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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 2, 2011

Michael Floyd

Q. Michael, Coach Kelly was asked what impressed him about what he said -- lifestyle changes, has it been difficult to maintain or something you don't even think about anymore?
MICHAEL FLOYD: You know, I do think, and it's a routine. I know that I had to change my whole lifestyle to just have a chance to be a better person. Just maintain that. I think it's better for me to just keep doing what I'm doing and it's worked a lot for me.

Q. Entering the second half of your senior season, have you taken any more time to look around? Have you thought about the fact that the games are kind of dwindling now for you here?
MICHAEL FLOYD: Yeah, I do. We started the season, you know, Coach brought up a number to me, Coach Kelly and Coach Alford, how many days you have left of playing this game in college. You really can't reflect back, and like, it's really gone by fast. I just try to cherish every moment of it.
Really emphasize that in practice. You don't get any practices back in college and I'm just trying to go out there and work hard and compete and help this team win on Saturdays.

Q. Is there one thing that you've done this season that is some improvement to your game or something you've proved to yourself or anything that stands out about the others?
MICHAEL FLOYD: You know, I think I just worked on the little things. You know, what Coach said, route running, and just making -- eating healthy. I think that was a big kind of thing for me. You always want to eat snacks sometimes, but as you get older, you can't do that. I think that eating right is what I really changed a lot.

Q. You guys went undefeated last November, Coach Kelly has not lost a November game in three seasons. Just your perspective, last year and then prior to that, what some of the differences were in the program, the way the program was run, that may have contributed to the success in November.
MICHAEL FLOYD: I think it's just the guys are more committed. Having the will to win and knowing that we need to win. You know, I think that the guys are really, you know, happy where we are going right now. Might not be happy with the losses we have had, but we are giving it a positive shot and moving on from that.
We are just doing the right things right now.

Q. Anything with regard to how Coach Kelly runs the program that may contribute to that in November?
MICHAEL FLOYD: Well, he knows that during a certain period that -- we call it tempo, that you know, we move fast and he kind of made an emphasis on us to make us move quicker, because that sets the tempo of the whole practice, starting off like that.
So just making sure that we get to the fundamentals and not, you know, lose that and the chance at practices. Just making sure that we do what we have been doing the whole time.

Q. Theo Riddick and John swear that they attributed a lot of it to the cold tubs, which makes their body recover better as the season goes along. Is that something that you've done and that you've found to be true?
MICHAEL FLOYD: Yeah, I think the young guys, I don't think they get in there as much as the older guys. I think I need it a lot more.
But yeah, you know, that takes a tremendous toll on me; but being that I have that tub in there and also my trainer, being able to get in there and getting treatment during the day and after practice and before practice, it's just a good help.

Q. Coach Kelly said yesterday on the punt return stuff that it may be something that you guys have to sort of solve in the off-season, given the intricacies of how teams cover punts. As one of the guys who will go back there at some point, is it still a mentality to try to make big plays back there? Have you changed your approach in that department?
MICHAEL FLOYD: Me wanting to be back there, I think I always want to make a big play. Coach always talks about special teams and he wants that to be the -- he wants it to be the same way you care about offense and defense.
And I thought, putting me back there, I can make a big play, and still looking for that; looking for the right chance to make it. I think it will come and when it does, I'm going to take what they give me.

Q. The secondary, what have you seen from them on tape so far this week?
MICHAEL FLOYD: You know, they are very aggressive. Both corners are really good. Both safeties are pretty good, and they are just all-around good secondaries. We are going to have to take advantage of some of the stuff that they give us and when they do, like I say, you have got to take advantage of it because you only get a couple of times to score.

Q. Kind of a quick hitter right off the line, worked pretty well, do you enjoy just getting the ball in your hands and being able to make that play.
MICHAEL FLOYD: It gets me in a groove. It gets me at the start of the game, I feel how it's going. I finally get that first tackle out of the way. I always -- I kind of always say what kind of plays I want in the beginning, and just the short pass of what they give us, to get ten yard the first down, the first down of the game is crucial.

Q. After what happened last week, what has the mood been like of the guys in the locker room? Has the win washed that away? What are you guys going into this week?
MICHAEL FLOYD: Last week we won, and that's the most important thing and we are moving on.
Today is Wednesday, working Wednesday and we have got to practice and we have got to get ready for Wake Forest.

Q. You guys are used to playing in front of huge crowds, 100,000 and 80,000 every week. Do you think it might be strange playing in front of only 31,000 Saturday?
MICHAEL FLOYD: I think it's still going to sound the same as playing in front of 80,000, 100,000 people. It's a huge game against Notre Dame, and I think they are going to be ready for us and the crowd is going to be ready and it's going to be an exciting environment.

Q. Talk about T.J. Jones, the improvement you've seen in his game through the course of the season.
MICHAEL FLOYD: I think coming in here as a freshman, you know, smaller guy, and when he first come here, being small -- I thought he's improved, route running, getting off the ball, make the play, and most importantly his strength. I can see throughout the film that we watch, watching the games, him just getting off the line and he's just picking up on a lot of things. He's doing good.

Q. Is he kind of deceptively strong? When you look at him just standing there, he's not as imposing; how does he play strong without being a bigger type of receiver?
MICHAEL FLOYD: I think he's -- everybody has their advantages and he might not be the strongest guy out there, but I think he has an advantage of his quickness. I think his quickness really shows. Him getting off the ball, he might not have to use that much strength but having that quickness and being able to dip a rip with his shoulders is a big improvement.

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