Captains Notebook: Georgia
Notre Dame captains Josh Adams, Mike McGlinchey and Drue Tranquill, spoke on Wednesday afternoon to preview the game against Georgia. The three players know it’s a big game for the program and know they will have to play better this week to win the primetime game.
On the potential of Notre Dame Stadium being filled with Georgia fans:
Tranquill: “I think they bring their best every week, at least in the time I've been here. There hasn't been a game even in our downtimes when our fans weren't there filling our stadium, bringing a lot of excitement and enthusiasm, so I expect them to be rocking because in my opinion, we've got some of the best fans in the country.”
On the matchup against Georgia:
Tranquill: “Georgia is a great historic program, and it's an opportunity for us to test ourselves against a conference who has proven itself over the years in the SEC, and so we're excited to go against a tough, physical opponent in Georgia, and you know, see where we stand and also compete against some of the best competition in the country.”
McGlinchey: “We're very excited just because of the historic nature of not just our program but Georgia's, as well. They're a top-notch program just like we are, each and every year, and this is one of those games that when you see it come out, you circle it on your schedule like that's going to be a big one, and I think nationally that's been responded. I think it's the highest priced ticket in all of college football this year. It's one of those things that Georgia is coming to town, we're really, really excited about it, I know they're excited to come play us here, and it's going to be one of those games that people are going to be watching and people are going to be excited, and Saturday is going to be a hell of a time for sure.”
Adams: “It was great to get out there last week finally in front of our fans. This will be our second home game. The atmosphere is going to be similar. It's going to amazing to get out there in front of those fans, in front of our family and play. Each week we have a new challenge, and that's great to go towards our goal that we have set for ourselves. So it's definitely going to be a great opportunity. It's going to be a lot of fun getting out there again in front of these fans before we get on the road. So we're just preparing for that, preparing like we have been doing in the past. We're on Wednesday already, so we're getting closer, but we're definitely still focused on getting better and improving.”
On Georgia running back Nick Chubb:
Tranquill: “I think you look at a back that's very balanced. At about 5'10", 230, he's got a little bit lower center of gravity, so he's able to kind of maneuver tackles and exhibits great balance, and also great explosiveness in the hole and great vision. Whenever you have a back with all those traits, he presents a challenge.”
On Georgia’s two-headed monster at running back:
Tranquill: “Depth in any college football program, you're going to see success. I think you saw that with our defense last week and just our ability to rotate guys in and keep guys fresh. Whenever you're able to go from first string to second string and rotate guys in and not lose a beat and a step, you're going to be successful, and you're going to present a challenge for the opponent.”
Adams: “I actually just had a class end at 2:20, so I didn't have a lot of time to think about that. I rushed right over here. I have to get ready to lift. After that I have to go to practice, so my schedule is kind of tight. But you know, what we're concerned about is on the defensive side of the ball because I'm not on defense and I can't play the offense. We're just thinking about how we're going to produce our game plan and how we can get better.”
On Georgia’s ‘trash talk’:
McGlinchey: “You certainly hear it. You know, it's just one of those things that they can say what they want to say, and we'll just stick to what we're doing. We're not going to sit here and talk about what Georgia is saying or what they're doing. We're going to worry about Notre Dame. That's all I can really say about that. We're going to go and play our hearts out on Saturday, and whatever team wins wins. We hope it's us, and we're definitely going to work our butts off this week to make sure it's us, but other than that, we don't pay too much attention to it.”
Adams: “No, I'm not big on social media. I only have an Instagram, so I don't really search for a lot of that stuff. No, that's interesting. I haven't heard anything about that.”
On the defense improving its tackling against Temple:
Tranquill: “I thought our pursuit to the ball was great. I thought on initial contact we struggled at times. Maybe in open space, over-pursuing and taking bad angles, so just improving on our angles in the open field, improving on stepping to contact at first contact and wrapping and not allowing them to use their great balance to spin out of tackles. But I think where we were good was our pursuit to the football. I think you see plays like Jerry Tillery making a tackle 35 yards down the field. I think our pursuit was there. I think our initial contact and stepping into contact could be better and bringing our feet.”
On Georgia freshman quarterback Jake Fromm:
Tranquill: “Georgia's coaches are probably listening to that same stuff, and I'm going to think that they're going to bring a pretty balanced game plan in here that might have him in the three-step early to get him comfortable, but the kid is a talented kid. He didn't go to Georgia for nothing. He's got a great arm, and so obviously we don't have a lot of film on him, but we hear the kid is a gamer, and I'm assuming his coaches and his staff are going to do a great job having him ready to play, having him feeling confident. I'd imagine you have to feel confident with the guys surrounding you on offense, so it's going to present a challenge nonetheless, and I expect him to come in with a balanced approach and still throw the football.”
On Georgia’s defensive front:
McGlinchey: “They're big, they're strong, they're fast, and they play sound football. They're going to do a great job of using their hands, getting off blocks, and we just have to do our job to stay on them. They're going to be a group that plays real hard and a group that plays real fast, and they're just going to bring it on Saturday, and we've got to do the same.”
Adams: “I think that we're just mainly concerned about our behalf of the game. We're more concerned how we can do better as an offense, not so much who we're playing. We play a different team each week, and they're going to come with new things, so we have to focus on our half of getting better and improving. Each team is going to go out there and bring their best, and of course, that's what we expect is for them to bring their best, so we have to bring our best, and we're going to have to prepare likewise.”
On Notre Dame’s young right tackles:
McGlinchey: “They don't have to be the next Ronnie Stanley, Zack Martin, Mike McGlinchey; they have to be Rob Hainsey and Tom Kramer. The better they can get at that, the more success is going to come their way. They need to worry about doing their job. They need to worry about working their butts off throughout the week, and that's really all you can ask from them. They've done a great job in taking coaches from Coach Hiestand, from listening to anything I can throw their way, to anything that has been thrown at them, and they've done a great job in their preparation, and they're going to only to keep getting better.”