Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1187512
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 30, 2019 27 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On if senior quarterback Ian Book will be back next season: "We haven't sat down and talked about it. I think what he should do is get all the information first. We'll get the NFL evaluation in, get all that. "… There will be a time and place after the game that we play at Stanford to make that decision. But we're so focused on winning another football game [right now]. [After that] then we'll sit back and make that decision. I'll help him." On whether he will recruit Book to come back: "You know I'm going to recruit him. I want him back, but that's not my decision. But I'll certainly recruit him." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR LINEBACKER DREW WHITE … On playing back-to-back teams that prefer to run the ball: "For the front seven, it was fun. The energy was high during practice. When you're playing a running team, the front seven has to be excited. This is what linebackers want. "I've been so happy these past couple of weeks. You got Navy and Boston College — a lot of run-dominant teams. It's fun. You got to play tough and physical." On the chemistry he's built with fellow starting line- backer Asmar Bilal: "Asmar is my guy. We've become really close this past year. He's my roommate in the hotel. So on and off the field, we're great friends. "We definitely have a feel for one another, especially in the box with [junior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah], too. We've just built chemistry this year, have gotten really comfortable. This win was special for Asmar, his last game in Notre Dame Stadium." NOTRE DAME SENIOR DEFENSIVE END ADE OGUNDEJI … On his breakout two-sack performance: "I feel like [it was] just a game plan. The coaches put me in a great posi- tion to play. "I just had to go out there and play hard, play fast, and I felt like I did that during this weekend and it paid off during the game." On if gang tackling AJ Dillon was pivotal to the vic- tory: "Absolutely. He's a big guy. He's a great player. He's versatile; he's powerful. What we had to do is gang tackle him. "There was no one guy who could tackle him. So get as many guys to the ball as we can, and that's what we did." NOTRE DAME SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER BRADEN LENZY … On if teams are game planning for him: "In all honesty, are you not going to worry about me when Cole Kmet and Chase Claypool are on the field? "I feel like I am the least of their concerns. At least that's, the way I look at it." On how his situation has improved this season: "Last year changed my mindset. I wouldn't say I had things easy coming in, but I realized I had to do a lot more. I couldn't just be the fast guy. Even though I am the fast guy, there are a lot of parts of my game that have vastly improved. I realized you can't come to college do one thing — you have to do a lot because everyone is good. "It's just playing ball. Last year, I was happy we were successful. We were 12-0 and in the college playoffs." NOTRE DAME SENIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On how this group of seniors bounced back after a losing freshman season in 2016: "Everyone just believed in each other and never gave up. Coming in freshman year and we went 4-8 — and then great seasons after that. "This group just doesn't give up. I love all these guys, it's crazy how fast this time has gone by." On if he treated the game like it was his last: "Yeah, no doubt. I try and do that every game, though. I had my family down there soaking it all in. You never know what can happen, so I just wanted to take it all in and enjoy it with my family." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR TIGHT END COLE KMET … On what clicked for the team in the third quarter: "We were just converting third downs. We were making more plays and keeping drives going, which was a big deal, and making the plays that we needed to." On what it means to go undefeated at home in back- to-back seasons: "That is really special. We always want to be undefeated at home. It's a big deal to us obviously, and winning on Senior Day is icing on the cake." — Andrew Mentock and Vince DeDario FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Junior linebacker Drew White (bottom right) was part of a balanced Fighting Irish defensive effort against Boston College, recording seven tackles and also recovering a fumble. PHOTO BY ANDRIS VISOCKIS