Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/131896
"There was no doubt in my mind that he had all the tools," Cooks said. "He's got great height, he's got long arms, he's fast and he's smart. It wasn't a shocker to see him go out there and do the things that he did, I just didn't know how quickly he would be able to get to that level." Russell said it was a primetime win over Oklahoma in late October that helped him really break through that urge to hide. Notre Dame's game plan forced Russell to play man coverage with Oklahoma's top-flight receivers such as Kenny Stills and Jalen Saunders for much of the night. Stills and Saunders combined for 267 yards receiving, but neither scored or ever truly got behind the secondary. Russell finished the game second among Irish defenders with nine tackles and felt for the first time like he could hang. "Coaches said they believed in me after that game, and I was like 'OK, we gotta get going.' I always knew I had the talent, but that goes only so far," he said. "You've gotta have that mindset, that savvy." Cooks and the staff tried to build that confidence for Russell by giving him bite-sized parts of the defense to adjust each week. That wasn't easy against opponents who tried to expose the rookie with receivers such as Cody Hoffman (BYU), Marqise Lee and Robert Woods (USC), and the duo from Oklahoma. "The worst thing that you want to do is kill a young corner's or a DB's confidence. We wanted him to get some games under his belt to where he felt comfortable," Cooks said. "He adjusted to the speed of the game, he adjusted to the different size of the wide receivers, the running backs, and once we felt he had gotten comfortable with that, then we slowly opened up our playbook." The safety net is much smaller, if not altogether withdrawn. Russell said he expects Cooks and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco to call whatever defense they want next season. The confidence a cornerback needs to survive on his own now pours out of Russell at his natural mile-per-minute pace. "I like when I have the pressure on me now. Coach Cooks is like show me something," Russell said, speeding up. "Let's go. I love that feeling. OK, let's do it then. Throw the ball my way. Throw it over here. Let's make plays." This spring he had Cooks put together a blooper reel of all the bad plays from his first season — a tip he picked up from former Irish linebacker Manti Te'o. The tape was longer than Russell had hoped, but it helped him get over the fear of making mistakes. "It took a few days to watch. I couldn't watch it all at once," he said. Russell made it a point to play more aggressive this spring. He seeks out top receivers like DaVaris Daniels and TJ Jones in one-on-one drills. He said the weight he put on during the winter months allows him to be as much the hammer as the nail in collisions when playing against the first-team offense. He's starting to hand out a few bruises of his own. "You've gotta be fearless," he said. "That's how I've been so far." ✦