|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 19, 2013TJ JonesNotre Dame – 14 Q.  Beating your rival at home, had to feel pretty good? TJ JONES: Yeah, it doesn't feel bad, that's for sure. But it's definitely a fulfilling feeling, three out of four years at my time here, and my last year, last time I'll ever play them. Q. You guys hadn't beaten them at since 2001 at home. Talk about that. TJ JONES: I think it was good for us. It was a good, tough win in front of our home crowd and probably one of the toughest wins we've had yet this season, so to be home in front of that home crowd I think was good for us and for our community. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: I just made the plays that came to me. My number was called a couple of times. Fortunate enough to make a couple tough catches and really just trying to be that leader, make those tough catches and know that the team can count on me in those situations. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: I think it just comes down to situation, whether it be how you handle a certain technique, how you block a certain player, how you run a certain route, the finer details of things that we harp on each week. Q. What was the message on the sideline after Tommy went down? TJ JONES: It was, you know, next man in. You hate to see him go down, but at the same time we have all the faith in Tommy that we have in Andrew, so it was just kind of, all right, Andrew, it's your time. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: Yeah, I think we do a little bit, but it's not really needed. That next‑man‑in mentality has really been drilled into us since Coach Kelly has been here, and we all believe in each other. Q. Were you a little bit hobbled when you made that touchdown on the play before? TJ JONES: I don't think so. I think really I jumped up in the air, he hit me, I landed on the ball and he landed on top of me, so I just had the wind knocked out of me, bruised my side a little bit. But it was nothing serious, just had to get my wind back. Q. Did Tommy say anything to you guys on the sideline after he came back from the locker room? TJ JONES: Not really. He just said keep striving, keep pushing. We've got this game, and it's going to come down to inches, and to really not give up. Same message he would have said if he was playing. Q. How good did it feel to beat USC at Notre Dame Stadium? TJ JONES: It felt real good. It's the last time I'm going to play USC. Definitely good to go out on a high note in front of a home crowd with a tough win like that. Q. What kind of message does it send to the offense that (inaudible)? TJ JONES: It's a message that we need to step up, we need to execute better. We need to be able to have the defense when necessary in those situations, not leave every other series up to the defense, leaning on them. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: I think it means a lot having that big of a threat right down the middle of the field, whether he's matched up on the linebackers, it's always a physical mismatch. So it definitely helps to have an outlet for the quarterbacks, and he can be a primary. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: I think it's real important when you have those tough series, you have a couple three‑and‑outs or you drive down to the 1, don't convert on 4th and inches.  You have to put it behind you because you never know which drive or which touchdown is going to be the deciding factor. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: Yeah, Tommy made a check, the corner jumped me at the line of scrimmage, we were fighting downfield. Last second I made a tough catch, one of the catches that my receivers coach and Coach Kelly, my offensive coordinator all want me to make, the catches that we practice making each week. Q. Talk about being able to fight through injuries and that type of thing a little bit more this year than maybe in the past. When did that really turn around for you? TJ JONES: I think it started to turn around a lot last year. Last year I was able to fight through a lot of nicks and bumps, and then coming into my senior year, really this spring, I just took it to a whole 'nother level. I wasn't going to let anything deter me, anything little. If it wasn't going to put me out, if it wasn't a serious injury, then I was going to fight through it because I was running out of time. Q. Was that a decision that you made mentally at some point? TJ JONES: It's a decision I made my junior year. That's when I started to do it, and then coming into spring ball before my senior year, that's when it really just kind of clicked, when it started to hit. I felt that I pushed myself and my limits, and I could kind of feel myself pushing through certain pains that I wasn't able to before. Q. When you made that change, did you feel like you weren't doing that when you were younger and that was a problem for you? TJ JONES: I wasn't doing it when I was younger. If I got hurt, I definitely paid attention to the pain. I focused on the pain. I may lift more than fighting through it. I think it just comes with maturity. In high school I never really had to fight through an injury. If you sprain an ankle you don't play. Really just maturity helped me through that. Q. You've gotten more nicks and bumps this year. Seems like every game‑‑ TJ JONES: I get a couple nicks and bumps each game, just more catches, more blocking down inside the tackles, but it's never anything serious. By the time we come to Sunday, Monday treatments and relaxing, by the time Tuesday comes I'm 100 percent. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: Yeah, ideally I don't think I'm the receiver that was supposed to run that play. They just kept the same personnel on the field. We were running down the field, and he said‑‑ our coaches always say each week you never know if that's going to be you, so pay attention. So they called it, I did what I could, did my best, and he took off down the field. Q. Did you seal the guy off? TJ JONES: He ran outside and I just literally followed him outside and opened up the side so Cam could come back. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: It was a passionate speech, one of the more passionate things I've ever heard Tommy say. It was really just keep your head in the game, don't give up. We've got this, 30 minutes wasn't enough. We need another 30 to win this game. He had a lot of the guys almost in tears. It's the first time Tommy spoke out like that, and it was definitely emotional. Q. You guys were winning at the time. You usually hear that stuff when you're down and out. What does that say? TJ JONES: It says a lot. It's a long game. 30 minutes is a long time. Just because you're going into the half winning, you could come out of the game losing by who knows what. So his initiative just kind of‑‑ his want to take that initiative to really fuel that mentality in our minds says a lot about him. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: It means a lot, definitely a good feeling to go out on top against USC three out of four years we've beaten them, and the last time at home they got us. Being able to leave as a senior with that win against USC at home, it feels good. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: Initially had one play on, Tommy checked it because of the coverage, a corner jumped me at the line of scrimmage, was fighting him downfield, was fighting him hands off, hands off, last second, you just turn, make a contested catch. It's things we practice every day, each week, and it's the catch that they really expect us to make because we make it look easy in practice, so when the game comes it's almost like routine. Q.  (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: It says a lot. We really harp on the next‑man‑in mentality because you never know who's going down next and who's going to have to step in at any given moment. So being able to get that tough win out after Tommy goes down says a lot about our trust in each other. Q. When you came here (inaudible) finally won at home. The significance of that to you, maybe not so much now but long‑term? TJ JONES: It means a lot. We were able to come in and really change a program after having that many losses, USC being able to beat them three out of four years. I think it says a lot about my class, the classes before me, but it also says a lot about Coach Kelly and his staff and how they're able to instill that mentality into all the players that play for them and get those wins. Q. (Inaudible) is that coincidence? TJ JONES: It's not. Q. How do you consistently pull off (inaudible)? TJ JONES: I think you just lean on each other. You've got to leave the past or the drives, maybe bad plays, good plays, behind you. You've got to enter each new series with a new mindset, clean mindset, and you've got to trust in one another that when those clutch situations come, they're going to make their plays. Q. When you caught the touchdown pass I think we were all saying that can't be TJ Jones, he just got hurt, he was just standing on the sidelines. How did you get back in the game so quickly? I think we were all kind of surprised. TJ JONES: I wasn't really hurt. He hit me in the air that one play out of bounds. We both landed on the ball, knocked the wind out of me. He just knocked every ounce of wind I had out of me. It took a play or two to regain my breath somewhat and then I went back in as soon as I could. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: It was real important. It was more important than people think. It really gave us a chance, and I know for myself personally to really heal up, get back to 100 percent and come into this week fresh. Q. (Inaudible.) TJ JONES: I think it was real big, three out of four years. It sets the tone for upcoming classes and classes that are already here now that Notre Dame is now able to rival USC. It's not going to be a triumph for USC beating Notre Dame eight times in a row anymore. Q. 5‑2 with the schedule the rest of the year, I know you're week by week, but does it still feel like there's a lot on the table? TJ JONES: I don't know if there's a lot on the table. There obviously is, but the way that our coaches want us to approach it is it's a four‑week season, so it's just these four weeks up until the bye week and then just the last two. So we're taking it each week of these next four weeks and then just paying attention on that one game. Q. Because if you lose one the season is over? TJ JONES: I know what you mean. Actually I don't know how we're going to stand with that if we lose a game. Yeah, I think we're focused on winning the games right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|