Five things Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker said before Clemson game

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker spoke to the media Tuesday night. Here are five things he said before Notre Dame takes on Clemson on the road this Saturday.

On Chris Tyree being an example for other Notre Dame players

“All he did was he was so eager to learn. Wanted to throw himself in it, handled a little bit of failures at times—not too much of it but failures at times, and then just started stacking days together. I think it’s so rewarding to see a guy do that and then when a teammate sees that it kind of puts in perspective of how you had to stay the course, because it’s hard to do in this day and age, or any day.

“I think that example and then of course, fortunately or unfortunately, when you have some success at the level he’s starting to play it, it sure helps him stack even more to it and teammates to it. You have to have success at it to see that ray of light.

On Notre Dame freshman tight end Cooper Flanagan

“Zero anxieties about going on the field, and then very quickly after learning what to do, there was an inside period in fall camp where he really was physical and you could tell that’s what he grew up in. You could tell that program he came from, when that moment of inside happen where you saw this guy fit stuff and really not care about his body, you knew he was going to have a chance to play at some point and just say ‘forget the four games’ as it progresses and that’s really where he is. Probably thrust into differently than we can all imagine as things happen during a year but excited to see it as we get to a point of preparation where it’s now going to be a spot where he has to do things.”

On going on the road this season

“One, having a commitment to our process of preparing for a road game and with that comes experience for our players and for us to maybe commit to some things that we had to clean up or even change at times. A commitment to what we’ve already been through and then a commitment to who we are to make sure we are for each other and going on the road. You all have been there and you know it’s going to be a very hostile environment with great players and a football team.

“So how do you do that? You better make sure you go down there together and go be ready to fight just like we fought over here last weekend and that’s the type of effort it’s going to take to finish it.”

On the Clemson defense

“They have enough packages, multiple, to play you in three-down looks, four-down looks, coverage variation of course. So a package of stuff that carries a high level and high volume and then they have guys that can flat play and run from first level of D-Line, to second level with those two internal ‘backers and then their third level can run. They close, they make plays, you see a film from that tight copy and it closes in a hurry. That’s what allows them to knock the ball down, and keep explosives down, and get you in third and long and it’s tough.”

On Notre Dame’s wide receivers as run blockers being exciting

“It excites me too. We obviously get what we demand out of a good group of guys. For the way [Pitt] fit us, and how we believed they would, it was going to be critical that we dig those guys out, sometimes at four yards deep. Those angles to pick a guy up and go meet him at that piece is a brave thing to do and it’s not easy.

“Those guys committed to doing that to earn a right to get the football in their hands too in the pass game, and didn’t flinch. It’s easy sometimes to take those angles and pitter-patter your feet because you think you can’t [get there], and take what I would say is an angle to arrive late where you think you did, but you didn’t, and it’s easier to tap out and our guys just kept their feet moving and ran across that field.”