Everything Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said before Irish vs. Florida State

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock spoke to the media Tuesday following the Fighting Irish’s bye week. Here is everything he said ahead of the Irish’s upcoming game against Florida State.

On Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard looking good coming out of the last bye week

“Yeah, I think what he’s done a really good and consistent job of doing is digging into the details of not only the game plan, but what he needs to specifically work on himself to make us more consistent offensively. That happened over the course — I don’t know if you got to see it after the bye week, but I think that’s been a process that’s kind of been a weekly deal, where he’s gotten a little bit better every single week. And I saw that over the bye week. I mean, he was throwing the ball with great confidence. He’s on the same page with the people around him. Him and I are on the same page, which is always fun.” 

On Notre Dame freshman running back Kedren Young

“I think there’s certainly a role for Kedren. I mean, he is a big, strong, bang-it type of guy. And there’s always room for a guy like that. Whether that’s short-yardage, goal-line situations, whatever that happens to be. But I think he’s doing a good job of understanding there’s still some growth that he has to do on his end to really thrust himself into the mix on a consistent basis. And he’s doing that very well on the practice field. So, I don’t see any reason why his role can’t expand as we go.” 

On preserving redshirts in the transfer portal era

“You’re right. But I think it’s really specific to the individual first. I think it’s something you’re always mindful of, but right now we’re in a position where we’ve got to give ourselves the best opportunity to win. And our goal is to achieve team glory, as coach Freeman has stated many, many times. And that means get the best guys out there that can get the job done. So, we look at that, of course, and we’re mindful of it, but we’ve also got to make sure that we’re putting ourselves in the best position to win football games.” 

On putting Billy Schrauth at left guard and what that does for both Schrauth and left tackle Anthonie Knapp

“I do think it gave Anthonie a little bit of security, with Billy there, in the last game. It seems like it’s been forever since we played, but the last time we played. So, I like that element of it. I thought there was some calmness to the way that both of them executed the game plan and communicated together.

“The reason to put him at left instead of right, it’s really kind of a look at the group as a whole going into this game — and that was into the Navy game, obviously — with the things that they did defensively. Who gave us the best opportunity to perform at a high level? And that’s how the decisions got made.” 

On Rocco Spindler remaining a starter even with Schrauth’s return

“I mean, Rocco’s consistency in his play. And I think him and Billy, both of those guys bring an element of toughness that is needed in our offensive front, and they’ve done a great job. And really, Rocco’s done a nice job of being as consistent as anyone and earned himself an opportunity to stay in it there.” 

On Notre Dame using the pistol formation

“We’ll use it from time to time more to just balance up the defense a little bit more. Sometimes when the backs offset, they tend to skew a little bit more towards the side the back is to. So, we use it in those situations if we’re playing against the team that kind of has a tendency to do that a little bit more and we want them a little bit more balanced up to help with the blocking combinations or help with the back’s vision hitting a certain hole. That’s where that comes in for us.” 

On calling his shot of the Notre Dame offense being a work in progress, as he said in August

“Well, that’s probably the first time anyone’s ever said that to me. I mean, I think I knew there were lots of new pieces that were going to take a minute to gel, let alone a quarterback who unfortunately didn’t have the availability that, right off the bat, was maybe needed to gain him some valuable experience. So, growth was going to be at times a little bit painful to watch, but it was going to be — and it has been — evident that it’s being made.

“And it’s happening before all of our eyes. And it’s a credit to the players, way more than it is anybody else, for their ability to kind of lock in and just say, ‘You know what, let’s take this on a day-to-day basis.’ And it sounds cliche to say, but they really take a Tuesday, and they’re better on Wednesday than they are on Tuesday. They’re better on Thursday than they are on Wednesday. And they just continue to have a hunger about them and a mindset about them that has allowed us to get a little bit better every week.” 

On being on the same page with Leonard

“As anybody who is the offensive coordinator or the play-caller or whatever, you have things that you really like. So, when I look at the scheme for Florida State, there’s things that I feel like we can do to take advantage of them. But if the eye of the quarterback is not the same eye that yours is — and everybody has a different way of seeing the game and looking at the game — then those things really aren’t going to amount to much if he doesn’t see him the same way that I do.

“So, that’s really what those conversations are about. Why this call? Why am I putting you in this scenario? Why am I giving you this RPO instead of this. Why this run scheme as opposed to this? So, those conversations kind of run so that his understanding of what the overall picture is of what we’re trying to do gets communicated to him, so that he can then go out there and kind of operate it.” 

On Notre Dame’s wide receivers, specifically Jordan Faison and Kris Mitchell, not catching a ton of passes but still playing winning football

“I think both of those guys fall into that category. Those guys do so many things without the ball. You wish you had 150 footballs, where everybody could get their lot every week. I mean, that would be my wish, but unfortunately the game just doesn’t always flow that way. But those guys are invaluable to us.

“You brought up Jordan. In particular, the plays that he made in the Navy game are really, I think, just a microcosm of what he can be within the framework of this offense. We just haven’t had a lot of availability from him. So, good Lord willing moving forward, that continues, and we can put all those guys to use.” 

On what it’s like to work with Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden

“Al’s as good at driving an offensive coordinator crazy as anybody I’ve ever been around. And it’s just fun to kind of — we like to kind of, we act like we’re best buddies sometimes, and we are off the field. But on the field, we’re always kind of like trying to tweak each other a little bit. Like, he kind of knows how to sting me sometimes, and I’m getting a better feel for how to sting him back. So, it’s been a little bit more competitive and fun here the last few weeks than it was in the beginning, for sure.”