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The Friday Brian Kelly press conference to kick off spring ball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish held more than just position changes. Kelly was asked a wide variety of questions. This was the first Kelly presser since the end of the Clemson game, which means there were plenty of things to clear up, and plenty more to after that.
At least there’s no real/fake quarterback competition stuffed down our throats. Ian Book is the clear starter at quarterback, but that certainly doesn’t mean we won’t have a close eye on what Phil Jurkovec is up to. Brian Kelly would agree with us:
“He wasn’t the next guy in last year; he is now. This spring is crucial to his development.”
“We really never touch anything from the waist above — other than the neck above with the mental game. We don’t really mess with the mechanics. Once they come here, they are who they are. It’s generally footwork, timing, base and balance, pocket presence, things of that nature.”
Basically, Jurkovec was relegated to scout team duty for most of the year, and is just now really diving deep into Chip Long’s offense. People were also freaked out last fall with Jurkovec’s throwing motion (despite years of high school tape showing the same motion). So, if you were wondering if Kelly and Tommy Rees were going to mess with that at all — wonder no longer.
NUMBER CHANGES
There were a few jersey number changes made as well:
- TaRiq Bracy switches from #35 to #10
- Houston Griffith switches from #3 to #4
- The early enrollee freshmen numbers were released earlier this year
AN EXTRA NOTE
Of all the position changes this spring, I’m glad we didn’t see Troy Pride Jr. move over to the boundary corner from the field. Many thought this would be the case to accommodate TaRiq Bracy, but Kelly and Clark Lea opted for competition at the boundary instead of a bigger change. They also plan on using “left-right” concepts at corner to make it easier on the young players.
Okay boss!