Practice 11: Brian Kelly Transcript, Q&A
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly addressed the media following the team's August 12 practice inside Notre Dame Stadium. Below is a full transcript of Kelly's remarks.
Q: Is Arizona State graduate transfer Cameron Smith who he thought he was when he came here?
Brian Kelly: “Actually he’s a little different from what I thought. I thought he was more of a take-the-top-off-the-coverage kind of guy — speed. He’s got strong hands. Physically, he’s very strong and he’s got a mature presence about himself. So he’s exceeded my expectations from that standpoint, and we’ve put a lot of volume [of work] on him as well.
“He has tapped out from a volume standpoint our highest on GPS (Global Positioning Systems) numbers. He’s been able to maintain that with the miles per hour. We look at two factors: The load that the player goes through in practice and then max velocity. He’s able to maintain that max velocity, which tells us that he’s in a good position relative to his injuries. He’s not had any recurrence from those that have slowed him down."
Q: He’s learned a lot about his body from his major, but have you been able to help him in that regard?
Kelly: “He’s very in tune to his own body. He’s in the training room, he’s asking questions, obviously he’s doing this very intentionally coming here. He wants to be ahead of everything and he’s done a great job of working with our strength staff, nutritionists and certainly [trainer] Rob Hunt to put himself in the best position he can be."
Q: Is he somebody who is solidifying a spot in the receiver rotation?
Kelly: “I would say outside of Equanimeous [St. Brown], he’s been the second most consistent wide receiver. He would be No. 2 on the list. EQ , as I think I said earlier, has got a ticket on the train. [Smith's] getting close to punching his. He’s been very consistent — we’re looking for that now. That is what has really started to separate him from the other receivers.
“Every day you know what you’re going to get — you’re getting the same guy from him every single day. The other guys, part of it is not their fault. We’ve been moving them around, trying to find where their best fit is, so it’s not that they’re necessarily less consistent as much as they’re trying to gain consistency at a particular position.”
Q: What have been the last couple of days like been for you and the team inside the new locker rooms and the newly renovated stadium?
Kelly: “I think it’s gone from exciting to distracting. Not in a bad way, but in a way that requires our team to focus, lock in. You start to run your offense down to that scoreboard and that big screen, it is imposing in the sense that it can distract you if you’re not really locked in. It really forces you to focus and lock in. That’s a different dynamic in that stadium.
"It was great to be in there today, give them a chance to scrimmage with those things that can tend to distract players at times. It’s going to be a great atmosphere for our guys. They’re really going to enjoy it. But it’s going to require them that once it kind of seeps in and they take in the atmosphere, it’s going to really require them to have a laser focus.”
Q: What do you anticipate from Jay Hayes this year?
Kelly: “Physicality is the first thing if I was to use one word. He’s been extremely physical at the point of attack, and assignment correct. He doesn’t come in and make errors. He does his job. He’s a great story. He’s had to wait for his opportunity, had some ups and down along the way. He’s had to be gritty. He came in heralded as a recruit and some things didn’t go his way and he’s had to fight through it. He a great testament to some of our young players about hanging in there, and he’s in a great place right now.
Mentally, physically, he’s in great shape, he’s worked hard in the weight room to eliminate some of the things that held him back a little bit physically … He comes with a great attitude every day. He just loves being around the guys. He’s a jokester, big, big personality, big smile, he’s a half-full guy, not a half-empty guy. We’re just feeding off his personality right now.”
Q: A lot has been talked about the offensive line tandem on the left side. But you also have a couple of other seniors with Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars … What progress have you seen from Bars moving from right tackle last year to right guard?
Kelly: “Alex Bars arguably has had as good a camp as anybody that we’ve had. Trevor Ruhland has had a really good camp, and I think if you’d ask Harry [Hiestand], Ruhland has graded out really well, which was important for us to have a backup center. But Alex Bars in terms of transforming his body in the off-season, losing 10-12 pounds and gaining explosiveness, has really put himself in position to be an elite player. He moves well, he’s smart, has multi-position ability, can play tackle, guard or center. Smart, tough, athletic. Really good football player.
“Sam not only has the experience but has the knowledge to [call] a lot of the protection checks and things that centers are required to do, especially with a younger quarterback. Sam has taken a lot of that responsibility on his shoulders. Here too is a guy that is physically fit, strong.
“We ran 73 plays today. I told our team we’re not ready to play today, we’ve got three weeks left. But if we’re looking at some things we did really well today, we played 76 plays (sic) and we didn’t have one guy that I felt was not physically conditioned to keep going today. There was not a drop-off from play 1 to play 76 from a conditioning element.
“Sam was one of those guys that, at times, conditioning … you worried a little about him at times. There’s no worry about that with him at all.”
Q: One guy in the starting lineup we’ve heard very little about is defensive tackle Jonathan Bonner. How has his progress been this camp to where he remains a starter?
Kelly: “He’s just so much more agile, moves so much better. He was a bit mechanical last year in the sense that he wasn’t as comfortable with the position. He’s so much more comfortable with the position that he’s playing. I know I keep reverting back to this, but the correctives in his weight training, in his conditioning has allowed him to be much more athletic in his movements. He’s had a really good camp as well.”
Q: Is there a chip on the shoulder on the shoulder of the defensive linemen based on what everyone says that they're the weak link?
Kelly: “They’re human, they listen to it as well. I think there are a few factors there in that there are some new players getting the opportunity to get out on the field — [Daelin] Hayes and [Jay] Hayes. I think there’s a new defensive line coach who does a great job with them in Mike Elston. And then I think there’s a stronger unit, physically fit and stronger. They have all those things going for them. And maybe the last thing is a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.
“But I don’t think that’s the first thing that they think of. I think their confidence has grown from their off-season training … their confidence has grown that there’s a new group of guys in there, new blood if you will. And the final thing is they really trust their coaching.”
Q: On senior receiver Austin Webster receiving a scholarship this week:
Kelly: “It was pretty exciting. He’s earned it as a captain. He’s on two of our running teams too on special teams, he’s earned that. Coach [Brian] Polian’s not giving out memberships to the special teams club because you’re a nice guy. You’ve got to earn them, and for him getting on two of those teams says a lot about the production that he’s going to be able to give us. It was only fitting for him to be awarded a scholarship."
Q: Being already a captain, was it obvious that Webster was going to get a scholarship?
Kelly: “No, I’ll be honest with you. When we came into camp, he was not on the list to get one. He earned it. Somebody was going to earn one because we’re below our numbers. There were a number of guys that were on that list, and he was on the list but he wasn’t guaranteed one. He had to go earn it.”
Q: Regarding adjusting to the video board and looking forward to next Sunday when it will be an open practice for the fans in the stadium:
Kelly: "We’re going to treat it as a game. We’re going to go into the locker room. We’re going to try to make it as much like a game situation and create that so it’s not the first time that we do it in all respects. I want to get that out of the way before we play Temple."
Q: Is it attributable to strength and conditioning that so many seniors seem to be coming into their own in their fourth year?
Kelly: “No … the programs that we’ve led, we’ve had development throughout their time. I don’t know that the seniors have necessarily tapered off. They’ve continued to grow. There certainly has been more growth this year, and I think there’s fuel for that as well based upon what happened last year. So certainly both of those things coming together — the fuel for that desire to eradicate last year, and strength and conditioning — and being in a very positive environment, part of my job is to create the atmosphere for them to grow as well.
“You can have the best strength and conditioning coach in the country, but if it’s not the right environment for them to grow and feel confident that they can get better once they step outside that weight room, you may not have the kind of net results that you want. It’s all of those factors coming together.
“The whole culture was shifted that I had to get back on the right axis. It encompassed everybody that was in the program, not just the seniors.”
Q: On UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen’s comments that college football and school don’t mix, especially with engineer majors such as Sam Mustipher and Drue Tranquill on the roster:
Kelly: “Well, it’s hard, there’s no question about it. But they know it’s hard when they come here… we recruit players to Notre Dame that it’s hard but the rewards are great. If you know that the rewards are great, then coming to Notre Dame is well worth that investment in football and academics.
“We’re pretty transparent about who we are when you come to Notre Dame. It’s implicit that they know it’s going to be a difficult challenge when they come here. We were the No. 1 football team in the country in 2012 and we had the No. 1 graduation rates, so that wasn’t B.C. That was A.D. It happened a few years ago. It can happen and you can continue to do that. We’ll continue to work toward that. That’s our mission, that’s our goal.
“...Whether it’s in the quarterback meeting room or any of the meeting rooms, we’re inquisitive about what their interests are. A lot of that happens when we find out what their internships are and have conversations in that regard. I don’t know that we have a particular conversation in their first or second year because they’re still sorting it out a little bit in Freshman Studies. It’s mostly with the older guys, like, ‘Hey, what internship do you have? What are you thinking about going into?’ That’s generally when we have those conversations.”
Q: How would you assess special teams at this point, and is there a chance that Michael Young is going to fit in there for the return game?
Kelly: “Michael Young is right in the thick of it. I don’t know that we made a decision on the returners, per se. I know we’re still in The Gong Show category, if you will. I brought that up the other day — our guys had no idea what The Gong Show is.
“He has really put himself in the position to compete for it. We’ve been really focused — and Brian’s done a terrific job of breaking down our special teams into the fundamentals and the technique work, which we were … our inconsistencies were similar to everything else that was inconsistent: the lack of attention to detail. Our detail has been one that we’ve spent most of our time with right now.
"We went live today a little bit, got some really good action today in the scrimmage. It’s coming together nicely, but to say who those guys are now, it’s a little bit early.”
Q: On evaluating where the defense is under new coordinator Mike Elko:
Kelly: “I think we’re really in a good position. We had a situation yesterday in two-minute where we cut our best receiver loose because we put in a new coverage that’s really installed in a short field. We had a safety that was lurking like he was in the short field but we were actually in a big field and we should have been doubling him. So we’re still going through the installation phase on a number of things, but in terms of understanding the defense, in terms of understanding how this defense will function, we’re in a really good position. We can see it every day.
“We’ve got to get you down at the line of scrimmage. We’ve got to tackle really well. If we tackle well, we’re going to disrupt the football much better than we have in the past. It’s going to come down to the fundamentals of football, defensive football. We’re going to have to tackle really well. Our guys are tuned into the specifics of how to run this defense.
“Anytime we install something, we’re not going to get it the first day. It’s going to take a little bit, and yesterday was a little bit of that where we had some red zone and then we tried to transition into two minute. Our guys played the coverages like we were in the red zone and we were actually at the 35-yard line. That’s kind of normal in the sense that you have to see that, feel it. But big picture, I really like the way we play the fundamentals of the defense and we’ll only get better.”
Q: Do you see a time where the players take more ownership and take some of the leadership off the coaches’ shoulders?
Kelly: “It’s the ultimate goal of what we want to accomplish — when it’s their team and they take full ownership in it. That’s when really cool stuff happens.
"Tonight would be a great idea for them to take ownership. They’re on campus, they have tomorrow off — maybe that had a lot to do with my conversation with the team: Here’s a great opportunity to show me that you guys are accountable and responsible, and you can take great ownership and take great strides in this being your team and how you handle yourself. Off campus is off campus, on campus is on campus. Eddy Street is not off campus — it is off campus, they thought it was. Let’s not get confused. Things like that. Tonight would be a good idea."
Q: On Austin Webster being elected captain last December even when he was not yet on scholarship:
Kelly: “Keep in mind now we have a strong representation within our football program of 20-plus walk-ons who have a vested interest in what goes on in this football program. They’re passionate about Notre Dame, they love Notre Dame, they sacrifice for our football program, and he was a great representative of all those players — and even touched the scholarship players with the right traits that I was looking for, that I wanted to model.
“So not only do we have a guy that was sacrificing for Notre Dame in all those areas, he also possessed the traits that I wanted to mirror right out of the gates. So it made for an easy choice for me for captain.”
Q: On using Justin Yoon for field goals, Jonathan Doerer for kickoffs and Tyler Newsome on punts:
Kelly: “If we were to go now and say what’s the ideal situation today, I would tell you ideally that we would like to have one field goal kicker, one guy to kick off and one guy to punt … [Doerer] has a real strong leg, I like his mental approach to the game. Brian has been impressed with him as well.
"We like all three of our guys, but we didn’t want to put any dual responsibilities on anybody at this point. We wanted them to take the specialty of that position and go take that one and be consistent at that one. If there’s anyone that kicks at another position it will be because they mastered one and somebody hasn’t mastered their own.”
Q: On freshman Cole Kmet being a potential factor at tight end and red zone:
Kelly: “We’re playing him right now and repping him as if he’s going to play in three weeks. But three weeks is three weeks away. Maybe he hits a wall and forgets everything … I’ve seen it happen. But the way he’s competing right now, it’s not too big for him and he’s ready to play.
"We’re going to keep to get him ready with the expectations — we should have Alize [Mack] back, he should be cleared for some individual work on Monday, getting it back on 7-on-7 Tuesday and Wednesday, and we’ll have a full complement of tight ends by the middle of next week and we’ll see where it goes.”
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