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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 25, 2017

Greer Martini

South Bend, Indiana

Q. Can you give us an update on your health situation and what exactly occurred and went through?
GREER MARTINI: Yes, so during the bye week I was in an ST drill and basically tore my meniscus. And I had surgery last week. They repaired it and I'm full go. I had practices all yesterday. Didn't take any reps off. And I'm feeling really good.

Q. What did you think of your replacement's play last week?
GREER MARTINI: You probably know, it was excellent. Te'von played an excellent game. I was really happy for him to get in there do such great job for us.

Q. You mentioned Te'von and I know Coach Kelly gave the game ball for USC to Khalid. What does it mean for these guys who don't start every game, but what do they do for their defense?
GREER MARTINI: They do great things for us. Obviously everyone on the defense is important to us. But a guy like Te'von, with our rotation, the three-man rotation that we've done the whole season, it isn't like he hasn't had that starting position. He might not be the first guy out there, but he's been taking starting reps all season long, so he was ready for the moment. And that's for us. Whether it's Te'von or I or Nyles starting, we all kind of have had enough reps that we feel like we're all starters.

Q. How would you describe NC State's offense and the things that you guys have to deal with adjusting to them?
GREER MARTINI: I think they're really good at what they do. They have a lot of misdirection with their stuff. They're pretty sound at what they do. They don't turn over the ball. I think they had three turnovers (indiscernible) the first game. The quarterback is really good with his progressions. And so it's going to take a lot of us to beat them, but I think we're up to the task.

Q. Regarding motions, Drue talked about how many motions they incorporate. What does that do for a defense?
GREER MARTINI: So I think for a defense it makes you have to be more disciplined with your eyes. Definitely there's going to be kind of like window dressing and you kind of got to read through it and go through your progressions and fit the right gaps. And that kind of adds a new element to the defensive game.

So when they have a bunch of motions it makes it trickier. At the same time as long as we're understanding our game plan, it shouldn't be too big of a deal.

Q. As Nyles reminded me, all the running backs you face are fast. But I was wondering if Hines is at the top of that list or who up to this point has been maybe the fastest running back that you guys have faced?
GREER MARTINI: I think probably the guy we'll see this week, Hines, I think he's downhill, he's fast, I think it's going to be a challenge for us but I think we're up to it.

Q. You guys have been beat people so badly you haven't had a close game since the Georgia game. I would imagine that maybe that would be fine with you the rest of the season if they were all four-touchdown games, but does the competitor in you look forward to an opportunity to maybe an end game situation?
GREER MARTINI: As you said, I would be totally okay beating the rest of the teams by a lot of points. But I think definitely as a competitor we want a close game and we're ready for that close game. And when it comes I think we're going to be able to dominate that type of situation. That's what we've been preparing for. We talk about grit and like all these attention to details and that's when it really comes into play, not when we're beating teams by a lot of points but when it's really narrow.

Q. I know you guys were pretty confident before the season where this team could go. Now to be where you are and have that validation to this point, how much has the confidence, the mood increased throughout the season?
GREER MARTINI: I wouldn't say that it's increased. I think it's stayed pretty level. I think that from the start we had this confidence engrained in us just from our preparation.

But for us, like it's not about listening to anything on the outside or any of the noise, it's just about doing the same exact thing we've been doing and just preparing to out-execute our opponents.

Q. I asked Drue about maintaining that focus, but I guess as captains, probably easier for you guys, how do you make sure that maybe the younger guys aren't listening to anything from the outside?
GREER MARTINI: I think just reiterating the fact we are where we are because we did things a certain way, so we have to continue doing them that way. When we were really bad, they were saying this; and when we're really good, they're saying that. It doesn't really matter as long as we have the same message in the locker room: Continue to grow as a team.

Q. Does it help having another big opponent in NC State that you kind of you have to focus on the task at hand, because you know they're so good?
GREER MARTINI: Yeah. And I think that goes for the rest of our season. It's not like any of the games get easier. So it's just a progression for us. As the season continues to go on, we just have to keep getting better if we're going to keep winning.

Q. You've won the turnover battle. They win their turnover battle every week the other way in terms of not giving it up. How much are you looking forward to that challenge and how critical is that in determining the outcome of this game?
GREER MARTINI: I think it's huge in determining the outcome of this game. Usually the team that has the more turnovers wins the game. And for us that's been a big emphasis on creating turnovers.

And with an offense that doesn't give very many opportunities for those turnovers, it's going to be a great challenge to us. And I think we're ready for it.

Q. Obviously you're still under two weeks from that surgery. Do you feel like you could have contributed anything against USC?
GREER MARTINI: I warmed up against USC. I felt I could go. But it was probably more adrenalin than anything. But I wasn't prepared to play last week. I'm more focused on getting back this week and being healthy.

Q. We saw you dress out and go through warmups. What was the experience of that game like, just being that close to it but not participating?
GREER MARTINI: Well, obviously for me as a competitor I wanted to be out there and sharing that celebration with the guys, but from the sideline it gave me a different perspective. And it really kind of made me want to get back out there. But it was awesome to see all the guys on the defense and offense succeed. And ultimately it doesn't really matter about me; it's about the team.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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