Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/176703
"I just told them they got on the field through their participation in practice and how well they practiced this week. "Just stay calm and confident and work on your fundamentals and you'll be all right." On the rotation at safety: "We've had a nice rotation [among] those three all season. I'm comfortable with playing all three. "I think it helps them execute at a higher-level energy with each play by allowing them to get a breather. It doesn't really affect my game at all." Notre Dame sophomore cornerback KeiVarae Russell … On the change of momentum from Matthias Farley's interception: "Whenever you talk about turnovers, that was a really big one. We stayed sound and … we had to make plays rather than let them come to us." On winning back-to-back close games: "Coach harps on playing four quarters of football. You don't win games in one quarter. … You've got to play all four quarters; you can't play three quarters of a game. Coach harps on it every day. "We want to start fast and finish strong, and that's what we did today. It was a battle. That's our game — to play four quarters. No matter if we're down 20‑0 in the first half, we know we have two more quarters to go. We play until the last whistle blows. We're not worried about it until the last whistle blows in the fourth quarter." Notre Dame freshman wide re- ceiver Corey Robinson … On drawing pass interference penalties: "For us, it was just try to go win on a one-on-one matchup and go get the ball regardless. It doesn't matter what happens. It doesn't matter if he's holding you or jumping on top of you, you have to get around him and get the ball. That was our main focus today. "We were fortunate the refs were calling those and seeing those. They were all over us today. Regardless of what happens we have to go get it. That's the only job we really have." Notre Dame junior linebacker Jarrett Grace … On the defense's biggest improvement this week: "The biggest progress is just feeling comfortable out there. I do think that progress is showing itself, and I think it has a ways to go also. We were confident out there. Guys were having a lot of fun. "We were making plays, and I think that's the biggest thing we have to keep working on. We've been here before, this system has been in place for multiple years now. We just have to let our game flow." On doing his job: "We responded strongly, and we got the win. It's really important to just do your job. We didn't want anyone playing outside themselves and doing something out of the realm of their position. "We drilled down tight in practice. If things weren't done properly, we repeated that and we drilled it until it got completed to perfection."