Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 31, 2020 31 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On if Notre Dame will need to play some of its fresh- man wide receivers now that Kevin Austin Jr. is out for the season and Braden Lenzy may have re-aggravated his hamstring injury: "No. Joe Wilkins is a really good player. Joe just will get more reps. Lawrence Keys will be back, and he saw a little bit of time. We're in good shape there. I feel really good about the group we have. "Hopefully, we're not talking about anything but pull- ing some of the scar tissue — that's really been the issue with Braden. It's the scar tissue from the original injury that he's pulled at. And it's been troublesome for him, so hopefully it's just the scar tissue. "The rotation that we have and the guys that you see, other than losing Kevin Austin, that's the group that's go- ing to be with us. We'll continue to use those guys. Then we use that rotation of tight ends and the running back position. Kyren Williams is a great weapon for us as well, so we feel like there's plenty of options out there." NOTRE DAME SENIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE KURT HINISH … On what it was like to play at Heinz Field as a Pitts- burgh native: "It was awesome playing at home in front of my family. To be honest with you, I was really excited to come down here and do it. "It was weird staying in a hotel, [somewhere] that wasn't my house in my hometown. Where I raised my level today was I played free. I didn't worry about making mistakes. I just played loose. I played more loose than I have in the past. "There are places where I need to improve my game, and there are things I did well today." On the backup defensive linemen getting a lot of play- ing time against Pittsburgh: "We talk about it all the time, everything we do is for the Brotherhood. There are times I don't want to come out, but that's just selfish of me. "But I have to understand that I'm not as fresh as the other guys coming into the game right now. We have to get those guys in to make some plays, and I've got to build my motor a little bit so I can stay in longer." On the challenge Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly gave to the team during the week: "He challenged us to elevate our level of play this week. And that was some- thing that we tried to do all week during practice. "Then we talked about bringing the juice and playing fun and being relaxed when you play and not being wor- ried about making mistakes — just playing hard from start to finish. "That's what we did today. We raised our level and we accepted the challenge. We want to raise our level every week." NOTRE DAME FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER BEN SKOWRONEK … On how when he makes big catches in the passing game, it en- courages Ian Book to take chances down the field more often: "When you catch the ball and help the quar- terback out, you start building trust with him and then maybe he starts looking to you more often. Ian had a great game. "He's a great quarterback, so accu- rate. He's a winner, so just being that reliable target for him is what I want to be and helping the team win games." On how rewarding it felt to make so many big plays against Pittsburgh: "Making plays on Saturday is always rewarding when you practice so hard all the way throughout camp and then every single week practicing hard. "[Receivers] Coach [Del] Alexan- der had a clear message: It's time to show up on Saturdays and make plays. I'm happy for our group for making plays, and there's a lot more on the table for us to go out and get." On what it's like to have Book as his quarterback: "Ian is just so accurate, so it's easy to be on the same page with him. He rarely misses throws, but outside of football he's my best friend here at Notre Dame. We do a lot of things together and just build on that chemistry off the field as well. So, I think that all pays off on the field. Like I said, he's just so accurate, so it was easy for me. I just have to get open and he's going to put the ball on me. It's not so much like timing and all that. "When we first started throwing together, we just clicked. I love him as a quarterback, and I think he's a damn good football player." — Andrew Mentock FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior defensive tackle Kurt Hinish (No. 41) enjoyed playing in his hometown of Pittsburgh. PHOTO BY CHARLES LECLAIRE, USA TODAY SPORTS/COURTESY ACC