Notre Dame Football Post-Practice Press Conference Review
Brian Kelly addressed the media following Notre Dame’s practice session today., March 31.
Notre Dame was hard at it on the football field today, breaking in new schemes, shuffling players around to various positions, executing the new playbooks and according to the man in charge;
“Offensively, looking for consistency and performance and defensively, for the fundamentals,” said head coach of Notre Dame Football, Brian Kelly, during today’s post-practice press conference seen on WatchND.
As always, Brian Kelly spoke about a number of topics in-depth, during the press conference. The first topic of discussion was junior Nick Coleman who came to Notre Dame after mainly playing running back during his high school career.
“I think Nick Coleman has convinced us he’s here to stay,” Kelly stated. “Our evaluation of Nick Coleman is, can he be a dynamic player at that position?” Kelly said, referring to Coleman’s test run at the safety position. “We all know he possesses that athletic ability.”
“We wanted to see if he could translate those skills at the safety position. Based on what we’ve seen in 6, 7 practices, he won’t be moving to another position,” said Kelly.
This is relieving news following an up and down sophomore season from Nick Coleman. Notre Dame have several options at safety, although not many of them an abundance of experience outside of Drue Tranquill.
Brian Kelly spoke heavily about the competitive culture that has been spread around the program, on and off the field.
“We try to create competitiveness in everything we’ve been doing….We’re in the classroom, in the locker room, drill work, all the things that we’re doing, we’re competing on a daily basis….That competition is real every single day,” expressed Kelly.
Next, Kelly spoke about what their emphasis has been on each side of the field.
“From a defensive standpoint, we’re going from scheme to fundamentals. Mike Elko is about the fundamentals, teaching these fundamentals and all of those pieces coming together at the end of the day,” explained Kelly.
“From an offensive standpoint, consistency, and perfection. It’s not good enough to go out there one day and have the offense running well and then the next day not,” stated Kelly.
In conclusion to the emphasis within practice, Kelly said, “If you look at what the real points of emphasis are, yeah, we’re competing, but that’s been the foundation of everything in the off-season. Often, looking for consistency and perfection and defensively, for the fundamentals.”
Kelly spoke about specific position groups and the competitions taking place within them.
“Inside, the defensive tackle position is a very fluid position right now, especially the three-technique….We’re seeing a lot of in-and-out right now, Bonner, Micah Dew-Treadway,” Kelly explained.
“The defensive end position, Jay Hayes, Okwara,” said Kelly as he referred to a few players who have been coming on lately.
“I’m seeing a lot of competition between Coney and Martini. Just to name a few, I think the safety position and stud, Jalen Elliot. There’s a few positions right there where we’re really competitive,” said Kelly.
“The wide receiver position is really a competitive situation at all positions,” said Kelly. “Miles Boykin is having a really good spring, tracking the ball really well, catching it consistently,” he explained. Miles Boykin is entering his junior season. His size, 6’3, 225 lbs. is something that Kelly would certainly like to put to use in 2017.
Miles Boykin is entering his junior season. His size, 6’3, 225 lbs. is something that Kelly would certainly like to put to use in 2017. After redshirting his first year and gaining praise from Kelly while showing good things on scout team, Boykin had a few ugly drops last year which lowered his stock.
“I think the thing last year is about consistency for him,” Kelly mentioned regarding Boykin. “He’s sneaky. He eats up a lot of ground with those long strides and before you know it, he’s running past people,” he added.
Brian Kelly has five talented tight ends on his current roster, and will be adding a sixth when Army All-American Cole Kmet arrives this summer. Kelly spoke about his impressive group.
“Durham Smythe, as we’ve talked about, is in the best condition he’s ever been, mentally and physically. With him, Alize Jones, Nick Watkins, you’ve got a great combination. I can probably go with 4 or 5,” Kelly boasted.
Kelly addressed the competition at the newly installed rover position, which is a hot topic of discussion within message board since the hiring of Mike Elko.
“Drue Tranquill and Asmar Bilal, I think both of them are going to play, there’s no question that both of them lend themselves to maybe different styles of offense that we may see,” mentioned Kelly regarding the contrasting skill sets between the two talents.
Kelly spoke about whether he has noticed his defense improve through the heavy emphasis on fundamentals that coach Mike Elko has introduced.
“We’ll be a better defense….our run support will be so much better, we’ll cup the ball better, we’ll be better at the fundamentals, we’ll be better at taking away the football….it’s an emphasis every single day,” explained Kelly.
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“Today, we spent 25 minutes in different segments during practice on how to get the ball out, how to get the ball out in different fashions, how to stay on your feet and not jump and getting in the face of the quarterback,” explained Kelly.
Brian Kelly spoke about how the underclassmen are coming along. “The younger players are starting to show themselves. Okwara, you’re starting to see, Khalid Kareem, you’re starting to see, Micah Dew-Treadway, you’re starting to see….Daelin Hayes, we’re cross training Jamir Jones inside and on the edge and on third downs,” explained Kelly.
The overall vibe coming from Brian Kelly’s press conferences and what you see on social media suggests that the Irish are coming along very nicely. A new quarterback to go along with many new starters, especially on the defensive side of the ball, are all intriguing topics to keep your eye on.
Hopefully, the attention spent on fundamentals will pay off for Notre Dame this year by way of W’s. After a tumultuous 4-8 season, Notre Dame fans deserve something to be excited about during the upcoming season.