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✦ NEWS & NOTES THEY SAID IT "You're either filling my energy bucket up or emptying it out, an energy vampire. When I get around energy vampires I cover my neck, right? Because I don't want you to suck the energy out of me." — Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco while being introduced as UConn's new head coach "He just talked about the progress we made, the men we were and the men we're going to keep becoming. That's not going to change no matter who is there in front of us, and we're going to do keep doing great things, and it was just an opportunity for him to move forward in his career, and we really respected that." — Notre Dame junior linebacker Jarrett Grace on the defense's final meeting with Diaco after he took the UConn job Sophomore defensive tackle Darius Hamilton anchored a Rutgers rush defense that ranked fourth nationally (94.6 yards allowed per game). PHOTO COURTESY RUTGERS "Get it while you here boy, cause that hype don't feel the same next year boy!!!" — Former Irish nose guard Louis Nix III, via Twitter, reacting to the 477 letters Notre Dame sent to an individual recruit to try to entice him to commit to the football team "I would just say it was a good thing for me to play some this season so I can get to know what college football is like and how fast it is and get used to it. Coming into next season, I won't be a deer in the headlights and overwhelmed. This season helped me out more than anything, just getting prepared for the future." — Notre Dame freshman running back Tarean Folston on his rookie season "I remember walking up to the stadium for the first time, walking into the locker room your jaw drops. It's an incredible atmosphere. To be where the Yankees are and that organization and the tradition they have it's a special place to be." — Notre Dame senior quarterback Tommy Rees on what he remembers from his second career start, which came at Yankee Stadium "I just look at that as a joke that everybody thinks that [we're too small]. As you look at our progress this year on stopping the run and things like that, we match up well with anybody. I just can't wait to get out there and play these guys." — Rutgers defensive lineman Isaac Holmes on the matchup with Notre Dame's offensive line "The game gets better and better every single year. We've averaged about 40,000 people. We get great television ratings. And this year, I think we're going to set the mark to make it even better." — New York Yankees president Randy Levine on the Pinstripe Bowl "It always seems nostalgic when the Fighting Irish play in the Big Apple, but it would have been nice if they were playing Cincinnati or Houston, which might have put up a fight. The Scarlet Knights got the nod because of geography, but they were a major disappointment in their first and final season in the American." — Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com ✦ PAGE 11