Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408565
"This game required everyone to be on point with a team effort on defense. If one player messes up, there's a hole in the defense. I just came in with the same attitude to try my best to do my job." On his first career interception: "It was a gift. I saw [junior lineman] Shel- don [Day] making a great play on the quarterback. He got pressure and a nice hit. "I knew I had to capitalize for Shel- don." Notre Dame junior safety Elijah Shumate … On losing senior linebacker Joe Schmidt to an ankle injury: "We love Joe. We wish it didn't happen. We wish it didn't happen to anybody. He's our leader, and we just told each other that we've got to step up and play for him. "We're a big family, and one of our brothers went down. We took that to heart. We told each other we had to play hard for him." Notre Dame sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith … On losing Schmidt to injury: "Joe's a tough guy. It'd be surprising to see if he didn't play [at Arizona State Nov. 8]." On freshmen linebackers Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini: "They're going to be so important for us in the future. When this year started, we knew that, having two freshmen as key backups. "They're going to be used, and they were prepared." On what adjustments the defense made in the fourth quarter: "It's just about rallying together. There's always going to be adversity in the game. It's so hard to win in college football. You're playing a disciplined team like Navy. "We understood at the beginning, they're going to fight until the end." Navy junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds … On falling short of an upset: "It is disappointing to have been that close again. We just didn't make enough plays. We had the chance to win and didn't. "Against the No. 10 team in the country, we had to be perfect and we weren't." Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo … On the Navy-Notre Dame rivalry: "Notre Dame is a unique institution. In today's day and age of the big five and other things they can do with this game, they have held true to their word. They recognize what the Naval Academy and the Navy did for them to keep that institution afloat early on. They have been true to their word to pay it back to the Naval Academy. They are respectful. They are good people. "Brian Kelly has good football play- ers, but when you meet the teams after the game and you shake their hands, those are good kids. I'm just impressed with their young men, but unfortu- nately for us they are really good foot- ball players, too."