Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on defense’s play, takeaways, TaRiq Bracy

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden had three simple words for his unit’s output through two games and an 0-2 start. He wasn’t afraid to use them.

“Not good enough.”

What has happened in the fourth quarter with two 90-plus yard touchdown drives? What’s behind the lack of turnovers through two games? His answers to those questions and others included those three words.

Golden met with reporters Tuesday night — the new normal for the rest of the year — after Notre Dame’s practice. Here are some topics he addressed.

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On playing better defense in the fourth quarter

“We’re trying to work on finishing better, really executing well in the fourth quarter, tackling better. Those are the three things. Just finish. Whether that includes playing through the echo of the whistle — whatever you have to do to get to the ball — tackling and executing.”

On if Notre Dame did enough tackling practice in the preseason

“Absolutely. We just didn’t tackle well. There’s no excuse. We didn’t tackle well enough to win the game in the fourth. We tackled plenty, we practiced it tons. There’s no excuses. We didn’t tackle well enough, period.”

On frequently rotating defensive players

“We’re going to stay with it. Whatever we have to do to be fresh in the fourth and finish, that’s paramount for us right now. Everybody’s reps are earned in practice, so we’ll go back in tonight and evaluate it. For us, it’s full steam ahead on Cal.”

On generating zero takeaways through two games

“Frustrating. They come in bunches. That’s something we’ve always said. Just stay at it. Keep working at it. Maybe change a couple things you’ve done. Refresh it, repackage it, whatever you have to do. But it’s frustrating. The kids are frustrated because they worked really hard on it too. I don’t think anybody would have imagined we wouldn’t have one yet.

“We need to do that. We need to help our offense and special teams out. That’s on us.”

On positives from the defense the first two games

“I’m not discouraged at all. I wish we had a different result. We’re at 20 points a game right now, and a couple plays we could be under that. Total points is really important. Third down is really important. We were pretty good on third down the other day. We’ve been gritty in the red [zone].

“We just let up too many big plays. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like we have to have a big overhaul here. The bottom line is it’s not good enough in terms of defense. It starts with me. I have to look at what we’re doing and make sure we get it corrected.”

On Notre Dame grad student cornerback TaRiq Bracy

“I’m happy the way he’s playing overall. He has a good look. He prepares like crazy, he’s in [cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens‘] office all the time. He’s a competitor. He has had big challenges Week 1 and Week 2 with the perimeter game they had. He responded in both.”

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On Notre Dame’s defensive line production

“We just have to keep going. Maybe we left a couple sacks out there the last two weeks. We’re getting some pressures, but we have to get a little bit more. An opportunity for a sack is the opportunity for a strip sack. I’m not down on any position at all. We just have to move forward and keep getting better.”

On providing insight as a former head coach to Marcus Freeman

“He has a good pulse. He knows what this team needs. Like I said a million times, he’s the head coach. If he needs to run something by me or whoever it could be, [strength coach Matt] Balis, we’re there for him. But he has a really good pulse on this team. He’s very consistent. I think the team appreciates that and respects that and wants to play for him.

“We’re all disappointed with the results. It has to be better. For us on defense, if we get a couple takeaways, that game is different. Both games could be different. We have to do what we have to do on defense. I think the other two entities would say the same.”