle, and he’s doing well.

Isaiah, you mentioned Marcus Freeman and you want to start of the Marcus Freeman era strong. However, in the past few years, Notre Dame has not won a New Year’s Six bowl game and that’s been a big narrative in the media. How excited are you to change that narrative? And has it come up in the locker room at all about how Notre Dame hasn’t won in a while?

Nah, that didn’t come up in the locker room as we didn’t win a New Year’s Six bowl before. Like I said, this is a new beginning, a new era, the Freeman era. Everything is on us to change everything.