UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 11, 2005

Anthony Fasano

Jeff Samardzija

Dan Santucci

Maurice Stovall

ANTHONY FASANO: No. Growing up I really wasn't a big Notre Dame or college football fan so I really don't have any memories of our past meetings.

ANTHONY FASANO: I mean, I think it's one of the best rivalries out there. Everybody talks about Michigan-Ohio State. I think this is one of the best rivalries. When both teams are in the top 10, you can't ask for anything more.

ANTHONY FASANO: Yeah, they put up very impressive numbers on offense. They do a great job of what they do. But, again, I really haven't looked in-depth into their offense, only what I've seen on the television games I've watched.

ANTHONY FASANO: Definitely. I think we're going to go as far as our defense takes us this week.

ANTHONY FASANO: Yeah, Coach Weis is different than any coach I've ever played for. He just has a great way of teaching his system, a great way of getting you in a right mindset to go play every Saturday. I think he comes out with a great confidence and it shows within his teams.

ANTHONY FASANO: I don't think it took long. Had a little bit of attitude change in spring ball. We pretty much knew what we were in for coming into camp. Once we got things gelling in camp, got rolling, I think no-one had any doubts on our team.

ANTHONY FASANO: Well, we came back from so much adversity, and people had us going O and six. So many people had us struggling all this season. Us coming together as a team with the same players that we won 6-6 with last year pretty much, just to come out and start hot, start well, be 4-1, be in the top 10.

ANTHONY FASANO: Like we always said, we always had talent here, even when we went 5-6, 6-6. We had talent. It's just our attitude and mentality wasn't where it needed to be. I think Coach really helped that out. He also puts us in great positions on the field to really utilize our advantages and our techniques and our skills. I think it's a combination of both that puts us in a good position.

ANTHONY FASANO: We've always had pride in Notre Dame, in our program. But this year I think we come to games expecting to do well, expecting to win, just stepping on that field, stepping out there on every play with confidence is what is the biggest change so far.

ANTHONY FASANO: Pretty much entirely. We had confidence last year, but it really wasn't where it's at right now. I think he prepares us mentally so well that we're at a big advantage.

ANTHONY FASANO: I mean, coming here and seeing all the great things that happened and all the spirit, the pride people have around here, it definitely is easy to buy into, and I have. But, I mean, I don't think it changes what we do on the field for me or any of my teammates because of the past or tradition.

ANTHONY FASANO: I mean, he's so relaxed in the huddle, he's so confident in what he's doing. He knows where everyone has to be and everyone's going to be. He really puts us in -- Coach Weis gives him the freedom to put us in his own checks. What he thinks best is at the line. Him doing that and doing that successful I think is the biggest difference so far.

ANTHONY FASANO: We've had so many long drives where it started back in our own territory. I think when you have to drive 98 yards, important possession after another team scored like Purdue, he just would come in and say, "Relax, this is our first drive, let's get going." It's not big rah-rah, a fake speech. You know he's serious and to the heart. I think that's the biggest change.

ANTHONY FASANO: Well, he's doing a great job for us this year. I think it's great because teams have to prepare for him so well because along with Brady and our passing game, our offensive line, I mean, Darius is such a big threat. I think people preparing for him, and him just being able to make plays on the field is really beneficial for our offense.

ANTHONY FASANO: Well, he has a very complex offense. When he came in in the spring, I mean a lot of guys were overwhelmed by it. I think he did a great job of taking it piece by piece and breaking it down to the bare nuts and bolts of it, of the offense. He really made us learn the philosophy of the offense, what he's trying to do, instead of just learning what you do on which play. I think that helps in the overall scheme of things.

ANTHONY FASANO: Towards the end of spring ball, when our offense was really doing well against our defense. Our defense would get us a couple days. I think just that back and forth, seeing success against our own defense. Coming into camp, realizing everything got together, started gelling, I think everyone had confidence.

DAN SANTUCCI: You know, I think Jeff Samardzija, he's just having a great year. Last year a lot of people didn't know about him. I think he was just as talented last year as he is this year. He's just making some big plays for us, a huge contributor to our success right now.

DAN SANTUCCI: Yes. I think he's got great speed that people don't see, like you said. A lot of people think he's a possession receiver, but really he's a big play-maker with great hands, just a great ability to know where defenders are, which way to turn after the catch. Unbelievable hands and speed and great vision. All aspects, you know, you need to be a great player.

DAN SANTUCCI: I think Brady, you know, he's a lot more focused. He just understands this offense so well. He's the type of guy that he does everything for football. I mean, he watches tons of film. He just took this offense into his hands. He knows he's the leader. He goes out there every day and performs like it.

DAN SANTUCCI: Yeah, he does something. If we're having a couple plays, aren't clicking like we would like them to be, things aren't going so well one or two plays, he'll come into the huddle and get everyone together and say, "Let's go. It's time." He's got that look in his eyes, that leadership role. When we listen to him, we just all believe in him. We're like, "Yeah, it's time to go." He just keeps everything together.

DAN SANTUCCI: I mean, Coach Weis has brought in a great group of guys that really understand the game of football, just brought in an attitude that we're here to win, and that's all -- that's all he's going to accept, is winning. It's just an attitude that is, you know, in all of us, confidence and attitude that we expect to go out there every Saturday and win.

DAN SANTUCCI: USC's a great team. You don't win all those games in a row just being an average team, don't win two national titles in a row. They're a great team. But we focus here on what we need to go do to win the game. We put it on us rather than what they're going to do or putting it on them.

DAN SANTUCCI: I mean, Darius is a huge essential part to this team and this offense. I mean, he's got great vision, a great back that runs hard. He puts our running game on the map. Without a good running game, you know, it's hard to have a great passing game. You know, he's our workhorse back there. He carries the ball, makes big plays for us.

DAN SANTUCCI: Me personally, especially, I kind of don't worry about that stuff. I just focus on, you know, the week of practice, the week of preparation that I need to have, and our team needs to have, in order to just go out there and play no matter who it's against. Play a great game, do everything we can to win.

DAN SANTUCCI: Yeah. We have confidence in ourselves right now. We've been playing some good football. We just believe in ourselves, believe in the plays that are being called. Just go out there and perform so that we can win.

DAN SANTUCCI: You know, we just got a bunch of older, experienced guys. We just want to win. We just put that as our No. 1 goal. We go out there every day to practice hard, work hard, to do everything we can to perform on Saturdays. That's what playing football's all about. We just got a bunch of experienced guys that are just striving for the same goal.

DAN SANTUCCI: It's a huge part. When he came in, that's what he said. A lot of us are seniors, older guys. We don't have four years to wait. We were really excited when he said he's here to win right now, and that's all he expects out of us is winning. He told us, you don't get anything for second place. That's the new attitude and confidence that this team has.

DAN SANTUCCI: You know, I think a lot of football teams are just like, that they just go out there to play the game. Everybody loves playing at home. I mean, at home you're supposed to have an advantage. You got more of the fans there. I mean, it's easier, you don't have to fly anywhere. You don't have all like the distractions of transportation-wise. I mean, it's nice to play at home. But I think most of the teams around the country, they go out there and whether it's at home or away just prepare and play the game like they usually do no matter where it's at.

DAN SANTUCCI: I go out there and I focus in on what I need to do, what the team needs to do, just play our game, go for that one outcome, which is the win.

DAN SANTUCCI: Yeah, we actually -- we went out there and had a couple fundamental and individual technique practices to focus on the little things. Every day we would watch film on USC. We basically started focusing on them right away. We had a couple days off on the weekend here to just kind of get your mind away from football and to come back with great energy for this game. It was a great week. He gave us a chance to heal up our bumps and bruises, just kind of get our mind away from the game a little bit.

DAN SANTUCCI: Yes. I think whenever you have more than the normal one week to prepare for a team, you'll be able to know them a better. Like I said, I watched a lot of film, things like that to prepare. Now it's game week. It's going to be here before we know it.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I guess that's to be determined. Haven't really talked about it too much. Just trying to concentrate right now on the game at hand and the football season. We'll kind of cross that bridge when we get there. Right now we're just looking forward to Saturday.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: Yeah, I mean, whether you're stepping on toes or not, that has really nothing to do with it. It's just more respect for coaches and your teammates, too. I think, right now, I'm not really even thinking about anything like baseball or spring ball like that right now. I think all my attention's going to Saturday and the season. That's No. 1 on the list right now.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I think a lot of it has to do with just making plays. I think I had a couple chances my freshman, sophomore year to make some plays, I think I kind of let them slip away. It comes down to when you get the chance, you've got to take advantage of it.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: No, I mean, just looking at it from a fans' point of view, not a player, it's a great rivalry. I think there's always great games and it's always kind of hyped, you know, within the public. I think it's something that's great to be a part of, especially when you're playing a team like USC that has so much talent on both sides of the ball and on special teams, it's just great. If you're a true athlete and things like that, you know you love challenges. Like I said, I'm just trying to concentrate on this week and on Saturday and just trying to be ready for the game 'cause you know they're going to bring their best. You got to go out and play your best game of the year. I think that's all we're trying to do.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: I think on the outside definitely. I think as a team, though, we're just trying to approach it like another game. I think you have to. I think it's real important that you don't let everything on the outside affect what you do on the inside. I think we're just really trying to concentrate on just the game, you know, whether it's the schemes or anything, just trying to concentrate on the game. Everything else on the outside's great, but just kind of take that as it goes, not concentrate too much on it or else you can get distracted pretty easily.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: Well, out of high school, I was looked at to play some ball in the professional leagues and everything, they were talking about getting drafted. I just kind of let them know that I wanted to come here and play football. I think it was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I actually wasn't going to play baseball here at the beginning until the interview happened, and they asked me the question. I said, yeah, I would love to play baseball at Notre Dame. Coach Mainieri actually read it and contacted the coaching staff. Everything kind of worked the out. It was kind of weird. I didn't even know about it till one day they let me know I could play baseball. Yeah, I guess things just kind of worked out. But it was kind of funny.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: Yeah, I guess he was throwing his little word in for me. I guess I should give him some (indiscernible) or something. Coach Mainieri is a great guy. He's going to say what he thinks. I guess that's what he thought at the time. I tried not to disappoint him, I guess.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: I think Coach Weis has brought a confidence to this team that's just kind of bled through the team. I think it's kind of something we're trying to feed off of, too. It's just a mentality that a football team has to have in order to be successful. I think he's brought a lot of things, but I think the mentality he's brought has just been probably the key part. I think we're just trying to go out with the confidence each weekend that we can get a victory.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I don't think it's changed too much. I just think I took advantage of some situations, and it's just kind of grown from there. I think when there's a confidence within the team, within the quarterback, and within the coaching staff, that you'll make plays, you might just get a couple more opportunities.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I think if I had to hone in on one thing, I think was that Pitt game. I think we had a 23-play drive. It was a big part of it. We had some penalties, we had some adversity on the drive, but we still ended up getting seven points out of it. Obviously, there's a lot of things that go into it. I think if there's one drive, I think that's the closest I could get because, you know, there was a lot of adversity on offense. We had a couple of penalties. But he kept everyone levelheaded and he stayed levelheaded and still drove us down there and we still got six points. I think that was a big exclamation point on the whole situation.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I mean, you got to understand that Brady's going to be Brady in the huddle. I think the biggest part he's brought, just like I said, is a confidence in the huddle and for the offense, that when he comes in, he calls his plays, I think everyone listens and everyone is just going with what he has to say. They have confidence in the plays he gets from Coach, and they have confidence in Brady to run the plays. I think just an overall confidence kind of bleeds through the huddle.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: You know, I think he leaves that up to some other guys (laughter). Brady throws a zinger in there. Brady, comedy and joking isn't necessarily Brady's thing. That's on some other people's shoulders in the huddle.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: My dad played hockey. I think he played in high school, semi-pro team in Chicago. My brother, you know, he was -- my brother was a D1 caliber DB in high school. He was a little shorter than me. Things just didn't work out. He just took a different route. I think sports have always been in the blood. Just kind of something we've always done. As in the whole Homer Drew fan. I think growing up in Valpo, there was a whole big Bryce Drew and I don't know if you ever heard of Tim Bishop before, but there was always a big little buzz behind them. Growing up, we kind of watched them and then to see that Bryce developed and did everything that he did. It's kind of funny to see, kind of cool to see someone from my hometown do that. More of a fan of the family. Always watched all my brother's football games, what he did growing up, just kind of tried to be like him and everything.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: My last name is actually Serbian. My grandparents actually came over I believe in the early '40s from Serbia. They actually came over from Germany. They made the Trek from Serbia over to Germany so they could catch a ride on over. A couple of my uncles were born over there. My dad went to school in Maryville after his uncles went to Gary Lou Wallace. We've always been in the area. There's actually a rich history there with the family. We're real close-knit group. I have a lot of respect and love for what they did to go through everything they went through. Both sides of my family, my mom and dad's side, are real close. I think it's a big part of what I am and what we're about.

JEFF SAMARDZIJA: Most of my family member's do. My dad understands it. I know some of it. I can't speak it. I can pick some of it up. When my grandma talks, it's a little mix of English and Serbian, so you gotta have to know a little bit about it to really pick up what she's saying. We love her. She makes some great food. You know, just like I said, we're a close-knit group and everyone's always keeping in touch.

MAURICE STOVALL: Is there one play? I don't think there's only one play. Brady's done a number of plays. I don't think it might not even be noticed by fans or even television. I think it's mostly calling out blitzes, you know, calling out who is the Mike linebacker or audible in plays. Those things are key factors that keeps us in drives. He's done that a number of times this year.

MAURICE STOVALL: A lot of people, a lot of fans, a lot of other teams say that USC has a very weak secondary. But from watching film, I feel as though they're very solid. Yeah, they gave up some big plays like any other team, but I still feel as though they're a solid secondary. They have big corners, very physical safeties. They have a solid defense overall.

MAURICE STOVALL: I think it's just a change overall in our program, the way we approach the spring ball, the way we approach the off-season workouts, the way we approach practice. I think that plays a big part in. How we work in the weight room, overall what we do in the classroom, what we do off the field, everything just has changed. A lot of that has to do with Coach Weis and how he's changed the program around.

MAURICE STOVALL: I think that all has to do with Coach Weis' scheme, how he will approach USC's defense. Obviously, I can't tell you how we'll do that. But, you know, I think any team we play, we change our scheme a lot. Some games we might run the ball a lot. You have games where we pass a lot. We'll also have games where our run and pass is balanced. We'll look at USC's defense, watch them on film, and we'll just take what they give us and go from there.

MAURICE STOVALL: Well, a lot of people say their secondary is very weak. Like I say, I think they're pretty solid. I don't think it's so much what they do, but what you do as a team, if you're executing your plays, if you're staying on your block, running the right depth in your routs, quarterback making the right reads. All of those things play a big part in playing a good defense, especially the No. 1 team in the country.

MAURICE STOVALL: I think there is a little bit of both. Notre Dame has a few handful of rivals. Any time you have the No. 1 team coming into your house, especially when it's Notre Dame versus USC, that's a big game in all of college football, that plays a big part, being rivals. At the same time, you can't succumb to the hype too much, allowing all that media hype or hype from fans to take you out of your game and focus, realizing that it's still football. It comes down to offense versus defense, special teams versus special teams on Saturday.

MAURICE STOVALL: Personally, I don't really remember the feeling playing USC our previous years. Worrying more so about this year. I feel as though we have a lot of confidence going into the game. From an offensive standpoint, we have a lot of confidence in ourselves. We realize this is an opportunity that we can use to show the country that we have a solid offense, we can be consistent, use it as a stepping stool into making ourselves better for the rest of the season.

MAURICE STOVALL: I feel as though any time you have a new offense brought to you, it looks like Arabic, you know. Yes, it was very thick, and it was complicated. At the same time, you know, after repetitions in the springtime and him, the way he explains it to us in the meetings and on the field, doesn't make it seem as complicated as it may look on paper, maybe even on film. Coach Weis is a great coach. At the same time he knows how to relate things to each individual as players and as a whole offensive unit and as a team. When you have a difficult offense, difficult terms, schemes, a lot of audibles, just everything is different from your previous offense, in our case, which was the west coast offense. It helps to know that your coach has confidence that you understand it. He's patient enough to explain it to you.

MAURICE STOVALL: We definitely do. Our confidence hasn't changed any bit at all. We have a lot of confidence in Coach Weis and his schemes. We have a lot of confidence in his assistant coaches, our individual position coaches. We also have confidence in each other that we'll execute those plays.