The wait to learn Notre Dame’s starting quarterback will continue for a few more days.
Head coach Brian Kelly said Thursday — the previous timeline for naming a starter — an announcement will come early next week. The race is nearly over.
“We have an idea of who it’s going to be,” Kelly said. “We want to talk to the kids this weekend.”
Kelly also said Notre Dame will announce captains Friday. On the injury front, freshman offensive tackle Blake Fisher is in the second stage of the concussion protocol and did not practice Thursday. He’s likely to return in a limited basis Saturday. Senior defensive lineman Justin Ademilola was out with a hamstring issue. Freshman receiver Jayden Thomas was also out, but is expected back next week.
Fifth-year senior defensive end Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa was not present because he returned to his native Hawaii to mourn the death of his father, who suddenly passed away.
“Our hearts go out to the entire family and Myron,” Kelly said.
Here are some other topics Kelly addressed after Notre Dame’s sixth fall camp practice.
On The Wide Receivers
“We’re getting better. There’s no question there’s a lot more confidence in the building and in the meeting rooms that we’re going to be able to play at the level we were hoping this time last year. We were talking about guys stepping up, and those veteran guys are stepping up. All the guys we’ve asked to take their game to the next level, they have.”
On WR Kevin Austin Jr.
“He’s physically healthy for the first time since we’ve had him here. You saw glimpses of that when he got in. We can all go back to the [2018] Navy game in San Diego where he caught it and took off. We’re going to feature him. He’s not going to be a guy who just runs down the field. You’ll see him come across the field and opening up the opportunity to run and catch.
On Freshman RBs Logan Diggs And Audric Estime
“They’re pretty good players. They both have soft hands, their instincts are outstanding and they’re great kids. Really pleased with both of them.”
On OG Cain Madden
“He’s tough. He’s physical. When you evaluate a guard, you’re not evaluating based strictly on what he does, but what he does within the combination [blocks]. He makes our combinations better, whether they’re combinations with the tackle or combinations with the center. That’s thickness in terms of strength at the point of attack, which allows whoever that guy is to finish the block off.”
On OT Josh Lugg
“The [back] injury behind him is No. 1. You saw his body type. He has reworked himself physically in terms of nutrition and strength. He has a lot of playing time under his belt. That can’t be underestimated as well. Strength, conditioning, health, experience, add those up and it’s hard to beat him out.”
On LB JD Bertrand And The LB Rotation
“We have to be able to figure out what this is going to look like. We talk about it virtually every day how to move the pieces around and get all these guys the opportunity. But we know [Bertrand] is going to be a stalwart on special teams. He can offer more to our defense than that.
On The Rover Position
“With Jack [Kiser] and Paul [Moala] and Isaiah [Pryor], they all have shown promise at the position. We even had [Marist] Liufau out there today. We’re looking at a number of different options at that position, because we want to keep that position on the field as much as we can. I’d say it’s very competitive and we think we have very good players at that position right now.”
On Kyle Hamilton
“He’s an eraser. It’s hard to get Mike Mayer the football when we go against him, because we’re bracketing the inside linebacker with Kyle Hamilton. Kyle has him over the top and the ‘backer inside and out. When you have that kind of player who can take a player like Mike Mayer away, imagine what he can do with others.”
“He’s long, he’s rangy, he’s athletic, he can fit the run. You don’t get many players of that caliber. He’s so much more aware of where he is in the big picture now than where he was last year.
“What I mean by that specifically is this is a big year for him, and he knows that. His focus, his attention to detail, all those little things. He wants to be a leader on this football team. A lot of that wasn’t the most important thing to him. He has walked into those things this year. We’re the beneficiaries of that.”
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