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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 1, 2017Josh AdamsSouth Bend, Indiana Q. Were you watching the rankings last night? What were you doing? Do you remember your reaction? JOSH ADAMS: So I was not actually watching. I wasn't near a TV last night. I'm involved in the (indiscernible) class here, which basically allows us to mentor kids who are in the foster care system. I was hanging out with my friend David. We were just hanging out, playing a little cards. I wasn't actually at a TV. Q. What was your reaction when you saw and heard what the strength and conditioning program would be like? Is this good? Is it going to work? What is it going to do for me? JOSH ADAMS: I mean, I was excited because I was ready to go. I was ready to move forward in the journey that I was on. I was ready for this team. I believe the rest of the guys were ready to see where we could go preparing for the next season. We had already put the previous season behind us, and we were ready to move forward together. I was excited, just like a lot of the guys, to see what was coming next. Just prepare for what we're experiencing now. It was a lot of excitement. Of course, I couldn't wait to see how everything else would turn out. No, I was definitely ready. Q. When did you see that it worked, that it's going to help you out in the long run? JOSH ADAMS: I mean, from the moment that Coach Kelly told us, the moment that we started to hear about all the different changes that we were going through. I mean, I think the guys on this team were more concerned about each other than anything else that was going on. They kind of took it upon themselves to say, Hey, we're going to pick this thing up together. Just from that standpoint, just having that mindset of we're going to change this thing around. Of course, Coach Kelly laid out the blueprint, kind of left it to us. It wasn't more so finding out about Coach Balis being here, although we love him here. We love seeing him every day. He brings that energy. It was more guys on the team changing the mindset of we're going to change this thing around. Q. How has that program made you a better player? JOSH ADAMS: I mean, it's done wonders. Obviously you see how it has affected us physically. We're holding up a lot better. From a physical standpoint, we're dominating our opponents. Mentally, you know, we're stronger. We did a lot of mental training throughout the off-season, not only getting our bodies right, but getting our minds right, preparing playing each opponent. It's been a long journey, and it's been a lot of fun. We have fun pushing our limits, testing where we were at competing. That's something we had a lot of fun with in the spring, the off-season, competing with each other, seeing who could lift the most weights, who could run the fastest. Brang a little fun back to playing football, competing with the guys around you, seeing how much better you can get, seeing how much you could push them. But it did wonders for a lot of areas. Q. How much better do you feel physically this November compared to last November? JOSH ADAMS: I don't really remember how I was feeling last November. I couldn't tell you. But I do know I'm feeling pretty good right now. Of course, we just came off of a game. That's pretty much normal. You can't really change much about having a little bruise here and there. I'm cut up on my legs. That's nothing new. No, from a physical standpoint, I feel pretty good. Q. Does it feel like you only have four games left? You're still getting stronger as November is here? JOSH ADAMS: I mean, the fact that we've been taking this season one game at a time, from a physical standpoint, it feels like I can go as long as I need to. Just the fact that we're only focusing on one game at that particular moment. I'm ready for that next game. If you're talking like that, I think I'm prepared for each game that we're going to play. From the beginning of the season, we set out for a journey like this, to go for a long season. Mentally and physically I feel like we're prepared to do that. Q. (No microphone.) JOSH ADAMS: They have a lot of similarities. Of course, they're going to bring a lot of things we haven't seen. Each team that we've played this year has brung something new to us. We've had to adjust to that. But they show a lot of similarities to when I was here freshman year. We know they're going to give us their best. We're just preparing for that. Q. (No microphone.) JOSH ADAMS: I mean, he always brings a challenge for us every time we go against a defense. I wouldn't say it's anything new. It's always a challenge trying to compete against our guys on defense. I think that has better prepared us for every game, not just this game. Of course, it helps having him come from the system over there, just kind of getting some tips and tales. However we can get an advantage, it always helps. Q. How did you get involved in the foster program? JOSH ADAMS: I always wanted to do something like that just to kind of connect with little kids. When I was a kid, I had people that I looked up to. Specifically there was a runningback who was in my school, I looked up to him before I got to high school. But his path really didn't turn out the right way. I wanted to do better than that. It's basically a course that you can sign up for. I had to switch my schedule around to kind of make it work. It was something that I was really interested in. I was going to make it happen. It's just a course I signed up for. You're assigned randomly a kid to kind of hang out with and kind of mentor, be a positive influence in their life. I was given a great kid. His name is David. We have a lot of fun hanging out. I try to go out and hang with him whenever my schedule permits it. I don't have a lot of free time on my hands. But, no, it's great. He's coming to the game. I really want to show him a good time, really show him the good side of things. Obviously being involved in the foster care system isn't the best thing. Just making the best out of his situation, just trying to show him a good time, have fun, be a friend. Q. What is the name of the course? Where do you meet? JOSH ADAMS: It's practical (indiscernible) treatment. We meet in Haggar Hall, which is near the dining hall. We meet Friday. It's not much of a class as it is an opportunity to make a difference in a kid's life. Of course, we have to learn about child treatment, we have to learn about the system, what kids go through, a lot of different things, how they get into that situation in the first place. There is learning involved. But it's just about building that relationship and trying to positively impact your mentee's life. Q. Where do you get together with David? JOSH ADAMS: So I do whatever is convenient for him. Obviously I get out of practice pretty late, so I go over as soon as practice ends. He's in school, so I probably just go to his house. He's only 10 years old. His bedtime is probably like 9:00. I can only spend a few minutes with him. But however long I can make it happen, I make sure that I do that. But I just go over to his house, hang out with him. We'll talk for hours. He's very talkative. He has a lot of energy. But we'll just hang out. I would love to get him out of the house, but can't get him out of the house at 8:00 at night, so... Q. (No microphone.) JOSH ADAMS: He's a fan now. Now he is. I ask him all the time if he saw me play. He's just getting to learn about football a little bit more. His foster mom, Theresa, knows football a little bit. She tries to help him out a little with the rules and all that stuff. He knows I'm doing pretty well. He knows I'm doing good. That's a good thing about it. I try to help him, teach him a little bit about the sport. Q. Just this semester is when it started, your first involvement? JOSH ADAMS: Yeah, it's my first time doing something like this. It's been a lot of fun. Not just me, but learning about the other kids in my class, learning about their mentees, their experiences with them. Just learning about another person's life, their story, their background. Of course, I have my own experiences, but learning about somebody else's experiences, how that impacted them, who they are today. It's just a lot of fun connecting with those stories, trying to do something greater for a bigger purpose. Q. Are you the only football player in the class? JOSH ADAMS: I'm the only boy in the class. Yeah, I'm the only boy in the class. That was a little shocker for me. But, I mean, it's an experience. I'm adjusting to it. I can't relate to a lot of the stories. Some of the other students, they have girl mentees. They'll talk about, like, boys and stuff like that. I don't know if I can help much there. But I try to help wherever I can. Obviously I'm not a talkative person. I just speak about my experiences with my mentee. It's a lot of fun. It's definitely an experience to remember. Q. (No microphone.) JOSH ADAMS: I mean, he's a good person. He's been through a lot. He has such a good heart. He loves to help others. He talks about how he helps kids in the daycare that he goes to. He's only 10 years old. He definitely has those qualities of being a leader. It's just amazing to see how optimistic he is even after everything that he's gone through. I can relate to it because I've been through a lot in my young age. Just looking at the good side of things, I just love a person who has a good heart, who wants to help others, wants to do better. It's just fun to hang out with him. He's very fun. We played cards the other day. He was guessing the cards right. Thought he was doing a magic trick. There was a mirror behind me. He was just holding it up. Took me a while to figure it out. Having moments like that, you can't script that kind of stuff. I mean, it's just fun hanging out with him. Q. What would you like the people around the country to know about you? JOSH ADAMS: I mean, I just do what I can to get in the end zone. However it works, however I can pull it off, that's what I try to do. I wouldn't say that I'm any one specific type of runner. I mean, obviously I'm tall. Everybody knows that. I just try to make it work for me. I don't think there's any magic involved in that. However other people see me, it is what it is. I'm just focused on doing what I can, however I can do it, to help my team win games. Q. Has all the Heisman talk been uncomfortable for you, hearing so many things positive about you? Do you prefer not to be in that kind of limelight? JOSH ADAMS: I wouldn't say it's uncomfortable. It's just who I am. I don't look at things that way. Obviously I don't have a Twitter, so I don't really hear much about it unless you come up to me and tell me. But, no, it's definitely cool. It's humbling. Again, it's not me. It's all God's work. It's all the guys on my team who help me get there. Just to see their excitement, especially my teammates, I know it's because they're not only happy for me, but they're happy with how far this team has come. That's a result of what we've done as a team, how far we've come, the journey we've been on. I know they have good intentions. They know me. Sometimes you can't hide that excitement of wanting to tell somebody something. They're not blasting me with news of this or that. They know I'm not really paying attention to it anyway, so... Q. (No microphone.) JOSH ADAMS: So I'm just now understanding the concept of it (laughter). When they first came to me, it took me a while. I was like, I don't understand any of it, but let's go with it. No, it's definitely team oriented. It's based on the team, of course, the 11 guys on special teams, offense and defense. I'm loving the concept now just of highlighting other guys on the team, highlighting the fact that those individual awards come from the result of the team. I think a lot of people miss that. You wouldn't know about those individuals unless their team was doing good. We're definitely doing something special here just being able to have everybody included in that and have everybody share that experience is something special. You definitely don't get that at a lot of places. I think it's pretty cool what they're doing. But, yeah, I'm just now grasping the whole idea of it. Q. Obviously there's been noise about that. You've done a good job blocking that out. There's the rankings, you guys doing well. How as a team do you try to put the bubble up to make sure it doesn't affect you? JOSH ADAMS: I don't think anybody is really concerned with that. I think we're so locked in on our goal, we're so focused in on what we want to accomplish, that other stuff just flies right by us. We're so determined on what we want to accomplish, we know that we can't take anybody we play lightly, we can't take any moment we have for granted. We're continuing to do the things that got us here from the very beginning of camp to now. We're doing the same thing. We're sticking to our traits, our process of trying to be excellent, trying to reach for perfection. I think that mindset has brought us a long way, and it's keeping us focused. We were never worried about any outside noise. We're not going to let that stop us now because the only people that can stop us is us. We're holding each other accountable to staying focused on our goal and holding each other accountable on all things that we do, so... FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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