Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met with the media, per usual, on Tuesday night. He discussed elements of the 16-14 loss to Stanford last Saturday night as well as the state of the Irish defense in general. Here's everything he had to say:
Q: How do you go about trying to figure out how to still get a pass rush when you know a team is trying to do “quick” game?
Golden: "Well, it's hard. I mean, it makes it challenging. You're going to have to generate some rush on earlier downs. But they (Stanford) pretty much decided that they were going to sprint out and throw screens and things of that nature. So, it is what it is.
"We just need to stop a couple more screens. And win one more sprint-out or win two more sprint-outs. But other than that, that wasn't what was going to beat us at the end of the day."
Q: Gabe Rubio and Chris Smith got a lot of reps in that game. How do you feel like they kind of graded out?
Golden: "I feel like they're both really coming on. They're doing a really nice job. They're both really strong, They can anchor in. They both run to the ball really well, and they're trying to get better every day. So, we have a lot of confidence in those guys right now. And they bring us a lot of power inside, which is nice."
Q: Just because of some of the injuries you're dealing with and Jacob Lacey not being here anymore, do look at Tyson Ford and Jason Onye?
Golden: "We look at all those guys. Certainly, (Jason) Onye has been getting some reps. So, we're getting him ready in the event that we need him. Alex (Ehrensberger) can help us some as a dual guy inside/outside. So, there's guys there, and we're always looking at those guys to develop. So, we need Tyson (Ford) to develop, and we need Onye to come on for sure."
Q: You’re six games through the season. So, at the halfway point, how would you assess the defense, and where do you want to see it go from here?
Golden: "We’ve got to take another step, for sure. We were doing good with the explosives early in the season and then we hit a bad streak, where we gave up too many explosives. So, we’ve got to get that back under control. And we’ve just got to start getting some of these balls. I think three balls on the ground the other night — we didn't get any. I know some don't bounce your way, but you’ve got to make your opportunities.
"So, we’ve got to deflect some balls, bats some balls, get some interceptions, and we’ve got to help our team out. It's not good enough to just stop them. We’ve got to create some field position, help special teams, help the offense, or make an explosive play ourselves, which we got to add that element to our defense."
Q: You were pretty excited about a practice Prince Kollie had last Tuesday. Has he sustained that? It seemed like a breakthrough.
Golden: "Yeah, I think he's just got to — look, he gets into the game and he just has to trust his technique and read his keys and not try to figure it out. It's as simple as that. Just make the game really, really small and don't try to see too much. Just read your keys and go.
"So, I'd like to see him do a little bit more of that. I've communicated that to him. And that's what we're working on right now. But no, I mean, his attitude, his effort, what he's doing in practice I'm excited about."
Q: What did you see from Nana Osafo-Mensah last week?
Golden: "I communicated to him last night. I'm really, really excited about his effort and his awareness — and that's probably the best word. Like formation recognition, his awareness. He saw some plays that really said a lot about the young man. So, he's worked really hard and he's earned every rep and he deserves every opportunity he gets this coming weekend."
Q: It seemed like even when he wasn't making plays himself, he was setting the edge really well?
Golden: "I agree. He did a good job doing that. And he's strong. He's a strong, good-looking kid, so I'm really happy for him."
Q: Benjamin Morrison has been around good corners his whole life. What does he do that's unique, because it's hard to play that much was young? But it seems like he's got a real advanced knowledge of how the pieces fit together.
Golden: "Well, he's really coachable. You know what I mean? That's a that's an oft-used term, like it's probably overused. But to be coachable and to be humble and to try to execute exactly what your coach is asking you or what the defense is calling for you to do and not deviate from that, I think that would be it.
"He yearns to get better every day, which all the really good ones have that characteristic. It's continuous improvement with him. That's the only way to say it, right? He's in there every day with coach. Before early downs, he's in there. He wants the game plan. He wants to see the tape.
"Before third downs, he's in there. He wants to see the game plan. He wants to see the tape. Does the same thing in the red zone, looking at his matchups, talking with coach Mick (Mike Mickens). So again, we’ve got a long way to go. But Benjamin, he's exciting to be around, and he makes coaching fun."
Q: We talked to Benjamin last week about just how long or how early in his high school career he'd been studying to film with his dad or just breaking down things when you watch an NFL game on TV. How quickly could you kind of pick up on that IQ, that's advanced for a freshman?
Golden: "Really fast, because he didn't come in at mid-year. So, for him to pick up basically the defense in the summer is like online learning. You know what I mean? It's like you're on your own. He didn't go through the installations like the other guys did. And then in training camp, we taught it, and you could tell that he had already had a really good kind of foundation, if you will, of the concepts that we were teaching.
"So, he learns fast, and he understands how he's being attacked. There was a great rep last week. It was a play-action throwback, and he had great leverage on the guy the entire time and his eye discipline was awesome. And that's a great snapshot of somebody that's just doing their job through the whistle. And it was really well-done by him."
Q: First of all, comment on how JD Bertrand played against Stanford and explain why it's so difficult as a linebacker coach and coordinator to take him off the field? Why is it essential that you have him on the field?
Golden: "Well, again, he's worked really hard on his power, so he's not he's not just a fast linebacker. He's a powerful linebacker, and he can attack downhill now. And I think he's added that in the last however many months. He runs the front with great confidence. And there's a difference between knowing it and running it, and he runs it with great confidence.
"And so, we were fortunate. We won two games basically against good offenses without him. But you could see his impact in the game last week, so you don't really want to take him off (the field) too much, because he could cover the back out of the backfield. He can cover the tight end, and he's strong enough to play in the run game. And like I said, he's got command of the front. And he's a big-picture guy. He really works well with the safeties."
Q: And you're in your own little world, but do you ever hear the criticism from the outside that is directed at Bertrand?
Golden: "What would the criticism be? Of JD?"
Q: Yeah.
Golden: "No, I mean, if you're going to criticize, criticize me. Don't criticize JD. I mean, JD, I don't know what he graded out. But it was really — "
Q: No, like in general. I mean, obviously, they played great against Stanford, but I mean, it's just on the outside. … On the message boards. They won’t like that you called him a ‘fast’ linebacker.
Golden: "All right. Well. I'm sure I’ve got plenty directed at me. Give me JD’s then as well."
Q: You're saying that he doesn't deserve that criticism?
Golden: "Look, he had that unfortunate (situation) where he missed a game and a half, two games, whatever you want to call it. And he came back, played really well. And, hopefully, he gets some consistency now and just starts feeling the groove a little bit, but no, any recruiting cycle I would take JD and any calendar year that I've been in coaching. He would be one of the premier leaders anywhere I’ve been. So, (it’s) unwarranted."
Q: We heard Marcus Freeman mentioned it was yesterday about trying to find more plays or creating situations that are called ‘100-percenters’, where it's the only thing that this guy has to do, to do that job. How does that carry over to defense?
Golden: "I think we can all be guilty of that at times. You want to be in the perfect play. So, we’ve got to be careful of that. We call them CAR plays. Just call it and run it. So, we need more CAR plays for sure. And less thinking and play fast. So, hopefully, that will help us affect the ball too. But (the) head coach is exactly right."
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