Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
On freshman linebacker Jaylon Smith: "He's a beast. To come in as a freshman and contribute like that … he's a truly special player and he's going to make plays for us for a long time. He's really special." Notre Dame sophomore defensive lineman Jarron Jones … On building confidence: "Just practicing hard and getting words of encouragement from all my teammates, especially from the seniors, captains, coaches. It added up. "I felt a sense of relief when I first went out there today. I had a much different approach in practice and everything. It carried over to the game." On good red zone defense: "We stayed together. We always stay together. We just played physical, and we had toughness. That's what drives us — having physical and mental toughness." On encouragement from his coaches: "They said keep working and keep working hard. They liked my focus on and off the field. "I even take my focus to the classroom to work harder in there. It gives me a sense of confidence knowing I can do this." Notre Dame fifth-year senior offensive tackle Zack Martin … On his final home game: "Walking up the tunnel and hitting the sign the last time. I don't think it's hit me yet that I'll never be in this locker room getting ready for a game again." Notre Dame senior wide receiver TJ Jones … On a well-timed bye week: "The bye week definitely helps late in the season, especially at this point when it's starting to get colder, and bruises and sprains are starting to linger a little bit more. "Having a week off to relax and really recover definitely helped." On almost breaking a long punt return: "I saw it right as I fell. I don't know how or what hit me, but I got knocked off balance and couldn't regain it, and as I'm falling I'm seeing all of that open space." On the importance of a win: "You never want to go into a game like Stanford with two consecutive losses. As much as people may not say it, it's going to affect your confidence. "Being able to bounce back from a loss against Pitt and win in the manner that we did, I think it's going to definitely boost our confidence." Brigham Young head coach Bronco Mendenhall … On Notre Dame's running game: "I would say their running backs are very physical and tough to tackle. We knew that going into the game. We also thought their offensive line was physical and tough, and that played out really the way we thought. "I think that gave Notre Dame the ability to control the game."