Notre Dame Captains Transcripts: Nov. 15

A trio of Notre Dame's captains addressed the media today for their weekly press conference.

Below are the full transcripts of linebacker Greer Martini, left tackle Mike McGlinchey and rover Drue Tranquill.

Q: Greer, I had heard that as a kid in elementary school you randomly out of the blue asked your grandparent for a Notre Dame hoodie. They don't know where that came from. So I'm wondering if you could explain where that came from.
GREER MARTINI: “Yeah. I think from an early age I was kind of like always intrigued with Notre Dame and the prestige behind it, and so one Christmas I just kind of said, hey, I really want a Notre Dame sweatshirt, and that's what I got from them. I think I still have it at my house. It just goes to show that I've always loved this place. I still love this place. It's going to be really emotional for me after this game to walk off that field in my last game.”

Q: And in North Carolina were you the only person with that fandom or did you have allies with that?
MARTINI: “It was just kind of me. But like I just remember like growing up my dad and I like every Saturday would watch as many college football games as possible. So it wasn't specifically Notre Dame only. Just for some reason I was drawn to Notre Dame. So I always watched their games, always wore that green sweatshirt.”

Q: When you think back on the memories you've had at Notre Dame Stadium, is there a game or a memory or a play that sticks out?
MARTINI: “I don't think it's just one play. There's going to be so many different things going through my head. But I think that one memorable moment definitely was in my freshmen year when we beat Stanford, the last-second pass to Koyack. That's one of those moments that kind of stands out the most to me.”

Q: What do you think Saturday is going to feel like? Is it just going to feel like another game in the moment or do you think it'll feel different than the ones before? MARTINI: “I think it's definitely going to feel different. But as a player I want to leave that Stadium playing the best game I've ever played as a senior, just go out on the right note. So you gotta channel all that emotion that goes into running out, senior, family, all that kind of stuff. Kind of getting ready to play.”

Q: With it being Navy and obviously your first start was against Navy, you kind of made your name against Navy, is it kind of fitting that it's Navy for your last game at Stadium?
MARTINI: “Yeah, I think so. Definitely. It's always been kind of like a big game for me. That's kind of what my first couple years did was play the triple option. So it's definitely fitting, I think.”

Q: After what did happen on Saturday, what's the mindset of everyone?
MARTINI: “Definitely it was a tough loss for all of us, but we had a couple days to kind of dwindle over it, but now it's kind of about getting back. We still have a lot to play for. There's a bright future for this team. We win out these next two games, will be in a great bowl game. So I think the attitude is we gotta tell all the guys, look, we still got something to play for. And definitely moving forward we got 26 seniors on this team. I think as an under classman it was always my goal on senior day to get those seniors a victory, and I think that's a big goal on the list this week.”

Q: And with National Championship chances a little bit slimmer now, has the goal shifted a little bit more now to a say a 10-win season or a New Year's Six bowl game? MARTINI: “No. I don't think so. I think the legacy of the senior class was to get Notre Dame on the right track again. Obviously after a 4 and 8 season, it was our goal to kind of bring back the prestige to Notre Dame. And I think that as seniors we want to finish out strong; the rest of the team does. So not even if it's college football playoffs this year, like continuing on to the next years and kind of creating a culture at Notre Dame that's going to last.”

Q: And defensively for you guys, what's going to be the key to top Navy's offense this week?
MARTINI: “I think discipline. You gotta be at the right place in the right timing against an offense like this and if you're not, they exploit you. It's all about playing fundamental football and executing.”

Q: Coach Kelly talked about earlier this year during the off week that you did get a little preparation in for Navy, because it's not a defense that you see -- or it's not an offense that you see every week. Tell me how that would be helpful and what specifically are the tough things that you have to do against a Navy or an option team?
MARTINI: “Yeah. I think that against an offense like Navy's, it's tough to get prepared in just one week, because it's such a unique offense. Not something that we see every day. So it takes adjustments with whatever plan you have; it's a different defense you gotta run against them. So I think it lies in becoming familiar with the different plays, and then it's so fast, by the time the ball is snapped, you gotta be able to understand where you're going and go at it really fast and execute at a high level.”

Q: And you guys have had some success and sometimes you haven't against Navy. What is it about a Navy football player that makes it tough to play against?
MARTINI: “I mean these guys will come at you for four quarters and have relentless effort, and so like the mindset you bring to the game has gotta be a physical one. And I think we have all the athletes and capability to be successful against them on Saturday. It's just a matter of what mentality you bring to the game. These guys are the guys that serve our country kind of have that resilience to them. So I think that's the biggest thing about Navy.”

Q: Coach Kelly has talked about the importance of just refocussing this week after Miami. What is that process like? How do you refocus after Miami?
MARTINI: “Yeah. I think obviously like it's a really tough game to leave Miami, come back here. We got back late. You have all the distractions from every which way that Notre Dame brings. But I think what he's talking about is refocusing is that for this team we need to kind of step back and be like, hey, we still got things to play for, not let this game affect the rest of our season. We gotta finish out strong.”

Q: How do you maybe make sure the rest of the team is doing that this week in practice and not reverting back to maybe the way things might have been the last couple weeks?
MARTINI: “Yeah. I think the biggest thing for us is just going at it every day like we have throughout the rest of the season. Even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted against Miami, we prepared as well as I think we could have. So it's just about coming every day with the work mentality. Just kind of just reiterating to all the guys that, look, this is still a special season. We can still do a lot of things with it.”

Q: B.K. said just yesterday that you guys learned a lot on Saturday night. What's something that you learned that's also maybe applicable to the rest of the season, whether it's this weekend, at Stanford or a bowl game?
MARTINI: “Yeah, I think that at a high stage, especially being in Miami there's like a lot of external factors that came into that game, whether that being how loud it was, whether it's like coming in on the buses, just seeing all the different fans. Kind of as a team we need to learn how to get rid of those external factors and just focus on what's important and that's winning.”

Q: I mean is it a situation where there was enough going on around that game that I think you guys used the term optimal zone, that very few guys were actually in the optimal zone?
MARTINI: “Yeah, I think there's a lot of hype that goes around that game. All week we saw it all over ESPN. So that also goes into it. But like I was just saying, goes back to the point that as a team we gotta learn that like if we're going to be playing in the future in those high-stake games, that we gotta channel all that out and just focus on the what's important.”

Q: And I want to ask you something just Xs and Os related. Miami had a lot of success with the quarterback draw on Saturday. What do they do to have success there? Was that more about maybe you guys getting your eyes distracted? Can you take me in that aspect of the game?
MARTINI: “Yes. The QB draw obviously, especially from the second level, is tough to play just because we're getting back in our pass drops, trying to man up route, whatever it may be. And then when he took off running, I think that we just weren't ready for it. And I think that as the game went on, we got better and better at it, but it's definitely a difficult play to defend.”

Q: Mike, here's a game that you thought you might not get to. Three years, your last game at Notre Dame, thoughts going into this last week and considering after what occurred last week?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: “Yeah. It's kind of hard to believe that five years is up. Tough. It's bittersweet. I know I've put everything I had into this place, in Notre Dame and this team and this university. And it's a little bittersweet to think I'm not going to be able to come back and play in Notre Dame Stadium anymore after this week. We've had a hell of a season. It's been an emotional roller coaster, and I want to make sure we go out against -- the rest of the senior class, not just myself and getting a win against Navy this week.”

Q: Everybody talks about the Navy offense and what the defense has to come up with. What unique things does Navy do defensively that you have to be prepared for? McGLINCHEY: “Well, they play a couple of different fronts, and they move a lot, so very rarely are they stationary. They bring a lot of pressure. They bring a lot of different looks to try and confuse offenses. And you just gotta stay disciplined to your tips and your alignments and what normally you see out of defenses and what you've trained yourself for the last five years doing. You know, it's going to be the same kind of -- it's going to be football. It's going to be -- they're going to line up 11 guys, we're going to line up 11 guys and we're going to see what happens. But yeah, they do a lot of different things, try to mix it up a lot of different ways and try to create a little confusion for offenses.”

Q: What's the one thing, the one moment that you're going to recall you think the most 10, 15 years down the line of you playing here at Notre Dame?
McGLINCHEY: “That's a really tough question. You know, I think I'm going to remember this season as a whole. I think that coming from where we came from and the state of the program and where it was last year and being a captain of that team, and then being a captain of this team. I mean the amount of turnaround that we were able to have, it's something that's very, very memorable. And I take a lot of pride in being able to be a part of it, on top of obviously the things that -- the main thing that I'm really going to take away from this place is the relationships that I've built. I've made the best friends in the world. I've been mentored by some of the greatest coaches and other players that you could ever ask for. And I think that anybody who really knows this place is the best part about it is the people that you get to meet. And that's the thing that I'll be talking about for the rest of my life, not just the next 10 to 15 years.”

Q: Take us back to what was (indiscernible)?
McGLINCHEY: “It was pretty awful. Yeah. No other words to say than that. We're not really worried about that right now. We're worried about trying to win the next two games against Navy and Stanford and we're going to start against Navy.”

Q: What's the mindset now after Miami, finishing these last two weeks strong? What's the mindset?
McGLINCHEY: “The mindset is the same as it's always been. We're going to go out and try and dominate our opponents, and that's really all you can really say about it. The mindset hasn't changed. We've got a lot still to play for; chances at a great bowl game and just pride of who we are and what we've built and what we're about. And I think that message hasn't changed throughout our entire football team, and that's what you're going to see on Saturday against Navy.”

Q: How important a decision was it for you to be able to come back, just in your game? McGLINCHEY: “I think it was huge. You know, I would have probably been kicking myself if something had happened here the way it's been happening this year, and knowing that I could have been a part of the turnaround would have been tough to swallow, and if I wasn't, obviously from just a feeling standpoint. In terms of my game, I think I've grown a lot over the last year. I think I've done a lot of things well. Obviously I've made some mistakes here and there, but that's part of football, and I do my best to keep cleaning those up. But you know, I think I've taken a big step forward in my individual game, in the way that I've learned how to lead and deal with my teammates. I think that I've had another opportunity to grow and then continue to learn how to be a professional under Coach Hiestand and working with Q and the other guys each and every day. And you know, I got another year to spend at ^ Notre Dame and that's always a plus.”

Q: The ultimate goal of a National Championship, a little bit slimmer now, so does sort of the goal shift to looking at it as let's get 10 wins this year, let's go to a New Year's Six bowl? What's sort of the goal shifting for you guys?
McGLINCHEY: “I don't know how much it's shifted. I think that whether it's this year or not, I think that the goal is still to win a National Championship. And if I can do my part and if it's not this year and going to the next year and years to come, if I can kind of try and help out that process and that cause, then I'll feel pretty good about that as well. But you know, there's a lot of pride and tradition here to maintain and be dominant. And that's what we're going to try and do these next two weeks, and if we're lucky enough to play in a New Year's Six bowl game or wherever we wind up playing, then we'll do that as well. But the goal is still the same. Whether it's now, whether it's in the future, it doesn't really matter. The goal is to bring Notre Dame excellence and that's what we're going to continue to try to do.”

Q: Coach Kelly was talking yesterday about the importance obviously of refocusing^ . What's maybe your personal process of refocussing after a game like that? McGLINCHEY: “Well, you know, it's the same as pretty much every other week. Obviously it's just a little harder to swallow when you watch the film. But yeah, the process is you go in on Sunday, get your treatment, try to make yourself feel a little bit better physically, and then later in the afternoon watch the film until you see what you need to see. And after that, Sunday you just put everything aside, and Monday you -- normally we watch the same film with Coach Hiestand and the rest of the team with their position coaches, but after Monday it's over. And then, you know, you start game planning Monday afternoon, and then as soon as Tuesday hits, it's all about the next opponent. And that's the only process that you can continue to have in this game is to always look forward. You can't control what has happened in the past. You can only control what you're doing right at the present, and that's all we're trying to do and that's all I'm trying to do. Trying to get a little bit better each and every day. And you gotta take that process and that mindset out to the ^ practice field and into the meeting room and into your study each and every day.”

Q: Do you feel like you tell the guys anything different? There are only two games left, and there's more of a sense of urgency or anything like that?
McGLINCHEY: “I don't think there's more of a sense of urgency at all. I think that I don't really need to say much. That's the great thing about what this team has become is such -- it's such a different mindset. It's a never-faltering, never- wavering kind of mindset that our football team has. And obviously we took a big lump on last Saturday, but that's not affecting ^ who this team is and what this team is about. We're going to prepare the same way that we've been trying to prepare, hopefully prepare a little bit better and make sure that we get the win against Navy. And that's really all that we're focused on. There's not really much else to say other than keep the process forward and make every day your best one.”

Q: Coach Kelly also said he mentioned USC turned their season around after losing to you guys. Does that resonate at all with you or with your teammates, like you guys could maybe do that?
McGLINCHEY: “Yeah. I mean obviously it's a good lesson. They didn't let things -- I mean we beat them just about as bad as Miami beat us. So it's kind of almost the exact same situation. But you can always look and find different examples of how to do things and how to do things well, and that's just something he drew from and that's something that we can look to. But we know we're a very different football team than USC and we have different opponents left, but yeah, our mindset is to just win and dominate the next two games and that's all we're going to try and do.”

Q: (Indiscernible) thoughts given to pregame introduction, parents down there, just sort of getting that out of your system before the start of the game?
McGLINCHEY: “Yeah. You know what, I've been trying not to think about it too much. It's definitely going to be hard for me. I think a lot of people can attest to this, that I love this place with everything I got, and I've always worked and wanted to put my best effort and play forward for this place, for my teammates, for my coaches and just Notre Dame in general. It's something that I'll always treasure. I consider myself the luckiest man in the world to be able to play football at this awesome place here. And it's going to be tough. I don't know if I'll be able to think about it right in the tunnel because I have a job to do. But afterwards, when or if we get the win and singing that alma mater for the last time in the Stadium, I'll probably be a little bit of a mess.”

Q: I guess when you think about you have a job to do, is it going to be easier to remember that before the game?
McGLINCHEY: “Yeah, it'll be a little easier. It's the last time I'll run out of that tunnel, and at least I'll have my mom and dad on the field. I'll give my mom a hug; she'll settle me down a little bit. And the rest is just a football game. It's hard to think about other things when you got a football game going on in front of you. I've never had a problem with focusing on what my task is supposed to be and never let any outside forces other than the game affect what I'm thinking about. And I'm going to do the same thing on Saturday, and then afterwards, like I said, I'll probably take time to reflect in what happened and try to soak it all in.”

Q: And B.K. mentioned yesterday about felt like you guys learned a lot at Miami. Maybe it won't be applicable this week but down the road. What do you think the program learned that can help you guys the next time you're in a spot like this? McGLINCHEY: “That college football is a crazy beast and no matter what the Saturday is or what your opponent is, you gotta bring it to the best of your ability because as hard of a thing you have to do is win each and every Saturday. And Miami was certainly a fantastic opponent and it was an unbelievable atmosphere. And having that kind of an experience to draw from, and we didn't come out on the right side of that, but I think that gaining that experience, especially for our younger guys and for the team and the program as a whole, getting a little taste of where we could be is just that much more of a driving force, I think; that kind of a feeling you don't ever want to have, and coming out of the side that we did on Saturday certainly allows us to learn of how to better prepare ourselves mentally, physically and just know that each opportunity needs to be cherished and treated as such. And it's so important to take each game with a great amount of pride and great amount of focus in order to win the game. And I think that's where we learned a lot, and I think that's where we're going to continue to learn.”

Q: When you think about the young offensive linemen that have watched this starting group become great this year, whether it be the process of practice, execution of the game, what do you hope they will learn from what you guys did this year? McGLINCHEY: “I hope they learn -- I was actually thinking about this a little bit this week. I hope to God that the guys that are younger than me and have watched me play over the last year or two or however long they've been behind me that they learned the same things from the guys that I did that I was behind as well. You know, I'll always cherish the times that I've had with -- or the times that I was able to learn from Zach, Zach Martin and Chris Watt, Nick Martin, Ronnie Stanley, you know, all those guys that have come before me, because they are just world- class guys, world-class football players, and I owe them a lot. And they showed me the right way of how to do things and how to be a Notre Dame offensive lineman and what it means and what all goes into being that. And I hope that the younger guys like Rob, Tommy, Liam and all the other -- obviously I just named the tackles, but the younger guys behind me feel the same as what I've tried to do for them. And you know, I take a lot of pride and try to be the best teammate I can be, be the best coach or kind of player-coach I can be to help the young guys out, and that's all I really hope that they have learned from me is really how special this place is, how important it is to learn from Coach Hiestand and how to go about your business the right way.”

Q: Notre Dame obviously has a lot of rivals. Seems like half the season you have to spend your time talking about other teams. But what's kind of special about this week and the rivalry you guys have?
McGLINCHEY: “, the Naval Academy is as premier of an institution as you can get in America. You know, it's a great amount of respect in this rivalry. Obviously it's one of a long tradition. But you know exactly who is across from you on the field each time we play them. They're the best and the brightest, and they're going to go on and serve our country to the best of their ability, and it's something that you have to show respect to, because those guys are -- you know, what they do and what they prepare for is a lot greater than what I have to deal with. And so being able to be a part of that rivalry and what they bring each and every time we've played them, I mean it's exciting. It's a lot of -- there's a lot of pride on the line. And certainly a lot of respect both ways.”

Q: Obviously you focus mostly on game plans during this week, but do the coaches spend any time or do you guys as veterans try to spend any time teaching the young guys a little bit about the connection between the two?
McGLINCHEY: “I don't know. I don't think I've ever tried to enlighten people on rivalries here. It's pretty easy to figure it out. And I think each guy has his own experience with each different team. I'm sure each guy has their own individual rival that they either hate or love playing that much more. I know I certainly do. And it's just something you learn and experience, and it's part of why this place is so cool, because everybody is trying to get our number, and you know, it's about bringing it each and every week and playing for those traveling trophies that we have, and it's just another part of our cool tradition. Thank you guys.”

Q: Drue, I know you talked I think it was a week ago about making a decision whether to come back again if you had the opportunity. The fact that you could run out of the tunnel this Saturday, and maybe next year at the same time, what are your thoughts about coming into your last home game right now?
DRUE TRANQUILL: “Yeah, I mean I cherish every opportunity I get to run out of that tunnel. And so whether this is my last game or not, I'm going to cherish it and really enjoy going out there and getting a win for our seniors.”

Q: What about what makes this Navy offense that you're going to play this Saturday so difficult to come up against when you're playing a lot of spread offenses and things like that? I know that Coach Kelly said yesterday that you did take some time during the off week to maybe get a little familiar with this.
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, I mean Navy runs their offense no matter who they play. And so their business is about executing. And so they know how to adjust every line movement, every front you give them. They just know how to execute their offense. And so I think that's what makes them difficult is they know their offense inside and out. And so you have to change your defense to adjust to that and to play against that. And so just the usual things, eye discipline, execution that are going to be key.”

Q: I know it's difficult playing all those spread offenses. What's the one thing that you've gotta do to have success against that Navy offense?
TRANQUILL: “I mean against Navy you have to tackle, whether it's tackling the dive, tackling in space against the quarterback or their A back, you have to tackle. And that's how you beat Navy is downing the ball.”

Q: What's the motivation?
TRANQUILL: “I think the motivation hasn't changed. I mean we've been in this together since January, and we know what we've gone through, and so to let anything just go at this point is just -- you know, that's just insane. And so obviously Miami was the better team on Saturday. And they beat us, and they beat us -- they beat us well. And it hurt, because we felt like we prepared the right way. We felt like all the pieces were in place. And we came in with a dominant mindset. But this Saturday moving forward we can't really focus on that. We gotta focus on the intricacies of Navy's offense and what they're doing defensively to stop our offense. And we gotta focus on those details to win the game.”

Q: Do the goals change a little bit with National Championship obviously, bowl championship a little bit slimmer? Do you guys look at goals differently now? TRANQUILL: “I mean so really all we can focus on is winning these next two games, and whether the teams lose for us to get back in the playoffs, I don't know. I can't really have the foresight of that. But I know Notre Dame hasn't won a New Year's Six bowl in 20 something odd years. And so we have to win these next two games and we'll definitely be in a New Year's Six bowl. But whether that's the playoffs, I guess we'll figure out these next two weeks.”

Q: Obviously we don't know what we'll be doing next year, what your decision is going to be. You talked about how you cherish each home game that you have here. Is this one going to be a little bit different, even though your decision is on the fence? Are you going to try to take everything in a little bit more if it happens to be your last game at Notre Dame Stadium?
TRANQUILL: “I mean I think what I've been through at Notre Dame, just with having two knee injuries and kind of everything I've gone through, like I said, to just go out of that tunnel and walk out on that field is a special moment each and every opportunity I get because whether it's a decision to leave or whether it's a decision, you know, to do something else or whether it's an injury, you never know, like when your last snap is. And so this Saturday will be a little different, obviously with my parents being down on the field and getting to run out to them. And I think it'll be kind of a culmination of everything I've accomplished to this point, and I'll try not to cry, man. This thing means a lot to me. And so yeah, it'll be special for sure.”

Q: And of course, this rivalry, how much do you expect from Navy?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, I mean when you talk about our traits of excellence, that's something Navy has done and is constantly doing. They're a team that isn't going to quit. They don't really care what the score is on the scoreboard. They kind of just put their heads down and work and at the end of the game they'll look up and see what the score is. So I really respect them. They're our nation's leaders. They're in that next generation. And so you have to respect them as men and as players and what they do.

Q: Coach Kelly was talking about just the importance of refocussing after Miami. How have you personally refocused? What is your process after that?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah. So I typically -- I journaled on the plane ride home just kind of how I felt, kind of frustrations, what I kind of -- what that environment, what that atmosphere felt like, kind of what my body felt like in response to that. And then Sunday obviously just evaluation of film and I think getting treatment even and kind of coming back and saying, okay, whatever happened on Saturday, win or lose, like it's a fresh start. And so almost like refreshing myself to start the next week. And then kind of just, you know, coming in with a fresh mindset on Monday, ready to take in the next opponent's film and get on to the next game plan.”

Q: And how do you observe (indiscernible)?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah. I mean I think guys do similar things. I think we've taken a look internally and said, you know, that isn't how we want to play against Miami. It's not the outcome we want. It's not how we want to play defensively, offensively all across the board and so I think it's guys realizing like how much we've put into this thing and we can only control what we can control. We can't control what's happened in the past but we have an opportunity to go out these next two games and do something special.

Q: Coach Kelly also used the example of USC kind of turning around their season after they lost to you guys. Does that resonate with you all? Do you use that as a good example?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah. I think it comes down to a choice, and USC came in here and got throttled by us, similar to what happened when we went down to Miami. But they made a choice that they weren't going to allow that to define their season. They refocused and haven't lost a game since. So you gotta respect a team for doing that, especially a team like USC who had National Championship hopes coming into the season. To be able to refocus like that and have won out so far is a testament to I think the character of guys they have on their group. And I'd like to think we have the same character guys on our team and we'll do the same as they did.”

Q: I'm curious about the environment as a lesson for the program moving forward. B. K. referenced how the buzz down there kind of made your body feel differently than maybe some other games you may have had. What's the key to either channelling that differently, blocking it out better? What do you think the program needs to do next time around to be better in that respect?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah. We always talk about you gotta be self aware before you can enhance. Whether that's cranking the music up in practice or talking about it more. You know, in meetings of expect this, expect that so that your bodies are prepared and you're able to control those reactions. Those are I think some small things that you can do. I think it's just more communication, more awareness and maybe more music integrated into practice and louder atmosphere and sounds so that guys can get accustomed to communicating. But when it comes down to it, you can't necessarily prepare for cannons being shot off and beer cans thrown at your buses and all the stuff that kind of could have been a distraction in that environment. And when it comes down to it, like you come to Notre Dame to play in those environments. And so it was a lesson learned for our young guys, and our guys coming back. And we hope to be put in that environment again, and I sure -- I'd sure like to think having played in that will definitely help prepare us for next time.”

Q: What is sort of the connection between the environment and how you play? Like how does that affect you in more of like a specific way?
TRANQUILL: “I don't know that in terms -- obviously I think energy is contagious. And so when you feel energy, whether it's at home, I think that's where you get this idea of this home field advantage of kind of this energy of your fans behind you and kind of this just energy prospering. But when you're on the road and in a hostile environment, it can -- I think in the way it hurts you is it becomes distracting and guys are almost like, you know, oh, yeah, bring it on, bring it on instead of focusing on their execution. And it's kind of like this idea of maybe getting caught up in the hype instead of focusing on the details that actually allow you to win college football games.”

Q: And kind of Xs and Os, but they hit you guys pretty good with the quarterback draw on Saturday. What's hard about stopping that as a linebacker?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah. I mean we struggled with that a little bit against Wake as well. I think it's just the nature of college offenses, and when they can spread you out and the quarterback has the ability to deliver the ball outside, you have to defend that. And then when the quarterback can add the aspect of running the ball, you create five- and six-man boxes where they have good numbers and they have a hat for a hat, and some guys gotta get off the block and make the play to win. And we weren't able to do that on Saturday. And it starts with our linebackers. It starts with me having my eyes inside and being able to fall off and come off and make plays. It starts with our secondary coming downhill and making tackles, but at the end of the day to stop that, someone's gotta win and someone's gotta tackle.”

Q: You talked a lot about refocusing. How do you rebuild the mental confidence in your teammates and yourself that you need to refocus?
TRANQUILL: “Yeah, I don't think there was a loss of confidence, and I don't think there will be a loss of confidence moving forward this week. Confidence is a choice. That's what we've learned and what we've told ourselves, and we know the type of defense we can play. Being a defensive player I'm speaking for the defense. I know Brandon and the offense feel the exact same way. And you know, people can say Brandon struggled, whatever. Like Brandon's got like the utmost confidence, we have the utmost confidence in him, and we're all going to come back this week with the knowledge of what we've done and what we're capable of, and we're going to go out and execute in that fashion.”

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