Notre Dame Football Quick-Hitters: Brian Kelly On Jack Coan, Irish Offense
It’s getting closer.
Every Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly press conference is one step closer to the Irish’s season opener Sept. 5 at Florida State. Kelly’s team comes together a bit more as the days and pressers go by, too.
The Irish went through various individual position group drills as well as plenty of scrimmage scenarios at Notre Dame Stadium on Thursday. Here are some quotable moments from Kelly after the practice, which was open to the media in its entirety.
On Offensive Creativity
“My philosophy has always been about the ability to push the ball down the field. I think we have some guys who can do that. We really didn’t know what we had last year. … We were playing a lot closer to the vest relative to leaning on an offensive line and knowing that was a strength.
“This offense has got to produce more points. You saw that we’re going to be more multiple in our offensive sets, and we got to get the ball down the field to our playmakers.”
On Senior Quarterback Jack Coan
“I think we all, in some instances, took Ian Book’s performance here for granted because he was a very accurate passer. But Jack Coan kind of picks up when Ian left off in terms of accuracy. We’ve gone through practices now, and we feel really comfortable with that part of his game. The accuracy is really good.
“He’s smart. He knows the offense very well for just coming in the spring. And he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s not a guy that’s throwing the ball into coverage, making poor decisions. He’s got a high football IQ. He’s a guy we have come to feel really confident with his ability to lead the offense.”
On Sophomore Tight End Kevin Bauman
“He was a bull in a china shop, breaking glass all over the place when he started off. He is refining himself in this position. The tight end works in a phone booth. He’s got to be able to slip and get open.
“He’s really refining himself and getting on the edge of linebackers and safeties and putting himself in positions where now he can use his ability. He’s got really good ability, but he was tying himself up a lot.”
On The Wide Receivers
“I think we’re really confident in their ability. I think where we are going to go into this next week is consistency of performance. [Braden] Lenzy shows really good at times. We saw the double move, we see the speed on the perimeter.
“We see Kevin Austin flash at times. Avery Davis is a guy who gives us some consistency. We need to see that practice in and practice out. But we feel like that group is going to be a strong suit for us.”
On Sophomore Offensive Lineman Michael Carmody
“He’s a guy who could probably be Robert Hainsey in a sense. He could probably play every position on the offensive line. He's our kind of Swiss Army knife.
“He can play all those positions for us. And I think it starts with he's smart, and he’s athletic.”
On Graduate Student Wide Receiver Avery Davis
“I had the players vote [for team captains] and their message to me was they respect him by the amount of votes that he got. He’s got the respect of his teammates. We all know he's bounced around a bunch of different positions.
“I think the team respects the way he's handled himself, the way he works, his work ethic. He is quiet in a sense you don't hear him as a ’rah-rah‘ guy, but he's the first guy who puts an arm around a young guy. He's been a great mentor.”
On Sophomore Michael Mayer’s Place Among All-Time Tight Ends In Notre Dame History
“Michael Mayer is an exceptional football player. He's going to be an NFL player, and he's going to have great success. How you measure those, I think it's just beauty is in the eye of the beholder when you get to greatness. There are so many great tight ends here. Kyle Rudolph was pretty good. Cole Kmet? Pretty good. Tyler Eifert? Pretty good.
“The list goes on and on. Just for me, since I've been here. And that's just a snapshot. He's an amazing player, great player. But I'm not here to rate him. I'll let you guys do that. You're pretty good at that.”
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