Brian Kelly Press Conference: Purdue Week
Coming off of a dominating win over Michigan on both sides of the ball Head Coach Brian Kelly took the podium for his weekly press conference. Starting off Brian said that they wasted no time on Monday looking back at previous games with Purdue and how each was a battle in its own right. As far as the five suspended players Brian was quick to shoot down the chances of them coming back for the Purdue game. He did mention that Torri Hunter Jr is taking some positional drills this week and working in on some 7 on 7 drills. Both Jarrett Grace and Austin Collinsworth are on the shelf for this weekends game.
Offensive Notes.
Amir Carlisle had a breakout game against the Wolverines last weekend racking up two touchdowns through the air on six catches. When asked if the slot position had now become a strong point with Amir at the helm and his progression: “ We felt like he had the capability. It was a lot of football for him to learn. It’s still a lot of football for him to continue to learn. He plays hard. He is a great kid. Brian continued, I think really what put him over the top was his concentration on catching the football with his hands. Once that really became something that he felt comfortable doing, I think it really allowed him to progress quickly.”
Will Fuller had some issues in the previous games and even last year catching the football on shorter routes and screens. According to Kelly they have made specific notes towards his issues and they have cut down the amount of drops he has overall. “Yeah, his drops are specific. Specific to wanting to turn quick, short routes where he stops his feet into bigger plays. When he’s moving his feet, he’s pretty good. His concentration, he looks at the ball into his hands, so they’re specific.”
Everett Golson has looked like a completely new quarterback this year after being out of football since the Alabama game in 2012. His work with QB Guru George Whitfield this summer has made a huge improvements in his game. With Notre Dame hiring Matt Lafleur as the designated QB Coach it gives a chance for the quarterbacks to get more individual work. “Oh, it’s been huge. He’s with him every day Everett loves to watch film. He loves to learn about football. He loves football. He loves the X’s and O’s of it, and Matt is of the same cloth. Those guys, if they could just watch football and film all day, they’d just close the door and that’s what they would do.”
Defensive Notes.
The final score that was put down in the record books for the Michigan game was 31-0 but for everyone that watched the game it should have been seven points higher. On the final play of the game Devin Gardner threw a pass that was quickly intercepted by Elijah Shumate and taken back for a walk off touchdown. Unfortunately that touchdown was taken off the board after a flag for what seemed to be a completely legal play. On his progress from week one to week two Brian had this to say: “He did a really good job. But there are still things that he has to improve on there. I really think it was he didn’t want to let his teammates down. He knew he was counted on. When you’re placed into that position, he didn’t want to let his teammates down. I think that was really the impetus that put him in the kind of role of playing the way he did on Saturday.”
Mathias Farley has turned a new page on his play this year and we are seeing a side of him that I personally was waiting to see come out. Brian Kelly echoed that fact : “Matthias? Maturity, confidence, just all the things that a football player gains by being in the program, knowledge of defensive football. The benefit of being close to the ball, all of those things. I think he’s in a really good position where he is. The knowledge that he gained playing up to this point, I think it’s just accumulation of all of those things really coming together. You’re seeing a junior and the benefits of all that experience coming together.”
Along with Matthias – Max Redfield made a big step forward at the safety position from week 1 to week 2. He looked more comfortable making adjustments to the coverage and communicating to his teammates. Just like Shumate did at the end of the game, Max added his name to the interception list for the Irish defense. As far as his improvement from last week Brian Kelly said communication was something he always wanted to do : “Max wants to do it. You know, Max is a smart kid, but he’s, like all young players, he’s still trying to figure it out. What Max can do is he can make up for it with incredible athletic ability. I mean, he’s got the ability to stare down the quarterback, but still find the number two receiver running down the middle of the field.”