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As the Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepare to head to Tallahassee to kick off the season against the Florida State Seminoles, head coach Brian Kelly met with journalists to talk talent, #MACtion, and more.
Name Drops
Kelly led off this media appearance with a spotlight on Blake Fisher. The coach praised Fisher’s work ethic and humility and addressed the rarity of a true freshman on an offensive line “anywhere in the country.” On what Fisher’s role demands, Kelly said:
“You have to be able to handle all the things that happen quickly — blitzes, stunts, movement, recognition. To put all that together at the left tackle position is extraordinary.”
The Florida State game marks a changing of the guard at the Irish quarterback position. Kelly knows Irish signal caller Jack Coan has been here before and has faith in the quarterback’s experience and confidence. The coach said:
“We want him to be poised, but we want him to be decisive… To be decisive, you have to be confident in your ability and we know Jack is… I think the third thing is one of the things we were looking for in this quarterback position is be aggressive, too. Push the ball. If you got opportunities to push the ball down the field, let’s go.”
The Recruiting Angle
Kelly acknowledged Notre Dame’s mixture of ACC matchups, classic Irish rivalries, and Big Ten action as a component of the current state of Irish recruiting appeal. On the Sunday night spotlight, in particular, Kelly said:
“Playing on Sunday night, quite frankly, the only game being played on national television is a bump for us. Those are the kind of things we look for in scheduling. Now, it’s going to be a bit of a challenge coming back. We won’t have the off-day. We had to put in for a waiver to get that, but our guys are going to get back at 4 a.m. on Monday and we’re going to have to turn it right around to get ready for one of the best teams in the Mid-American Conference in Toledo.”
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