Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481361
28 OCT. 15, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On the atmosphere in Las Vegas: "Unbelievable. The amount of fans, this truly felt like a home game. It was a great environment. Credit to what this university, what this net- work, what this football program, the brand of Notre Dame is about. It was a unique experience, but as I told the team. "That's what makes Notre Dame special is these Shamrock Series games, and this one was special. It was an honor to be a part of it." On sophomore running back Audric Estime's strength and hurdling ability: "He's a bulldozer. When that bulldozer starts jumping, bulldozers aren't supposed to be off the ground. They're supposed to stay on the ground. But to see him do that, it just shows his athleticism. He's playing at high level." On Notre Dame's rushing game: "Coach [Deland] Mc- Cullough is doing a great job with the running back room. Logan Diggs. I know Chris Tyree didn't probably have the numbers that he had last week, but that three-headed mon- ster, and I can't speak enough about the unselfishness of that room. All three of those guys want to be the starter. "All three of those guys want to have every rep. To be unself- ish and to put the greater good of the team in front of yourself, that's the example we need for our team." On graduate student defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola: "He's an emotional leader for that group. He's the guy that when things are tough, he always comes and grabs, coach, I got you. He did that last year and does it this year. At the biggest moments he shows up. You can't say enough about a guy like that, that you know in the biggest moments you can depend on [him]. "He is going to make sure he makes a play. He just does his job really, really well. That's what our guys have to understand. You don't have to go make a play. You got to do your job really, really well, and the plays usually come to you. He's a very de- pendable player for us." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR QUARTERBACK DREW PYNE … On sophomore wide receiver Jayden Thomas: "JT has worked really hard and he has all summer. He did in the spring. He's worked really hard and he deserves that. Just like Lorenzo did last week, Jayden Thomas went out there and made a play. "He went out there and made an unbelievable play and I'm so proud of him. We're going to need him to keep doing what he's doing, and he's going to be a big role for us in the future. All our receivers I really trust, and, yeah, I'm so happy for him." On his mindset in the pocket: "Kind of when I'm back there and you have a lot of time, I think the most important thing is to not panic. I've had a lot of time like that in my life before and I don't know what to do, whatever. "I just don't panic. Keep looking, see the defense, see what's going on, and just find an open guy or have to throw it away, or whatever. My whole thing is staying neutral and not panicking, you know, being able to just have emotional stability through- out every play." NOTRE DAME VYPER JUSTIN ADEMILOLA … On his brother Jayson 's fourth-down stop: "I think I got the stop on the third down and I said, 'Jay, go get it right now. Let's win it. Let's seal it up.' And he did that. Jay's a very emotional guy. Every game he puts 'FTB' on his wrists, on his arm, all over his body, and when it's time to go get it for the brotherhood, he's going to go get it for the brotherhood." On the trajectory of the Notre Dame's season: "Like Coach Free always says, we're just going to take it one game at a time. We know when we focus on us and our execution, we get the results we want. So we are just going to focus on our execution, and then just be detailed, dependable, and disci- plined the whole week. That's what coach has been preaching and that's what the plan is going to be." On the atmosphere in Las Vegas: "It was awesome. It was kind of like our last bowl game in Arizona, but a little more fans. It was very loud out there. The energy was there and the guys were excited playing in an NFL stadium. "The stadium was beautiful. It was a privilege and an honor, and we appreciate coming out here and also getting the win." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Notre Dame graduate student defensive end Justin Ademilola ranked second on the team with 5 tackles against BYU. PHOTO BY DAVID BECKER