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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 27, 2017

Drue Tranquill

South Bend, Indiana

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the improvement as far as creating turnovers and what the reasons are for that, you think, from last year to this year?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I'd say the reasons are because we practice it. I think it's a big emphasis. It's always been an emphasis of Coach Elko's since I stepped into his system. That's one of the three things we try to do and measure ourselves by on a game to game basis, and so we'll continue to work on that and continue to push that because especially when you can cause turnovers on the road and even at home, you give yourself a big advantage.

Q. What is Shaun Crawford like? What's his personality? Is he quiet, funny? What's his personality like?
DRUE TRANQUILL: He's pretty similar to me, I think, personality-wise. He reminds me of myself, and maybe that's just because I went through injuries with him. But he's a resilient kid, someone who pays great attention to detail, I think, to his work, and cares a lot about his work, whether it's in the classroom or on the football field. He's constantly teaching me stuff I feel like in terms of football. He's very instinctual on the field.

In terms of just the kid he is, he's kind of laid back, likes to goof around and just laugh. He's more reserved and more quiet, I think, than some of the guys on the team, but a great friend and a really great kid and a great teammate.

Q. What's an example of maybe something during practice or even a game where he taught you something?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I just remember at Culver, we were watching, I guess, some of our one-on-one reps, and he was just -- I mean, he's one of our best cover guys on the team, and so he was just giving me tips on my footwork, on my pad level in and out of breaks, and just, I guess, keys into what the receivers' body languages are and their tendencies based on their alignments and stuff, and it was really helpful for me and my craft.

Q. Obviously we've seen just a lot of him the last couple games. How have you seen him improve just obviously coming back from those injuries? Where have you seen the most improvement?
DRUE TRANQUILL: Yeah, I mean, I think that question is kind of hard to measure because with his injuries they were both early on in the season, so I think it was just a question of finally getting him healthy and allowing him to play games in a row, and I think we've seen his capabilities and seen what he brings to the table as a player. In just the few games that he's played, there was no question within this program and within our team what he was going to do when he finally got on the field, and I think everyone else is finally seeing that.

Q. As someone who, as you mentioned, has gone through his share of injuries, as well, how impressed are you with the way he has been able to overcome to get back to the level he is?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I mean, any time you can overcome big injuries like that -- I think I have a greater appreciation for it having gone through it. It's rigorous, it's tough. There's highs and lows. There's points where you question is this really for me. But I think Shaun embodies the traits we preach on a day-to-day basis, our five traits of excellence. He embodies resiliency and grit, and so I'm very, very impressed with how he went through his process. You don't see a lot of kids like him, and I'm so happy to finally see his hard work come to fruition and pay off for him.

Q. For the defense as a whole, obviously we spoke about those turnovers, but what else have you seen over the last four weeks that has allowed you guys to grow to the point where you're at right now?
DRUE TRANQUILL: There's just guys buying into their role, caring about their role, guys not trying to do it all, that I think some guys felt in previous defenses, and so there's not a pressure on a guy to make 10 plays in a game. It's Julian Love having a pick six; it's Shaun punching the ball out before the end zone; it's Greer causing a fumble and Daelin recovering it. It's our linebackers fitting their gaps properly, our D-line getting penetration on 3rd and short, 4th and short, all the small things that add on themselves, and so people just buying into their role and taking great detail to their role.

Q. As the team as a whole, can you remember being a part of a win that was such a complete start-to-finish effort?
DRUE TRANQUILL: Man, I wish I could answer that with Florida State my freshman year, but that game didn't end the way we wanted it to. No, I'd say as complete a win as I've been a part of since I've been in the program.

Q. When you look at Miami's quarterback, what makes him so dangerous?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I mean, I think he's a tough kid, plays within the offense, takes care of the football, a competitor, someone who's on point with his footwork, is going to deliver the ball to his receivers, take care of the football, like I said, and then has the ability to escape the pocket and extend the play.

Q. They love to control possessions, the time of possession; how critical as a defense is that to not allow them to dictate that aspect of the game?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think it's huge. I think when you have an offense as explosive as ours, we want them on the field. I think that's important to get wins. And so that's our goal on a week-to-week basis is to get three-and-outs to get off the field so our offense can score points because that's how you win football games.

Q. The prevention of big plays has also been a major improvement of the defense this year. What do you think the biggest keys for that are?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think it's, like I said earlier, guys buying into their job. I think it's our corner and our secondary staying on top of the routes and making the quarterback check down. You know, we've allowed teams -- we gave up, I think, more yards than we wanted to, more yards than I'd like to in this past game. But when you force offenses in college football to drive the length of the field, they can't do it on a drive-to-drive basis, and they can't score as many points. When you start giving up explosive plays, an offense who can get 40-, 50-yard passes, it makes it a lot easier to get down in the red zone and be productive scoring points.

Q. And curious your perspective on Josh and Dexter in the run game in terms of what they're like to try to bring down. I know you're not in training camp anymore, but how are they different as you approach them as a linebacker? What do you need to keep in mind when you're trying to bring them down?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think what comes to mind first with both of those two guys is their explosiveness and their suddenness on any given cut. You can be pursuing them with an angle and then all of a sudden they kick it into gear and hit another speed and you're totally out-leveraged in your pursuit of them. I think they're strong at the point of contact, both of them, and just that suddenness and that burst that they bring, they're not necessarily very shifty backs, they like to get north and south, make their cut, but when they do, they're very explosive and it makes it difficult as a tackler pursuing.

Q. More similar than different then?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I would say more similar than different, definitely. They're very similar, yeah.

Q. Just in terms of the performance at Michigan State, Brian Kelly used championship-level performance. Why is that hard to recreate, to sort of package that and then keep doing it the rest of the season?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think it's -- to play really good football I think is difficult week in and week out in college football. You're getting different things from different teams. Here at Notre Dame you get each team's best, and so I think in any sport, in any competition, to stay at your peak performance and stay at the pinnacle is different. It's difficult, and it's hard to sustain. And so to keep that type of energy level and to sustain that is difficult and something that we have to consciously be aware of moving forward, but I think it's something that we've trained and we've built since January, and we're trained to do that, and we're going to continue to do that, and we're going to continue to come with the mindset of come dating and punishing each and every one of our opponents.

Q. I'm curious if you could shed some light on how you try to do that this week. Now that you've seen what you can be, how is practice maybe a little bit different this week as you try to remind guys, hey, what we did on Saturday to be more of a standard?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think it's just awareness. I don't think anything -- I don't think the message necessarily changes in a week-to-week basis. It's the same message for us. Our traits of excellence, our routines, our preparation, and then Saturday is about welcoming our opponent to that total preparation. So the message doesn't change. Maybe this week coming off a big win against a rival, heading into this game, maybe it's a heightened awareness of hey, guys, we have to continue to pursue, continue to trust in the process, but it's a pretty consistent message on a week-to-week basis.

Q. You and three linebackers right now are the leading tacklers on this football team. What does that say about the play of the defensive line so far this year?
DRUE TRANQUILL: It's great. Whenever they can make guys get off double teams, whenever they can get the penetration they are, it makes us easy to fit our gaps. It makes our run-pass reads a lot easier, and whenever they can stop the running back deep in the backfield, it allows us to pursue the football more quickly and get those tackles.

Q. Jerry Tillery is getting his share of tackles right now, but interior defensive linemen, sometimes things they do do not show up in the stats. How has he graded out so far this year when you watch him on tape?
DRUE TRANQUILL: I think Jerry has been great for us. I think specifically this year what stood out to me about him is his effort in pursuit to the football. He's made multiple tackles downfield, which is impressive for a 300-, 310-pound lineman, so to see him doing that and giving that spark to our team has really been incredible.

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