Troy Pride Jr. Ascending Following Reese's Senior Bowl

Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride Jr. entered the Reese's Senior Bowl with little hype and the South Carolina native left Mobile (Ala.) as one of the hottest prospects on the draft board. 

Pride not only had an outstanding week of practice, but he capped it off with an interception in Saturday's game. 

"It's been good," Pride told Austin Lane of ESPN690. "It's never overwhelming. I think I'm built for this moment and I'm here for a reason. Learning the defense, the NFL operations and how everything goes is good. It's just an amazing experience." 

Notre Dame fans know Pride has never lacked confidence and the 5-foot-11, 193-pounder credits his time in South Bend for helping it grow. 

"It comes from being through a lot," stated Pride. "I went through a lot of adversity at Notre Dame. I've seen a lot of stuff at Notre Dame and it's made me the man I am today. 

"I committed because I felt Notre Dame would make me the best man and athlete. I truly think it has." 

NFL teams will also love to learn and dig into Pride's work ethic. 

"Everyone is afforded talents and opportunities, but it's what you do with those that mean the most," explained Pride. "With mine, I decided to put the work down and do things differently than other players. 

"I decided to be different and with that, I have continued to grind and be the humble worker I know that I am." 

That work ethic didn't stop on the football field as Pride also ran track in the spring for most of his career at Notre Dame.

Pride never complained about a demanding schedule in the spring and embraced it.

"It was 6:00 AM workouts in the morning for football and then I would go to class from about 10:00-2:00 depending on my schedule," Pride said. "Practice for track usually started at 3:45-4:00 and going for at least two hours. I'm getting out at 6:00 and I need to get in the ice bath, drink cherry juice and stretch out. I'm getting out at around 8:00 and then I still had homework, so it was pretty demanding and tough.

"When you learn discipline in the program, it makes you better." 

With the Senior Bowl in the rearview, Pride will now turn his focus on preparing for the NFL Combine at Michael Johnson Performance in Dallas. 

And yes, Pride has set a lofty goal for the 40-yard dash. 

"I'm going 4.2," predicted Pride. "I gotta predict it. I gotta go 4.2. A lot of people haven't done it and I want to be on that shortlist."