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Irish Player Transcripts: Dec. 2, College Football Playoff

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Multiple Notre Dame players addressed the media this afternoon following the Irish being selected as the No. 3 seed to face the No. 2 Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff.

Check out what quarterback Ian Book, center Sam Mustipher, linebacker Drue Tranquill and cornerback Julian Love had to say about the nod, the Tigers and more.

QB IAN BOOK, C SAM MUSTIPHER

Q: I guess both of you guys, how does it feel to finally be officially into the College Football Playoff year?
IAN BOOK: “It feels great. There was a really good vibe today in here. I think our whole entire team is extremely excited and ready to head down and go to Dallas.”

SAM MUSTIPHER: “Yeah, feels good. Obviously, this is one of our goals at the beginning of the season, and we accomplished it.”

Q: Were either of you guys nervous this past week? You guys didn't play. You didn't really know what was going to happen out there. Were you guys feeling pretty confident, or were you nervous that maybe you wouldn't be going to the playoff there?
BOOK: “No, I don't think anyone on the team was nervous. The whole team was really confident. Yeah, we feel like we deserved a spot in the playoffs. To see that work out is something that we wanted to do and accomplish all year.”

MUSTIPHER: “Coach Kelly talks about controlling the controllable. We won all 12 of our games and every game that was put in front of us. So we felt like we were in a good spot

Q: For both of you, what did you learn maybe from last year's Bowl prep that will help you in this Playoff prep this season?
BOOK: “You know, just taking it day by day, sticking to our process. I don't think anything's got to change dramatically -- or drastically. Did I say dramatically? Same thing. So, yeah, just taking the practice. I think that's the main thing this team has done such a good job of doing is just taking it day by day and not thinking too far ahead. I think that's what we're going to take away for this Bowl prep.”

MUSTIPHER: “Yeah, I agree with Ian.” (Laughter).

Q: Good answer. Sam, what do you remember about the Clemson game in 2015? And, Ian, did you watch that game even though you weren't at Notre Dame? Did you take in the hurricane game, hurricane/monsoon game?
MUSTIPHER: “I remember it being loud. I remember they have a great defense. Coach Venables -- I'm familiar with them. One of my high school teammates, Dorian O'Daniel, won a National Championship there. I know what type of program they are. They're a physical team, very talented. I remember that. I remember running outside zone down on the goal line and trying to get it in for a score and not getting the job done. So, yeah, we remember what happened.”

BOOK: “I'm pretty sure I was home. I remember watching it with my family.”

Q: Did you watch the game last night?
MUSTIPHER: “Yeah, I got a chance to watch the game last night. They're good, very talented. They can move the ball and score. Great rushing attack. Their defense is a physical front, probably one of the best fronts in college football. It's going to be a great challenge for us.

BOOK: “Yeah, same as Sam. Just got to watch the game last night and then briefly watched a little bit of film with Coach Rees. Obviously, their season has worked out the way that they want it.

“They're a great team. Like you said, they're up front, they've really got some good guys. It's going to be a good challenge for us, and I think our whole entire team is extremely excited for that challenge.”

Q: How excited are you to play in a stadium like AT&T Stadium, Jerry World, one of the biggest stadiums in the NFL, in the world. What is that going to be like?
BOOK: “I'm extremely excited. It's a stadium I've always wanted to play at. To go down to Dallas and get a win is something our whole entire team is extremely excited about.

MUSTIPHER: “That's what Notre Dame is all about. You think about some of the venues kids dream about -- Cowboy Stadium, you think about Fenway Park, you think about Yankee Stadium, and I've had an opportunity to play in all three now. So it's very exciting.”

Q: This is for both you guys. I'll start with Sam. I was curious how you sort of balance the, I guess, feeling of accomplishment from making the College Football Playoff with the desire to keep working. Can you savor sort of today without it being a distraction from the next month?
MUSTIPHER: “You savor it because this is what you work for and you earn this. But our initial goal is to win the National Championship, and we haven't done that. So I don't think there should be too much rejoicing right now.”

BOOK: “We're all excited with how far we've come, but our main goal, as Sam said, is to graduate and win a National Championship. So there's still work that has to be done.”

Q: Ian, can you put in perspective just maybe beginning of the season to this point for you. I mean, could you have ever imagined being in a position where not only are you the quarterback, but you're here as one of the few chosen to speak on behalf of the team as you guys head to the playoff? I imagine this is maybe not something you anticipated at the beginning of the year when you're the backup quarterback.
BOOK: “Right. Yeah, it's gone by so fast when you think about it and kind of take a step back and see how far we've come. I'm just extremely, extremely excited for this whole team. I know everyone is really confident. We're excited to go play Clemson. Like he was saying, you kind of take a step back and realize how fast this season has gone by and where we are all now, we're very fortunate to be in this spot.”

Q: Sam, coming back for a fifth year, I imagine these are the reasons you came back for. MUSTIPHER: “Yeah. I mean, when you talk to all the fifth year guys, I'm sure they'd all agree we came back because we realized the type of family and the type of unit we had on this football team. For this to happen for us is pretty awesome. We've had our ups and downs throughout our time here, but you couldn't write a better script than this.”

Q: And then how much have you seen Ian's growth, and how much has he meant to this team being here today in this spot, playing in the playoff?
MUSTIPHER: “He's meant everything to this team. He's calm all the time, level headed guy no matter what's happening out there on the football field. That's a testament to the preparation he put in well beyond the time his name was called to go in the game this year. He's a great kid on and off the field. We love having a guy back there like that.”

Q: And you guys mentioned, obviously, the goal, graduate, win a National Championship. Obviously, you mentioned being here is so great, but how important do you feel it is for you guys as a team and for your fans to go out there and win that game to kind of re-cement where Notre Dame is at considering the history that's been for the last 30 years? MUSTIPHER: “I mean, honestly, I think we'll just take it one day at a time and go out there. You know, we're going to prepare the same way we have all year, and we might even up it a notch, but we're not going to change anything drastically, like Ian said earlier.

“So we're really just focused on what we can do to put ourselves in the best position to win the game.”

Q: What was it like to have a week off last week? In continuity, you've been doing this since last August. Now it's a change in continuity and getting to a different mindset. Is that something you embrace, concentrating nothing on football now?
BOOK: “Definitely. Just having the week off for our whole entire team to rest a little bit and kind of regroup. It was kind of weird to watch a bunch of games on Saturday and not play. But I think it was good just for everyone to, like I said earlier, take a step back and rest up and get ready for this big game."

Q: Sam, you said you watched the game. Can you just watch the game like a typical observer, or are you observing what's going on with their obviously very talented defensive line?
MUSTIPHER: “Yeah, I really don't watch football the same way I used to. I mean, I watch the ball when there's obviously a big play, but I'm always watching fronts and stuff like that. So it wouldn't have changed no matter which game I was watching. Yeah, I was tuned in to Northwestern-Ohio State, and I'd flip back and forth between commercials.

“They're a good team, a physical team, kind of a run the football type of game with the weather that they had. So it was awesome to see.”

Q: Other than the general -- I mean, everybody understands that Clemson's D-line is pretty good and you saw that, but what are maybe some of the nuances that you observed watching it last night?
MUSTIPHER: “Big, fast, physical. They're athletic. Great D-ends. Great interior D-linemen, great linebackers. And Coach Venables has those guys with their ears pinned back at all times. Looking forward to it.”

Q: Ian, I know you don't want to get into the specifics of your injury, but how important was it for you to be able to have this break and let things heal a little bit?
BOOK: “I'm feeling great, so, obviously, another week of rest definitely helped. But, yeah, I'm feeling good. Got no problems right now.”

Q: Would you say that you played the last two games injured?
BOOK: “No, I think I was fine, obviously. Once I was cleared by the doctors, everything was good.”

Q: And then kind of along the lines of what I was asking Sam and what he was observing, you said you sat down with Coach Rees. What kind of things did you go over and look at? BOOK: “We briefly just were going over some of the fronts and watching some of Clemson's defense, just a game or so. So we're obviously going to dive into that a lot more, but, yeah, we were just going through a couple games from their season.”

Q: What do they do with their secondary? Do they press a lot? Specific coverages that maybe they run more than others.
BOOK: “It's a lot of stuff that we've seen throughout the year, but like Sam was saying earlier, I think just in terms of their whole entire defense, very big, very fast, athletic. So it's going to be a great challenge that we're all extremely excited for.”

Q: There's four common opponents, and I guess the Pittsburgh coach was asked about comparing you guys to Clemson, and he said, there is no comparison. Clemson is the best football team we've played. And I'm sure today in Ohio State and Georgia they're complaining. What's your response to that from a common opponent's coach to say that flat out? And how much do you think you guys can use as a group the national doubt that might be out there about you guys and the schedule you faced?
MUSTIPHER: “I mean, I don't really care about anybody's opinion outside of this building, and I don't think the rest of this team does either. That's how we've done it all year. We've prepared the exact same way, and we've kept our nose focused on what we needed to be focused on. We did what we've had to do when there are opponents in front of us, and I've voiced that to the rest of the team as well. They understand that, and they know what we've done all year.

BOOK: “Just to piggy-back on that, there's always going to be doubters, and that's something our team doesn't focus on. The people in this building, you know, we play for each other, and there's going to be doubters every day. So you just use it to -- use it to feel yourselves.”

CB JULIAN LOVE, LB DRUE TRANQUILL

Q: Drue, the 2015 game against Clemson, obviously, it was a monsoon. You won't have that in Dallas in the dome. But how much is that game motivation for you guys, how close it was, and that type of a game you played against Clemson? Is that motivating you guys, do you think, for this next couple of weeks?
DRUE TRANQUILL: “I mean, any time you lose to a team and get a chance to avenge that loss, obviously, I think it adds a little bit to it. I'm not sure too many guys actually played in that game. I know I didn't play in that game due to injury, but, yeah, we're hungry to get after them and get on with our preparation.”

Q: For both you guys, how was this past week for you guys not having a game to prepare and just kind of hoping that your resume spoke for itself?
JULIAN LOVE: “It was nice. I mean, just relaxing, handling some schoolwork. Finals are coming up. I wasn't too stressed about us being in. I thought we deserved to be in, and you've just got to be confident in that.”

TRANQUILL: “I think our resume speaks for itself. We played teams from across all different conferences, and we won every game. I think that's important in college football. It's tough to win games on any given Saturday. You know we came out and did that this year, and I'm very proud of our guys. Got some rest this week. Guys are able to spend time together outside of football activity, which I think is important for team development as well. So we really enjoyed it.”

Q: And for both of you guys as well, how much will this preparation -- you get four weeks here. How much will this mirror that preparation you guys had for the first game against Michigan, a big opponent, tons of time to kind of get ready? How much do you think those two build-ups and preps will mirror each other?
LOVE: “Coach Kelly kind of laid it out for us right after we found out where we were, and it's going to be similar in some ways. Obviously, we've got to really grind on the fundamentals in the initial parts of our practice, but then we're just going to get after it and just really build that hunger to play in Dallas and against Clemson. All of our mindsets are shaping right now. We're ready to attack. We're ready to go. It's just working on our game until then.”

Q: Julian, you talked about working on your game there. How much better can the defense get over this practice period? It almost seems like it's a spring practice in terms of how many practices you get.
LOVE: “Right. I think our defense could get better in a lot of ways. I think the main component to that is rest and recovery. I think we've been grinding all season, and a lot of guys have been playing a lot of snaps. I know Drue and Te'von for the linebackers have played the most snaps on our defense, and that takes a toll on the body. So allowing -- this week and the other weeks going forward allows a little bit more rest, but then we're ready to go and really ground the fundamentals of tackling and develop our game plan and really be able to execute it to the best of our abilities. And not just execute it, but know it.

“The players knowing the game plan and why we're doing certain things, I think is huge, and Coach Lea stresses that, and he relays that message very well. That's what this whole month, basically, before the game will be.”

Q: Drue, I see you don't have the cast on your hand. Are you done playing and even practicing with the cast? And then also, is there a chance that by the time you play in your next game, your ankle's going to be 100 percent?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, I don't really know regarding the ankle. I mean, it's kind of just day to day. After playing on it for a few weeks, there's going to be some soreness and tightness, and we're going to have to work on the mobility piece of it. I have no answer on that, but my hand's good to go, fully healed and cleared by the doctor.”

Q: Does it almost feel weird to be able to have all that mobility and so forth with that? I know you did a really good job of getting used to it, but now that you have, does it change things for you at all?
TRANQUILL: “I mean, I haven't really been able to play without it, so I guess we'll see. And obviously, this first game of the playoffs and practices, see how it feels to actually have my hand back and be able to shock and escape and use my other hand for block destruction. It will be nice to have for sure.”

Q: And, Drue, I know that part of the reason you come back is because you want an opportunity like this, but when did you really feel like this was realistic. I mean, did you think that in the off-season this was this kind of team, or was it into the season where you said, okay, wait a second, we may be a playoff team?
TRANQUILL: “Well, I made the decision to come back knowing we had the pieces. It was just a matter of execution. In '16, we failed to execute in the fourth quarter and lost a lot of close games. In college football, it really just comes down to technique and fundamentals and executing the game plan. At Notre Dame, you're always going to have talented athletes, like this guy (indicating Love).

“So it's just a matter of guys going out on defense, 11 as 1, and executing, when you do so, you have a pretty good chance to win some ball games.”

Q: How does it feel to be one of the last four teams competing for the National Championship?
LOVE: “It's pretty fun. It's a great time. To be with the guys we're with and to be going through this with anyone, I mean, it's just a special moment. Seeing No. 3 up there earlier today, it was awesome. We know that that was one of our goals in the beginning of the season, and now it's just checked off the list. Now going forward, we've got a few more boxes to check, but it's a fun time in South Bend.”

Q: What about for both of you, playing in a stadium like AT&T Stadium, one of the biggest stadiums in the country, what's that going to be like, a moment like that?
TRANQUILL: “It will be cool. I feel like we've played in a lot of big stadiums, and I think, if you focus too much on the atmosphere on the arena and what you're playing, you'll kind of lose focus of the game. Obviously, this is why you come to Notre Dame. You come to play in the playoffs. Like this is all we have to play for. We don't have to play for conference championships, we play for National Championships. So to be in a position on the big stage with everybody watching, it obviously adds a little flavor to that.

“But we're kind of used to that here at Notre Dame. Our fan base is great, and they follow us no matter what game we're playing in. For us, it's just going to be about getting down to the Xs and Os and getting after them.”

Q: And then Julian, seeing you wear the Weish Fest shirt, were you there yesterday? What was that like -- just you're not focusing on the other things, you're focusing on your teammates and your bond with your teammates.
LOVE: “Yeah, that's what it's all about. I was at Weish Fest. A lot of us were. I live with Nic Weishar, so it's great to be supporting my friend. It was great to be going through that with him. That's what it's about. It's a bond we're making here that's special. Don't worry, we were watching the games. They had some games on TVs there. Everybody was kind of huddled around different games, but we were enjoying the experience and supporting Nic.”

Q: Julian, what was it like for this whole campaign around you for the Jim Thorpe Award? Did you embrace that, or was it kind of uncomfortable at first to get used to everyone pulling for you like that?
LOVE: “Yeah, it kind of was uncomfortable for me at first to really openly campaign for votes, for the fan vote aspect. It was definitely weird, and it was my mom calling me, and my girlfriend telling me like, why not go all out? You're in it for a reason. Why not do all that you can, text everybody that you can to see if everybody can spread the word?

“So day two I kind of switched my mindset around from being like it's cool and like that to let's get after it. So trying to be as interactive with as many fans as I can, and everyone was sending it out. Between my godmother, my mom, my sister, and girlfriend, they probably alone had like 20,000 votes, constantly refreshing trying to vote, which is special, a lot of loved ones. To see that nearly 100,000 people voted, it's amazing. It's crazy the reach that that got, and it's pretty cool.”

Q: Drue, just your general impressions of -- you watched Clemson last night. Just your general impressions of their offense.
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, they've got a talented quarterback, obviously, who can get the ball out, and talented skill. I think their running back went 80 yards to the house the first play of the game. So obviously, explosive, dynamic, a lot of RPO game. We're going to have to be disciplined. We're going to have to be on our assignments. Great challenge, but we're looking forward to it.”

Q: What are your thoughts when -- obviously, their quarterback is a very talented kid, but he is a freshman. What are your thoughts when you go against a younger quarterback compared to somebody that's a real veteran?
TRANQUILL: “We always talk about just making them line up and snap it as many times as possible. The freshman's got problems too. He's got girlfriend problems. He's got school problems. And it just takes one snap of him thinking about that to throw us one or make a mental error.

“So we just talk about, if an offense is going to get going on us, we don't want to give up explosive plays, and guys like Julian make that possible for us. I think you've seen many times this year on offense, we'll take on water but they'll get down and end up missing a field goal or something, and we'll get our offense back down on the field. We just talk about making him snap as many times as possible to get it into the end zone.”

Q: Julian, you said you watched the game, and I asked Mustipher this too. Can you watch the game like a fan? I know the TV version doesn't give you the clearest view of the routes and stuff, but you're looking at it differently than the rest of the world?
LOVE: “I'm going to be honest. I was mainly watching the Northwestern-Ohio State game. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the Clemson-Pitt game, just purely being a fan of the game and having friends on the Northwestern team, being from Chicago. “So TV copies, you don't really get the full picture. Also, what the commentators say, it gets in your mind too, but obviously, going forward, now that we know what's ahead of us, a lot of film prep will be made.”

Q: Have you seen Trevor Lawrence play?
LOVE: “Yeah, I've seen a couple of their games this year throughout. Sometimes they might play before us, a couple of hours before us. So me and Troy like to watch them play. Troy is a South Carolina guy, so that's kind of his bread and butter.”

Q: Kind of along the lines of what I asked Drue, in terms of is your mindset any different when you know you're going against a young quarterback as opposed to a veteran quarterback?
LOVE: “Yeah, that's part of it for sure, knowing who the quarterback is. You will see a lot of attention being aimed at the quarterback. For me, I like to look at personnel in all aspects of it, what the line is doing, how the receivers play, what they like, what they don't like. Then kind of for me, I then will look at the tendencies of the quarterback.

“So I think Trevor Lawrence, he's done a great job for them this whole year, and he has things that he does well, maybe some things that he doesn't do well, but I like to look at offenses as a whole rather than aiming at the quarterback. He is young, but he's shown this year that he is very talented.”

Q: Drue, just wanted to know, when did you have the cast removed?
TRANQUILL: “I mean, I've had the cast off for probably three or four weeks, but I've had to practice and play in it. I mean, I had the cast on against USC for playing, but I've kind of been cleared.”

Q: When you got back from USC, was there a morning that you decided, eh, I think I'll just skip rehab today, or have you stayed with it since you've been back?
TRANQUILL: “I had to skip it one morning because I pushed my entire end of semester project and in one of my classes off so I could be in the rehab room, so I had to spend about 48 hours to knock out that, but then I was right back on the trail, man.”

Q: Now, when are you headed for New York?
TRANQUILL: “I leave tomorrow morning.”

Q: Julian, talk a little bit about what you guys have seen him accomplish this year, just to play in games and what he's done.
LOVE: “Drue is as tough as they get. That goes to show, I think, he got hurt. We were preparing for Northwestern, and Drue kind of was getting reps, but we were still trying to figure out if he was 100 percent. And I don't know what it was, like second, maybe third quarter, I'm lining up, getting a call, and I look over at who's relaying the call to me, and it's Drue. The whole game it was Drue, and no one informed me.

“I think Drue just exits right onto the field. I don't know if he told anybody. And I see Drue, and I like froze. I was like, can you -- should I call this? Should I call this? But Drue made the call, and I was like all right. I'm with it. We're going to go to battle.

“And that's just kind of the mindset that Drue has and how he's kind of shaped the mindset of this team, that we're in it together. He's not out there for himself, but for the betterment of this team. That's why he came back for his fifth year because he realized how special this was as a unit. No individual is better than the next, and Drue epitomizes that.”

Q: Obviously, you guys have earned tremendous respect getting to the College Football Playoff, yet whenever there is discussion of Notre Dame, it always seems, well, Georgia, we'd favor them on a neutral field, we'd favor Oklahoma, we'd favor Ohio State. I think you're 11-1/2 point underdogs against Clemson. Does that in any way affect you the way people think it does, or do you just kind of let it slide?
LOVE: “I mean, I don't really care about what the spread is or anything like that. I know what this team's capable of, to be honest with you, and people can compare us to the teams who didn't get in all they want. We're in. We're No. 3, and we're going to show the world what we're about.”

Q: Do you guys ever feel slighted in a way?
LOVE: “I mean, not really. All that matters is the people in this room, and that's what Coach Kelly has stressed since day one. That's what I've been focused on. It's what we've been focused on is the opinions of our brothers, the guys next to us, the guys who are actually on the field, and that's all that matters. So I don't feel slighted by it. We don't feel slighted by it by any means, but we're just happy to be in this moment.”

TRANQUILL: “I mean, nobody likes Notre Dame. That's just the reality of it. If you're not Notre Dame, you don't like Notre Dame. They can -- all the experts have to pull from in their recent experience is what's happened over the last ten years and how we got blown out by Alabama in '12 and lost to Ohio State in '15 in the Fiesta Bowl. Every time we go against a school with seemingly superior athletes on paper, we haven't fared well. This team is different. This team is not the '12 team. This team isn't '15. Look at our athletes on paper. I think we've got a pretty good spread as well, and I'd take us.

“Who cares what the spread has to say? I guess we'll find out on December 29.”

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