Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 19, 2020 29 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On the offensive adjustments Notre Dame made at halftime: "They threw everything at us in the first half, a lot of looks that we certainly didn't expect nor did they show at all last year. In the kind of camp that we had, you're try- ing to go on a lot of looks that they had shown from their past defensive coordinator. "One of their looks, their three-down [linemen] with their stand up was a pretty similar look. They had not used it in any of the rundowns, so there was some difficulty in terms of identifying and sustaining some of the blocks and their two-points [stances]. But we made the adjustments, and I thought we did a nice job in the second half." On the performance of fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book: "What I had said to Ian on the sideline was he has to make some of the easy plays, the layups, if you will. He missed a screen and he missed an easy drive route — and he did some really good things, too. "You have to understand, no spring ball, and let me just go over how many new players that he is blending into this offense: Whether it's [freshman tight end] Mike Mayer, [junior tight end] Tommy Tremble getting a bigger role, [ju- nior wideout] Joe Wilkins, [fifth-year senior wideout] Javon McKinley, [junior wideout] Lawrence Keys, all the backs. "Ian Book has got a whole new offensive group of skill players around him, and he's still working through that process. So it's not in a situation where he knows exactly where they are going to be." On junior wide receiver Joe Wilkins Jr. making plays off the bench: "He had been limited in camp with a ham- string injury, but we always felt like when Joe got his op- portunity that he was talented enough to make some plays, and it's just fun to watch him make some plays. I men- tioned him in our postgame talk. There are a lot of players that just needed an opportunity. He was stuck behind some really good players. "Ben [Skowronek] has a bit of a hamstring [injury], not severe but enough that he could not play at 100 percent, and so the next guy [went] in. And we have a lot of confi- dence in Joe and he made some terrific plays for us. That sideline catch was a really big catch for us." NOTRE DAME FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On his slow start: "I planned on going in there and feel- ing great from the get go. Obviously, I felt like I had a little bit of a slow start. But the team carried me for a little bit, and I felt like I got back to where I wanted to be. The receiv- ers did an unbelievable job making plays for me. "Again, the running backs, that's where I was extremely impressed. With some young guys in there for the first time and when they play like that, it's huge. It helps open up the pass for us, and just helps us get into a groove as an offense." NOTRE DAME SENIOR ROVER JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH … On the play of sophomore linebacker Marist Liufau: "Marist executed. He had a few mistakes here and there, but that's what you'd expect out of a newly fresh starter in his first [start]. The most important thing for Marist today was to just [go] 100 percent. "We didn't need him to be perfect today. We didn't need him to be some outstanding player. As he continues to get adjusted, I think he'll be a good player." NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER AVERY DAVIS … On his touchdown catch: "It was just a seam [route]. It was man coverage, so it was just me versus him. He cov- ered me pretty well, but when the ball was in the air, I just knew I needed it. I couldn't let that opportunity pass." On why the offense started off stagnant: "It was difficult for us to get in the flow, but I think intensity wise and atten- tion to detail and excitement wise, no, we weren't lacking in that. We're very excited to go out there." NOTRE DAME SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK KYREN WILLIAMS … On if he expected to has such a big workload in the season opener: "I feel like my load is exactly where I want to be. I definitely thought for sure, I was going to have a big impact in this game. "I came in with a great mindset and great confidence. I knew that if I just played my game that I could play well." — Andrew Mentock FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book connected on 19 of 31 throws for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception in Notre Dame's 27-13 win over Duke. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS