Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 12/26/2018

Clearly you’re on the other side. Have you seen much of a difference in your offense since Ian [Book] and just Ian as far as being a leader of the team? Yeah. I mean, Ian stepped into a role and next man up. He didn’t stray. There’s a depth to that and surround behind that. And he has been able to make things happen back there. He’s a baller. He’s not afraid to make mistakes. But, at the same time, he’s not afraid to make plays.

What do you think of [Trevor] Lawrence? He’s a freshman. This time last year he was in high school. At this point in the season does that matter? I don’t think it ever mattered for me. I once was a freshman as well. I was able to play a lot as a freshman my freshman year. And I’ve been able to do some good things as well. So for me it’s not ‚Äì I’m not looking at it as freshman and senior. Anyone that steps in with the right mindset can make plays. So I think that’s what his mindset was going in. And he knew his ability and he was confident.

Workouts in the off-season, is there one that you think has helped power you guys most to get to 12-0, to get here, whether it be the Storm or Stadium Run? I think a lot of people talk about the Storm. But Drue [Tranquill] and Khalid [Kareem] both said

Stadium Run. That was, like, I think more than maybe you would have thought when you started? I think I’ll go with the Stadium Run. But the Stadium Run was a cool one to experience just because we walked into the stadium probably, like, 6:00 in the morning. And it was like there’s no way we’re going to do this. Coach said, ‘Yeah, we’re running the whole stadium.’

And after everyone finished and we all did it, it was pretty cool to see as a team how we were able to push through something like that. And that was a cool indicator for us of who we are as a team and what we could do

Was it easy for you? Hard for you No, it wasn’t easy at all.

Drue mentioned, like, skill guys finished. A bunch of them you go back and encourage them. Do you remember doing anything like that? For sure. Specifically, my young buck, Darnell Ewell. I finished the run with him after I finished mine and went back. And he was about half way done when I got back. So I was able to finish it with him, help push him through that.

You did one and a half stadium runs? Yeah. We were going at a little slower pace, but just for my guy, Darnell.

Why do you think that was significant for the year? What do you think you got out of that? It is more than just conditioning, right? Obviously, there’s a bigger purpose of that stadium run. Coach gave us a challenge of adversity. We thought there’s no way we’re going to finish it. And then to finish it as a team, not individually, but as a team was something cool for us to understand and just be aware that any obstacle that comes in front of us, we’re able to accomplish.

That’s been the headline of a lot of our games this season. We went through a lot of challenges and adversities. And we were able to look each other in the face and go to week 12 at USC in halftime and look each other in the face and say we have a challenge in front of us and we’re going to do it.

What have you seen on film from Clemson’s offense? Clemson’s a balanced team. They’re able to put together drives and not just one face or the other. They can do it all. Obviously, their running game is excellent. Trevor Lawrence, the quarterback, can make any throw on the field. So they’re a balanced team. And they’re explosive when they see things, you know, in terms of passing game. They’re great on the perimeter. And they can make any throw. So you’ve got to be able to stop that.

What do you think about Clemson’s receivers and what they bring to the table? It exemplifies who they are. They’ve got guys in the slot who are able to make separations. And they got guys who can stretch the field as well. Number 5 [Tee Higgins], number 8 [Justyn Ross], bigger guys as well. They’re a versatile receiver core. And that puts a lot of pressure on us. And that’s a great challenge for us.