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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 25, 2018

Brian Kelly

South Bend, Indiana

BRIAN KELLY: Just a quick rundown last week what we did well. I think, as I let our team know yesterday, playing with a sense of urgency, noontime start. I really liked the way our guys prepared. Preparation for us had been okay this year, but there wasn't a sense of urgency. I thought we played with a sense of urgency, and I made sure that they knew that that's kind of our standard now.

What we need to do better I think is do that with a consistency week after week. That sense of urgency is going to be needed certainly this weekend against a very good Stanford team.

What we learned is that if you put in the time and you work really hard, winning is fun. It's enjoyable to get back on that playing after a road win and really enjoy it. A lot of the things that occurred the past weekend relative to the Wake Forest game were things internally more than anything else relative to our preparation and the way we needed to prepare for that football game and go on the road and win. Winning is never easy on the road. Good achievement early in the season, four games into it. Another step in the right direction for our football team.

Now we get another great challenge with a Stanford football team that comes in undefeated. I think it's ranked sixth in the country, deservingly so. Very versatile on the offensive side of the football. We know about Bryce Love, the best back in the country. Once you think he's down, he's gone. You've got to get him on the ground and tackle him. I think K.J. Costello has really come into his own this year, distributing the football. He's got a number of weapons. I think we all know Arcego-Whiteside has been a go-to guy but now obviously a number of the tight ends are outstanding, big body types that he can get the football to. We saw that late in the game against Oregon with Colby Parkinson, Kaden Smith. You could go on and on. Costello's ability to stay in the pocket, get the football out, threw for a high percentage. Looks like he's really in control of that offense.

So the versatility of the ability to get it in the hands of Bryce Love and then have that play-making ability both on the outside, and then certainly we saw Osiris St. Brown come up with a big catch late in the game for them, speed and size, gives them great versatility, and then Stanford is always going to have a big, physical offensive line.

On the defensive side of the ball, they continue to employ a very aggressive, multidimensional defensive unit. Coach has been there for -- Lance Anderson has been there for a very long time since I've been here, and you know what you're going to get. Very physical, tough group, tough-minded. You know, defensively Swann right here from the state of Indiana plays with a great motor, especially the last couple of games we've seen him, and then against us last year, he was all over the field.

Linebackers, veteran players, Okereke, it seems like he's been around forever. Alfieri is just a guy who turned the game around against Oregon with the scoop-and-score. Very talented, a lot of moving parts there, Toohill, really been impressed with the depth and kind of play-making ability at the linebacker position.

And then in the back end, again, veteran players back there, Paulson Adebo is playing really well at the cornerback position. We know about Alijah Holder. He's been around for a few years, Ben Edwards, Frank Buncom, guys who we've recruited here. Very talented group across the board at all three levels on the defensive side of the ball.

And again, we play for a traveling trophy, the Legends trophy, which is very important to us. We haven't had it here in our lobby since the end of the 2014 season, so something that is very important to us and a big game for us, but more importantly a game where we need to play at our very best here against, again, a top-ranked team in Stanford.

With that, I think that gives us a pretty good recap. I'll open it up to questions.

Q. Bryce Love obviously, we've all talked about him, he's going to get a lot of the headlines, but he only has one game over 100 yards rushing so far this year. Do you watch what other teams have been doing against him and maybe take some things that other teams have done to slow him down this year?
BRIAN KELLY: Not necessarily. You know, I think he's going to get his yards. He's just too good of a player. I think you're really focusing on making sure that you're not short at the point of attack. You can't put him in a situation where he can go the distance. I think each and every week you're strategically looking at minimizing his opportunities to turn easy offensive plays into touchdowns.

So I think each and every week, defenses have been very careful in making sure that the box looks were such that he's not going to get easy looks.

Q. And I'm sure you've watched back the tape from Saturday's game for Stanford; they had that great comeback. Was there anything that stood out when you were watching that film that was just kind of like -- that just stood out for you?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think any time you're down 24-7 I think it was, just the grit of a football team that hangs in there and keeps playing, you know, and that's hallmark of Coach Shaw's teams. They just keep playing. That's what they did, kept playing and got a couple of things went their way, and they fed on it, and then when they had the chance to get back in the game, they took advantage of their opportunity, made some plays, and were able to win the football game.

Q. You mentioned the Jamion Franklin's status on Sunday. I wondered how that turned out.
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, he's going to need surgery, which will end his season. It's a surgery that we don't have very often, quad tendon surgery, so we'll have to reattach the quad tendon, which probably three months for that to reattach, and then you're talking six months for that to get back because you lose -- there's a lot of atrophy there with the quad. But he'll be back for spring and ready to go. But kind of an unusual injury.

Q. Did it tear off the bone?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, it did. Yeah, it did.

Q. On Saturday you mentioned you're going to reserve the right each and every week to determine who your starting quarterback --
BRIAN KELLY: Can we just replay that each and every week so we can not have to worry about the question being asked?

Q. I guess we all assume Ian Book is going to be your guy. I'm curious what you feel like the roles of the quarterbacks will be in this game.
BRIAN KELLY: How did we get to this? You know, they're both going to prepare --

Q. We assume.
BRIAN KELLY: I think they're both going to prepare. They're both going to prepare the way they have. Look, it's important that everybody knows that both of these quarterbacks can win football games for us. That's the most important thing. So as coaches, we have to keep both of them sharp. That's the challenge is making sure that during the week of our preparation that they're both sharp. We've got a lot of work to do each and every week to make sure that that happens in terms of making sure that they get the right looks in the red zone and short yardage and 3rd down and long and blitz packages. It's a lot of work during the week, but we'll make sure both of them are ready.

Q. Reintegrating Dexter back into a running attack has kind of found its legs with Jafar and Tony; how does he fit? What does his skill set bring to that running attack?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, he's been working with us. He's been practicing. He's been with us. He just hasn't been up to the level that we wanted him to. He's done a really good job. I expect that this week could be a week that he plays. We've worked him through our team periods over the last few weeks, whether it be our blitz pickup period or our skelly period. He's ready to play for us this week if he continues to do what we expect him to do.

Where do I think he fits in? I think he's explosive. I think he gets into the second level, and he's an explosive back. You know, does he have 20 carries in him this week? Probably not, but I think he can be integrated within a backfield that is emerging and getting better each and every week. But I would just answer your question, I think that explosiveness, especially at the second level, I think he adds very nicely to that.

Q. Do you think he's a better player than the guy that you saw in the springtime?
BRIAN KELLY: He's a -- he's better in all facets than the Dexter Williams version that we had in the spring.

Q. If you thought starting Book was controversial last week, try not starting him this week.
BRIAN KELLY: Well, thanks for the advice. Appreciate that. It's not often I get it here. I usually get it at home, but getting it here is quite nice, too. It's a full-time job.

Q. Nickel coverage, you knew when Shaun Crawford was injured that that was going to be a significant blow to your defense. Where are you -- I know who you've used, Coleman has played there, certainly Griffith has, Julian Love has. Was Studstill there for a play or two? Maybe I didn't see that correctly --
BRIAN KELLY: No.

Q. Anyway, what's the state of your nickel situation?
BRIAN KELLY: I think you've hit the three that would make the most sense for us.

Now, we can play three corners, and we can mix and match the three corners to the personnel that we like in those match-ups when you include Donte Vaughn. If we feel like there's a particular match-up with the three to a three-receiver set we can mix and match, so call it whatever you want, a three-corner situation. Somebody can match up to a particular player in that situation. So that's scenario one. Scenario two would be, as you mentioned, the Houston Griffith-Nick Coleman scenario, right, and then we haven't cast aside the situation where Asmar, who runs really well and is physical, might be able to do some things there, as well, in a more expanded role. So I think there's some options there for us.

Q. And how does Stanford's personnel make your decision in this department difficult?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, because they can put two tight ends on the field and then break that formation and be in a flux set, kind of like we can, and now you're in nickel and you're trying to stop power football. Match-ups are very important in this situation, so you have to be prepared to play good run defense if you're not in base defense. So there are some match-up issues that you have to be aware of.

Q. Since the Michigan game, your kick coverage has been really, really good --
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah.

Q. I know Coach Polian made some changes in personnel. Can you just address what's happened there? You have a couple walk-ons there that have played well, Nicco Fertitta has played really well, and it seems like since that Michigan return it's been on a real uptick.
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I think Bo Bauer would be another guy that I would point out. Quite frankly I would say just a lot of players understanding the leverage points of playing special teams. We're seeing that growth much more, understanding how to leverage the football, Chase Claypool leveraging the football so much better. Guys really understanding their roles a lot better. So I just think that as we've progressed through the season, them getting their reps, I kind of alluded to it earlier, that sometimes you don't get enough reps and it's just a learning curve. Where kicking the football, especially in the opener, is so crucial, the placement of the football as you're learning your leverage points. I think we're further along in the season and we're getting a lot more guys in those leverage points.

Q. Last thing, dipping back to Wake Forest, I think the term was rally group, where if the play for your defense, if the play ended near your sideline you were prepared to send a group in; could you explain that, please?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I think I tried. Maybe I didn't explain this well enough. If you think of hockey, you certainly can't make a line change if the puck is down the other end, but certainly if it's near center ice, you can get over the boards and make that line change. It was similar to us relative to moving our front seven in and out. If the ball was close to our hash, if it was close to the bench area, that was a rally point for us where we could make that change.

Q. I have a quarterback question for you, not trying to get the starter out of you, but there are several teams that employ two-quarterback systems. You've made it a point to talk about how both your guys can help you win. Based on what they do, do you see yourself trending toward a situation where they're interchangeable on a weekly basis, and is that where you even want it to go?
BRIAN KELLY: I don't think that we've ever been interchangeable. I think that their skill sets -- and I think I've been pretty clear on this from preseason camp our first press conference together, that they complement each other, but I don't think that they have the same skill sets. They're different in that sense.

Our offense allows for both of them to separate quite easy within the playbook. What's installed within our offense, we're not going into a whole new chapter and verse, if you will, to play call for one versus the other. You know, as I said to Eric's question, we have to prepare them both, and we like plays for one versus the other, and we'll call the game accordingly, so we have to prepare them accordingly during the week.

Q. When I said interchangeable, maybe that was not the right word. I guess I'm saying, do you want a situation where at any point in time you could roll either one of them out multiple times throughout a game if you think that suits you guys?
BRIAN KELLY: Absolutely. If we feel like that's the best way -- you know, this season is broken into what's important now. We don't want to look back. We don't want to look forward. It's in the moment. And so whatever is going to get us a win against Stanford this week, if we feel like playing both of them every other series is the best thing to win, we'll do it. We're not here to please any one group. We're just trying to win games.

Q. Speaking of the moment, it's been a long time since a top-10 Notre Dame team has had a top-10 opponent here. Just curious what you think the atmosphere will be like on Saturday?
BRIAN KELLY: I hope it's great. I hope it's a great atmosphere. We thrive on our home field. We've had a good run going at home. You know, to have a home game against a top-10 opponent when you're a top-10 team, these are the moments that you wait for, and we're certain that I think we're going to be met with a great crowd.

Q. The fact that they beat you three straight years, how much of a chip does that put on the shoulders, especially of your senior class? Have they talked about that at all this week?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, certainly they know they haven't beaten them, those guys that have been here. But you know, that was a different team last year, and so there comes a point where if you've looked back on the three games, we had a lot to do with why we didn't win the last two games. There was 12 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and we were leading last year. We went into the second half with a 10-0 lead the year before, and as you know, in both instances, we turned the football over.

So this is much more about us taking care of the football and playing it for four quarters. We have a great deal of respect for Stanford and how they run their program, but we need to play for four quarters and play good football.

So yeah, you can talk about not winning the last three games, but what we need to do is play better for four quarters.

Q. From an offensive standpoint with your line against their defensive line and the different things that David and his defensive coordinator try to do defensively, where do you see the development of your offensive line? This is kind of a midterm exam for them, isn't it?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I don't know that I kind of look at -- look, each week is a different challenge. This is a different challenge than it was last week or the week before. They've got good players. Their scheme is really solid. You know, but we know Stanford a little bit better than maybe we know other team. So in one respect, Michigan was scarier because you didn't know what you were going to get. Ball State was like out of the blue, we got something that we didn't expect at all.

So yeah, excellent scheme, really good players. They do a lot of different things. But there is -- we're familiar with Stanford much more than maybe some other teams, too.

Q. As for K.J. Costello, where have you seen the most development for him this season?
BRIAN KELLY: Poise in the pocket, delivering the ball in some really, really tight windows, accuracy you can see by his numbers the completion percentages are way up. He threw some great balls on Saturday. I mean, Oregon had great coverage on a couple of 3rd down -- the one 3rd down conversion, which set up the late-game field goal was just a beautiful throw into tight coverage.

Q. By my count, you had 15 players other than your quarterback, 15 players got their hands on the ball offensively the other day. What's that tell you about your offense? What's that tell the kids about what you're trying to do offensively?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, so a couple things. We're looking for somebody to facilitate the offense and get the ball out to our playmakers, and that was one of the reasons why we thought Ian would be a great fit for that, and that happened. Two, I mean, if you're a receiver, you know that every route that I run, I've got a chance to get the football, and so that creates a great energy amongst your ranks in terms of finishing your route, being precise, doing all the little things necessary to be in position to catch the football.

So it rises everybody, certainly, when you have those kind of numbers.

Q. End of game philosophy tenets or something like that; we saw how that Stanford game ended the other night, and you've had to run the clock out. Are there basic tenets or philosophies that you have? I know not every end-of-game situation is similar, but are there certain basic tenets that you take into -- when you send your team out there to try to run the clock out?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, you know, we have the use of analytics that break down their time-outs versus the clock that tell us when essentially we don't have to run an offensive play. And that makes it easy, right, so I get a guy upstairs who's looking at that and he can say, Coach, if you just run quarterback sneak here and take six seconds off the clock, you need to do that twice, they're going to use their time-outs, game's over, you can take a knee. Then there are other situations where if they have three time-outs, you know, you're going to have eight seconds left and you're going to have to one-step punt it, get it off, but you're going to only leave them six, eight seconds. I think that was the Vanderbilt situation.

So we're prepared for those situations at the end of the game. We have particular formations that protect the edges so we don't have anybody crashing off the edge. We've tightened down our splits. We're taking precautions so we don't have any mesh exchange situations. But when you have to hand the ball off to that young man, you've got to secure it. You know, if you harken back, we were trying to run the game out against Northwestern here back in 2016, and we gave it to one of my trusted -- I loved the young man to death. We were just trying to end the game, and we put the ball on the ground.

That's what you hate about it, and that's the beauty of it, right, when it comes to the game itself. Sometimes you can do all that preparation, and the ball still comes out. So that's kind of how we handle it.

Q. Going back to special teams, Chris Finke, nine guys got a block on his punt return, set it up. What are you kind of looking for in this spread era from guys who are blocking for Fink?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, I'll go back to what Tim kind of talked about a little bit in terms of the development of the special teams. So many teams are going into the -- going away from the spread punt and going into wall punt, which brings everybody in. You need guys that are great effort guys. I mean, they have to be about effort, first and foremost. So we're looking for guys that just can play with great effort and leverage the defenders.

If you watch the punt that Fink had in particular, we leveraged players and had great effort. I don't want to oversimplify it because there's a lot of tactical work that goes in there, but if you don't have effort in special teams, you don't have special teams, period. And we're getting great effort there.

Q. Your best seasons in special teams, it seems like it goes throughout all the units. I think of 2015, you mentioned Matthias Farley wants people to be involved in special teams. Is that something you've got again?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, when you've got a guy like Alohi on those teams who brings so much energy to our defense and he's running down there with great effort, it's easy for me to turn to John Smith and say, listen, John, get your butt moving. That guy is playing 90 snaps. Know what I mean? It kind of sells it pretty good from that perspective when you have guys like that.

Q. What are your impressions of David Shaw as a coach?
BRIAN KELLY: I think he's run a great program. I think his teams are well-coached, organized. Their systems are consistent within their program, their systems in terms of how they recruit, their systems of offense, defense and special teams are consistent. And so I think if you look at him as the president of a business or an organization, there's a great consistency from the top to the bottom there, and that usually equals success, and it has in his case.

Q. And how similar are these two programs?
BRIAN KELLY: I think there's some similarities in the sense that we both are trying to achieve excellence both in the classroom and on the football field as our primary mission. For us it's a little bit probably much more of a grander scheme in terms of coast to coast. But you know, they've got a strong academic and a strong alumni base, as well. But yeah, I think the excellence piece, both on the field and the classroom, is probably the similarities.

Q. Tommy Kraemer's status, you started Trevor last weekend; you felt Trevor had the ideal skill sets against a team like Wake Forest --
BRIAN KELLY: Well, he had the ideal skill sets because Kraemer was limited. Tommy had an ankle sprain that limited him, and Tommy not 100 percent would not have been as effective as Trevor would have been in that situation.

Q. Do you see Trevor starting this week or is Tommy recovered?
BRIAN KELLY: I think we're going to let them both continue to compete. They've been really competing for that position over the last couple of weeks.

Q. Would you see that be sort of like it was with Tommy and Robert Hainsey at right tackle last year?
BRIAN KELLY: Could be. Could be, yeah.

Q. And as far as the receiving corps, it seems like, like the backfield, it seems to keep expanding there. What have you seen in recent weeks from Kevin Austin and Michael Young, emerging more so with that screen that maybe allows that rotation to be a little bit deeper?
BRIAN KELLY: Boy, we've been begging for it. I mean, we've just been trying to get guys to emerge. I mean, there's a lot of running. There's a lot of tempo. There's a lot of pace. We want guys to emerge and continue to grow. Kevin obviously a freshman. I think the first couple of weeks of camp, really shot out of the starting line and looked great and then hit a wall a little bit, and he's bounced back and is starting to show that second burst. So I think he's going to continue to emerge for us, and you'll see more and more of him.

Michael was hurt in camp, and he's starting to feel better and better. We want those guys to continue to grow. We're trying to bring Joe Wilkins along, as well. He stayed up with us. He's a guy that we hope that can continue to grow.

We're just looking for guys that can continue to impact in all areas at the wide receiver position, running back and offensive line.

Q. Was there a concerted effort after Michael's fumble to get him back on that horse again with that 66-yard screen?
BRIAN KELLY: Other than me tackling Chip because he wanted to go strangle him, no. No, look, he's trying to make a play. He's got to put the football away. But no, he had to get back in the game. He was obviously shook up a little bit, but he's a young player. Young guys gotta get back out there.

Q. That's what I mean. On the coaching staff side, when a mistake like that happens, instead of kind of letting them go into the tank a little bit to get them reengaged right away afterwards, is that a priority?
BRIAN KELLY: I just said, leave him alone, get him back in the game. Get him back out there. He's gotta go play. He's a young player. He's gotta go play. Now, if he did it again, he can have a conversation with me, then he goes to the principal's office.

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