Notre Dame 'Boring' Entering Saturday's Game At NC State

Brian Kelly gave updates on Notre Dame’s injuries, the team’s defensive progress and some other subjects at his Thursday press conference.

The Irish will play at NC State as scheduled Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

• Kelly said senior running back Tarean Folston (ankle) practiced and looked much better on Thursday. He’s probable for Saturday’s game.

Folston did not play against Syracuse last week, giving way for sophomore Dexter Williams, who played 25 snaps.

• Senior right guard Colin McGovern, who’s battling an ankle injury in recent weeks, is expected to start against the Wolfpack. Senior reserve Hunter Bivin could also see snaps, Kelly said. Bivin played 61 snaps as a backup against Syracuse.

“I thought he did some good things,” Kelly said of Bivin. “He’s a big body in there. He’s a pretty good pass protector. He’s got all that experience out at tackle and he’s a 300-pounder. Kind of like him in certain situations. I wouldn’t be surprised if you continue to see him moving in and out of the game.”

• There are no other injury updates, Kelly said. The rest of the roster should be full-go against NC State.

• As Notre Dame continues to progress on the defensive side since the firing of Brian VanGorder and the promotion of Greg Hudson to defensive coordinator.

Kelly is overseeing the transition, and feels that Notre Dame will be better each week moving forward.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do to just instill the things that I want in our guys overall relative to attention to detail, doing their job, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Kelly said. “I feel like it’s the first week of the regular season in terms of trying to build a consistency with the group.

“They’re getting it, but it’s a work in progress with a lot of changes, communication and drilling down on philosophy. All I can tell you is the kids are working hard and they’ll be ready to play against a really good team.”

• Kelly said freshman defensive end Daelin Hayes and junior defensive end Andrew Trumbetti will be sharing time. Kelly said Hayes can play with his hand on the ground, as well as drop into pass coverage.

• Kelly on where the Irish are at: “We’re pretty boring right now. It’s boring stuff. We’re working on stuff that you would rather watch paint dry. That’s what we’re doing right now.”

• Senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey announced on Wednesday that he plans on returning for his fifth year in 2017. Kelly was alerted to the news and gave his reaction Thursday.

“Mike’s got his life planned out pretty carefully,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s made that pretty clear to me from day one what his plans were in terms of how he wanted to proceed here. I can just say he’s been consistent in his approach to being here and what his plan has been.”

• Linebackers coach Mike Elston has been valuable in the transition from VanGorder to Hudson. Elston and Hudson collaborated on the play-calling against Syracuse.

“We’re really trying to meld philosophically what I want, and (Elston) is able to pull that out of the inventory,” Kelly said. “Greg and him are able to work together and kind of bring that inventory into what I see as how I want the defense to be run. Mike’s knowledge base more than anything else has allowed it to work very well.”

• Freshman offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who is redshirting this season and working on the scout team, has caught Kelly’s eye.

“He’s a stud,” Kelly said. “We’re just not going to play him this year. He’s a pretty special player.”