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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 3, 2007James AldridgeQ. Three overtimes. Lots of plays, lots of scoring. What's your take? JAMES ALDRIDGE: It was kind of special to be a part of something like that. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world. Always a special team. Q. Can you talk about your day a little bit? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I just wanted to go in and run hard as much as I can, do as much as I can to help the team. Q. What about from a teammate's standpoint with all that's going on with Robert Hughes? JAMES ALDRIDGE: You got to be there for any support that he needs, any moral support, anything. There is only so much you can do. But the stuff that we need to do with Rob or anything he needs, we are there for him. Q. How about when he got in the end zone there? JAMES ALDRIDGE: That was a special time. I think that he really needed that. I'm glad. I'm glad for him. I'm very happy for him. Q. Can you talk about the emotions? JAMES ALDRIDGE: They ended up making one more play than we did. There is nothing we can do about it now. It is in the past. We have to focus on Air Force now. Q. Coach Weis says you don't think about the streak at all. As a player, do you pay any attention to the streak? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I got interviewed earlier this week, and you were talking about the streak. It is all the same for me, it is just another game. I wasn't even around, you know, when this team first started. So this is my second time playing against Navy, and I'm focused on this time playing against Navy, not a big streak or anything. Q. From an individual standpoint, this was obviously your best game. Do you feel like you are hitting your stride now? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I am just going in and running hard. I am trusting in my linemen, trusting they open up some holes and take advantage of the situation. It is an opportunity game and get some yards and take advantage of it. Q. Coach said one of the pluses of the game was the fact that the running game was so effective today. JAMES ALDRIDGE: All the running backs really took advantage of any situation that was presented to them. I'm happy as a running back; and as a running back core, I think we had a good day. Obviously, it wasn't good enough. Q. How did you feel out there, 100% with your ankle? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I was able to make the same cuts I always was. It is going to be a little sore because it is a sprained ankle. Q. Keeping up the morale of the team, what kind of season have you guys had? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I think it is much more easier to keep the morale up when you focus on each week instead of worrying about what happened in the past. If you think of each week like a new week, it won't be a problem keeping up the morale of the team. Q. You go into it with the attitude like -- JAMES ALDRIDGE: It is a brand new week. Q. Is this the kind of play we will see when you are healthy? You were very productive today. JAMES ALDRIDGE: I just wanted to take advantage of it. I can stay healthy and keep taking advantage of any opportunities I have. Q. You've gone through a lot of adversity with the injuries, all the way back to your junior year in high school in that Penn game. Do you feel like you are pretty close to 100% now? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I feel like I am. I think, you know, I pretty much get to the point where I can just get better with experience really. Q. It is easy to say you are going to start a new week. You said that probably eight or nine weeks in a row. What's the one thing you know for sure you have to do so it feels like a new week? You as an individual and then take it to the team. JAMES ALDRIDGE: Just really not even talking about what happened in the past and getting everybody in the mind-set for what's right ahead of us, that's the most important thing, I think. Q. You may not want to talk about the streak but the college football fans, this is a special day because Notre Dame and Navy mean -- the names themselves mean something. Did it make you feel better to see Navy come over and stand for your alma mater? JAMES ALDRIDGE: They came and stood with us? Q. Did you not know that? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I didn't even look behind us. Q. And their coaches were very adamant that they come back over. You guys knew you were going to do that because that's Coach Weis' respect for the Academy. JAMES ALDRIDGE: Yeah. That just shows what kind of people Notre Dame and Navy, the characteristics that we have for one another. It just seems like everybody -- it is besides sports. We care about each other. Q. It is a little tougher to do that after a tough loss like that, but do you feel good about giving them their respect when you went over to their side of the field? JAMES ALDRIDGE: You have to. You have no other choice. They played a good game. You have to pay respects, respect for the things they do. Q. I would like to hear a little bit about how the Notre Dame family of players rallied around Robert Hughes because it is bigger than football. JAMES ALDRIDGE: Yeah, you got to understand that. This is just a game. There is a million other things that goes on in people's lives besides football, and that's what you got to realize. I think coming to a place like Notre Dame gives us that viewpoint times ten because it is those things that revolve around football. Q. Do you feel like you were able to give Robert some comfort through the week and he felt the Notre Dame family, the extended family? That has to make you feel good when you've lost someone. JAMES ALDRIDGE: You have to be there whenever is necessary, for any moral, emotional support, that you are willing to give or that he needs. That's something that a lot of Notre Dame guys do. So especially to be a part of something like that, as everybody comes together and kind of spreads their love to another team, that's a good thing. Q. Was there emotion after the touchdown, did he show it? JAMES ALDRIDGE: He was just happy. You could see he was -- with something like that you are not going to not think about what happened, but, you know, he was happy and I can tell, you know, there was -- he was in a good mood but he still kind of thought about it. He got better. He is smiling now. Cracked a couple jokes with him in the shower. Q. Did you go to the funeral? JAMES ALDRIDGE: Yeah. Q. What's that like for a guy like yourself? You're 20 years old to have to deal with a friend's tragedy like that, another young man. JAMES ALDRIDGE: When you are at a funeral like that, you kind of put your -- put yourself in his shoes. I am thinking about -- I'm sorry for Rob, and I'm thinking about what if this happened to me, what if this happened to my little sister, that's when emotion kicks in. You see how hurt everybody is. It kind of gets to you. But you got to be there for moral support. Even if the whole team didn't travel down there, we would still found a way to get down there. It was good everybody was down there for the moral support. Q. Do you get philosophical in those times? Do you start to think things like "Why would something like this happen"? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I think you know -- I think everything happens for a reason. This type of time of adversity is going to build Rob's character and I really believe that. Q. We all like him. He seems like a good kid and the few times we've gotten to meet him as teammates, does that make you fell more for him, knowing the kind of guy he is? JAMES ALDRIDGE: I spent a lot of time with Rob. I know what type of guy he is. To see something like that happen is bad. I give him all my prayers to him that he is able to recover from something like this. You are going to have times like this in people's lives, and you can't avoid it. Things like this happen. You got to be there for the moral support. Q. Does it force people to grow up in a certain way? Not just Robert but you guys to have to face this, go through this with somebody. Does it change you a little bit? JAMES ALDRIDGE: It helps you to deal with adversity, to stay on your feet and mentally and emotionally, you never know what's going to happen. Q. Does it give you perspective at all about football, what football means? JAMES ALDRIDGE: It puts some perspective. There is way more things that matter besides football. This is just a game we play. There is people's lives out here that are at stake. You got to realize that. You got to put things in perspective. And put life first. Where football may fall into place after that, that's where it falls. Q. You can give your all on Saturday and still know that, right? JAMES ALDRIDGE: Right, right. Q. (No microphone.) JAMES ALDRIDGE: You can only dwell on it for so long. You can't sit here and talk about Navy for the rest of the week. We got Air Force right in front of us. That's the thing about college football. You can't sit there and throw a pity party. Just got to get in and get back to work. Yeah, it is frustrating but we got to deal with it, get over it. Q. You were kind of the first guy down after the game. What was that walk like after this loss? JAMES ALDRIDGE: Obviously, you know, the students are going to be there. It never changes. No matter what, it just seems like the students are always there. To see that they're still there is good for moral support for the team, just to know that your fans are always going to be behind you. End of FastScripts |
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