Notre Dame first-year defensive coordinator Al Golden had his weekly meeting with the media on Tuesday night. Here's everything he had to say heading into ND's Saturday night showdown with No. 4 Clemson.
Q: I know you didn’t work with him, but have you talked with anybody back with the Bengals about Adam Zimmer (Bengals offensive analyst who died suddenly at age 38)?
Golden: “I did not. No. It is sad, and I just heard about it on the way over here, so very sad.”
Q: In terms of the red zone defense that we keep asking about, do you see any progress there?
Golden: “No, I mean, again we need to get a stop or a takeaway. It's really that simple. There's a lot of things that we're happy with, but the end result has to change, no question about it. So, we’ve got to keep working it, just like we worked on the takeaways and had a breakthrough. We’ve got to do the same thing in the red (zone). Everybody knows it. Again, that's on my shoulders to get it fixed. Got to do it.”
Q: Jordan Botelho had some pretty productive snaps Saturday. And it looked like you had Junior Tuihalamaka at the vyper position a little bit. What kind of went into their roles?
Golden: “I just think both of them are really progressing and learning the defense really well, and they both earned reps. Junior on early downs and then Jordan a little bit on early downs, but then on the third-down package. Again, Jordan’s been working really hard, so it's great to see when that comes to fruition for kids and they're able to go out and make some plays. Everybody in the building is happy for Jordan, because he's worked really hard and he's settling in nicely right now.”
Q: Is Junior’s future at vyper?
Golden: “I think he's a swing guy. He can do both, which is a great attribute to have.”
Q: So, you kind of have an eye on next year?
Golden: “I have an eye on today, to be honest with you. I’m just trying to win today.”
Q: Because of the movement of Junior there?
Golden: “No, I mean, look, he reps at both spots, and we used him (against) UNLV in both spots. And I don't know if we used him at linebacker in this past game, but certainly at the defensive end or vyper spot, so that was good.”
Q: What did you like about Justin Ademilola going over to other defensive that spot for that game, and then Rylie Mills kind of going inside? Is it a matchup thing?
Golden: “I think there's some versatility there. Rylie gives you such flexibility, because he's smart. And it's really like with Junior, I say the same thing about Rylie. It's an incredible attribute to have, that you can basically play any spot on the D-line. He's strong enough to play inside and obviously has repped outside as well. So, to me, you want that toolbox. He has it and very few can do that. And that's a great attribute to him. He's really developed his hands. He's playing square, and obviously (Justin) can play multiple spots, too. So that's helped.”
Q: Two-thirds of the way through your first season back in the college game, what has been a great asset for having been in the NFL these past few years? What maybe was a big adjustment for you coming back?
Golden: “Just being in the NFL — I think I've said this to you guys before — you study everything. So, I think from that standpoint, there's a lot of schemes that we see that it's pattern recognition. You've seen it before, ‘Hey, this looks like Baltimore’ or ‘This looks like the Houston Texans.’ So, I think that part of it has helped expedite maybe resolving some issues.
“And then in terms of the thing that I don't think anybody can imagine or get ready for is in college, just the amount of volume of plays that we're seeing. It's extraordinary, meaning every week it's a different blueprint. It's a different offense that you're seeing. And whether it's a quarterback running the ball or option next week or whatever it is, there's just a broad spectrum of offenses that you see in college.”
Q: I’m sure you’ve seen freshmen, at some point in your career, hit a wall or an adjustment. Have you noticed any of that with Ben (Morrison)? And if so, how does he get through it?
Golden: "No, and he's doing great. I mean he's being challenged, right? So, he's out there. He's playing a lot. He's starting and he's competing and he's going against 1s. It is what it is. We love the kid. He's a competitor. Again, some of the balls are 50/50 balls. Kid makes a play. All right, good. Now, you make the next one, and he's responded.
“So I'm pleased with where he is. He's got to work really hard — down the stretch here — just to keep everything slowed down. Take care of your schoolwork. Take care of your body and keep focusing on the game plan. Very conscientious kid. Very happy with him.”
Q: What's on the front burner as you prepare for Clemson?
Golden: “Well, I mean, they jump off the film. I mean, length at tight end. Just a big, strong offensive line. Two really good quarterbacks. Either quarterback can go. Running backs. Again, both of those guys, really three of them, but the two that we see the most really, really talented with Ship (Will Shipley) leading the way. Speed on the edge, and then really just an offensive structure that stretches you, that makes you play the width of the field and gets the ball into the hands of their playmakers.
“So it is well-constructed. Their foundation has been set long ago. They're building on it each year, and it's going to be a great challenge for us to defend not only their personnel, but the length of the field and then try to get those shots on the ground.”
Q: Shipley’s a unique guy in that he’s a speed back on one hand, but he can be a power back, too?
Golden: “Yeah, he's got power. He's got explosion. He's got a lateral cut. He can protect. He'll block on the quarterback runs. Catch the ball on the wheels out of the backfield, the flares out of the backfield, all dangerous, so really, really good. And the way they use them is excellent.”
Q: Where did DJ (Uiagalelei) improve from last year when he struggled a little bit to seven games of really good ball going into the Syracuse game?
Golden: “Where did he improve from last year to this year? Again, I wasn't here last year to notice that.”
Q: OK, his seven early games this year vs. the one that he in which he struggled?
Golden: “I see what you're saying. I don't know. Look, sometimes it happens. We knew going into Syracuse that there was a lot of feast or famine, like there's a lot of get-after-you defenses. And they made some penetration, and that was one of the issues. So again, I don't know how that factored into his success in that game or not, but at the end of the day I'm very impressed with the young man. To me, and I can see why they keep saying he's the starter, (because) he's got length. He can get the ball down the field.”
Q: Is that his biggest threat, getting the ball down the field?
Golden: “Well, (that) and the run game. If you don't keep him in the pocket, he's gone. And anytime he carries the ball, they have an extra blocker, which is a challenge. Someone has to beat a block or you have to change your structure.
“No, I'm really impressed with the kid. He can throw it on the move. I've seen him make every throw. I've seen him hit the field out versus post coverage or quarters, and he's hit the seams. And again, once he gets that quarterback run game going, the play action that comes off that is really challenging. Every game’s its own dynamic, so I don't really know what all went into that decision in that game (to bench Uiagalelei against Syracuse), but I've been nothing but impressed with the young man.”
Q: Off topic a little bit, but we're going to be talking to Mitchell Evans. When you went against him in practice, what do you see with that kid?
Golden: “Here's the thing, when someone like that gets hurt and everybody feels it, that should say a lot about what the young man was doing at the time of his injury. So, we felt Mitchell — all camp and everything. So, when he got hurt, it was like, whoa, this is a really big part of our offense that that got injured. Again, it's hard for me to go back, because I wasn't here, but all I've seen from the young man is just he's getting better as an inline blocker. He's got length. He can get down the field. And he certainly developing as a route-runner, but inline he's become much more physical, and his technique is so much better with his second foot in the ground and everything. So, really impressed with the young man.”
Q: How much on guard do you have to be with a team coming off an open date? They've got two quarterbacks who can play. Does that add an element of preparedness that you have to have?
Golden: “Maybe it's a little bit different if 2 (Cade Klubnik) is in there at quarterback, but not significantly different. They're both really talented. Here's what I would say: Extra time — you're right — idle time leads to creativity, no doubt about it. And it's hard to be more creative than they are right now. I mean, they'll run gadgets anywhere on the field and make you pay for it.
“So, it's not some loosely constructed thing, where they hope it's a double pass and it works, but they're pushing the ball downfield or they're making explosive plays on some of those designs. And we’ve just got to be ready for them. You can't be crippled by it, but you’ve got to get ready for them. And there's a difference.”
Q: Can you overthink it?
Golden: “Yeah, you can literally get to the point where you're worried about all these things, because you build a book on somebody, and now you're looking at 50 of them. And so, we got to get ready for a bunch of them. And, again, they're probably as good as anybody in the country at doing it.’
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