Quick hitters: What Notre Dame DC Al Golden said before Irish vs. Texas A&M
The architect of what many believe will be one of the best defenses in college football, yet again, spoke to the media Tuesday night in South Bend. Here’s what Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden had to say before the Fighting Irish take on the Texas A&M Aggies this weekend.
On Collin Klein’s Texas A&M offense
“Personnel, formationing, really challenges you pre-snap. He does a great job, if not the best, at it. Quarterback as a runner makes it difficult. Different scheme runs in addition to the mainstay runs. There’s always going to be runs of the day, and you have put those fires out. At the same time, a quarterback with the ability to block it up and get the ball down the field. There’s challenges the width and length of the field. He’s as good as I’ve seen at doing it.”
On the overall Notre Dame defensive philosophy in a season-opener
“There’s going to be a bunch of new things. Just take a deep breath, man. Let’s react to them. It’s not going to be perfect. Stay together. We’re here for a long haul and keep battling. These guys, they’re battles, and the older you get, the wiser you get, the more you know. Don’t overreact. Play with poise. Hang in there. Make the plays when they come your way. Convert. We always say convert. And eliminate the explosives. Either through MEs, mental errors, or missed tackles, that kind of stuff.”
On Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman
“Really good football player. Obviously they missed him when he got injured. He can move in the pocket, he can throw on the run. When he scrambles, he can still get the ball down the field. I’ve seen him make all the throws. He can rip it. He can step up and rip it. He’s got speed in [wide receiver Cyrus Allen]. He’s got big targets in [wide receiver Jahdae Walker] and [Noah Thomas]. He’s got the back side of the backfield. We really haven’t talked about the tight ends yet, but we’re anticipating a number of tight ends in the game and they all have length.”
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On projected Notre Dame starting corner Christian Gray
“We always say as coaches, ‘Anybody can flash, but it’s consistency that endures.’ He’s changed his body. It means a lot to him. It really means a lot to him. He studies really well. He’s a technician. If we go over a certain tackling drill with him, you see it show up in the drills. If we go over something from a ball disruption category, all of a sudden you start seeing it show up in the drills or the scrimmages. He’s a continuous learner. He’s constantly improving, and that’s hard to do. That’s hard to find.”
On Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser
“He’s very succinct with it. You can’t be wordy as a linebacker. I can’t be wordy as a coach. It’s got to be to the point. If they do A, we’re doing B and move forward that way. I think he’s good at that. At the same time, he’s worked really hard to get those guys ready to play. Now it’s time to go play. You have to let them play.”
On belief in Notre Dame’s other linebackers
“They’re ready to go. There’s not even a second thought. There’s not a conversation. They’re ready to go. They’re all smart. They’re hungry. They’ve been in the system with the exception of [freshman Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa], but I don’t know if we’d be here if Kyng just got here in June. I think it’s a good group. They’re going to be tested. A lot of different scheme runs we’re going to have to fit correctly. That’s what we’re going with. We love those guys.”
