Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 12/27/2018

I know you guys are tired of talking about it. You’re going to be asked about it all day. Double digits underdogs. Does Notre Dame belong here? Behind the scenes is that just noise or is that motivating for this team? I think what’s special about us is that for some guys it is motivational. But then for some guys, it’s just noise. I know no one’s kind of like putting out to each other, the coach putting it out to motivate us. Everybody takes that their own way, and I think that’s what motivates us. A lot of people are motivated. I’m one of those people who doesn’t really listen to that. And so, I mean, people are going to talk. They have all year. And we’re going to do our job all year and we’ll do our job.

What do you make of the receivers and how do you break them down? I think they all have their own talent sets, similar to our team. I think you have big strong receivers. Like what is it, [Tee] Higgins and [Justyn] Ross, I think. They’re strong, powerful receivers, and you obviously have the experience of Hunter Renfrow, and rightfully so. You have the quick guys, ten (Derion Kendrick) and three (Amari Rodgers) who are speed or horizontal type guys. So I think they’re very well rounded in that regard.

They have good players in those positions to make plays. And so I think it’s very similar to our team which I think is an advantage for us because we’ve been practicing it all year and this is one team we feel is very similar to our receivers.

So I remember talking to Clark [Lea]. We did your Wake Forest game and Northwestern game. I remember talking to Coach Lea, and he talked about one of the changes from last year to this year that you guys really wanted to work on was reducing or cutting down free access kind of throws and really putting more pressure on taking the slants away, those kind of things. Talk about just some of the technique things you worked on to become better at that? I think probably that game plan last year was that whole bend on break, make them earn it mentality which is a little similar this year, and last year we kind of played a lot of off coverage and repeated those short routes. And last year a lot of times it didn’t kill us at all and we maintained that. And this year we’re mixing it up much more because Coach Lea was big on not impeding those throws at all. Really changing that whole mindset. That’s why you see a lot of press now, you see a mixture of off and press. And I think that’s as much he didn’t want anything easy for other teams. And it changed from week to week but especially Wake Forest and Northwestern. We really want to kind of apply that pressure and really make them earn even those little throws. That’s what those teams kind of lived off of.

You mentioned the advantage you have going against your receivers that you have, going into a game like this with Clemson’s wide receivers. When you’re dealing with bigger physical guys, what’s the key in terms of defending those kind of receivers? I mean, it’s tough. I’m going to be honest. I’m not the biggest guy, by any means, but I think it’s just really going toe to toe and really kind of applying your will to it. And so from Miles [Boykin] and me it’s kind of knowing the different releases, getting into the body ‚Äì some guys don’t mind being pressed, some guys really can’t be pressed so it’s knowing your opponent. And then kind of taking them off their launching mark. Because if they get comfortable in their jump, they can catch a ball in a big catch radius. Just being kind of ‚Äì you try to get to the body before they jump, kind of a mind game. It’s like boxing out. They can’t jump if you’re into them. That’s my mindset for sure. And putting your hands on and being physical. Everybody likes that aggressive physical play.

You’ve got a couple of guys on your coaching staff that you work with that have been former players, great players. What kind of advantage has that been in terms of learning and teaching for you? I think my whole career the biggest role model and main guideline for improving my game is Todd Lyght. He’s my backs coach. He’s the guy who offered me ‚Äì I was his first commitment when he got to Notre Dame, and we have a good relationship. His mindset in terms of winning at the highest level is always from that, and he brings it to the table every single day. And it’s been great. I know how he ticks and he knows how I tick, and I think that’s a special thing for sure. He’s helped me so much.

And you have Autry Denson who is a little different. He’s a little more composed and well-rounded person in general. And those guys really ‚Äì it’s always good to pick their brain and see what they’re about. And they are about a lot of stuff.