Everything Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock said before Irish host Miami University

Mike Denbrock didn’t field as many critical questions this Tuesday night as he did the last. That’s what happens when you speak to the media following a 66-7 road victory instead of a 16-14 home loss.

Here’s everything Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator said Tuesday before the Fighting Irish host Miami University in South Bend this Saturday.

On plugging senior Pat Coogan into the Notre Dame offensive line starting group

“It’s kind of a little bit of a rare luxury, obviously. And credit to Pat and credit to Rocco, two guys that just love Notre Dame, love their teammates, have never wavered, have never not prepared themselves the proper way. Fortunately, unfortunately, the opportunity arose, and they get in the game, and I don’t think you saw much of a blip on the radar screen with what they were able to do and how they were able to perform. And that’s a credit to those guys.”  

On Coogan’s demeanor after he lost a starting job

“I think it goes back to what coach [Marcus] Freeman talks about all the time. Is it team glory or personal glory? And, hopefully, there’s enough team glory to go around that everybody gets a little personal glory at the same time.”  

On Miami University head coach Chuck Martin

“Yeah, Chuck is a close, personal friend, somebody that I’ve respected forever. Admire him as a family man. Admire him as a football coach, and just the way his brain kind of functions is pretty unique. And I’ve just always enjoyed him, and we have kept in touch every step of the way since we were together here at Notre Dame.

“And so, it’s kind of weird. You know what I mean? It’s always uneasy for me going against people that I know really well, as well as I know Chuck and his family, not to mention [Miami offensive coordinator] Pat Welsh and [defensive coordinator] Bill Brechin and several others that have gone through there and been on Chuck’s staff over the years. It’s always a little bit uneasy and uneven to a certain extent. But when it comes time for the game, then kind of the competitor in you kicks in, and I’m sure he wants to beat me as bad as I want to beat him.”

On where Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard is with processing and seeing the game differently

“I think and believe that that’s coming along. I do, and we’ve got to continue. An emphasis again this week is really kind of whatever free minutes we have we’re spending on movement keys and progressions and whatever we can do to kind of speed that process up a little bit. We’re going to have to be — and nobody understands this better than Riley does — we’re going to have to be more consistent with the way we throw the ball, moving forward, to be the type of offensive unit we need to be. And we’re committed to doing whatever we can to make sure that becomes a reality. And he’s digging in and doing what he can on the practice field to help that process.”  

On Notre Dame sophomore receiver KK Smith

“Yeah, I think KK is an up-and-coming talent that we’ve got to utilize. I think he can stretch the field. I think he can break people down. He reminds me of a young man who played here a few years ago that ended up with the Texans [Will Fuller]. I don’t know if he’s quite got the speed, but when he runs, the fluidity that he runs with. And it doesn’t look like he’s running really fast, but he kind of is. He reminds me a lot of Will, and so I hope he continues to develop the way Will did. And we’ve got us something pretty good going on there.”  

On how close the Notre Dame offense is to collective consistency in the pass game

“Oh, how close are we? I think we’re a few connections and confidence-builders away from breaking through. And you can see signs of it. It’s painful to watch at times for all of us, but I do think there’s progress being made there. I think there’s a better connection than there’s ever been between him and the wide receivers and the rest of the group. So, we’re going to continue to try to do some things to help prompt that along as much as we possibly can. And, hopefully, maybe this is the week where it breaks through the way we all need it to.”  

On being 1/4 of the way through the season and all four games being so different

“There’s definitely more levels to what we can become. And I thought the guys did a good job today of going out on the practice field and going right back to work. And that’s what it’s going to take. You win games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. You don’t win them necessarily on Saturdays. Of course, you have to execute, but the consistency that you execute your responsibilities with happens during the week, and that builds the confidence necessary to excel on Saturday. So, we’re doing a good job of that, and I hope to continue to see this group move forward.”  

On Leonard fleeing from the pocket

“I mean, I think he does have to, at times, feel the pocket and not necessarily see flashes of color outside him that forces him to not trust it anymore. That’s come up during every one of the games so far, where he should slide into the pocket a little bit more than try to escape around it. But it’s natural instincts we’re working with, you know what I mean?

“It doesn’t help me when he makes plays when he gets out of the pocket, whether that’s around it or up through it. But I think he’s aware of that and working hard to do a better job of making sure that he doesn’t cause pressure by the way he moves in the pocket.”  

On the Notre Dame tight ends playing well at Purdue

“This was probably the first week I really felt that Mitch [Evans] was kind of 100% back, so them playing a lot of man coverage kind of gave us an opportunity to get him in some matchups that we liked. That helped.

Eli has shown the ability to be fluid in space. He’s got to get more consistent, but he’s a guy who can be a run-and-catch guy, I believe, and kind of handle both ends of that spectrum, even though he’s a big-body player. I think they’ve got to be a big piece of it. I think the backs have to be a big piece of it, which I think you saw us in a little bit of two-back stuff, and we’ll continue to do some of that. You saw us in 12 personnel. We’ll continue to do that, and then we’ll mix our 11 stuff in there as well. So, hopefully, it all makes us a little harder to defend and a little more versatile.”  

On Coogan and fellow Notre Dame senior offensive lineman Rocco Spindler

“I think it starts with their physical toughness. They’re both tough guys that love to mix it up, love to bloody their nose. I think their leadership kind of calmed the guys around them when we lost those other guys kind of early in the game, because of the experience that they have. I think it kind of let everybody else settle back into what was going on. And then I thought the way they performed was really, really solid and really, really productive. And I think that, hopefully, can continue and we can kind of not skip a beat there.”  

On what Notre Dame is losing up front with Ashton Craig and Billy Schrauth

“There’s a reason that you go through the process of determining who the starters are and who the backups are. And, I mean, Billy and Ashton clearly were the leaders and the favorites and had performed the best. That’s why they were the starters. We never lost any sort of faith or commitment or love for Rocco or for Pat in any way, and we made sure we communicated that clearly with them and let them know that: Listen, you saw in preseason camp how quickly a projected starter could need to be replaced by another member. We need to continue — and those guys have just taken that and just done more than our expectations were as far as preparing themselves, being ready to go. And I really think that’s a direct reflection on how they performed when they got a chance to do it.”  

On Coogan and Spindler staying engaged despite losing starting jobs in the offseason

“I think that’s absolutely 100% accurate. I mean, those guys, in particular, have continued to bring and foster leadership on the entire offensive unit, not just in the offensive line room. And I know the work that they’ve done in there. They’ve never wavered, never complained, never stomped their feet. They just worked, and I’m happy to see them get rewarded. At the same time, sad that happened the way it happened.”  

On what he learned about Notre Dame junior QB Steve Angeli in the Purdue game

“I don’t know that I’ve learned anything in particular that I didn’t know already, if that’s what your question is. I watched him very intently in the bowl game and paid attention to how he did in live game reps. Watched him all spring. Watched him all fall camp. It’s all pretty much the same things that I’ve seen right along. He’s got great leadership. He’s got the ability to make some throws that we need to make offensively and did a good job while he was in there.”