What Notre Dame DC Al Golden said before Wake Forest game

Broyles Award nominee Al Golden spoke to the media Tuesday night. The Notre Dame defensive coordinator didn’t know he was up for the honor until he was prepped for his interview on the way over to a waiting horde of media members at the Irish Athletics Center. The news broke while he was preparing for the Fighting Irish’s practice.

“I’m humbled and grateful that my name is on the list, but being named is a reflection of the organization, starting with Coach [Marcus] Freeman, the great coaches that I get to interact with every day,” Golden said. “The trust that I have in them and with them is phenomenal. And the players, the execution of the players and the passion and energy that they play with, it’s awesome.”  

Here are some other topics Golden hit on.

On if he’s in favor of headset technology in helmets coming to the college game

“I am. I want to answer generally.  I want to answer with respect to the question, not with respect to anything that’s going on anywhere else. So, I think it’s time. I think the game has gotten so complex, and there’s so much energy spent trying to conceal, trying to fool, trying to do — I mean, just it’s time.  

“Like when you’re in those NFL camps, it’s just too simple. And I just think it’s time for us to adopt that. And really, if we’re going to adopt it, I hope, as a governing body, we spend a lot of time talking to the NFL and how they orchestrate it and how they organize it.”

On if defending the slow-mesh offense used by Wake Forest is a pain in the butt

“Yep. Pain in the butt. No doubt. I think there are challenges, especially as good as they are at it. So, the quarterback — without penetration — will walk the running back right up into the line of scrimmage. The running back will sometimes get the ball at three, four seconds. Think about that. At three, four seconds into the play. And he does a great job at pressing it and sneaking out.

“And then I think the one thing that you have to be careful [about] when you play this team, it’s kind of like Navy in that you can commit to it if you want, but you’re going to be vulnerable somewhere else down the field. And you’ve got to be able to hold up, because if you commit to a pressure and you don’t get there, then the ball’s over the top and it’s a one-on-one. So, it’s definitely unique.

“Dave [Clawson] does it better than anybody. I’m sure there’s a bunch of guys that are trying to replicate or do it the way he does it. He’s — by far — better than anybody.”  

On Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman helping the Irish defense this week having played at Wake Forest

“The reality is Sam’s got his hands full with that defense right now, so we’re beyond that. That was more like, early on. I mean, we’ve got a plan right now, and we’re just trying to execute it. We had a good day today. We did our early-down stuff today, and we’ve got to get our third-down stuff in tonight and get rolling.”  

On the state of the Notre Dame Vyper position

“I think they’re all contributors. To me, they’re executing and they’re contributing to a really, really good group and making us better and improving us. So, I don’t know what the future holds in terms of their growth, their development in terms of separation — who and when. But, obviously, those three guys (Jordan Botelho, Junior Tuihalamaka and Joshua Burnham) have all contributed this year, and I just like the position, because they do their job. They execute.”

On Notre Dame nickel Thomas Harper

“First of all, we’re so grateful that he chose to come to Notre Dame, and he’s such a great kid. I mean, he is a super kid and a competitor. You can argue he played best in the biggest game so far. You know? He never backed down from a tough matchup, whether it was Clemson, Ohio State, USC —any of those games.

“So, I just think he’s been a blessing, to be honest with you. He’s done a really good job for us, and I can see improvement in his skills. I think Coach [Chris] O’Leary and Coach [Mike Mickens] have done a great job with him. Just see him improving in everything — tackling, coverage, his leverage. I think he’s still ascending as a player, and that’s hard to do at his age.”