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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 15, 2006Tom ZbikowskiQ. Coach Weis was referencing on the flight back from Air Force Academy that there was a whoop that went up in the back of the plane. Curious, did you have your electrical devices off or when the plane was in flight or how did that work out? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: It was when the plane was landing and we were able to turn on our cell phones and everything. It was pretty exciting just to hear, we've got to keep winning and good things are going to happen. So that's been our plan since the entire season, since it began, that we're going to keep winning and things will hopefully call our way. Q. I know you've got games to play, but can you believe that this moment is finally here when in your career when you run down the tunnel for last time, and what thoughts do you have about that? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I still have another year left, so it's not like it's going to be my last game. You feel for it, I've been playing for my third year, seniors going out in the last game at home, you know how emotional it gets. But we can't let those emotions get to us until afterwards. Q. I assume that was a point of emphasis on Tuesday when Coach talked to the team? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Yeah, just send out the seniors, especially everything that's gone on here, coaches changes, winning BCS games and so on and so forth. There's been up-and-downs here and it's the only right thing to do to get the seniors out the right way. Q. Coach was talking about how emotional he saw it, that it was last year with the seniors, have you seen that and what can you relate regarding some of the past experience of seniors? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I think it was something special last year when the seniors took a lap around the stadium and just tried to enjoy it with the fans. Then pretty much when they got to the parents' section, players taking pictures with teammates and stuff like that, it was pretty emotional the last home game. But the Bowl game might have been even more emotional just because for some people, that was the last game they will ever play in any stadium. So I think there was a lot more tears flowing then than your last home game. I think you just want to enjoy your last home game and have fun with it. Q. I know you have another year left, what do you think the legacy of this class is, the guys that you came in with? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I think it all depends how we finish these last couple of games. I think it's been a pretty successful one so far, but you never can tell until we're completely wrapped up with our career, and there's definitely a lot at stake in the near future. Q. What about Brady's legacy right now? He's all over the record backs as it is. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Yeah if you look at statistic-wise, pretty much the best quarterback that played at Notre Dame. I don't want to put any extra pressure on him for his future, but I think that's pretty much what he's left and he's basically a household name. Q. You've reserved your potential fifth year, and I know Coach says he sits down with potential fifth year guys at the end of the season, are you leaning one way or another right now? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I won't really think about it until after the season. Like I said before, there's too much at stake here to even be thinking about other things than our season. Q. Four years to this point, as far as that stadium goes, what memory, what game stands out the most? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Probably Michigan game, my first home game. We came off a loss at BYU, everyone was talking bad about us, and went in and beat a ranked team, a ranked Michigan team. That was my first note game experience as a player. And how can you leave out the USC game from last year, just games like that. Q. Do you remember the losses as well as the wins, or do the wins -- is that a different kind of loss? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: It really was. You look at it, it's just such an exciting game. Obviously it's painful because every time you look back, there's a bunch of what ifs, and I've gone through my head a million times how the game could have ended a different way, but losses definitely stick in your head. Q. Considering where you were two years ago and where you are now and every time you take the field, you expect to win, you're a national title contender and you go into the season expecting to go to a BCS game, was there ever a time where you thought a couple years ago, three years ago, that, hey, it just wasn't going to work out that way for your experience at Notre Dame? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: It was tough the first two years, 5-7 and 6-6, but you look around and you just saw the talent that we had on our team. It was only a patter of time before you start winning games, game after game. But it's human nature when you're 5-7, 6-6, you're a .500 team, maybe it wasn't the right decision, maybe things are different. The character around Notre Dame and the players we bring in, all we do, we go to work and try to win. We don't think about wins and losses. Q. What one or two things would you point to that Coach Weis has played the biggest influence in getting you to think like a BCS team and a team that's going to win every time you play? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Early on just planting in our heads that we were a talented enough team and that we need to be expecting to win every single game. You know, you can say it as much as you want, but you still need proof. So I think once you start winning game after game is when you start getting that confidence. Q. I mean, he talked about getting you guys to believe that you could win, but what specifically would you point to? It's one thing to just say it. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Winning. That's the only thing. You work hard. We worked as hard as ever. You know, it's not like we were slacking the years that we were losing. I remember mentioning it before, that it was really not that much difference how hard teams work from winning teams to losing teams. Just things go right, and once you start believing, and a lot of it is belief and a lot of it is confidence whether you're going to win or not. Q. It's clear we're not focused on Army. How do you guys stay focused on Army? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: (Laughing) Really, like I said before, Coach mentioning about the seniors, you owe it to seniors and guys that are in their last home games to be focused and to keep watching film. There's proof at least on the defensive side of Army's offense making big-time plays and seeing their quarterbacks making proper throws. Then once you think you're done with option, they still have a little bit of an option attack. So you have to take focused on everything. Q. Have you noticed any difference between the tenacity, Navy, Air Force, Army, you play all three of these military schools? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: It's 100% on every single play. They are going to bring it. They don't care about their body. Sometimes they are going to get best of it, but sometimes the other person going to get the best of it. They don't care. That's the way they play. They are coming at you 100%. Q. Have you seen the difference in the guys maybe over the past few days now that there is a shot at the national title again; has there been a noticeable difference? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: You know, there's always a little talk about the future. But once again, we've got to stay focused on playing Army. But it definitely puts these last two games on much higher stakes that we can't afford to lose. Q. Has it been more upbeat or up-tempo? Yesterday it looks like the assistants have been more up-tempo than we have seen. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Practice was pretty up-tempo. We like to wait for you guys to leave before we really show what we're doing. But, no, practice was pretty up-tempo. Everyone was flying around trying to get things right. It will be like that again today. Q. Coach has talked about the whole playoff mentality, has that served any benefit? Seems like you would have motivation without that. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: The playoffs, it shows how important every single game is and another way we stay focused on Army, because if you lose this game, you're done pretty much. We have to stay focused on this game and make sure we take care of business and move on to the next one. Q. And the whole notion of Senior Day, the fact that the home game really helps that you have that whole last home game thing to focus on -- if you were going on the road, there would be more distractions, I would imagine. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I think so but I've heard trap game pretty much every single game like the last eight weeks, so we are pretty much used to it. Q. I remember talking to Posano last year, he talked about soaking it all in, if it turns out to be your last game, are you conscious of soaking up every last minute of it? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I want to soak it up with gays that have eligibility that I came in with, fourth and fifth year guys, a lot of guys on the defense, guys on the offense, just guys that have eligibility left, if this is their last game, you want to enjoy it with them more than anything. You don't want to be selfish and try to soak it up as much as you possibly can. I just want to be with them and know that this is our last hope game together. Q. I would think it's unusual to have a guy on the team that boxes and pitches, and both on the same team, how have you and Jeff helped each other through your careers, and talk about your relationship from start to finish here. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Probably the thing that's helped us the most is we don't talk about it really. We both do our own thing. It's not like we try to build each other up or talk about how we both play two sports. We just try and be normal college kids and have fun and enjoy our time while we have it together at college. Q. Did you seem to get along right from the start? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Yeah, we were put in the same dorm room our freshman year. I remember just meeting with him. I think it was a spring game, junior year, something like that, a bunch of juniors were in and that's the first time I met him. I kind of saw how our Dads were kind of similar and we had similar upbringings. So you know, just kind of fit and just we were always friends from the beginning. Q. Obviously the hair a little different. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Yeah, obviously I've changed a few times in the last couple of years and Jeff's pretty much kept it long. Q. A few quick boxing questions. I know you haven't heard a lot of those, but can you describe, is there any difference between the intensity and adrenaline that you experience on the field and in the boxing ring? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: I think after fights and after football games are pretty similar. Your body is kind of beat up but you're still happy about a win or disappointed about a loss. You know, before a fight or before a game, before a fight you've got to be much more calm than you are before a football game, just because football is a very emotional game. Boxing, you've got to keep your wits about you because as soon as you lose them, you're going to lose your wind and not be able to breathe and stuff, so you have to be as calm as possible. Q. Do you have a favorite boxer? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Right now, or all-time? Q. I guess right now. TOM ZBIKOWSKI: Ricky Hatton is my favorite fighter right now. I just love watching him fight. Q. If you could fight a heavyweight of all-time, who would it be and why? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: That would be tough to say which heavyweight. There's a lot of great ones. Mike Tyson used to make things interesting. Q. Just one other thing, I watched actually on utube, your fight, your debut. Did that opponent make a mistake? He was fighting you, but was the other mistake wearing the Ohio State jersey into the ring? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: He mentioned -- I remember him mentioning something about it at the press conference we had a couple days before. So I knew he was going to do it. Really it didn't upset me too much. Outcome probably would have been the same even if he didn't wear it. Q. Jeff was talking yesterday about how you guys both came in and you both had frustrating freshman years and you wanted to be playing and you weren't. When you just look at all of the things you've done in the last four years, getting on to the football field and then becoming sort of a star player, you both had your professional debuts in other sports, can you put it all in perspective? Does it feel like a long three and a half years that all this stuff has happened or a short three and a half years? TOM ZBIKOWSKI: It went by fast. I can still remember just, you know, freshman year, just watching from the sidelines, just being frustrated, wanting to get on the field obviously as a competitor, wanting to contribute to the team. You look back, things happen for a reason. I think it made me and Jeff, both of us hungry wanting to get on the field and wanting to make the plays. I think things happen for a reason and I think when you look back, that's the best thing -- things happen for a reason and just made both of us work harder. End of FastScripts |
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