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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 30, 2017

Mike McGlinchey

South Bend, Indiana

Q. Considering where you were nine months ago mentally, emotionally, physically, is it hard to grasp where you guys feel you are now nine months later?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I don't think it's necessarily hard to grasp because we had so many changes and so many things that have happened since then positively that have completely changed the way that we feel and the way that I feel moving forward. Obviously last December was probably one of the harder times of not only my Notre Dame career but probably my football career, as well, and we've certainly put ourselves in a position, and the staff has done the same thing, to have a chance for success, and that's all you can really do.

Each week is a chance to have success, and each day is a chance to have success building forward. We've looked at that the last nine months, as to have a day-by-day mentality. We're not looking forward to -- we weren't looking forward in January to Temple. We were looking forward to each training session we had, and then spring ball hit and then summer hit, and now we have Temple on our minds. It's one of those things that it's not hard to understand where we are now and the way that we feel now because of the things that have happened since then, but it certainly has been a good turnaround.

Q. We were talking to Coach Kelly yesterday about Temple's defense, and he probably talked as much about Florida's defense as he did Temple's defense, obviously because of Coach Collins. But how about you guys as players? Did you look at film of Florida for scheme and film of Temple for personnel?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Yes and no. I think especially as an offensive lineman, the thing that you really have to worry about is yourself first, and obviously in preparation for the opponent, you look at their scheme. We've looked at Florida. We've looked at Mississippi State. And then just in terms of personnel, you kind of have to -- you really just kind of have to look at the obvious situations, like an obvious run or especially an obvious pass for a tackle, what is the guy's go-to pass rush move when it's 3rd and 10 and everybody knows we're throwing the ball and stuff like that. That's really the only thing I look for for personnel is the certain way he plays, but other than that, it's just about defensive structure and the tips that you can see of what they're going to bring and the way they're going to try and combat your offense.

Q. During the course of last month, what have you seen? What have you noticed from the Notre Dame defensive line that you've been going up against?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Well, they've certainly improved, and I think I said this last week, I give these guys a lot of credit because everybody, and a lot of people in this room, have given them a ton of crap since we've moved forward from last season, and the guys -- those guys have stuck their nose to the grindstone and certainly improved, and Coach Elston has done a good job with them, and I couldn't be prouder of the guys that we have there, and they're going to surprise some people, I think, this year. We've got guys from Daelin to Jerry to Trumbetti to John Bonner, anybody that's going to play for us up front is going to play their hearts out, and that's all you can really ask for them. They've done a great job ever since camp started and even in spring ball working on improving and knowing that they kind of have had a target on their back, and I think they've taken that as a challenge, and they're ready to make people wrong.

Q. Brian was saying yesterday that you guys are ready to play right now, like yesterday if you could have played you would have. What's been the vibe like for you guys as the players as we get closer to this game?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Well, I think it's just the way you are as a football player. It's been like six weeks, I think, of camp, and I'm tired of going up against Jay Hayes and Daelin Hayes. I want to go up against somebody that's different. It's a fun -- obviously it's the best time of the year. You finally get out of camp. You've got the three days away jitters of playing your first college football game of the year, got our new stadium. So it's a perfect storm. It's just super exciting to get the opportunity to start this season and do things that we know that we're going to be capable of and start us off on the right track.

Q. What's the game day experience like for you guys as players? I can imagine what it's like when you guys are sitting in the locker room waiting to take the field.
MIKE McGLINCHEY: It's one of a kind. You know, it's so exciting. It's why you play the game is the 12 chances you get on Saturday because everything else isn't really that fun. But Saturdays in the fall, especially here, are just so incredible emotionally, and then just as fun as they are. It's just the greatest game in the world, and being able to do it in Notre Dame Stadium and anticipating that with an hour to go while you're sitting in your locker dressed and ready to go, you certainly get the butterflies, and especially for the first one, because you haven't had it in a while and you're certainly ready to go.

Q. What's the anticipation that you expect to see from Brandon in his first start?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: You know what, I think Brandon is going to be just fine. He's a kid that knows how to control his emotions. He's cool, calm and collected. I think he's the coolest kid I know just in terms of just the aura about Brandon Wimbush. He's going to be fine. He knows exactly what he's going to be doing and knows exactly what he's capable of, and he's going to let it shine on Saturday. We're lucky to have Brandon because of who he is as a person and the type of player that he is for sure, and I don't think Saturday is going to be any different for Brandon than it is on a Tuesday in the fall, either.

Q. How bad of a taste does that 4-8 record from last year sit in you guys' mouths and how much do you want to scrap that and get back onto the field this year?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Yeah, I don't even think it sits in our mouths anymore. Like I was talking to Tim about, the last nine months, we know we're a different football team. We know we have different people here and a chance to do something very, very special, and I think that last year was last year, and this year is this year, and that's really all I can say is that we're not looking at last year as a motivational standpoint. We're not looking at it as a learning standpoint anymore because we've done that. We're past it, and we're focused on this one, and we think that we've got a good shot at doing some good.

Q. Obviously you guys will be focused on the game, but how much cooler do you think the atmosphere is going to be with everything that's been added to the stadium and the fans being a part of that as 80,000 plus for the first time?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think it's going to be awesome. Our new stadium is as good as it gets in the country, I think. I think that Mr. Swarbrick and whoever else was involved in making that possible did an amazing job, and it's certainly going to add a different element to what you normally see at Notre Dame Stadium. It gives a little life to the stadium. I think that it's going to be easier to follow the game a little bit when you can see a replay or see something that's going on. Certainly for us, I know Coach Elston likes having the Jumbotron because you can get a full replay of what's happening on the field and doesn't have to rely on our word as much as he used to, so it's going to be fun. It's an incredible atmosphere. The stadium is state-of-the-art, and we're really excited to put on a show for the Notre Dame fans.

Q. Can that added atmosphere also help you guys on the field?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I'm sure it can, but I mean -- yes and no, I think. I think it can also be a distraction if you let it. I think that this new stadium is going to bring a lot of energy. It's going to bring a lot of hype. It's going to bring all that and a matter of focusing -- it's a matter of focusing on what you need to focus on, getting your job done and everything else will take care of itself, and I think it'll be a lot more play to play reaction, I think, than just one touchdown every now and again.

Q. Obviously you always want to establish the run, but with the first game a couple days away, how confident are you in your ability to do that, and how is that confidence level different than it has been at this time in previous seasons?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I don't think the confidence level is any different from the start. I think each year you kind of always believe and have the confidence that you can pull it off as an offensive line. The five of us up front want the game on our shoulders. We want to be able to have Coach Long call run play when the game is on the line. I think that we're very capable of doing that. I think we have great players up front, not just Q and I, but Sam, Alex, Tommy and Rob, whoever winds up playing there. It's going to be exciting for us up front because we have an offensive coordinator now that trusts us and means what he says when he says we're going to put the ball in your hands or -- not physically the ball for us, but the game in your hands, and we know he means it, and we know he wants that himself.

We're really confident in our abilities. We've worked really, really hard for the last nine months into giving him the confidence in order to do that and giving ourselves the confidence in order to do that, and I think that it just comes down to execution, and when the play is called, we've got to do our job just like everybody else does, and we're confident that us doing our job is better than everybody else. That's pretty much it.

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