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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCEApril 16, 2011Dayne CristQ. Just your assessment of today? DAYNE CRIST: It was sloppy. It's tough when you split up a team close and have the scrimmage and stuff like that. But you know you do some things well, and obviously didn't do as well. But I think it was a good ending. It was good to see guys competing and really trying to simulate more of a game-like setting. Q. What did you get better at out there? DAYNE CRIST: I thought just my recognition of everything that was going on improved dramatically. Being able to recognize defenses and then knowing what we're doing offensively I think was huge. With that came a huge increase in comfort level. Just being out there, I felt like the game slowed down for me this spring, and now it's about going out there and being more precise. Q. Coach Kelly decided not to name only one quarterback coming out of spring. How does that make you react? DAYNE CRIST: I don't think that's going to change what we're doing. We're going to continue to give everything in every practice, and I think that's what he expects out of us and that's what we'll give him. So nothing changes from our end. Q. How do you view yourself going in to the game being a starter (no microphone)? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, again, it becomes an individual thing. You've got to go out there and make yourself better every day. You can't worry about the three other guys. You have to worry about making yourself better. As soon as you start worrying about the outside things and what everyone else is doing, you can't make the same kind of progress as you would if you were just focusing on yourself and bettering yourself. Q. Next time we see you, are you still going to have a mustache? DAYNE CRIST: No, no stash. Some guys -- I told some guys if they shaved their heads, I would grow it out. And we had a bunch of guys that did that, so i had to live up to my word. Q. What was it like being out there? DAYNE CRIST: It was great. Just being out there and in the stadium again and competing. It's something that you miss. It's something that I'll never take for granted. It was just great being out there with the guys. Q. What was going through your mind though? DAYNE CRIST: Just enjoying being out there, just having fun. Going out there and not thinking too much, just going out there and playing. Letting it fall where it may. Q. Coach gave you sheets of what to work on in the summer. What do you want to work on? DAYNE CRIST: I just want to continue to improve accuracy. That is the biggest thing now. I know where I'm going with the ball and the decision I want to make. And improving accuracy, that comes with reps. We've got so many players in the offense, you can't nearly rep everyone as much as you'd like. So a lot of thing that's we were asking to do today as quarterbacks were things that we wanted to get better at, not things that we were comfortable at. It was really just about trying to get better at the things we hadn't done so much early on in the spring. Q. Can you talk about how comfortable you were trying to get back? It seems like I don't think people thought you would be this good at this point? DAYNE CRIST: To be honest, I think I surprised myself a little bit. I'm just happy to be where I'm at physically. To be able to just kind of be smooth out there and be relaxed. I think that was one of the biggest things I tried to emphasize. Just go out there and play and not think as much. But I think that comes with experience in the second year. Being able to just recognize what's going on out there, and just get my feet wet a little bit. Q. Can you take a breath at all or is now when the real work begins in the summer? DAYNE CRIST: No, no, now we're going uphill. We start our climb to winning games for Notre Dame. You know everyone thinks spring ball has ended, but we're really just getting started and transitioning into the next phase ask we'll keep moving from there. Q. A lot of the media sees this is a real competition. Do you see the same thing when you look around and there are some good players? DAYNE CRIST: Absolutely. It comes with work. We have tons of guys competing. That is what spring ball is about. You're battling for a spot. Nothing is guaranteed in this game in college football. This is something that we're going to continue to try to do is compete every day and make that a point of emphasis. Q. Does it make you excited about the potential? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, it's really exciting. There are two or three guys out there that are all battling. (Indiscernible). Just establishing the depth increases the accountability you have in your guys and builds trust. It's all great things. Q. (Inaudible)? DAYNE CRIST: I think it was a combination of things. We're not used to huddling very much, so that was kind of hard at first. I think it's a combination of things. We are just slowing things down, trying to get quality instead of quantity in a game like this when conditions aren't as ideal. Just trying to get the most out of every rep is pretty important. Q. When you go out there and you have you and Tommy and the two young kids and you have to show the mobility and associate more with the spread offense. As you see them doing that, you know what you want. Where's your stance now in the position? DAYNE CRIST: I think it's just being content with what you do best. I think that you can't really say I want to do this like so and so, and I want him to do this like me. It's more being content with what you do best. Working with them and within your skill set. If that's what certain guys do well in terms of mobility and they toughen up, and that's where they should drive for. They should live in that world where I know what I do best. Q. How close to 100% is the knee? DAYNE CRIST: I would say if not 100, it's real close. Q. What are the plans for you now from this point forward until September 3rd? DAYNE CRIST: To continue to get stronger and get my strength back in the weight room. I think that would be huge. Just continuing to stay in shape and then obviously maintain what we were doing in the first round with the strength staff. Just getting guys in and throwing. It will be more player-run practice in the summer. The coaches can't be there. So now it's transitioning and bringing guys together and making sure that we're not losing any progress that we could have had by not doing something the right way. Q. I know how humble you are, but as far as a quarterback position goes, is this your football team? Do you believe that? DAYNE CRIST: I think you have to. I think you've got to. I've got to believe that I'm a starter. I've got to believe that guys have faith in me. I know that I'm very confident in my ability, and it is something that I'll continue to work at and make sure that I'm establishing and trying to establish yourself as a starting quarterback. What you've got to do is not give them another choice. I have to continue my play to where there are no clear choices but me, you know. No better choice but me. Q. I realize it's only spring, but in your eyes how much better is this football team now than a year ago? DAYNE CRIST: It's night and day. The experience, there are so many intangibles you can't really show on paper or anything like that. But just being able to see offensively and specifically how much more confident guys are playing, how much faster guys are playing. Not worried about where to get lined up, it's how am I going to beat this defender this time because I beat them the last two times. It's about making sure we're developing the nuances within each play and progressing on every possession and getting better every play. Q. How do you temper the enthusiasm? There is so much anticipation for the 2011 season. DAYNE CRIST: You've got to apply that to your work. The excitement of the season, you've got to feel it in every rep of your looks. Everything you're doing in the off-season, all the stuff, the nitty-gritty, you've got to remain and improve that time as well. Q. Can September get here quick enough? DAYNE CRIST: No, not possible. Q. We heard you talk about the younger guys like Andrew out there? DAYNE CRIST: I think they're making plays. I think with their skill set they're doing things that they do best. I think it's great to see them go out there and be comfortable and play in their own skin. Q. For you today, did it feel like for some of the older guys to get some work in there and get out? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, we knew it was going to be more about the young guys going in. So whether the focus was there or not across the board, that's not to say. But it was about going out there and trying to be efficient with the reps that we had, and just making sure that once you were removed, it was about staying engaged and helping the younger guys and developing those younger guys especially. Q. Did you hear anything about the team over the last four weeks that surprised you? Made you feel differently about the season? DAYNE CRIST: I'm continually encouraged with the way that our guys compete. That's nothing new to us. Just seeing the way our guys battle is really encouraging. Especially when you've got injuries in spring practice or something like that, really guys stepped up and really made sure that we weren't taking a step back as a result of that. Guys were getting hurt and taking on an additional duty and things of that nature. So it's great to see where everyone's head's at, and being confident across the board. It's consistent with what we're trying to accomplish. Q. The strength of the running back and the receiver, now it seems like the defensive line out of nowhere this group is probably as good as Notre Dame has had a long time. What are your impressions of that? COACH KELLY: Just battling in practice and seeing what they can do is another huge sign of encouragement for us. Being able to as a quarterback to come inside like that, and that helps you in terms of playing against real opponents and things like that. But also knowing that that's going to help you get the ball back and get more touches and more of an opportunity for the offense to put points on the board. So it's great having that. I'm the biggest supporter in the world when it comes to our defense doing well. Q. I know the first time in spring we talked to you. In just a couple of days we've seen a different Brian Kelly, just a little more calm and teaching. Did that continue? DAYNE CRIST: I didn't jinx it. It stayed the same. But I think it was because from the start of spring practice he told us what his expectations were. It was different this time. We understood what he was asking. I think the seniors did a great job. I think all the upperclassmen did a great job remembering what it took last year, and what it was like last year and we didn't want to be like that again. We understand we have a lot of work to do and still have a lot of work to do. We're moving in the right direction, and definitely different from a year ago. Q. When you don't hear him over the shouldering, that's a positive? DAYNE CRIST: That's a good sign for us, yes. Q. With four quarterbacks in the mix today, how crucial was it for you to be able to come back healthy enough to take part? Because a lot of people probably originally wondered if you'd be able to do that? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, I think I feel incredibly blessed to be where I'm at in terms of where my knee is and being healthy enough to come out there and compete and play the game I love. So obviously that was important. But at end of the day that was out of my control. A lot of it I can control and rehab it. It came down to the way that I was healing and the way my body healed overall. But it was great being out there and just so much fun being able to do everything I love doing in the spring. Q. Can you talk about the tight ends and wide receivers and your comfort level with their ability to do the job in the spring and the fall? DAYNE CRIST: The comfort level is 100% there. Whether it's the first guy out there or the third guy out there. I think what we did this spring which was really important for us was to establish a great depth. Having confidence in the number one is important, but if he can't go, are you confident in number two and number three? I think we established that confidence level across the board with the receivers and tight ends. It's unknown, and they did a great job competing and proved that they could do a great job and make some plays for us. Q. Can you talk about Tyler and what kind of target he is for you? DAYNE CRIST: Tyler is extremely lethal. When he's out there, he's such a combination of size and speed. He's got great hands. I think that he's going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of defenses this year. We love having him on our team. He's going to be a great leader at that tight end position as well. Q. And Goodman? DAYNE CRIST: Goody has continued to show his worth all across the board. He played so many different spots as a receiver last year. He's established himself as quite a leader for the younger guys and things like that. Just showed continually that he's getting better and making plays for us and showing the great hands that he has. Q. As one of the leaders on this team, Aaron Lynch is getting a lot -- I mean, people are going crazy after seeing him out there today. Coach Kelly wants to tamper down the expectations a little bit. As a leader of the team, how do you help Aaron deal with the expectations that are coming out? DAYNE CRIST: You know, it's one of those situations where you just continue to encourage him and let him know he's going to have bad days. Things have been going great for him and you're continually trying to make him better and getting him to compete against the older guys. He'll understand he's going to have his down days too. Just really being there more in those days where he may not have experienced what it was like and trying to teach him how to bounce back from that. But you love his motor and the way he operates. If he continues to work the way he does, he does have unbelievable potential for us. Q. (Indiscernible). DAYNE CRIST: It was different. You forget about it. You've got to watch what you say, obviously. But it's one of those things to continue to go out and play. Q. Speaking of guys watching what they say. Coach Kelly was mic'd up. Can you give us your perspective ? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, it was cool. Guys were joking with him and trying to get anything they could on camera or not on camera, but on microphone. Guys were having fun with it. But at the end of the day, it's just another thing and you've just got to go out and play. Q. Offseason stuff, did you set up any trips or anything like that among the guys yet? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah, just talking to receivers. Getting them to come out and throw and stuff like that. But it's an open invitation for all guys. We just want to get better and make sure we're developing guys throughout the summer and not having any time that we're wasting. Q. You were on the sidelines for the entire second half of the game. Talk about your relationship personally since you enrolled last January until now? DAYNE CRIST: I think our relationship has grown tremendously. I really do consider Tommy like a little brother to me. He's great on and off the field. We're great friends. We can bounce stuff off each other. He knows I'm there for him, and he's an extra set of eyes when I'm in there as well. We work well together. We're confident trying to get each other better because at the end of the day it's best for the team. So I think our relationship has grown, and it will continue to grow. I don't see us ever stopping with that. We'll continue to be friends for as long as we know each other. Q. Despite the fact that you're competing for this job, how important is that from a team standpoint for you guys off the field? Can you be successful competing when you're friends? DAYNE CRIST: We're definitely competing, but the quarterback position is a little different. You have to compete with yourself more than anybody. It's not something you can wind up two guys and have them run a straight line and do certain things. It's really a competition with yourself, and getting the most out of yourself each day, getting better and progressing out in that way. We understand we told each other from the beginning of spring we'll make each other better, and that hasn't changed. I will continue to do that. Q. (Indiscernible)? DAYNE CRIST: I would win. Q. You're confident saying that on the record? DAYNE CRIST: Yeah. Q. Having the position of a leadership role on this team, how was it (indiscernible)? DAYNE CRIST: It was really good seeing them out there being comfortable and making plays. At times in spring they're young and they may not understand everything right away. But they did a great job going out there and managing the offense, and making plays and doing what they do well. They felt good in their own skin and doing what they know they can do. Q. (Inaudible)? DAYNE CRIST: We're always trying to help him out with things that they may not see or may not be looking for. But I think they did a great job. I'm proud of both of them, and we'll continue to get better as the summer progresses. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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