April 13, 2001

The Notre Dame football team opened spring practice on March 27 at the Loftus Sports Complex. Throughout the spring, www.und.com will follow the progress of senior flanker Arnaz Battle and senior linebacker Tyreo Harrison.

The following is the third interview with Harrison where he talks about stepping into Notre Dame stadium for the first time since November.

How was your first action inside the stadium since November?

“I was disappointed in my performance. I looked sluggish and I felt sluggish. A lot of the other linebackers did well today and stepped up their game and made some plays. Pat Ryan was out there working hard, and so was Carlos Pierre-Antoine. I think they played well, especially near the end of practice. Courtney Watson played well today too. He ran some blitzs today, and he looked really good. He got to the quarterback a few times. The offense did outplay the defense today, but that won’t happen again.”

Did anyone catch your eye on the offense today?

“I don’t think one certain person caught my eye today on the offense. As a whole, they played well today, even better then in practice.”

How did the defensive backs do today?

“Our defensive backs are good period. I love our defensive backs. I’m always impressed with Abe (Elam) just because he will always come up and hit you. I’m always impressed with Shane (Walton) because he is always there, being loud and getting everybody right. It might even get to the point where it makes you mad and you want to tell him to shut up because he is always out there talking.”

Are the things you are working on in practice show up in the scrimmage today?

“For the most part, when you go into the stadium, you want to step up your game. Coach Davie always tells us that when you are in the stadium, you step your game to a new level. At the same time, certain things are the same regardless. You go out and practice and you don’t try hard and something goes wrong, those are the same things that can go wrong in the game no matter where you are.”