Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has spent a lot of time in the last two weeks lauding the Irish wide receivers for how well they have progressed from the end of last season.
That’s a good thing for Notre Dame. The wide receiver position is one that must greatly improve for the Irish to not only maintain its status as one of the top tier teams in college football but to elevate beyond that and compete for national championships.
But what about the Irish defense?
It took the entirety of Kelly’s nearly 30-minute press conference on Thursday, but he was finally asked which Notre Dame defensive players have had the strongest summers and starts to fall camp.
Kelly wasn’t coy in rattling off a few names.
“In terms of physical change of body type, Clarence Lewis was huge,” Kelly said. “TaRiq Bracy was huge. Rylie Mills. I could give you probably 10 guys whose numbers and body composition and how they transformed themselves physically and how that’s shaping up mentally is really, really big.”
Kelly didn’t stop there.
“In some instances, even Kyle Hamilton, this is the best summer he’s had since he’s been here,” Kelly said. “Cam Hart was unbelievable this summer … I would be remiss not to talk about those guys in the same breath as (the receivers).”
And there you have it. A round handful of players name-dropped from the head man himself. Lewis, Bracy, Mills, Hamilton and Hart.
An interesting note: four of the five players Kelly mentioned line up in the secondary. So in the span of six days, Kelly has collectively praised the wide receivers and singled out four defensive backs, three of whom are projected starters. The one who isn’t, Bracy, looks to be Notre Dame’s No. 1 option at nickel corner in five-DB packages.
That’s an obvious nod to the direction in which the game has gone. Teams are winning in college football in this era with exceptional quarterback and wide receiver play. And if that’s what offenses are going to focus on, then the emphasis on defense naturally shifts to the secondary.
Thursday’s practice pitted Notre Dame’s wide receivers against its defensive backs quite a bit. Senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. picked on just about every defensive back he went against. The 6-2, 215-pound boundary target looks to be every bit the imposing physical presence the coaching staff expects him to be when healthy.
Lenzy, also a senior, made significant catches over Lewis on two separate occasions. Senior wideout Lawrence Keys III even got the best of Hamilton on a one-on-one drill. No wonder Kelly has been so complimentary of the receiving corps.
The secondary surely fought back, though. Bracy came away with an interception during the scrimmage portion of the practice. Lewis and Hart weren’t blown away on every rep by any means. They hung tough and forced a turnover when the first-team offense squared up with the first-team defense for the first drive of the scrimmage.
For Kelly, Thursday’s reps and those that came in the five practices before them are just the beginning of setting the standard for what he expects throughout fall camp and into the season.
“We’re pretty excited about this group in the way they’ve trained,” Kelly said. “It’s a fun group to work with. It’s going to be a tough season. There is great competition, but I like the direction we’re headed.”
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