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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 21, 2019Brian KellySouth Bend, Indiana BRIAN KELLY: Today a shorter practice. We wanted to begin preparation for Louisville. We wanted to begin kind of transitions out of camp, if you will, work towards really peaking for Monday, our game against Louisville. For me, it's taking the load off the guys a little bit. We went in helmets and shoulder pads today. We wanted to open up practice for you today, see that transition, that shift. We exchanged demo squads today. Those guys are down there today, but that's not where they stay. It's a competitive situation. It was the first exchange of guys. It's not where they're going to stay. As I mentioned, they have a chance to earn their way up. Again, with the four games those young guys can play, they have an opportunity to impress me and the coaches with an opportunity to play this year, as well. That was kind of the tenor of practice today. Again, getting an opportunity to sharpen up some of our game plan looks for Louisville. That was kind of what you saw today. Give you an overview of that. I'm sure that's exciting to you folks. Then, again, setting our depth chart. I think what's most important is we've got a number of really talented players. What we're really I think excited about is that this team has handled everything that I've asked them to do in terms of practice, the leadership has been great. Certainly all of the things that go to winning, the traits that we ask them to work on every day, I've been really pleased with that. I think this team, it's going to be about the basic tenets of football. We're going to have to run the ball well and stop the run. We're going to have to play with a physicality. You really can't see that right now. We're going to have to play that way against Louisville. Our first glimpse of it will be when we play Louisville. For the success of this football team, it's going to be up front, it's going to be our offensive line, our defensive line, our ability to run the football and stop the run. If we do that, this is going to be a pretty good football team. With that, we'll open it up to questions. Q. With Michael Young's injury, was surgery required? What is your timetable with him? BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, very similar. Screws, plate, collarbone. How long does it take for a bone to heal? Q. I don't know. BRIAN KELLY: I don't know either. I mean, everybody's different, right? Four weeks, we've had guys back in four. I don't know. Everybody is different. So we've had guys back in four. I think we this DaVaris Daniels, his situation was a little bit different, six or seven weeks. It was the BC game, then the bowl game. It was a little bit later. I think he was closer to eight weeks. Each one is different. Cole is, like, two and a half weeks, he's catching the football already. Who knows. The doctors say at four weeks you can take a CAT scan to see what it looks like inside-out. If it heals inside-out, then you're cleared to play, and we go from there. We say four to whatever, relative to his injury. Q. What are your observations, thoughts so far on Finke or Keys filling that void with Michael Young? BRIAN KELLY: We have four or five guys that will be rolling into those positions. It will be Joe Wilkins, it will be Jafar Armstrong, Kyren Williams. We'll be rolling in a lot of guys through that rotation. Q. Lenzy? BRIAN KELLY: Lenzy. Javon McKinley. We got plenty of guys. We're going to miss Mike. He had a great camp going, too. But we've got a lot of really good players that will step up in that situation. We got to run the ball. We got to stop the run. I mean, we're going to miss him. I don't want to downplay an injury. He's a good player. But, man, we got a boatload of guys that can go in there and fill in for that position. Q. Speaking of stopping the run, what kind of clarity do you have with your linebackers, and how does Drew White fit into that mix? BRIAN KELLY: Drew's in there. He'll play the Mike linebacker position. You guys will try to nail Clark down on that, but he's going to play Mike, he'll play Mike against Louisville. Does he play every rep? Probably not. There will be some rotation in there. I think we like certainly him, Asmar, Shayne Simon, all those guys, Jack Lamb, Keith. All those guys together have been all doing good things. They've all gotten better at their craft and what they do. Now, different packages, down and distance, you'll see different faces. But I guess what I'm saying is, we've got a better feel on who they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are. It's not just like, Let's pick a guy. Q. You are not still sorting through who your starters are? BRIAN KELLY: No, I think we got a pretty good idea. Q. (No microphone.) BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think it starts with being really specific. I remember having this conversation with Clark. If we're going to recruit that position, let's be really clear as to why. What do we want out of it? I think it goes to your point, that if we're going to recruit that position, let's get the ultimate flexibility out of it. The ultimate flexibility to me was that you don't have to take him off the field. You can play man coverage with him, you can play him in the box, you can play him in run downs, you can play him in pass situations. Certainly you can nickel out in some favorable down and distance situations. He was fitting into that. It allows us flexibility. So what can he do? He can play man on the slot. He can blitz off the edge. He can be a run fit guy and slide into a loaded box. We didn't have that kind of flexibility at the position, so that's what he's doing. Jack Kiser can do that. Paul Moala can do that. So the position is defining itself through recruiting now in a manner now that we all feel much more comfortable with. Q. Kyle Hamilton flashes for us when we're out there. I assume he also flashes when we're not there. What have you seen from him over the last two or three weeks? How unique is he in the way he's been put together and be around the football? BRIAN KELLY: There's a lot of questions there. That one question in itself. The first question is, How does a young player fight through that inevitable wall that you're going to hit? I think that's probably the first thing that impressed me, was that he fought through that freshman wall. Did a really good job. Probably happened last weekend where he kind of hit that wall a little bit, but he fought through it. Didn't miss a practice. That was impressive for a freshman. He's in a contact position, and he fought through it. That's unusual. He's got some toughness that you don't teach at that young of an age. The second thing I think within your question would be his size. 6'3", 6'4", very unique to have the suddenness and change of direction which offers him incredible range, obviously, and length as a pass defender. Can't tell that I've seen a player that can change direction and carry himself with that kind of range on the back end. That's unusual. Then instincts. He hasn't even watched film yet. When he sees a play, he's able to diagnose it (snapping fingers). I was telling Terry Joseph, you know, that's great coaching. But it's clearly the young man has great instincts and he's gifted. As much as I've been trying to tamp down Kyle Hamilton for Heisman, he's a really good player. He's a really good player that has showed up every day in some fashion. He has a unique skill set. Q. You talk about stop the run, run the ball. I think you know who you're going to run the ball with maybe more than you know who you're going to stop the run with. You know who your backs are, have your lines set. What have you seen that gives you confidence that this is going to be a good run team? BRIAN KELLY: Well, you've got some veteran presence on the offensive line with the two tackles, really both guards. Four out of five starters. We've really liked what Patterson has brought to the table. Any time you're returning four out of five starters on the offensive line, your first sense is there's got to be some continuity that is going to give you some effectiveness in the run game. You're returning a similar offensive scheme so everybody is familiar with what we're doing. I think everybody talks about the loss of Dexter Williams. Yeah, maybe we lose a little bit of that big-play ability, but we think the three backs, obviously Kyren and C'Bo bring something a little bit different. But the three big backs, they're punishing backs. We think we can be a physical presence because of four returning offensive linemen and three punishing backs. That would be the answer to that question. Q. I wanted to ask you about Jaylon Smith obviously got the big contract yesterday. How excited are you for him? Have you spoken to him about that? BRIAN KELLY: Have not spoken to him. It just goes to somebody that has such a positive outlook on life, has always taken the stance that I'm going to persevere, I'm going to do it the right way. He's never backed down from the way he's handled things. He's rewarded for it. It just I think strengthens your convictions that if you do it the right way, you stick to it, you don't listen to all the naysayers, that things can turn out right. Now, there's the other side of it that doesn't. But you choose your path. He chose his path, and he stuck with it, he stayed positive. Man, it's a great story. We should celebrate it. Q. Another one of your former players having a great start to his NFL career, Quenton Nelson. Staying here in Indianapolis, playing for the Colts. How impressed were you by his first season and what are your expectations for him this year? BRIAN KELLY: I wasn't surprised. He was a dominating player obviously at this level. To see what he did at the next level, to be regarded by his peers as the best of the best, we've been blessed to have those kinds of players here. He just has an incredible mindset in wanting to dominate at his position. His future is bright. He's only going to get better. Q. What are some indicators that you will stop the run or as the season progresses you'll continue to get better stopping the run? BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think obviously we understand how important it is to match our personnel to the keys to winning. Julian Okwara, everyone talks about his pass-rush ability. Really doesn't matter much if you can't stop the run because you're going to be on the wrong side of it. We're going to put our guys in a position where we're going to stop the run first. Julian is going to be part of that. He's a really good football player. But he's not one-dimensional. Here is a guy that has a chance to be one of the top players in the NFL Draft. He's going to be part of that. So is Kareem. These guys are being talked about as pass-rushers, but they're really elite defenders. Yes, we have linebackers that don't have a lot of snaps, but they are going to fit in what we're doing. We haven't talked a whole lot about Myron and Kurt Hinish. They've got a lot of snaps underneath them. Why am I confident? Got a great defensive line coach, got a great defensive coordinator, they understand the importance of how that front works together. We've always understood the key elements of successful defense is about stopping the run. Q. You mentioned you wanted Shaun Crawford at corner. Today it seemed like he was one of those corners. How has his camp progressed? BRIAN KELLY: Really well. In our scrimmages I think he got all the rust off of him from that year. On two one-on-one solo tackles that he had with Jafar Armstrong. That has a tendency to shake all the rust off you. It was good to see that one-on-one tackling. His confidence is back. His swagger, if you will, is back. He's back talking, which is really a good thing for Shaun. He's really going to help us in a lot of different roles, including special teams. Q. What are your thoughts on the corners, the kind of camp they've had? How do you see the situation in stepping up and filling that void left by Julian? BRIAN KELLY: I've been really pleased. I think all of them, Todd Lyght has done a really nice job, Terry Joseph working together, I think more than anything else it's given them more tools in their coverage and changing things up. TaRiq Bracy has had a nice camp. We've had a couple guys with some soft tissue injuries that are starting to round back into competitive work. Houston Griffith. Let's see, who else has been out a little bit? Donte Vaughn has been out a little bit. He's gotten the last couple of practices. He's looked really good. Yesterday he probably pushed himself a little bit. But Donte looked really good. I think our depth there is going to be really good. We mentioned Shaun Crawford. I just like the different techniques that we're using. We're mixing things up. I mentioned Bracy, he's had a really nice camp as well. I just think we got a lot of depth, a lot of versatility. Troy Pride has continued to be that number one corner, if you will. And the young guys continue to get better, as well. Q. The safeties bring a lot of experience, are very highly touted this summer. Could you see them being one of the biggest strengths of this team? BRIAN KELLY: Alohi and Jaylon are so solid. You add Crawford. We've talked about Hamilton. Brown has done a really nice job for us. I mean, yeah, I stand here before you with a sense that the depth issues that have at times put us in compromising situations relative to situational defensively will not shorthand us, if you will. I think our depth is outstanding. We can play players and feel really confident, keep guys fresh on the back end of the defense. I don't know that we've had that kind of situation in a few years, so it feels pretty good. Q. We've seen Kyren Williams since the spring. Obviously he's heavily involved in a lot of things you're doing in the passing and running game. Just the mental makeup and the mental toughness that you found from him since the spring. BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, just to further talk about that kind of freshman, there's not a lot of guys -- we talked about Hamilton, Kyren is another freshman that went through spring and never really showed any shakiness in terms of fighting through first semester. He went through spring, summer. Even camp, he has not missed a beat. He's mature beyond his years. He's picked up our offense. The versatility that we're asking him as a runningback and receiver, unique young man in that he's been able to handle all this, handle it in a manner that we're going to lean on him to help us. Not a lot of guys that I've been around in my time that we could throw so much at and he's got the makeup to be able to handle it. Q. Do you ever remember having a team with as many runningbacks that can be receivers for you? BRIAN KELLY: No, not with this kind of versatility. I mean, you could literally line up those two guys as receivers and change their number and you wouldn't know. Q. When spring ended, Phil Jurkovec had a rough blue gold game, was a little bit shaken up after that. Has he just gotten beyond being in his head and he's just throwing the football, back to his throwing motion? BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, it was really about lower body effectiveness and footwork. Once he settled into the style of footwork that Coach Rees wanted him to focus on, he started taking off. Now it's just learning defense and being aware of what we want him to do within our offensive structure. I think it set him back a little bit. When his footwork wasn't right, he was late in delivery. It became, Let me try to make a play. I wasn't really nervous because I knew what the issues were that we had to clean up. It was just him making a decision that I'm going to do this. Once he decided that I know I've got to clean this up, and Tommy was firm with him, he's really had a good camp. Q. Obviously kick returns in the game today have changed dramatically. There aren't going to be that many any more. You were working on the hands team, you had Jafar Armstrong back there. Are you looking for a guy that is as reliable as you can find? Is he your guy back there to return kicks? BRIAN KELLY: Yes and no. I mean, you're not going to have a shoulder-to-shoulder wedge any more. You're going to be coming off blocks. If you get the right returnable ball, you want somebody that's going to break an arm tackle, somebody that's going to break a tackle. He seems to be right now the profile guy for that. We haven't ruled out a Lawrence Keys who could hit a seam for as well. A C'Bo Flemister, who is hard to bring down, as well. That was kind of a rough drawing. I don't know that was a finished piece of our hands team. He may end up there as another hands guy. We could put somebody else back there. To answer your question about kickoff return, we're still in that kind of philosophical discussion as to who is that guy. We're going to have to make a decision, Where is the sweet spot to return it? Where do you put your hand up and take it at the 25? Q. When Kmet went down, what have you seen from Brock and Tremble and the rest of the tight end situation that makes you feel like you're going to be okay until Cole comes back? BRIAN KELLY: Well, I mean, they're good players. They're not Cole Kmet's size. We just have to change a little bit. You guys were out there today, you saw. We moved the tight end around a little bit more. They're not in line quite as much. But we can play in line. Tommy Tremble is an outstanding, outstanding athlete. You just play a little bit different with him. But go ahead, try to cover him. He's a wide receiver, but he's also 230 pounds, is as physical as anybody we've got. You're just playing to a different strength. You lose a really good player with Cole Kmet, you put a good different player in there with Tommy Tremble. We know what Brock can do. Brock has been reliable. He's much more loose and agile. He's worked on those in the off-season. He's going to be a reliable blocker for us. He's going to be able to catch the football. Now you add Tommy to that. We need a third. George Takacs has to come on, continue to progress. But that's kind of where we are right now with those two guys anchoring it until we get Cole back. Q. On your kickers, your punter, place kicker, seems like every day they've improved. BRIAN KELLY: Yes. Q. I saw you talking with Bramblett today after one of his kicks. BRIAN KELLY: Yes. Q. Do you see that same progress? BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, Jay is really a hard worker, extremely conscientious, easy to coach, quite aware of what we're trying to do. I won't get into the specifics, because they are tactically a little bit in terms of what we're doing with him. He allows us to do a lot more than we've been able to do in some time. But he has made the consistent progress and the consistency in which you want from that position. Great hang time. We're going to be able to cover kicks and feel really good about that group consistency even turning over a really good player in Tyler Newsome. Q. Doerer seems to be getting more confident with each day. BRIAN KELLY: Yeah. We were in an overtime script yesterday, it was actually fourth overtime, he hit one from 46 effortlessly. If he continues on that track, and believe me we have put him in a number of situations, and he has done a really good job. Harrison has done a really good job, too, as the backup. He is a college kicker as well. We've just been really pleased with the work of our specialists. John Shannon has done a really good job. Vincent has done a really good job. That group has really been good. We moved Jay to holding. He's been solid. Coach Polian has done a remarkable job with a young group. They are not acting like a young group. It's been fun to watch. Q. When do you anticipate your last real scrimmage workout before you get into the game? BRIAN KELLY: We've had it with our ones and twos. The threes will scrimmage on Friday. It's an audition for the guys that we're probably going to keep with us. We have some questions on some guys. You saw some guys today that maybe were not up with us that were on demo. We're going to flip those time because we weren't sure on a couple guys, so we're going to flip them around. Friday will be kind of going a long way in who are those guys that are going to be traveling with us with Louisville. Friday will be much more about that next group of guys as to who is going to travel with us. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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