Notre Dame 49, Stanford 20
Q. For you, just talk about thoughts. You're wearing the shirt, My Last Walk, playing your final game here at Stanford.
SAM ROUSH: Yeah, it's emotional. Had a lot of fun here. Really excited to see Charlie get that touchdown in the fourth quarter. Felt real bad. I got stuck on the three yard line. I was like shoot, he's not got going to get it, but he got in anyway. He didn't need me, which was awesome.
Yeah, I'll miss everybody. You know, it was emotional.
Q. Obviously Elijah Brown had another solid game. Just to be able to get a quarterback who is able to give you that and help you succeed, just talk about him.
SAM ROUSH: Yeah, Elijah is a dog. I'm really excited to watch him play next year and he's awesome. He's awesome. Got a great mindset. Throws the ball real well.
I think he's really poised to have a great year next year. There is lots of up-and-comers that are going to continue to carry this program forward. I wasn't able to experience a ton of success this year -- or a ton of success in my career at Stanford, but this year is the first step forward since I've been here.
I'm really excited for the future of Stanford football.
Q. You will probably be able to better answer this question as you reflect on it more during the holidays and into the new year, but could you touch on what has Frank Reich meant to the program and what did he do so well to help change the trajectory of this program do you feel?
SAM ROUSH: First of all, he's a legendary coach. We're so thankful to have him. He truly was doing this out the goodness of his heart. I don't think he's taken a paycheck. He's just being the interim head coach, doing this as a favor for Coach Luck, and then he said in the locker room he's not just doing this for Coach Luck, but for us, the 25 seniors that walked today. We really appreciate that.
We were able to get The Axe back. That's going to be one the greatest memories of my time at Stanford.
Q. You mentioned kind of expect better days ahead for the program. What makes you say that? What makes you confident?
SAM ROUSH: Yeah, again, this year is the first kind of step forward in the program that I've experienced since I've been here. You know, obviously not the success we wanted and we were hoping for when you look at the season as a whole, but we fought and battled every game.
We got some good wins. We were able to win at home. We had a winning record at home which is huge when you're starting to build a program.
Seeing some of the young guys starting to come up and progress, I think Benji is going to be one of the best tight ends in the country next year. He's awesome. And he had a pretty good night tonight as well.
But guys like Benji and Elijah, they're up-and-comers and they're really, really going to make an impact next year.
Q. Just touching for on Elijah, talk about his growth from the beginning of the season to now and taking the reins as a starter; where have you seen the most growth from Elijah?
SAM ROUSH: I think his confidence has always been there. He's a really confident quarterback. But just kind of like settling into that starting role, right? He didn't start the season -- didn't begin the season as a starter. As the season progressed we needed him to step up and he's really settled into that role.
I think he's ready to take the reins, and as you saw tonight some of his other games, he really took a hold of the offense. I'm really -- I'm a big believer in Elijah Brown.
Q. What is this Stanford-Notre Dame rivalry mean to you and the Stanford community altogether?
SAM ROUSH: It means a lot. Notre Dame is a legendary program. They're awesome. We saw tonight they're a really good team, championship contending team. They got the better of us.
Yeah, it's awesome to have that Legends Trophy and be a part of that rivalry. Don't win them all, but my freshman year we beat them at their place and that was an awesome experience. Yeah, it's a big rivalry. It means a lot.
Q. For you looking ahead here, obviously got NFL Draft, combine stuff to look towards. Obviously a lot of former Stanford players have gone through the same process. How nice is it to be part of a program where guys you play with have gone through the same process so you can look to these guys for advice? How nice is it to have the Stanford connections and network as you look ahead to the next chapter of your career here?
SAM ROUSH: It's great. I'll be signing with an agent that represents -- or has represented a lot of Stanford alums and are part of the same agency. You know, that was huge to kind of have that network to find someone that is represent believe and that I trust because I know the people I trust trust him. Yeah, it's huge.
Obviously walking in the footsteps of giants. There is some great tight ends and players that have come through Stanford, and I'm just happy to be a part of that legacy.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports