March 22, 2005
Dan Stevenson Senior OL
On how things have changed during his time at Notre Dame …
“I guess I have been through a lot of changes while I’ve been here. It’s been an interesting ride. You kind of learn to adapt. I don’t know exactly how he (Coach Weis) is going to run practice or things like that. The game of football is pretty simple and there is not much he can do that other coaches can’t do. There’s not too much that can really change the routine. I’m just looking forward to the first game and getting out there.”
On the experience of the offense and what that will mean to the team …
“I think everyone on the offense is really excited about that. We return 10 starters and you can almost say 11 with Darius. It’s huge. Experience is something you can’t practice and you can’t work on it except for playing in a game. I think this can definitely be a breakout year for the offense. This could be a year that the offense could really carry the team and that’s what we are looking forward to.”
Brandon Hoyte Senior LB
On what he is looking to accomplish during spring practice …
“Personally, I think it’s just to get better overall. I think it’s to make sure that I’m a better well-rounded player so I can help this time in any aspect that I can.”
On his impressions of the new coaching staff …
“They have a lot of excitement and a lot of enthusiasm. They are working hard to try and put us in the best possible position to achieve our goals.”
Ryan Harris Sophomore OL
On the new off-season workout routine …
“I don’t know if it’s physically more demanding or less demanding, it’s just different. You are using a lot more of your muscles at the same time, for shorter amounts of time and really just focusing on different things that are very hard to compare when you talk about weight room and training styles.”
On the offense …
“Offensively we have not met any of our expectations. I think every player on the offense would tell you that they have not achieved their goals and their potential. I think it’s time that we do that and once we do that everybody brings their individual piece together I think it’s going to be a pretty high-powered offense. We saw instances of that last year but we have to make it consistent and that is going to be the largest obstacle.”
On how Coach Weis has instructed the team to deal with the media …
“Probably the biggest thing is to protect your teammates. That’s definitely one thing that he has stressed. Protect your teammates and protect our team and really look at it as a reflection of the team’s focus so that we don’t run into some of the problems that you see with other teams and other programs around the country.”
Rhema McKnight Junior WR
On the enthusiasm of the players with the new coaching staff …
“I think everybody is just happy in general that we have a new staff now because we went through that limbo for a while. We are excited that we are capable of just going out there and play football.”
On starting on a clean slate with a new offense …
“I just look at it as another challenge for myself. Going into a complicated offense is going to be a big challenge for me, Maurice (Stovall), Brady (Quinn) and all of our offensive guys. We are looking forward to it and hopefully we take it up to another level and make things happen.”
On learning a new offense …
“Any kind of change is hard because you don’t know what to expect and you don’t know what’s coming at you. But we’ve already started to put some things in and I’m trying to feel comfortable with what I know and continue to improve.”
Darius Walker Freshman RB
On the benefit of having an experienced offense …
“There’s nothing like experience. I remember my first game coming out and not knowing what to do and not knowing where to go with no experience. So I think experience is a big key. We have a lot of leaders on this team who are going to lead us in the right direction that we need to be. It’s a nice and exciting time during the off-season and we are just trying to work hard get towards our goals.”
On how he conditioned differently this off-season knowing he is going to play more next season …
“I don’t know if I’ve really done anything different. This is kind of like my first off-season here. I really didn’t realize how strenuous the workouts and things are. I think it’s good for us as a team to do things and work as hard as we’ve been working in the off-season. This is preparation time for the season and we are getting ready to go out and prove what we need to prove.”
On the importance of having his family in town with everything that has gone on this year …
“I don’t think there is anyway I could have done this without my parents being here. That definitely was a big plus for me throughout the season and it has been since I’ve been here. It’s great to have Mom and Dad here and I’m very lucky to have them here.”
Brady Quinn Sophomore QB
On learning the new playbook …
“It’s thicker. It’s just one of those situations where you have a little more to learn and a little different style too. I compare it to learning a different language almost. It’s a tough task at times but I think once we get out there on the field and work some of the kinks out that we’ll be pretty well situated.”
On having ex-Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus around as part of the new staff …
“That really has been one of those great opportunities where Coach Weis has brought in someone who has been through it all and has had the expectations and the success and at other times been through some difficult experiences. He’s someone who I think is going to be a great utility that you can talk to, get to know and get advice from.”
On having more control with the new offense while on the field …
“That’s something that a quarterback loves, being able to control the game and go out on the field and dictate what the offense does. In that position you are almost able to push the defense and cut down on what they are able to do. I think we’ll have more control and in the end I’ll try to put the defense in some awkward situations.”
On learning the offense directly from Coach Weis while Coach Cutcliffe is recovering …
“Obviously it’s his offensive philosophy so who better to learn from than the guy who knows it like the back of his hand. It’ll be great for us at least for this spring until Coach Cutcliffe gets back. It’s a great opportunity to be in this type of system and have this type of coach working with you.”
Tom Zbikowski Sophomore Safety
On possibly seeing some playing time at cornerback again …
“It’s hard to tell. I think I’ll probably be safety but we are going to go through spring ball and move people around to see where the fit best. It is a new system so we are going to have to see where people fit best.”
On the new defensive system …
“Most defenses are similar. It seems like we are dropping a few more guys in coverage. The coverages are the same but there are a lot of differences to them, a lot of smaller differences that I think are going to benefit us. Once again we’ll see when we play Pittsburgh in our first game how well they work for us.”
Victor Abiamiri – Sophomore – DE
On what he’s looking forward to the most during spring practice …
“Trying to learn the new schemes and just seeing how the practices are and see how `hands-on’ the coaches are. Everything will be new so I’m just interested to see how everything goes.”
On each player having to earn a spot under the new coaching staff …
“I’ve been used to that my whole career playing football. It’s always you are battling for your spot so this is no difference than the past.”
His overall impressions of the new coaching staff …
“I like them a lot. They know their football. They know a lot of football. I’m really excited to go out there and have them teach us what they know.”
Anthony Fasano – Junior – TE
On what he’s looking to work on during spring ball …
“I think I’m just very excited to get on the field and see what these coaches are like football wise. Personally, I just want to get a good base for the offense and work on my overall technique in the blocking and passing games.”
On the new offense …
“It’s definitely a very complex system. I think we are learning it the right way, slowly but surely. We have a lot of stuff in already. I was pretty excited with the creativity that it has in it. I think everyone is pretty excited about it.”
On finally being able to implement the new system on the field during practice …
“Personally, I think that helps the learning because that is when you learn the best. When you are on the field and you make a mistake here or there you can see how the plays actually look.”
On the team’s interaction with the new coaching staff …
“We’ve had a lot of interaction with them, a lot more than people think. We’ve had a bunch of early morning workouts that we got to know how they are on the field without a football. We’ve also had meetings with them to learn the playbook so I think we’ve had a lot of face time with them and have gotten to learn them pretty well.”
On what this past year has taught him …
“It just shows that you have to adapt to change and a lot change is going to happen throughout your whole life. The way you react to them shows your true character. It’s helped all of our characters and made us more prepared for the real world.”