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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 22, 2010

THE MODERATOR: We have Darrin Walls and Kapron Lewis-Moore up here at the table. We'll start with questions.

Q. When you play Stanford, a team coached by Jim Harbaugh, is there a certain personality that comes across in the way they come across, the way they carry themselves in your experience?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: I would say they're a tough team. They're well-coached by Jim Harbaugh, obviously. Past couple of years they had some success with Andrew Luck on the offense.
What we really need to worry about is us and how we can get better from day to day.
DARRIN WALLS: Going along with that, I think they are coached by a quarterback. They execute well. They run multiple personnel groups. They execute their game plan. They're pretty good at what they do.

Q. Darrin, can you talk about what you've seen from Andrew Luck on tape.
DARRIN WALLS: I think he's a great decision maker. I don't know his stats, but I don't think he's had an interception all season. I don't know if that's correct or not. He's very precise in making reads. He puts the ball in his receivers. We have a challenge ahead. He's going to challenge us.

Q. Kapron, when you think about last year, Gerhart running the football to Stanford, how different is this Stanford offense compared to what you had with Gerhart last year and the way they do things?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: That's a great question. Obviously, everybody here knows how excellent Toby was as a football player. This year they don't have Toby, but they're still putting up numbers, still being successful.
Can't really worry about last year. Like I said earlier, we got to focus on stopping Andrew Luck on offense.

Q. Darrin, I wanted to ask you what does it do for the defense to have Jamoris back this week?
DARRIN WALLS: I think Zeke has played well filling in, stepping up to the plate. It's big having Jamoris back as a starter. He's been a big player for us through the spring and the first game against Purdue. It's great to have him as a guy back there that's experienced.

Q. In what ways do you feel like you are better defensively now than maybe you were before the season started? Does anything jump out?
DARRIN WALLS: I think the guys are starting to understand how to play as a defense, not just as an individual. I think we understand each other's roles more than we have in the past. Just going against their offense, I think is one of the biggest things I've noticed in the secondary, at least.
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: Darrin is right there. We're playing together really well, I feel like. Everybody knows their role on the team. Next-man-in philosophy. We're just playing that philosophy.

Q. Talking to Coach Diaco yesterday, seems like a guy that is going to mix positive stuff on film with stuff you need to improve on on film instead of being one of those coaches that harps on the negative. What does that do for you as players? Do you like that approach? Does that keep you motivated?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: I like that approach, you know. With the good, there's always some bad. I thought we did make some good plays lately. Obviously we got to correct our mistakes.
A coach that does that, I feel like that gives confidence to the defense because it lets us know that we're a couple of plays away from doing this right or that right, some technique assignments and stuff.

Q. Does it also prevent you from playing afraid, like you're not playing not to make a mistake?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: I've never really felt like the defense was playing like that. I feel like we're playing hard every minute of the game and everything. I don't think we're thinking about making a mistake, you know. Even if we are making a mistake, you have to play the next play.

Q. Like on the pass, you would be afraid to make a mistake. Now you can go out and make a play. Is that kind of a difference this year?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: I feel like it's a difference.
DARRIN WALLS: I mean, going along with that, I mean, they tell us the good and the bad, which is always I think a positive for us, lets us know what we're doing wrong, what we're doing right, continue to make those plays that we're doing right and eradicate those negative plays from our game.
That's just a confidence boost I think for the team. It does create a sense of playing, not playing to make a mistake in that sense.

Q. Darrin, the corners seem to be playing a more physical brand of football this year. You're throwing your bodies around. Is that part of this defensive scheme because you're recruiting larger cornerbacks? Is that part of what is taught in this defense?
DARRIN WALLS: I think Coach Martin is an aggressive coach. If we're going to make a mistake, he wants to make an aggressive mistake. I think the corners are understanding that, to go out there and just fly around. With our defense, we practice that way. We go out there and fly around. If we make a mistake, someone is there to correct it. As far as the rest of the defense, I think we're just more fearless in what we do.

Q. Do you ever think about how far you've come in that area?
DARRIN WALLS: Yeah. I've come a long way, I believe. It's been a process. But I think it's going the right way.

Q. Kapron, what was it like without Coach Elston around, now him being back this week?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: It's great having Coach Elston back and everything. Obviously we had Coach Denbrock coaching us for a little bit. He's a great coach and everything. But nothing really changed. We were still doing the same exact periods, hitting the sled every day, key steps. Glad to have Coach Elston back. Glad he's healthy.

Q. Did you have any contact with him when he was gone?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: Not at all.

Q. The question about Stanford, their play under Jim Harbaugh. In terms of the physical nature of their offensive line, how did they compare to a Michigan, Michigan State, which normally is considered one of the most physical teams that you guys play?
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: Well, my opinion, I feel like Stanford is a mix of Michigan State and Michigan, the way the offensive line plays. The offensive line, they're moving in space. Michigan State is coming straight at you.
Stanford, they can do a combination of the both. They're fast, quick, have good pad level. They're going to try to knock us off the ball. I think it's going to be a great challenge for us, the defensive line.

Q. I know you can't speak for Stanford, but do you get the feeling it's a bigger rivalry for Stanford playing Notre Dame than vice versa?
DARRIN WALLS: I'm not sure. Notre Dame is probably one of the most premiere Catholic schools. If it's not Notre Dame, then it's either Boston College or Stanford, whatnot.
I don't know how those guys feel. For me, it's not that big of a deal.
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: I don't know if I would say it's a rivalry. I think it's beginning to start to be a rivalry. I'm not sure with the Stanford game. Like I said, just excited, ready to play.

Q. Luck is not similar to Robinson in the way he's built. In terms of his mobility, the fact is a threat running and passing, what are the differences you do see in him? Having faced somebody like Robinson, how does that help?
DARRIN WALLS: He's probably one of the best quarterbacks we'll see this year. He has a strong arm, can make every throw. Against Wake Forest, he had a 52-yard touchdown run, which didn't surprise me but it opened my eyes to know he can run, get north and south pretty quick.
So, I mean, just knowing that, I know he's an overall quarterback who is pretty good at what he does, what their system allows him to do.
KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE: Going along with what Darrin said, Andrew is a great quarterback. Everybody knows that. He does make plays on his feet, though. That's something for the defensive line, we got to help stop that this week.

Q. Darrin, did you guys feel after the run, the long run Michigan State had in the third quarter, that after that play you turned a corner defensively? You obviously had a great second half after that play.
DARRIN WALLS: Yeah, I think we understood the fact we couldn't give up any more points. It was a close game. Their defense was playing well. We know the defense, we had to step up at one point and make a stop. After that run, we just knew three couldn't be any more of that. I think we understood the terms of the game, where it was going.

Q. Darrin, you had your freshman year one of the better plays that anyone has seen in a long time against Penn State, touchdown return. Did you think maybe there would be more of that in the coming years? How important is it for a defense to have a mentality that they need to score as well?
DARRIN WALLS: I mean, for me, yeah, I thought I would see more of those. I mean, I practiced it every day. As a defense, we practice making plays and scoring. So it's very important for us to score as a defense. However, we haven't.
I think that's a goal that we're trying to reach this year, is turnovers, amount of turnovers. We have a set goal. We're working towards that. We do a good job at it at practice, we just have to translate it onto the field.

Q. Darrin, I just wanted to ask you a little bit about what you think of Chris Owusu. He came back for Stanford this week, played very well. What do you think of the challenge of covering him and how does he compare with some of the other wide receivers that you've seen?
DARRIN WALLS: Yeah, he's probably one of the fastest receivers we'll see this year. He's got great speed. I mean, he's become a great receiver. I mean, we're very aware of him and where he is on the field. It will be a challenge for me and other corners to guard him.
I'm up for the challenge and I think other guys are, as well.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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