	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

November 4, 2019

Brian Kelly

South Bend, Indiana

BRIAN KELLY: All right, we'll get to work here. Obviously getting back to preparation this week for Duke, a little quieter around here. I don't know why, but it seems like if you win it's a little quieter. We are going to continue to try to do that. Our preparation will be such that we've got our players understanding what it takes to prepare and play the right way.

We'll build off that and go have some fun, play the game, enjoy it, enjoy being with your teammates. Play fast, play physical against a really good Duke team. They've had a week off to prepare for us. Really like obviously what they're doing. Coach Cutcliffe does a great job offensively using personnel groupings, what they do best, and taking their pieces and really putting them in good position to succeed, starting with Harris at the quarterback position. Dual threat quarterback. Also the second leading rusher on the team. Throws it well in the one-on-one matchups. Has got a good, experienced offensive line, a young offensive tackle who is playing really well for them.

Just like what they do. They're very smart. Last time up here they beat us. They're a well-coached football team. The two freshman, Calhoun, the slot receiver, and then their offensive tackle are really helping that offensive football team grow up quickly.

But, again, well coached on the offensive side of the ball. They're utilizing the talents of Harris extremely well. Jackson is a really good back as well.

So defensively obviously very impressive players. Dimukeje and Rumph, the front four is very, very good. Very, very good front. They play the run very well. Got some really good athletes and are deep on the defensive line, one of the deeper groups that we're going to play.

They've lost a couple linebackers to graduation, but, again, those guys are extremely athletic. I think in the back end of their defense they would like to play some man coverage. They have got some the guys that can run.

Good looking team across the board. Athletic. Not afraid to, as I mentioned, pressure you and play man coverage. We're going to have to be on. Offensively we have not executed at the highest of levels. We are going to have to execute better. The turnovers have to obviously go away.

We'll build off the last two drives offensively of the game against Virginia Tech. We went, you know, 91 yards before we had a penalty called against us, which I'm not sure why that was a penalty, but it was called against us for a -- we cut a blitzing linebacker, which pushed us back into a field goal situation. Then we come back with an 87 yard drive.

Finished the game on two really good drives. We will need to put together more of that consistency offensively and continue to play the kind of physical defense that we played. If we do that, we'll present ourselves well against Duke.

Obviously going to be playing at home on national television, or on the ACC Network, I should say. They're expecting a big crowd, so it'll be a big atmosphere.

With that, open up to questions.

Q. Following up on Hainsey and Lamb, do you expect Hainsey back by spring?
BRIAN KELLY: Yes.

Q. Yes?
BRIAN KELLY: Yes. He'll be back. Well he'll be back by spring. Probably wouldn't put him in a contact situation. He'll be moving, but I doubt we'll have him in a contact situation.

Q. And then with Lamb out I think you said at least this week...
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah.

Q. Who plugs in for him in that package?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, the nickel package, you know, we'll probably look at a couple guys right now that we think can fill-in. Shane Simon might be a guy that you might see moving into that position. Jordan Genmark Heath. There are a couple guys we think can fit in there and do a nice job for us.

Q. If you didn't ever watch your team play and you just looked at stats you would think Kyle Hamilton with his production was a starter. What's come easier for him than maybe you anticipated? What's his biggest challenge as he continues to grow as a safety for you?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, what comes easy for him is roaming the middle the field. Great instincts, vision, plays the ball extremely well in the air. I think that's pretty obvious in terms of his coverage skills and obviously finding and seeking the football. I think continue to develop in the tackling department. He's got to fit and come downhill and be part of our run fit, so tackling.

And then just, you know, the rigors of playing college football, all the games that he's asked to play and the physicality associated with it.

So that's just a matter of time. That's weight room, conditioning, training. I think that's going to take care of itself; both of the things that I mentioned as things that he needs to continue to work on. He just has a huge upside.

Q. And finally from me, with a like Braden Lenzy blessed with so much speed, what's maybe the things that he has to work on or maybe that keep him from being more of a full-time player and being able to utilize that speed more for you. Is it chemistry with Book? Is it other things?
BRIAN KELLY: I think it's consistency in terms of -- and he's done a really nice job. We wanted a little bit more size on the field against Virginia Tech in terms of what we are trying to accomplish with one-on-one matchups. A lot of man coverage on the outside.

Just wanted a little bit more size with McKinley and Chase. I think he's done a really nice job in terms of adding consistency to his practice preparation. That was one area that held him back a little bit. I think we've really seen some growth there. We like his competitiveness.

I think just a matter of time that he continues to add more to the trust bank and that he gets more playing time as we continue to move forward.

Q. The kick returners, how would you evaluate the production and execution you've had this year?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, other than obviously making a key mistake on the kickoff return, they've done a good job. I mean, we fair caught a lot of balls, and that's through analytics and developing kind of a mindset as to how we want to start our drives.

So that has not led to any concerns within my conversation with Brian relative to who is the right guy. We're just looking for if we do in fact return it, we want that thing out past the 25. We thought that Lawrence might give us a little bit more, and we still believe he does. He's got a burst. He got caught on the back side one time where we didn't expect the ball to be kicked that shallow or short. Allowed them a short edge that got him from behind.

So I really think it continues to develop. If you give us a kick return, I think we're going do it. Other than that, we are going to fair catch. I think Lawrence Keys continues to be the guy we push out front.

Q. We've seen a few guys rotate. Was that health related?
BRIAN KELLY: A little bit was health related. Still kind of searching; Lawrence was out for a little bit. We kept looking for those that were going to get it and go, and minimally get us to the 25 yard line so we had the right field position to start.

But I think that we're feeling like Lawrence is the guy we want to continue to work with.

Q. When we talk to Ian, whether it's in good or bad moments, he always insists his confidence remains high. Was that something you notice the early on in him? Is that something he's worked on here at Notre Dame?
BRIAN KELLY: Look, if you lose your confidence here as a quarterback you can't play quarterback at Notre Dame. There is just so much noise. So in the recruiting process, it's like question No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, you know, and making sure that you vet that out in the process in terms of what kind of personality does he have, what are his traits, his makeup. Can he handle the noise?

Those are absolutely crucial. Watching a guy throw the ball around in 7 on 7 is one thing. Can they handle all that is encompassing with this position here at Notre Dame is much more important. In the recruiting process we felt like he could handle all those things.

Although it's difficult for everybody when you don't play particularly well, when you don't play particularly well, we felt like he had what it took to stand up to that. You know, he did, and he's come out on the other end and should be better for it.

Q. You executed a Book to Armstrong screen pass the other day to near perfection. It hasn't always come that easily. How would you assess where you were with your screen game now?
BRIAN KELLY: Not where we want it to be. We've got to be better on the perimeter with our screen game. It was setup really well with our two tight end package and that we had run two or three inside power players, some missed direction off it.

So it was setup quite well, but we got to be better on the perimeter screens. They've been a struggle most of the year. We've got to keep at it. And, again, I think it's got to open up for us. Been a little bit better. Lenzy has hit a couple that have been good. We needed to be a little bit better on a screen that we called on Saturday, but we're note going to go away from it. We're going to keep working is it.

The slow screen was obviously pretty good. Those become hit and miss when you're working in the slow screen to the tailback because of the little things that can happen. But the perimeter screens have to get better.

Q. When you say better on the perimeter, are you speaking specifically the offensive lineman or is this more of a wide out?
BRIAN KELLY: A little bit of both. You know, the one particular one we had, the receivers got to work back for the ball to buy a little bit more time for the tackle. Then he's got to get into the funnel which we have as a kick out and a seal. There is a little bit of all of that working. The ball has got to be positioned particularly well. It's got to be caught so he can be a runner.

A little bit more going on there. We've got to spend more time being better at that screen game.

Q. There are so many moving parts. Precision has to be difficult to retain with consistency.
BRIAN KELLY: There are. Requires more work, more attention during practice, and you have to spend time on it. It can't be something that you just say, Let's call this screen and see how it goes. You have to take time during your practice.

Q. You talked a couple weeks ago after the break about self-scouting. What kind of conversations have you and Coach Long had in terms of just being more consistent and better and what were the points of emphasis?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, I mean, by and large it's been for us an offense up until the last couple of weeks where we have been a big play offense. So we haven't run a lot of plays. Our plays were down other than this week where we were over 90. That has just been the nature of the offensive structure in that we've hit a lot of big plays. When we've need to do run the football, we have.

So from a self-scouting standpoint we were equally efficient when we needed to run the ball and throw it when we were in those situations. So our conversations have been about execution over the last couple weeks and being a little bit better at some of the smaller details. That's what we focused on in practice the last couple weeks.

Q. Play calling is always a bone of contention when your offense is not performing consistently. What is your perspective on Coach Long and how he has called plays in terms of the matchups and what you're seeing defensively?
BRIAN KELLY: I think it's been good. I mean, calling plays is an art. You know, there is a science to it. I think that when you look at it through that lens, and I certainly do having experienced that view, there is a number of times where we had some plays called that were perfect fits that weren't executed to the level that we needed.

Then there were a couple plays that were called that weren't the best play calls. So we always go back at the end of the day. We're always looking at what can we call better in certain situations, what can we execute better.

And then are we tipping anything off that's giving the defense a chance to cover a particular play. I think that's what I concern myself more with anything else, is that are we showing something that is a tip to the defense. So far, I haven't seen that. I'm pleased with what Chip is doing in terms of his play calling. Now it's a matter of executing at a higher level.

Q. Last one with regard to that. Ian Book, in his role in changing plays, how has he done in that?
BRIAN KELLY: No problems there. Yeah, we're good there. Simply we got some more plays to make, and I'm pretty confident we're going to make them.

Q. You've only had Tony Jones and Armstrong fully healthy for one half of a game this year. So to have both of them healthy hopefully for a whole game...
BRIAN KELLY: What's I'm hoping too.

Q. How much of a benefit is that?
BRIAN KELLY: Will we get the two lineman back too?

Q. I don't know. Good luck with that.
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, you know, we don't spend too much time thinking about it other than the guys that are healthy for practice. We go and we practice the guys what are ready. It would be great if Tony is ready to go and we expect him to. We will get them both in the lineup and they both can contribute and be helpful for us. Be nice to have them.

Q. Vaughn is going to be starting again this week. Is that just because of his height, or has his performance on the field also been a factor in him become a full time starter now?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, no, we like having him out there. His size obviously is a factor in that. TaRiq, you'll see a little bit more TaRiq as well this week in terms of the rotation.

Q. You mentioned the two linemen. With the replacement you had to the on the right side of the line, how does that affect your run/pass balance? Are you still confident in running the football, or does that put a little bit more pressure on Ian to throw?
BRIAN KELLY: No, no. I think you have to go into the game with the sense that those guys can come in and get the job done. We believe they can. Both of them are really good players. Lugg is a highly recruited player. His opportunity is now, and we expect him to compete a little a high level for us.

Trevor is a veteran. He'll do a nice job for us. So no. I don't think you can ever go and say, All right, these two guys are recruited on scholarship to Notre Dame. We can't run the football because of that. We've got to go in there with the confidence that these guys can get the job done.

Q. You saw a lot of eight-man drops on Saturday. Is that something you expect to see more of given the comments you made about how difficult is it to get pass rush these days in college football?
BRIAN KELLY: I think it'll be part of what happens. Duke's DNA is pretty solid. They've got a four-man rush. They do get into some three down. They did quite a bit against North Carolina. We will see some eight-man drop, so we'll have to be prepared for it.

Q. Continuing with Josh, he's someone who has worked at tackle, guard, center. When he becomes a full-time starter like this, does he still cross-train, or do you concentrate on what his role is for this week?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, he'll /stay at tackle. That's where he'll get all his reps. That's where he'll be getting all the first-team reps, at the tackle position.

Q. Who would be options now, like as the third tackle or so?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I mean, as you know, I mean, we can move some guys around. Obviously Banks can go out and play tackle. Patterson can go out and play tackle. Grunhard can go and play center. Those are veteran guys that can do that. There are other options for us other than trying to play a freshman in Kristofic. If we have to, we will. Yeah, we skill have some other options that we can shuffle guys around make it work.

Q. What has Josh Lugg done to put himself in the position he is now in after trying his hand at so many different positions?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, he's been clearly our sixth, seventh lineman for a couple years. He's just been one click away from being a starter. He hasn't been a guy that has been far from -- he's been in a competitive situation for a couple years for a starting position. It's just one step, one play, one week of consistency. Now is his opportunity to step in there.

We feel good about Josh being in there. He's a guy that has been in the program, knows what it takes, is strong and physical, and can handle himself in the game. He'll do fine.

Q. A little bit off topic. Goes back to some analytics. I get this question often. What goes into a decision to take the football when you win the toss as opposed to wanting to be defer until the second half?
BRIAN KELLY: There is a lot of different factors. Weather in the second half. You know, making the decision if you have the ball, now they're going to take the ball in the second half; you get the wind. Weather has a lot to do with it.

Then percentage of scoring first has a high analytical number for the winning team. So those factors play into making that decision.

Q. You mentioned confidence with quarterbacks. I would imagine the same thing is true with corners. From that, Donte Vaughn's time here, some highs early - Cotton Bowl obviously a low. How has he come back from that to be somebody that you can trust to be out there?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think when you get into that last season of competition, I think you kind of put away all those thoughts of how do I feel today. It's more about I'm running out of time and I can't waste time on what happened in the past. I got to stay in the present. Got to stay in the now.

I just think the mindset begins to change a little bit when the clock starts ticking. I think for Donte the clock is ticking. He knows he's running out of time. He's got the physical ability to do it, and I think it just seems in my experience of being a head coach that those guys start to think about I want to play and I'm not going to hold myself back because of wondering and worrying about what happened in the past.

Q. Is he healthier than he's been in some time?
BRIAN KELLY: No doubt. Carrying that type of shoulder injury that he did in fact have, you know he wasn't at full strength. I think that coupled with, again, knowing that he wants to go out and play well in his last season has really shaped kind of where he is right now.

Q. Overall that position, I think it's one that people watch when a corner gets beat. Overall, what do you like about that group right now? Where did you feel like they can improve?
BRIAN KELLY: I think just playing the ball in the air and giving yourself a chance to be -- for me, it's the guy that doesn't put himself in a position to play the ball more than anything else.

Once you give yourself a chance -- and we've done that in the way we're using our technique, playing our guys in a position where they can go up and play the football. Once you do that, I think our guys are good enough athletes they can go play the ball.

Q. Throughout the course of his career Ian has been very good about protecting the football. This last week was out of character for him. Did you identify anything that you guys can pinpoint as to why it happened? Was it just kind of a couple off decisions?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, the interception to Claypool, the one that stuck, was throwing into the wind and the safety made a nice play coming off Chris Finke, who was running an over route. Didn't expect that through film study. I think if he had it all over again throwing into the wing, he probably would've stepped on it a little bit more in that situation.

The interception, other interception that he through over to Cole Kmet, you know, he was aware of the drop into the boundary. Made a bad choice I think in that situation. Probably kicking himself on that one.

I think those were the two big ones in terms of the interceptions. I think the one, again, was weather related. Needed to drive that football. So there is maybe a postscript to that. The other one, poor decision.

Q. Is he the kind of guy that comes to you after a mistake like that and already knows what he did wrong? How much do you have to explain it to him or how much is he already aware?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, we talk a little bit more now. What did he see, did you see what I saw. So we'll talk briefly big picture. Won't get into too much detail. I'll let him get into specific details with Coach Reese on the phone.

He just wants an overall perspective from what I saw big picture, and then Coach Reese will drill down specifically on some things on the phone.

Q. As you've noted a couple times this year, you're facing a team that's had a bye week to prepare for you. I know you schedule so far out, but have you and Jack identified any way to try to avoid creating an opportunity for your opponents to be able to load up on you?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, everything seems to be an add-on to the contract, right? Officials, replay officials, you know, things of that nature; then it's bye weeks prior to.

You know, it's the life of an independent. You get what you get. Get on the plane, we'll play you.

Q. Coach, with Ian, we talk about his confidence. Just wondering, do you feel making that play at the end of the game will allow him to be more loose maybe? Do you feel like he's been loose or do you think...
BRIAN KELLY: No. How would you be loose last week? He had to endure a pretty difficult week, and so the whole team was tight, especially the offensive side of the ball.

But he's come through it. He should be loose and excited and should have fun. We're going to talk about that when we get back together today. He's gone through the worst of it. This should be the best of it for him. This should be a great launching pad for him to go out and really be excited about playing and play with great confidence.

But, no, it was a tough week for him. Certainly he had to grind through it. But getting through it, which he did, I think should prove him well moving forwards from here on out.

Q. In the bigger picture, has this been the case all year, whereas last year maybe as the guy that came in next he could be more loose, and then this year the expectations are so much higher for him?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I mean, you put a C on your jersey, you have high expectations. A lot of that plays on he's 21 years old. That's a lot. No excuses. Comes with the territory and he signed up for this duty. Sometimes you have to manage it and work your way through it.

I think he worked through the most difficult circumstances he's going to have, and I think the rest should be, let's go take this thing and run with it.

Q. Then you talk about confidence being such a critical part to being the quarterback at Notre Dame.
BRIAN KELLY: No doubt.

Q. When we talked to Phil after the spring game it appeared the confidence was certainly lacking. Where is he in that area, and is that a concern in any way in his development?
BRIAN KELLY: No. I think he's done really well. I think his development personally in terms of his own confidence, self-confidence, has grown immeasurably. His maturity level. He believes he can go out and compete at the highest level. I think great credit to him that he came back through not having a great spring to having really, really good camp and showing that he's capable of leading this football team.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297