Brian Kelly Post Practice Press Conference Review

Brian Kelly addressed the media after their first practice in pads.

After the Fighting Irish came off the field from their first spring practice in full contact, head coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media regarding all things Irish.

"“I don’t think there was one guy who wasn’t excited about being out there,” said Kelly about the overall attitude on the field."

Let’s get the bad news out of the way, Elijah Taylor is out for the spring with a lisfranc fracture. “(He) got stepped on in practice, the second practice,” said Kelly. Taylor underwent surgery for the repair which they have had success with in the past with similar injuries.

Kelly talked about wanting to get more physical in their sessions. Tackling was certainly a major issue in ’16. “I think we need to tackle a little bit more. I think we were a little soft in our practices,” said Kelly. “I felt we needed to thud the backs instead of tagging off. It built a lot of bad habits.”

Kelly also spoke about making better use of the limited time they have in practice by adding more 11 on 11 drills.

“We had missed some opportunities in these morning practices to really get all of our team time in because we kept running up against the clock. In other words, we had to get ’em outta here. So, I’ve installed our 11 on 11 periods, our team periods, earlier in practice to get make sure that we get all of those reps in,” said Kelly.

"“Consequently, moved our 7 on 7 periods later, and those are the ones that we won’t get to. So, we won’t be able to throw the ball very well, but we’ll run the ball really well,” Kelly joked."

The topic of Brandon Wimbush training with well-known quarterback guru George Whitfield was brought up and Kelly addressed the media with his stance on the situation.

“I have no problem with him working out with George Whitfield,” answered Kelly. “George is really good at keeping those quarterbacks active and moving, but when it comes to his playbook, when it comes to his teammates, when it comes to his coaches here, Brandon understands that when the rubber hits the road, those are the guys that matter the most.”

Brian Kelly was asked about new offensive coordinator Chip Long and his influence on the offense.

“We’re going to win next year and Chip’s going to be the best offensive coordinator in the country and he’s going to get a head job, right?” Kelly said in a coy nature. “I’m not going to introduce the Chip Long offense to my next offensive coordinator, it has to have my culture in it,” he added.

“The culture of the offense is still the base offense that I have always run because I have to be able to carry that with me,” added Kelly.

Kelly addressed the wealth of talent that they have at the tight end position and how he feels they can put them to use.

“We can play four of those tight ends as receivers. We think there’s great versatility. We think Durham Smythe has really made great strides. I think he’s been really impressive. I think Alize and Nick Weishar and Brock Wright and all of those guys, I think can all be on the field and you can detach them and you can’t say “I’m not going to cover them.” They have the ability to impart what we’re doing,” Kelly said with confidence.

Kelly was asked about how Nick Watkins was coming along.

“I love Nick. (He’s) very coach-able, wants to learn.” Kelly mentioned. “Nick’s long. He’s a bit of a physical player. Let’s go to those strengths. He’s shown some of those attributes early on.”

Kelly then went into the progress of the 5 talented freshman who enrolled early and are practising with the team. He is quite impressed with their work ethic.

“We’ve seen some really impressive compete levels in some of our young players. Aaron (Banks), the offensive lineman, and Hainsey, those two guys,” he said with an awe-like look. “Does that mean they’ll start? No, but we threw those two guys in today in 11 on 11, they battled their butts off. I’m not sure that they knew what they were doing, but their compete level is so high.,” he said proudly.”

“Brock Wright, his compete level is so high. C.J. Holmes, their compete levels are so high. Robertson, that whole freshman class that came in at mid-year, their compete level is so high and we saw it when the winter workouts started,” Kelly said.

“We threw them in a competitive situation and it was apparent they were going to be able to compete,” added Kelly.

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Kelly was asked about how junior defensive tackle Micah Dew-Treadway is coming along after last year’s injury.

“Micah Dew-Treadway has had a really good off-season for us. He’s changes his body and is doing a really good job in all facets….I think Micah has shown some real promise here over the last couple months,” stated Kelly.

There has been some interesting movements and competition on the right side of the offensive line, something that was expected. Kelly stated that Alex Bars is practising at right guard and two true sophomores are fighting it out at right tackle.

“I think there’s a real competitive situation between Liam (Eichenberg) and Tommy Kraemer at the right tackle position….those two guys are going to battle” Kelly answered firmly.

All-in-all, Notre Dame’s spring practice sessions seem to be going quite well. Other that Taylor’s injury, one he will recover from before week 1, there seems to be a great attitude around the Gugliemino Complex.