Nyles Morgan Adapting To New Business On Notre Dame Defense
Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan might be a junior in college now, but when Notre Dame resumed practice on Tuesday, he felt like he was back in a high school classroom when head coach Brian Kelly entered the room of the defensive practice field.
“It’s like the Dean walking in — somebody got into trouble,” said Morgan, the team’s leading tackler with 37 while also recording the lone sack during Notre Dame’s 1-3 start.
Well, yes, somebody did get into trouble. Third-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was expelled from the team on Sunday because of extremely sub-standard performance. Entering Saturday’s game at Syracuse, among 128 FBS teams Notre Dame ranks 111th in pass efficiency defense (154.15 rating), 103rd in total defense (454.0 yards per game), 101st in scoring defense (33.5 points per game) and 96th in run defense (201.0 yards per game).
“It’s different,” said Morgan of Kelly’s involvement. “He kind of came over to the dark side… It’s a new feel but his input is already helpful. He knows what he’s talking about, he’s helped me out personally with certain things, [positioning, leverage] … it’s been really good.”
After Wednesday’s practice, the defense became better accustomed to Kelly’s presence, which on Tuesday was maybe a little more unnerving.
“It was like that at first because he’s always with the offense most of the time,” Morgan said. “It was a different feel, but once he started talking and coaching us up, it was like Coach [Mike] Elston was talking to me or Coach [Keith] Gilmore. The guys really bought into it.”
Morgan said he did talk with VanGorder after the firing but won’t comment on the nature of their discussion. Newly titled defensive coordinator Greg Hudson spent some time with the linebackers in the summer as a defensive analyst on the staff, so Morgan wasn’t completely unfamiliar with him.
“It was a bit surprising,” said Morgan of the firing. “It’s a business, so we’ve really bought into what Coach Hudson has been saying and we have to move forward. We can’t linger in the past. There was disappointment. That was the coach I came in with. It is what it is, so we just have to move forward.
“We’ve been preaching a fresh start. Erase everything that happened before, fresh start. Don’t worry about the past, just the present and the future. Just buy into what Coach Hudson has been saying.”
The main message being imparted is not so much about just tweaking or refining the Xs and Os, but more so not playing as a fractured unit.
“The main point is to love your brother, love yourself, play with passion, play with the fire that you’ve played with since you’ve been eight years old, for most of us,” Morgan said. “Sometimes with the college life, you’ve got school, you’ve got this, you’ve got that, you kind of lose sight of everything, especially when you’re on a bad streak. But if we can get back to the point where it’s just love of the game, like playing high school ball, we’ll be fine.
“If you love the game, you want to do everything you can to win, do everything you can to the best of your ability, you’re going to be on fire pretty much. It’s also that love that balances you to a point where, okay you know what you’re doing, you’re loose, you’re not uptight, you’re not stressed out about it. … If you really love the game, it’s not hard to find the balance.
“It’s a team sport. It’s the ultimate team sport. It’s not about you. You can have a great game but if this person didn't, this person didn’t, what’s it for? It really makes you deep down want to push for others.”
Against Syracuse, the Irish will be facing an offense that goes at breakneck speed with 86 plays per game (Notre Dame averages 71). The Orange ranks seventh nationally in passing offense with 371.8 yards per game and 25th in total offense (496.5). Last week in a 31-24 win over UConn, Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey, who reportedly is battling an injury, passed for 407 yards against head coach Bob Diaco’s defense. Receiver Amba Etta-Tawo accounted for 270 of those yards, and currently leads the nation with 40 catches for 706 yards, five of them scores.
“You definitely know [when going again tempo], trust me,” Morgan said. “When you make a tackle, all of a sudden the center is getting up, running down the field and it’s, ‘Oh…’ That’s just the sense of urgency Coach is always talking about that we need to have. We get everybody like that, we’ll be fine.”
Otherwise, more deans might be visiting the defensive classroom.
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