	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 1, 2018

Brian Kelly

South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame - 24, Michigan - 17

HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: It was a good win. Proud of our football team. You know, that game was right in front of you. It was a physical football game. We expected it to be the kind of game it ended up being, hard-fought. Required individual plays. Guys needed to step up and make plays. We made more plays than they did. Look at my coach sheet -- I'll try to get you a couple more here.

It's just one of those games where there's -- you know, it's going to be physical. We knew that. We knew that we were going to have to win some 50/50 balls, which we did. We got off to a really good start. I think the things that stand out for me, one, Brandon Wimbush. I thought he played with an edge to him, a confidence. He got the game ball tonight. He really had an energy to him, which brought the group with him.

I thought that the offensive line handled a lot tonight. I thought they did a great job with the first-time starter at left tackle, and you know, look, the numbers are not going to jump off the page, but we did what we needed to good against, arguably, probably the best defense that we're going to see this year. There's a lot of really good players on that defense.

And that defensive line is relentless. They can pour guys at you and can keep the pressure on you.

When you feel really good about the physicality of your football team, the offensive line and defensive line, your quarterback is a spark, and on the perimeter, we made some 50/50 -- you know, won some 50/50 battles, that's a pretty good football team. So I think we've got a pretty good team.

Q. Could you give us a sense of what having Gilman in the back of your defense does to change the complexion of that unit?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Well, he plays with an edge, too, and an attitude and a confidence. He's a guy that has a good sense of the football, makes plays and creates a confidence in that unit in the back end.

You know, he's still learning back there, too. He hasn't arrived yet but he brings a different energy to that group and a confidence that we had been lacking.

Q. Do you feel, big picture, that tonight is a testament to building something sustained, building back-to-back really good seasons, as opposed to maybe some of the ups and downs?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Well, the last two games that we've played, we've beaten really good defenses and really good personnel.

Close games and winning close games against really good football teams; that usually lends itself to you've probably got a pretty good football program and keep building it and keep recruiting and keep a healthy culture and organization, you should be having the kind of atmosphere we have tonight. Wasn't that cool? That was at good as I can remember. I mean, you're much older than I am (Laughter) didn't you think --

Q. That was fantastic.
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: That was pretty good. Awesome.

Q. Your defense seemed to bend but not break tonight, a lot of drives. How important was that in your defense -- to not let them --
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: You know, I'd be happy if they banged all night and don't break. I thought we played really well. We lost a little bit of our eye discipline and what I mean by that, we came off in coverage late, trying, you know, as Patterson started to scramble, we lost our eye discipline on who we were supposed to be in coverage, and we lost contain one time.

Devoid of that, I thought we played really well, most of the evening. You know, we jumped an over-route on the big play pass. We should have had safety help there. Other than that, we played pretty good football defensively.

Q. Michigan's defensive line and your defensive line, all played well tonight. What is it like -- you mentioned that earlier in the week -- the deepest your defensive line has ever had -- what's it like --
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Well, it's what we have to be. We have to have that kind of depth. We're not generally going to get that one singular star player, but we can develop depth in our group and have that kind of defensive structure where we can rule out a lot of really good football players.

Q. Talk about how difficult it was playing in these conditions.
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Well, it was very humid. The temperature on the field was very hot, but it was like, you know -- it was palatable. I mean, it was really wet. Those guys were playing so hard; so we had some cramping issues. We had two IVs at half-time; they came back. Hainsey had to go in in the third quarter -- where he had to come out for a little bit. But you know, I think it was probably the same on both sides. I think Patterson had a little bit of a problem with it.

But you know, you probably expect that a little bit. Look, that's why openers are so crazy to predict at times, right. You know, you've got four weeks, right. First week is five days of acclimatization; you can't really do anything. The next week, you're putting in your offense, defense and special teams. The third week, you're kind of getting the routine, and then the fourth week, you're trying to not get hurt. And then you go play a game like this, and so you're going to have some of that. It just is what it is.

Q. If you could expand on the offensive line, Armstrong's touchdown, you lost two top guys in the draft, and only four penalties tonight; the overall discipline you guys showed.
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: So I think we have got one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. I think Jeff Quinn does a great job of communicating. He sorts out things for those guys on the sideline. He's making adjustments and those kids really know what to do and how to do it.

It's one thing to prepare for those guys, but let me tell you, when the game starts, it's coming from everywhere, and he's able to help them and sort things out. They are a really good group that can kind of run on the fly.

So I think we've got a good situation there with Liam now getting his first start, I think his heart rate has come down considerably and he's a lot more calmer, I think that's a good thing, and getting Hainsey back in there at right tackle, where Tommy feels really comfortable at the right guard is a good rotation for us.

Q. (Off-mic.)
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think there's a few things. I think we're a disciplined football team. I think our kids -- we demand that. That's one of our tenets in the offensive side of things, and then defensively, we don't tolerate it. I think the way you coach, you get what you demand at the end of the day.

Q. In the back here, how pleased were you with Clark Lea's performance today, how he game planned and how he made adjustments in his first game as coordinator?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: I was pleased with all of our coaches. I thought that the offensive game plan was well structured to feature what Brandon could do well. I thought that defensively, things, you know, were organized and it worked out quite well.

You know, I just think all of our coaches did a great job and had our football team well prepared.

Q. Brandon Wimbush looks like your best running back, but Armstrong, he didn't look like a wide receiver tonight playing running back.
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, look, it's going to be awhile before he really gets all the nuances, but he's an elite football player. He's just really raw. He runs as you see, high, but he can catch it, and he's physical, and he's game. He'll go as long and as hard as he can, and you love that about players that just don't get tired. He just has that kind of cardiac ability.

Q. Where is his vision at this point at the position?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: It's better than we had imagined, and that sometimes is one of the things that kind of puts you out of the mix. So as we continue to develop, he's only going to be a better football player.

That's why we were okay playing him right away, and not waiting on him and then it really helps us with Tony, because as you can see when he gets in there, he's physical. I mean, we were knocking some guys out of the game because of his physicality when he's fresh.

Q. You mentioned in camp that Chris Finke is stronger this year.
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Yes.

Q. Does the touchdown play exemplify that?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I don't think he makes that play last year. I think his physical ability is one thing, but his strength now to go up and take that away from a defender, I think is the difference and probably for our entire football team.

Q. The long kick return against you, what did you see?
HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY: I mean, I'm -- first of all, you can't kick the ball down the middle of the field without proper hang time. That's No. 1.

No. 2, we have somebody that goes to the ball that folded way too far inside; and somebody is there to make him right, then make him right. So we've got to coach it better and we'll get it coached better.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297