Al Golden press conference transcript: Prepping for North Carolina
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met with the media Tuesday night after practice. Here is the full transcript:
WHAT’S THE CHALLENGE FOR YOUR GUYS, WHEN YOU’RE GETTING A GREAT PASS RUSH LIKE THAT, TO KEEP IN THEIR RUSH LANES AND HOW HARD IS THAT?
Golden: “Yeah, you said it, rush lane discipline. Don't be behind the quarterback. And it’s even more important when you have a guy that can run like the kid at North Carolina. They’ve had a great tradition of guys that can scramble — not just to scramble, but the quarterback run game (as well). Maye is the next guy there in terms of that. He does a great job with the ball.”
THAT FACT THAT HE'S A LITTLE INEXPERIENCED COMPARED TO THE FIRST THREE GUYS YOU FACED WHO WERE SUPER EXPERIENCED, HOW DOES THAT FACTOR? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN USE?
Golden: “I don't know. I think he's really talented. He's a perfect fit for the system that they're employing, and I think he's done a great job. Can’t ask him to do much more. They scored a heck of a lot of points, and he's doing a great job distributing the ball and he can beat you with his arm or his legs.”
SO, ARE YOU SURPRISED WHEN YOU SEE A YOUNG QUARTERBACK (DRAKE MAYE) AS POISED AS HE WAS RIGHT OUT OF THE CHUTE?
Golden: “Yeah, I would say that's not normal. I think he's doing a good job in terms of that, just playing with a lot of poise and not forcing the ball, putting the ball where it needs to be, and obviously making plays with his feet, too. So, he can scramble the run or he can scramble and get the ball down the field. So, you’ve got to be really careful.”
WHAT DID BENJAMIN MORRISON DO TO EARN THAT START LAST WEEK, AND OBVIOUSLY CLARENCE LEWIS PLAYED VERY WELL?
Golden: “I think you know, both guys, they're gonna keep competing. It's just the way it unfolded last week, and we were with Ben. But they'll continue to compete and fight it out. And we expect to see either a lot, depending on who starts. That usually plays out during the week.”
JOSH DOWNS, DO YOU GUYS THINK HE'S GONNA BE BACK OUT THERE?
Golden: “We do. He's a talent. Run after catch, really changes his tempo downfield really well. So, sometimes it's hard to get a beat on the route that he's running. So, I think he's a very crafty receiver and explosive with the ball. So really talented young man.”
WHAT DO YOU SEE OUT OF HOWARD CROSS THAT LETS HIM PUT UP LEADING TACKLES PER SNAP NUMBER THAT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD FOR A LINEBACKER BUT DOES IT AS AN INTERIOR LINEMEN?
Golden: “Beats blocks, gets off blocks and knows how to finish. He’s got strong hands. So, he can corral a running back and get him on the ground. The running back just doesn't run through him. So, I think those are the things — he's tenacious, strong hands, and doesn't stay blocked for very long. He can beat a block. So those are the three things I think that allow him to make plays, no doubt.”
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE CHALLENGES FOR YOUR OLDER LINEBACKERS AND WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE THEY'VE DONE WELL THROUGH THE FIRST THREE GAMES?
Golden: “Each game the challenges have been different, as they will be this week. That's college defense these days. Every week is a different bingo board, if you will, how people attack you. So, a lot of West Coast orientation last week. And this is a little bit different now. So, those challenges each week is to let the last game plan go, understand exactly what we’ve got to get done, fit the runs really well and in this case, we're gonna have to cover the running backs really well or tight ends. Our underneath coverage is going to have to be really good. So, again, they do a really, really good job systematically there on offense, challenge a lot of different facets of your defense, and linebackers will be a big part of that.”
HOW CLOSE ARE PRINCE KOLLIE AND JUNIOR TUIHALAMAKA TO HELPING YOU? AND DOES IT BENEFIT YOU TO EXPAND THE ROTATION?
Golden: “It might, PK’s right there. Junior, he took a couple of reps last week, but Prince had the injury, and that kind of put him back from what was a great summer and a great summer camp, or spring/summer. But I feel like he's really, really close. So, I'm excited for him. And I know he's anxious to get out there, so, hopefully, this will be the week he can get in the rotation. He's close.”
WHAT'S THE WEEK LIKE FOR JD (BERTRAND) MISSING THE FIRST HALF (DUE TO A TARGETING INFRACTION)?
Golden: “Just take some of the reps off him to make sure everybody else is ready. He's a smart guy, who did a foolish thing. I mean, that's it. Guys like that who play hard, make good decisions all the time, try to do the right thing — when something like that happens, they feel worse than anything. So, it doesn't do you any good to beat ‘em up. I just think he's got to get himself ready to go, and this week he'll come out of the bullpen. So, some of those reps are going to other guys right now. And we get to halftime, he'll be back into rotation.”
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN PINPOINT FROM THE SECOND HALF OF THE GAME AGAINST CAL THAT SHOWED: HERE'S WHY THE DEFENSIVE LINE STARTED GETTING HOME A LITTLE BIT MORE?
Golden: “It's a good question. I think they got home more, because they maintained their rush lanes better. We didn't have guys behind the quarterback. I thought really our defensive tackles inside — Howard, Jason, all those guys, Jacob — did a good job of countering. So, they kept the quarterback in front and then the coverage — obviously the marriage of front and coverage. We were able to get home and get some of those sacks, so I think that would be the biggest thing. We let them out too many times early in the game, and that hurt us. It was a lot of rushing yards for nothing. We had good coverage on. All we have to do is keep them in the pocket. So. good learning lesson for everybody. And obviously the stakes are higher this week. Now we’ve got a guy that truly is a runner.”
IS THERE A NEGATIVE TO THE FACT THAT HOWARD CROSS IS LEADING IN TACKLES? ARE YOU NOT GETTING ENOUGH PRODUCTION FROM YOUR LINEBACKERS OR IS THAT OVERTHINKING IT?
Golden: “I'm happy for him. He's a competitor. He makes a lot of plays. And I don't think it's a negative at all. Again, for me — I've said this a bunch to you guys — you know, win the game, outplay the other team's defense in total points and then that's the game. It's not always going to be pretty. Yes, we definitely have to get turnovers to help our offense. But at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. keeping them out of the end zone, giving our offense a chance to score in a win, and I'm not disappointed with the production of any of those linebackers right now.”
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW (NORTH CAROLINA OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR PHIL) LONGO?
Golden: “I do remember him from back in the day. I'm really happy for him. He's done a great job. It's definitely his blueprint. It's a very, very unique offense. And really, if I was looking on the outside, I'd be like, ‘Wow, I really like the things he's done with it.’ So, just the different concepts. I always merge them together. But no, I'm really happy for him. Great job. He's doing a great job.”
WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND?
Golden: “I don't know. He's got a bunch of different things in there that really go together well, whether it's the quarterback. the boot flash game, counter series. He's got the screen game. He’s got the quarterback draw. He's got a lot of little things that really challenge you that we would call high-degree-of-difficulty plays that you’ve got to be ready for. So, credit to him and the offensive staff for putting that together. So, it's a great challenge.”
IS THAT OFFENSE AS EFFECTIVE IF YOU DON'T HAVE A SAM HOWELL OR DRAKE MAYE, WHO ARE SUCH GOOD RUSHING QUARTERBACKS?
Golden: “You're right. I mean, I think they're built for it. They've done a good job recruiting to that. And I'm watching the film of Sam last year. And then I’m juxtaposing that with watching Maye and you could see a lot of similarities in what they're asking him to do. So, I don't think it's a big difference. And they've had some time to kind of settle in here.”
WHAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IS THEY GET THE BALL THE WIDEOUTS. THEY GET THE BALL TO THE TIGHT ENDS. THEY GET THE BALL TO THE RUNNING BACKS IN THE PASSING GAME. THEY HAVE 1,000-YARD RUSHERS. THE QUARTERBACK RUNS. IT'S LIKE EVERY SKILL POSITION ASPECT OF THEIR OFFENSE IS ADDRESSED AT ALL TIMES?
Golden: “Yeah, and that's what I was saying earlier in terms of just looking at it from a football standpoint. It's really well done on offense. So, they're gonna challenge every facet, every level of our defense and we're gonna have to have some answers.”
WAS JORDAN BOTELHO IN THERE THE OTHER DAY?
Golden: “I don't know if he played the other day.”
WAS HE AVAILABLE TO YOU?
Golden: “Yeah, he was available.”
ANYTHING GOING ON?
Golden: “No, no, there was nothing there. It was just the way the game unfolded. The previous week, it was more of a space game. This was a little bit different in terms of just the way they ran the offense. That was it.”
RAMON HENDERSON SEEMS TO HAVE CARVED A NICHE THERE. HE'S ALMOST LINEBACKER LEVEL AS A SAFETY IN YOUR SPEED PACKAGES. HOW DID YOU START TO DEVELOP THAT?
Golden: “First of all, he's smart. He's got length. He’s sudden. He can cover the tight end. And as we've seen the last couple of weeks, he's a more-than-adequate blitzer. He can close, so he's not afraid. Like, you can grab some safeties or corners or nickels and put them in that position and blitz them, but they won't feel comfortable enough to weave through there. The bullets are flying, and he's finding a way to get home, even if it's not perfect. So, that's a credit to him. And now that he can see it, he's a threat. So, we'll keep using him in that capacity.”
WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP FOR MARIST LIUFAU? WHAT’S THE NEXT LEVEL FOR HIM?
Golden: “The next level for him, honestly, is if he just does his job and the details on every play, he's talented enough that the explosive plays will come. All of those things, whether it's an interception or a sack/fumble or caused fumble, those things will come. If he really just stays with his job, Just does the little details right, I think they will come. If he starts worrying about that stuff, it’s not gonna happen.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @ByKyleKelly.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports