Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1162458
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 16, 2019 29 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On younger guys developing while veterans need to play better: "Our young players emerged tonight and re- ally showed they can fill in in areas that are, for me, ones that we needed them to come through. "We saw [freshman safety] Kyle Hamilton and his abil- ity to be someone in the middle of our defense who can defend the pass. We saw [sophomore tight end] Tommy Tremble tonight. We saw [sophomore wide receiver] Law- rence Keys' ability. "We actually need our veterans to step up another level of their play, which I'm certain they will. The good news for me tonight as the head coach is that the younger players showed themselves and that now with all of them together, moving forward, this can be a pretty good football team." On the improvements in the second quarter from his defense after a tough start: "We were a little bit out of sorts, over-running plays, not in good cut back lanes. Just settle down, just talk to the guys on the sideline and just be a little bit technically better. "We'll have to be better even as a group in other areas." NOTRE DAME SENIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On having four first-time pass catchers: "I felt comfort- able with them out there. I've been working with them for a long time, so it doesn't feel like it's their first time, but it is their first time of action. "I'm really happy for those guys. They made plays, and we're going to need them all year to make plays." On Tony Jones Jr.'s early success and overall perfor- mance: "I'm super happy for him. I knew that it was going to happen — if his name was called, he'd be ready, and I'm really proud of him. "He had a lot of carries tonight and did really well. He's going to be a good back for us." NOTRE DAME SENIOR SAFETY ALOHI GILMAN … On the Irish defense playing better and adjusting to what Louisville was doing after the first two drives: "Ad- justments obviously from the coaches and from us. Alto- gether, being a group that stuck to the plan. Sometimes things go wrong, and it is hard to be positive in that moment. "If you continue to work on executing the plan and the guys rally behind each other, you see how that works out." On the identity of the team so far: "We are just going to keep fighting every game. We are an unfinished product. Every week we are going to continue to get better." On the team's goals moving forward: "National cham- pionship — that's always been the goal. That's what Coach Kelly preached every day. That's what the defense preaches every day. "We can't focus on what we have to do to win week 12. We need to focus on now. Week one is done. We are going to celebrate and then move on to the next." NOTRE DAME SENIOR RUNNING BACK TONY JONES JR. … On blocking in the passing game: "On film, they were showing blitz a lot on first and second down so the coaches told me to scan [the field] more in case someone comes late. I was doing it the whole game, and it helped us." On the message from Coach Kelly after the first cou- ple of drives: "Coach Kelly told us to stay focused on the main thing: scoring. Coach told us not to be lax just because we scored so easily on the first drive." NOTRE DAME SENIOR DEFENSIVE END ADE OGUNDEJI … On his fumble strip and celebrating with Khalid Ka- reem: "It just happened so fast. But celebrating with my teammates — Khalid has always been there for me. "He's always been someone almost like a role model. I always look up to him. He's someone who's always get- ting me better." On younger guys needing to emerge to get to the next level as a team: "It goes with the whole team. If we're go- ing to get better, the whole team's got to improve. We all have to get better. We all have to focus on our assignments and do the right things. "It goes from the lowest people on the roster to the top of the roster. Everybody's got to do his job. That's how we're going to win consistently." — Andrew Mentock and Vince DeDario FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior defensive end Ade Ogundeji made three tackles and forced a fumble in the win over Louisville. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER