Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on defensive line, staff continuity, Jordan Botelho

Not since 2020 had a Notre Dame defensive coordinator been part of a spring season that wasn’t his first. Al Golden was hired about a month before the Irish began 2022 spring practice. Marcus Freeman‘s first on-field action as defensive coordinator was 2021 spring practice.

Golden, though, is back for Year 2 in the job. Notre Dame hasn’t had this kind of coordinator and linebackers coach continuity in a couple seasons. Its linebackers had three position coaches the last three years. Wednesday was the one-third mark of a spring practice where newness isn’t the prevailing theme on defense. Golden met with reporters afterward. Here are some topics he discussed.

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On the impact of continuity

“I notice a huge difference. Last year was a confluence of a lot of different things meeting in spring ball. Myself and the systems I’ve been part of, the personnel that was here, Marcus’ system and even to some extent, the guys who were here before Marcus – [Mike Mickens and Chris O’Leary] – some of the things they learned from Clark (Lea). All of that came together last year. It was overwhelming trying to get it calmed down.

“That was the first order of priority for me this offseason. Don’t just pick the plays you’re going to run in the spring, look at the opponents first to see what we need to run. We probably practiced some things last spring we didn’t need to, and as the season evolved, we needed X, Y, and Z. Now we’re practicing X, Y and Z, and these other things are gone.

“That has been awesome, to be on a staff with Mick and CO and [Al Washington], and obviously what (grad assistant) Max (Bullough) brings coming from Alabama. He has brought so much in terms of experience. It has really been a good offseason in terms of that.”

On having opponent familiarity

“That was the impetus for our approach this offseason. I hadn’t seen all those offenses before. I tried to catch up. It was hard, because I got here so late. I know the personnel better, I know what the strengths are and what they can do really well. Just to have those veteran guys, when you’re strong up the middle, you have a chance to be strong. Our inside ‘backers and safeties are all veterans, and they can solve problems on the field, which is great.”

On the Notre Dame defensive line

“I see a collective approach right now, which is awesome. You have veterans coming back with Rylie (Mills), Howard (Cross III) and Gabe (Rubio) to an extent. Nana (Osafo-Mensah). [Javontae Jean-Baptiste] coming in helps a lot. Jordan (Botelho) and Junior (Tuihalamaka) playing toward the end of the year helped us. Now we need that next generation of guys to step up. Is it going to be (Jason) Onye? Is it going to be (Donovan) Hinish? Is it going to be (Joshua) Burnham? That’s what the spring is all about.

“We mix the starters every day. Every single day, we mix the starting unit every time we go on the field. The guys don’t know who’s starting until we announce it that morning. It’s helping with our preparedness, helping with our preparation. It’s a morale booster. You can’t hide what’s on tape. If a guy is not quite ready for the 1s, it works out that way. If somebody is doing well with their opportunity, they should get more reps.”

On vyper Jordan Botelho

“It’s time for him to knock on the door. The way you knock on the door is play the system, play with poise and execute. That’s it. He will always bring the energy. He will always bring the fight. He will always bring the finish. That’s not the issue. The issue is prepare, eliminate [mental errors], play with poise and execute within the realm of the defense. If he does that, he’s going to do great things for us.”

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On improving the red zone defense

“There’s no vertical throws in the low red. It’s all horizontal game, hold your ground. There’s a renewed emphasis, starting with me. I have to do a better job calling it down there. We took some things out and put some things in. From that standpoint, we just needed – if we had three stops to go with what we were doing up the field, three or four more stops. We were very good at not letting guys in the red. If we can stay there and improve this, it’s going to help us a lot.”

On linebacker Prince Kollie

“I’m excited about PK. We have to get him healthy. Get him healthy and have a consistent run at things, he’s going to be really good. I love the kid, love the player. He works hard. He’s low maintenance. He’s in the mix. He was in the mix last year, and he’s right there. I expect a great challenge by the PKs, the [Nolan Zieglers], all those guys challenging those older three guys for reps. Hopefully over time, it makes us stronger.”