Five things Notre Dame DC Al Golden said Saturday before the national championship game

A couple days away from Notre Dame’s monumental national championship clash against the Ohio State Buckeyes, players and coaches from both teams met with the media. Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden spoke about a handful of topics, and Blue & Gold provides five key quotes from his press conference.

On a possible return to the NFL amid rumors that he could return to the Cincinnati Bengals

“I think the biggest thing right now, it’s humbling that your name is mentioned because of the team success or the success of our defense. It’s a reflection of Mike Mickens or Max Bullough, Al Washington, all of those things.

“But at the end of the day this is not the time or the place. This is about the kids. There’s always time to reflect on all of that after the season.

“The biggest thing for us right now is just understanding the enormity of this game. And as I said to the players, really when this thing started, it’s really hard. Like, we played Indiana, the game finished — I’m looking at Sarah back here — but she made me do the media afterward. I got home at 1:00 o’clock, but I wasn’t going to change my schedule the next day. And I told the players why.

“I was in there at 7:30 because how grateful that I am for this opportunity. And I don’t want anything — and anybody out there that doesn’t understand that, I probably don’t want to be a partner with.

“There is nothing that’s more important than our players and our performance in this opportunity because, look, there’s a lot of teams that they hit an upright and they’re not here, they didn’t get in. They had a quarterback injured. They didn’t get rated high enough to be in but they were right on the cusp, you know what I’m saying?

“So to me, that’s our focus and all that other stuff we’ll deal with in the future. Right now we’ve got to concentrate on winning today and having a great Thursday practice (two days before game day) in our mind today.”

On Notre Dame replacing a handful of starters from last year’s defense

“I think it’s a credit to our leadership, obviously Coach Freeman’s program. And just the buy-in. It’s an honor to coach these kids. They want to do what you ask them to do.

“But you never have to ask them to do it full speed. You never have to ask them to give everything they have because that’s part of their DNA.

“And that’s the beauty of coaching at Notre Dame. So I have the honor of saying, okay, guys, this is the plan. But then they’re like, okay, coach, we’ve got it from here. That’s the beauty of it.

“The leadership in the room, the leadership up the middle has been awesome — the linebackers and safeties. So much credit has to go to the players and how they react on game day.”

On Notre Dame coach Mike Mickens and the defensive back room

“It means a lot. It starts with Coach Mickens. His undying commitment, relentless commitment to improve each of them as individuals.

“I’ve said this before, but Coach Mickens’ office is right next to mine. And if I’m watching tape or on a game plan I hear him talking. I get up and go get a coffee or something, and he’s got two or three guys in there, and they’re watching third down or they’re watching the red zone.

“And I can give you examples. I think about the back-shoulder fades versus Indiana and how that was a focus this week and how we played them so well. Just every week it’s something different because there’s different challenges.

“So it starts with Coach Mick. And then you have the leadership with Xavier and Ben Morrison before he got hurt. And then the welcoming into that position group by those guys. And then the confidence that those guys have to step up and make a play.

“But Christian Gray, are we here without Christian Gray? USC, last week? Probably no. Are we here without Leonard Moore stepping up? No, absolutely not. That was a hard week.

“We got bad news on Ben and lost one to the portal. So that was a tough week going into Louisville. And that young man answered the call and the rest is history.”

On the key to a long winning streak this season

“Coach Freeman. Clearly Coach Freeman, his leadership, not letting us forget how we lost focus in week two and just staying humble and hungry and continuing to elevate, continuing to improve every day and not listening to the outside. And that siren got us one time. That siren got us. It got in our building and it stung us, and don’t let go of that. Don’t let go of that. Just be humble, hungry, prepare, be the best version of yourself, understand that we do things collectively for team glory, and we’re not here if it’s not for all three phases.”

On pressuring the quarterback

“You can’t let anybody be comfortable back there and whether that’s generating four-, five-, six-man pressures, however it manifests, we just have to find a way to not let him be comfortable, and to be honest with you, we need, when it’s time to rush the pass rusher we need to have a good pass rush. We need to win. But that’s definitely an underlying challenge in the game.”