March 2 Notre Dame Practice: Brian Kelly Transcript
Following the first practice, minus full pads, Saturday morning at Guglielmino Athletics Complex, head coach Brian Kelly addressed numerous areas of interest, including some position switches. Here is the transcript following his meeting with the media, which was permitted to view the first 45 minutes of the two-hour session.
The expectations he had for the first practice.
Brian Kelly: “The first day you’re hoping that there is a bit of a carryover with veteran players in certain areas. When you get into some team time you want to see a competitive environment with guys that know how to practice the right way, and that was certainly the case.
The quarterback, (Ian) Book, looked sharp. Chase Claypool looks natural at the position in terms of where we’re playing him (boundary receiver). I think there’s going to be some really good continuity on the offensive and defensive line. They know how to practice, they know the pace of practice, so a lot of good things that you would expect in the first day with a group that clearly knows the standards of how to practice the right way.”
What he is looking for players who could be elected captains after spring drills conclude.
BK: "I want to continue to give them opportunities to lead in a different kind of environment. Being a captain in the weight room and being part of the SWAT team is one thing, but now handling different situations where maybe they have to interact a little bit differently in the locker room, on the practice field — I want to expose them to as many opportunities to lead. This segment in our development of this football team just lends itself to different opportunities … They’re all kind of new at this, so it just gives them more experience."
On sophomore Jarrett Patterson starting out as the No. 1 center, and whether that was more a result of both fifth-year senior Trevor Ruhland and junior walk-on Colin Grunhard currently sidelined while recovering from injuries.
BK: "No, he’s going to play center for us. I like his athleticism, smart kid. One thing that really stood out last year was assignment correct, emotionally stable in the sense that every single day you got the same kid — and we like that at the center position. He’s going to have some help with the guards in terms of they’ve got some experience and they’ll be able to call out some things for him.
“We need to continue to work on his technique snapping the ball — not that that ball was all over the place, but we’ve got some work to do technique-wise there. We feel like that’s a good position for him."
Would Ruhland be the top center if healthy, or can Patterson challenge him?
BK: “Oh no, he’ll definitely challenge him. Ruhland is going to be a guy that is a utility player that can play the guard and center position. Quite frankly, he’s got some things physically that make it difficult for him to play maybe 72 plays (in a game). So he’s going to be an important part moving forward for us, but I think play in and play out, we’re really grooming Jarrett to be in there for the long haul.”
Sophomore receiver Braden Lenzy added 14 pounds and is up to 184. Will that affect his speed?
BK: “I think anybody that has been in our strength and conditioning program and has really shown a dedication to it is going to put on a coat of armor. Thicker without getting slower. Michael Young has been the same. Michael has put on good weight and he’s faster. He just needed that weight to get up there, cover up DBs and do his job — catch the ball in traffic and be more confident as a football player.
"Still have to catch it consistently, but he hasn’t lost a step. He’s got that explosive speed that we recruited, but certainly a stronger player is a more confident player.”
On whether Patterson has had previous experience snapping the football?
BK: “Yeah, we had him working on scout teams snapping the football, and then during our bowl prep we had him working there as well. When we started in January, he’s been snapping since then. He had no previous experience there (in high school). Zero.”
Will sophomore Luke Jones and freshman Zeke Correll also will remain at center?
BK: “Yeah, Zeke snapped for us, Luke will snap for us. Those three guys are definitely going to get a lot of work for us this spring at the center position as well.
"Luke sprained an ankle, is coming back from it, not 100 percent yet. But the progress that he’s made, particularly physically, in the weight room ... Zeke is a guy that we’re very high on, but he’s only 265 pounds right now, so he’s got to continue to grow.”
Why senior safety Devin Studstill was not at practice.
BK: “Devin has decided to transfer. He’ll enter the transfer portal. We love Devin, wish him the best. He’ll graduate here in the spring and look for another opportunity. He has done everything we’ve asked him to do, been a great teammate, worked his butt off. I think he’s in the best condition and best shape of his life. I expect him to do really well where he ends up.”
Did Studstill’s transfer result in sophomore cornerback DJ Brown shifting to safety, where he worked with the second unit while Alohi Gilman was nursing a mild injury.
BK: "He was cross-training. We had an indication on ‘Stud’ (transferring), but we wanted to see DJ at both of those positions."
Junior tight end Cole Kmet earned the save as a relief pitcher for the baseball team the previous day in Charleston, S.C., but his absence from practice will not be the norm.
BK: “This is the last weekend that he’ll miss. In practice one where we weren’t doing a whole lot — we didn’t want him to miss the contact scrimmages. So working with baseball, we felt like this would be the one (weekend) to give up.”
On whether he had heard of Miles Boykin’s superb NFL Combine
BK: "His numbers were what we thought they would be. He’s been a 40-inch vertical for us. Those are great numbers, but as we all know you’ve got to translate those on the football field.”
On the strides made in the off season physically and athletically by any specific position group.
BK: “I think there would be some guys that would look at the defensive line right now and look at Julian Okwara and the good weight he’s put on. Across that defensive line, they’ve done a great job of not only putting on weight but strength with the weight. They look really good … There’s not a guy that doesn’t look good and put on functional weight for his position.
“Chase Claypool looks faster, moves faster, catches the ball with speed out of the break, so he looks more explosive. The guys that need to look good for us to be good look good."
Sophomore running back Jahmir Smith’s progress.
BK: “He’s carved himself up. I’m going to reserve any comments on that group. I’m going to let Lance (Taylor) kind of get his stamp on those guys. I saw a lot of really good things from them today, but I’m going to tap the brakes a little on that position and let (first-year Irish assistant) Lance kind of work on that group."
Sophomore rover Shayne Simon’s development.
BK: “Just a lot more confident, playing faster. Everything was robotic last year. He had to see it before he could react. He’s reacting, playing a lot faster. I think we’ll see a lot more from him. It’s the first day. Everything he does — engagement, conversation — his eyes were down last year when you had a conversation with him. He’s looking you in the eyes (now).
"It's just the natural progression of a young guy that we think is on the come. He’s going to do some nice things for us."
How much cross-training is getting done with Simon and all the other linebackers trying to win a starting spot.
BK: “All of that is really going to be decided by the guys themselves, by who really takes over at a particular position. We’re open to whatever happens there.
"Cross-training generally means that you haven’t figured out which position that they really have descended upon. If somebody really shows himself at a particular position, we’re less interested in cross-training."
Have particular linebacker positions been defined for some players more than others?
BK: “After day one, until I watch the film on guys tackling and playing real football, there’s not set positions in there right now.”
Lenzy's decision on not running track.
BK: “He’s really focused on wanting to play this year. He felt like he needed to get stronger and he was worried about not being able to fulfill the things that he came here for, and that was to make an impact in football. He didn’t come here with his first priority being track. He would have went to Oregon (then). That was No. 1.
“When he settles into his niche in a football sense, I think he’ll go and try to run some track, but he wants to find his place in football first.”
Why junior Josh Lugg was ahead of classmate and 2018 starter Aaron Banks at left guard.
BK: “(Banks) has a sprained foot., so we’re going to go easy on him until we get back (from spring break that will be from March 9-17) and he’ll be full go. If we were playing this weekend he would play, but we’re going to very cautious with him until we get back.
"Same thing with Alohi (Gilman). He’s got an adductor strain … we’re being very cautious with him as well."
On the progress of Banks at left guard.
BK: “The continued strength, growth as a player, knowledge of the position. I think there were times where just being on the same page with the guy next to him, whether it be the tackle or center, building continuity within the group. But he’s an extremely gifted player."
Any change on the way Ian Book is carrying himself as the starting quarterback after his own success last season:
BK: “Oh yeah, and we’ve put him in a leadership position as well. A couple of things happen. One, you are put in a position of leadership and you handle yourself differently. But two, the expectations he’s handled on a day to day basis quite well. Ian’s not a particularly loud and vocal guy, but he’s going to stand up when he needs to say something. He’s done that a couple of times, he was asked to do that, and it resonates quite well.
"He is a different leader than he was last year. He was just a quarterback at Notre Dame last year. He’s a leader in our program (this year). That’s a big difference.”
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