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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 20, 2017

Greer Martini

South Bend, Indiana

Q. Being the first road game, what traits did you see from your team that you liked on Saturday?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, I think we went out, had great energy. It was a little bit of a slow start, but eventually once we got things going, we were fine, and I felt like we were pretty professional and we did a good job with it being our first away game.

Q. What do you have to do better on the road this Saturday in a tougher environment at Michigan State?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, it's going to be a hostile environment, but this is a bigger game, bigger stakes, so I think we're going to get ready and we're going to have the energy to go out there and just go out and play to the best of our ability.

Q. Off of what happened last year in the Michigan State game, how do you think you guys are approaching this year's game?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, we have a point to prove. Obviously we didn't like the outcome from last year, but it's just all about taking each day at a time and getting prepared for this game, giving them our best performance on Saturday night.

Q. It was obvious leading up to the start of the season that you guys had changed a lot of things and were better prepared to start the season; where do you think you've improved defensively with three games under your belt now?
GREER MARTINI: I think that just the understanding of the scheme each week, you kind of get better with it, just less missed assignments, better communication, like the clarity of what we're saying to each other, we're on the same page. I think that just improved from week to week with us.

Q. What in your career so far are you most proud of here? I'm guessing availability and versatility are among those things, but what are you most proud of so far?
GREER MARTINI: In my personal --

Q. Yes.
GREER MARTINI: At times I felt like I was just used as a specialized player, whether that was against the option or not, and I think that for me to show the coaches that I can be an every-down linebacker I think is the proudest I've had in my career.

Q. What are your aspirations or plans after Notre Dame?
GREER MARTINI: So I would love to continue my football career after here, but I'm a finance major, and I don't really know what I want to do yet, but I'll figure it out, and I'll let you know once I get that -- yeah.

Q. How would you evaluate or how has your inside linebacker crew with Te'von, you and Nyles been evaluated by the coaching staff up to this point?
GREER MARTINI: I think we've played well, and I think that we've gotten better each week, but there's a lot of things that we can still improve on, and I think about the biggest thing with BC was kind of there was -- at a point it was like, I don't know what the score was, but they had 13 points at a time, and we could really step on their throats there and just end the game, and we let them have a long drive, so just kind of staying locked in all the time for linebackers and never really ever taking a series off.

Q. And for you individually, maybe a technical thing or two that you feel you need to improve upon?
GREER MARTINI: I think that just as the game progresses, as I get more and more tired, just running my feet on tackles and kind of finishing plays.

Q. You kind of talked a little bit about Michigan State, wanting to kind of avenge last year's, but what are you and the guys kind of talking about, what this rivalry means to you, and what have the coaches made it mean to you guys?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, so I mean, this is a big game. It's one of our rivals. They have the traveling trophy right now, and we take a lot of pride in that, and we want to get that back. But ultimately, it's just about as this team progresses throughout the season, we just have to get better each and every week, and this week it's MSU, so we're going to give them our best game.

Q. Does it add a little more motivation for you guys, even though it's a rivalry game, there's already plenty of motivation there for you, but just to be able to have the opportunity to possibly beat them in their house like they did last year?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, and I think that everyone understands coming into a game like that, coaches always say it's not a big game, but as a player you know it's a little bit of a bigger game, and sort of the atmosphere there is going to be great, and it's just an opportunity for us to go out and beat a good team.

Q. What are some of the challenges that MSU's offense is going to present to you guys this weekend?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, I think that they're good. I think the offensive line is improved from last year. I think they're a great team. They've got good running backs, and they've got a dual-threat quarterback, so all those things we've kind of got to defend against.

Q. I think that's interesting you saying that because they have four new starters on their offensive line; how are they better than last year's line, which was a little bit more experienced?
GREER MARTINI: Just from watching it, I think that's just kind of what the coaches have told us, and so I'm just kind of relaying that. I don't really -- yeah.

Q. When you guys made that stop on 4th down in the BC game, Coach Kelly talked about that play as being one that really gave the whole team some confidence. With having made that stop last game, does that give you guys as a defense confidence that you can make that stop in key situations going forward?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah, I think it's a great confidence boost to have big plays, come up with big plays at big times in the game, and that was kind of when the offense at that time really hadn't gotten anything going at that point, and then that drive they went down and scored, so I think as a defensive unit it shows us that we can change the momentum and that we can come up with big plays.

Q. You mentioned their quarterback being a dual threat. Just what are some of the challenges that come with when you're kind of preparing for a dual-threat quarterback, and what specifically have you seen from him?
GREER MARTINI: So I think with a dual-threat quarterback, obviously you've got to be sound in pass responsibility, but at the same time, you have to be aware of his ability to leave the possibility and run for 1st downs and extend plays, so as a defense, you've got to be aware of that and play it smart. And you just have to have guys rallying down to the ball when he takes off.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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