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Quick-Hitters: Brian Kelly April 10 Press Conference

Notre Dame is halfway through the 14 spring practices it will hold before the May 1 Blue-Gold game.

The Irish completed their seventh practice on Saturday, and head coach Brian Kelly spoke with reporters afterward. Here are some of the topics he addressed.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish football head coach Brian Kelly
Kelly and Notre Dame have seven more spring practices before the Blue-Gold Game. (Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports)

On The Quarterbacks

Drew [Pyne] is doing very well. Jack has been what we thought when we got him. Here’s a guy who has played a lot of Big Ten football, played in the Rose Bowl, sees the field well. Stronger arm probably than I thought. Sees the field exceedingly well, especially from the pocket. He stays in the pocket, hangs in there, throws the ball and delivers it, manages himself extremely well.

“We’re pleased with where we’re moving with the quarterback position. Ronny Powlus got a lot of work today and made some nice throws.”

On Freshman Quarterback Tyler Buchner

“If you want to say who’s made the most progress [at quarterback], it’s probably Tyler Buchner just because he hadn’t played a lot when he got here. His motion is really fluid. He’s throwing the ball very well. But he’s learning a lot. He has a lot to learn about our offensive structure and the nuances.

"He knows football. He’s very smart. Tremendously smart. You tell him something in a meeting and his recall is quite amazing. But just because you know it doesn’t mean it happens naturally. You need reps."

On The 14 Early Enrollee Freshmen

“I’m not interested in mid-years to see them on the sidelines. We’re going to sacrifice reps for veteran players to make sure we give these kids even more reps than they’ve earned. If you’re going to bring them in mid-year and put them in a grinder – they should be in high school, but they’re now in a college academic setting as elite as Notre Dame. We’ve put them in the weight room and pushed them hard. Let’s put them on the football field and get them reps.

“This is what they love to do. If they can’t enjoy playing football, why bring them in mid-year? We’re just piling on reps. They’re loving playing football. They haven’t earned all the reps, but that doesn’t really matter. I want them to have so many reps when they come into camp, it’s like they’ve had a full year.

“I know you’re seeing a lot of them. I don’t want to mislead anyone by watching the film and saying, ‘They must be ready to start.’ We’re just trying to give them as much work as possible. They’re all making progress.”

On The Defensive Line

“There’s a lot of depth there across the board inside and out. Howard Cross is very difficult to defend. Great leverage, great first-step quickness. Difficult to block. Kurt Hinish, sometimes you think, ‘It’s another spring year for Kurt and he can take it off.’ But he has had a nice spring. Both Ademilolas [Jayson and Justin], really pleased with both of them getting better.

“I don’t think there’s a guy on the defensive line who we’d say we’re disappointing in him, he’s not ascending or getting stronger or putting in the time. Jordan Botelho is showing up all over the place."

On Secondary Standouts

“A guy who is really standing out for me is Cam Hart. He was very raw last year. He was playing with a bad shoulder and there were some limitations. He had the shoulder repaired in the offseason. He’s really coming into his own. He’s elite in terms of his length. He has a really strong skill set. To play the corner with that kind of size and athletic ability, he can be a really good football player.

“He’s still learning. There are parts of his game he has to clean up. I sit here today six practices in, he’s making really good progress at that position.”

On First-Year Staff Member Chad Bowden’s Role

“Chad is an offensive analyst. We added offensive and defensive analysts who are focused primarily in recruiting efforts. The best way to put it is they’re the offensive and defensive coordinators in recruiting in that they get the whole staff together, coordinate the efforts in recruiting and making sure they’re touching base with recruits daily.

"That’s not a 9-to-5 job. That’s late at night, being on their schedule. He’s in touch with all those defensive recruits in their time zone. He has built strong relationships with all those defensive players.”

Note: Bowden came to Notre Dame this offseason from Cincinnati, where he was the director of recruiting.

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