Al Golden press conference transcript ahead of the ND-USC game
Fresh from a Tuesday afternoon practice that featured plenty of piped-in crowd noise and the USC fight song, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met with the media. Here's what he had to say ahead of 15th-ranked Notre Dame's Saturday night matchup in Los Angeles with No. 6 USC.
Q: On the USC rivalry?
Golden: “It’s great to be a part of it now. Again, a lot of respect for SC and what they represent and what we represent. It’s going to be a great game to be a part of.”
Q: You’ve faced some great QBs. How’s Caleb Williams similar/different to some of the others?
Golden: “He is really talented. Big-league arm. He’s really getting the ball out right now. And he’s seeing the field really well. He can create on the run. His eyes are downfield, even though the rush is telling him to move his feet. And he's able to convert on the move. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands and equally with the vertical game. So, he is really a complete package — very impressed with him.”
Q: Marcus Freeman mentioned specifically his ability to break tackles, which you don't hear as a quarterback asset very often. How much can that be frustrating for a defense?
Golden: “It's frustrating. He has the ability to contort and get out of it and obviously the moxie to do that. So, it's going to be a great challenge for us — not just the rushers, but in general, making sure we're staying on our targets and containing him and doing whatever we’ve got to do once he does get out to get him on the ground.”
Q: Coach Freeman talked about guys staying in their lanes. I would imagine that's a huge emphasis?
Golden: “Big thing. Yeah, you’ve got to have a fine line. When can you rush? When do you have to be conservative and keep them in there? That's all part of the game within the game, and he (Caleb Williams) makes it more challenging, not just because he has the long speed to hurt you. But, like I said, he's got two hands on the ball and vision down the field, so he can let it rip. The play he made on the scramble last week against UCLA is as good as anything I've seen. And the arm strength to get it there. Really, really impressed with this guy.”
Q: Is that the roll left, throw off your right foot?
Golden: “Yep, no doubt. No doubt.”
Q: With Cam Hart being a little bit banged up, what kind of weeks are Jaden Mickey and Clarence Lewis having?
Golden: “We're just starting the week, to be honest with you. So again, we've got guys there that can rotate in there, whether it's C-Lew or Mick or Ben (Morrison) or whoever it is. And we'll go from there, but we'll see how it evolves as the week goes on in terms of injuries and things of that nature.”
Q: Must be good to have Brandon Joseph back?
Golden: “Yeah. I mean, I think it was a big step today. And, hopefully, he'll continue down that path and be ready to help us. Again, a lot of experience, good vision back there. Knows how to run it, can see it. So, it'd be great to have him back.”
Q: Early in the year we asked a lot about what was going wrong with the linebackers? What's going right with them now?
Golden: “Were they bad early in the year? Probably, I screwed them up if they were bad. I don’t see that. Look, I can go each guy. I think JD (Bertrand) has progressed and has become a more physical player. His block destruction has improved from a year ago and his overall command of the defense has improved. So, those are big steps. Marist (Liufau), I think, as of late, has just done his job. And what he's finding now is that he's talented enough that when he does his job, opportunities are going to come his way. He's not searching for it. And he's making some really, really good plays now just by playing the defense. Again, Jack Kiser same thing, showing up and playing a lot more. And PK (Prince Kollie). So, again, I'm happy with all those guys. I'm excited that Jaylen (Sneed) is making progress. And, hopefully, we can keep moving.”
Q: Jaylen Sneed had a pretty big hit there late in the game?
Golden: “He did. He'll strike you. This has been a great learning experience for him. He's had some really valuable reps, and we keep mixing him in there. And he knows whatever he does on the field is going to be reflective of his playing time. And it starts here in practice, eliminating ME’s (mental errors), preparing, watching film, knowing the details of the game plan and, obviously, being dependable. If he can exhibit that week in and week out down the stretch, he's going to keep playing.”
Q: We asked Marcus Freeman about young guys getting opportunities and when they got to play. How valuable has that been for Jaylen just to go into the offseason knowing, ‘OK, this is what it looks like. And maybe this is why I wasn't playing earlier?’
Golden: “I hope that juxtaposition is there for him. I hope he can see the contrast between when you get rewarded with playing time and when you don't. It's pretty glaring, and really, I'm speaking in general terms now, not just Jaylen — it's pretty glaring. Like, if you're dependable and you prepare and you mitigate your mental errors and things of that nature, obviously you become more reliable. And the unit trusts you. The coaching staff trusts you. The head coach trusts you. So, that's not just Jaylen, but just in general on defense.”
Q: Does that create kind of a virtuous cycle, where ‘OK, I'm getting a taste of it. Now, guys, trust me?’
Golden: “There's no doubt about that. As it relates to Jaylen, that taste that he got at Navy, you could tell he was jacked up the following Tuesday to go out there and, ‘I can do this.” Which is great.”
Q: Going back to the start of the season, where are you a better defense now than you were then? Is it across the board? Is there any position that really … ?
Golden: “Position-wise? No, I think we've made progress in general. I think we're taking the ball away and converting those. There was a while there (when) there was a little bit (of a) drought in terms of that. The effort was there. The preparation was there. The mentality was there. It wasn't happening. And the Stanford game was a big game, because I think we had four or five on the ground that game and didn't get any. I think there was a little bit of, ‘We’ve got to get these now.’ And it started to turn after that, and it's been more positive now. So, I think turnovers, adding that to some of the other things we've done better in the last whatever month or two months. I think that would probably be the biggest jump.”
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