Quick-hitters: Brian Kelly on Kevin Austin Jr., Tyler Buchner, Wisconsin
Notre Dame's biggest game of the year so far is two days away.
The No. 12 Irish (3-0) face No. 18 Wisconsin (1-1, 0-1 Big Ten) at Soldier Field in Chicago Saturday (noon ET, FOX). Heading into it, left tackle remains the position in flux. Sophomore Michael Carmody missed last week's win over Purdue with an ankle sprain and will be a game-time decision, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. Sophomore Tosh Baker will start once again if Carmody can't play.
"We got a chance to get him some reps yesterday," Kelly said Thursday. "We’ll evaluate him today and tomorrow. That’s going to come down to a game-day decision. He’s making good progress, but it's too early to tell whether we start Tosh or Mike there.”
Kelly also did not outright confirm if grad senior nose tackle Kurt Hinish would play. Hinish has started all three games this season and has five tackles to go with one sack.
Kelly spoke with reporters for the final time before Saturday's game. Here are some of the topics he addressed.
On Wisconsin nose tackle Keeanu Benton
“He’s big, physical, hard to move. He’s a challenge, there’s no doubt about it. [Center] Jarrett [Patterson] has gone up against some outstanding nose [tackles] in the past, and this guy will rate up there. He’s a two-year starter with excellent size and a guy who’s going to be hard to move. We understand we have to be able to control him and get four hands on him to have an effective running game.”
On wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. bouncing back from a catchless game
“Kevin works as hard as anybody we have in our program. His work volume is always as high, if not the highest, of anyone we have. He probably didn’t play up to his standards. I don’t know that anyone needed to remind him of that. He’s a guy with a lot of pride who wants to perform at the highest level.”
“He went back to work, practiced really hard and prepared really hard with that in mind that he wants to make an impact in this game.”
On sophomore defensive end Jordan Botelho
“Jordan is much further along than he was last week just getting back on the practice field, didn’t have his legs under him last week. He should play a much more important role in what we do defensively. You’ll see him on the field. He will register many more snaps on the defensive side.”
On freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner (hamstring)
“Buchner is improving. His miles per hour in terms of full-out sprint is where we wanted it to be. We’ll add more to his load with the expectation of preparing him for his role at quarterback on Saturday."
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