Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly Opens Spring Practice
By Andrew Hall
Feb 26, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head football coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder watch the basketball game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Purcell Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame Football
Brian Kelly met with the media on Friday morning. This opened the 2014 Spring Practice. Here are some notes and news items from the press conference.
“Talented But Inexperienced”
Kelly noted that the status of the program was, “talented but inexperienced”. This is extremely evident with the wealth of young talent Notre Dame has. Can Kelly parlay this talent into an extremely successful season or will there be growing pains with players like Max Redfield.
Coaching Moves
The defensive coaching staff will shift this spring with the addition of Brian VanGorder. VanGorder will coach the Inside Linebackers. Bob Elliot shifts from Safeties to Outside Linebackers. Kerry Cooks will coach the entire secondary.
Injury Updates
Kelly announced three significant injuries that will keep players out of practice this spring. There were no unexpected announcements. Here are the three players:
- Devin Butler (Shoulder)
- Tony Springmann (Knee)
- Jarrett Grace (Leg)
Position Moves
Brian Kelly announced several position move on Friday morning. The biggest surprise was Matthias Farley to Cornerback. Kelly said Farley could be an excellent tackler from an outside position. Is Farley fast enough to play the Cornerback position? Arguably his best attribute in playing Cornerback is being physical. However, he struggled with tackling at the Safety position. This could have been due to an injury. This does not seem like a long term move.
- James Onwualu — Wide Receiver to Safety
- Matthias Farley — Safety to Cornerback
- John Turner — Safety to Outside Linebacker
- Will Mahone — Wide Receiver to Running Back
Other Notes
- Luke Massa will not return for a fifth year.
- Possible Left Tackle replacements: McGlinchey, Elmer, Stanley and Lombard.
- Doug Randolph will begin practice at Will Linebacker.
- Golson is listed at 6’0″ and 200 lbs. He was last listed at 185 lbs.
- Kelly sent Special Teams tape to NFL and other collegiate teams for help.