Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Pregame Quote, 12/28/2021

Just talk about your experience so far being here in Arizona and the Fiesta Bowl, and just what the experience has been like so far.

Yeah, I got here yesterday. We got here and got to meet all the committee for the Fiesta Bowl, and they were great guys. They told us a lot about the place and what we’re going to be doing this week. So I’m excited for this week.

Just two from me. It was right around mid-season where you started to hit your stride with the offense as well, but you became kind of the main third-down weapon. Did that evolve over the first half of the season, just getting more confidence along with Jack [Coan] and Coach [Tommy] Rees calling your number on third down? Following up on that, after the Fiesta Bowl is over, you will have a decision to make. Do you expect it to be soon after the Fiesta Bowl, or do you still need to take your time and figure out what you will do as a graduating senior?

Oh, yeah, I’m going to take my time and figure out what I’m going to do, focus on the game. But, yeah, for the third down kind of going to me, I would say that just evolved over the season, just building more confidence just within the offense and myself.

How has your relationship with Jack Coan evolved throughout the season, and how have you two managed to get maybe on the same page more and more as you’ve had more experience with each other?

Oh, yeah, over time, in the summer, we got to throw around a little bit, which was good. But throughout the season, we’ve really got time to sit and work on different routes and different concepts to be able to be on time for them. So I would say over the time, we just built a stronger and stronger connection.

And you’ve become sort of the big play threat in the offense. How do you take advantage of those opportunities? What’s the mindset to allow yourself to be ready to sort of break free for a big play at any moment?

I mean, in my mind, it’s always to dominate my opponent, the man standing in front of me. I feel like every play is a one-on-one. So I never try to lose a one-on-one. So every time I go out on the field, I try to dominate.

Have you seen any changes in [Coach] Tommy Rees, since he’s really the person who will be taking over the offense? Have you noticed anything different, intangibles, more sense of confidence? What have you seen from him after being basically handed over the keys to the offense?

I mean, Coach [Tommy] Rees has been the same person every single day. I don’t think that there’s a lot that’s changed about him. He’s consistent every single day. What he says is consistent. So I don’t think that there’s really anything intangible or anything that’s different about him taking over or anything like that.

I know you obviously always want to win every game, but it’s the Fiesta Bowl, last game of the season, postseason stuff. But do you have the sense that it’s more important or there’s a little bit more pressure because it’s [Coach] Marcus [Freeman’s] first game? He’s had this great sort of rollout, and now it’s kind of everybody has to prove themselves. Does that sort of play into what’s going on?

No, I wouldn’t say that’s the mindset. I would say the mindset is always like we have another game to win and they’re another team on the schedule, and that’s who we have to compete against.

And at the end of the day, Coach Freeman, I understand that it’s his first game and everything. But he’s told us the standard and he’s told us what we have to do and what there is to do to win this game. And we know that. So I don’t think that anything is different or more pressure or anything like that. I feel like we’re the same people every single day.

I talked a little bit with Ben Skowronek about the adjustments and the time it took for him to adjust around kind of a pocket passer and the situation he had at Northwestern, to scramble and deal with the quarterback at Notre Dame. Did you feel like there was any adjustment period needed to switch from kind of a more mobile quarterback like Buch [Tyler Buckner], to more of a pocket passer, traditional passer like Jack [Coan], and even the switching between Jack and Tyler? How have you adapted to that as a receiver?

I mean, yeah, I would say just throughout our practice, practicing with both quarterbacks, understanding how they both throw and how they both kind of think, and understand what they both want out of me as a receiver to do for them so I can get open. So I would say just practicing with both of them and understanding what they want.

Kevin, sort of a follow-up on that, when Tyler Buchner has been in the game, it’s been pretty heavy run type of situation. What do you see from him in practice as a passer that gives you confidence that next year he can be a guy to lead a more balanced or even a pass-first kind of offense?

Well, yeah, I feel like Tyler has a lot of opportunities to throw. When he does, he shows his throwing arm. I would say, obviously, I get that sometimes it seems like he’s very run-heavy when he goes into the game. But at the end of the day, when he throws in the game, he has confidence and he can make throws. He makes throws in practice that I’m shocked about. So I know that he can do it in the game.

Kevin, I’m curious what you saw from Deion [Colzie] and Lorenzo [Styles], maybe even all the way back in training camp, that you figured they would be good enough to get in the rotation at the start of the year. And then to the point where now, when you guys have had some attrition and injuries, where they are the kind of guys that you can lean on and ready to go in there in that bigger role?

Yeah, even from when they were in training camp, until this point, they had confidence from that point. And so I always felt like if they were needed, they would step up into the role. And so they were needed, and they did, and they are showing what they could do, and I’m proud of them. I’m happy for them and what they are doing.