Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1414190
30 OCT. 2, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On Drew Pyne replacing injured starting quarterback Jack Coan: "Drew Pyne is a great example of what is, in my opinion, how we do our busi- ness in our program. We bring in a transfer. And he doesn't put his name in the portal. "What he does is he says, 'You know what, I'm going to prepare myself to be the best version of Drew Pyne. And when my number is called, I'm going to be ready.'" On relating to his players: "You have to be able to change to who your players are and what their strength and weaknesses are from year to year and adapt. My son is here today. He keeps me up with all the slang. "I'll get something on a text, and I have to text him and go, 'What does that mean?' You know, and so you have to adapt. You have to stay current." On Jordan Botelho's debut on de- fense: "With their multiple tight end sets, Jordan gives us a thumper on the tight end, a bigger body that we can use to match up with personnel. And he did a really good job. "We would have liked to have played him last week, but he just wasn't physi- cally ready to go. He had been out for a couple of weeks. And he can add to our defense." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR CORNERBACK CAM HART … On the defense's progression from week to week: "Coaches have challenged us week in and week out to be disciplined, play smart and play to the level that we know we can play at. All camp we were electric. "I knew we could play better than how we were playing. Everyone on the team knew that. It just starts in practice being challenged every day." On the Notre Dame defense's per- formance: "It's nothing new to us. That's what we do every day. Go out there, have fun, play together. I feel like it's finally on display to the outside. Those are my takeaways from it. "I knew we could do it. I don't think anyone in the locker room doubted we could play to this level. I feel like we just have to keep going." On the environment at Soldier Field: "It was crazy. This was my first time playing football in Chicago. Play- ing in this environment, playing at Sol- dier Field, it's a blessing. "I had a lot of fun out there. The game was intense. The game was fun." On Notre Dame's third-down suc- cess: "I really give credit to our defen- sive linemen going out there on third down and having that dog mentality to get after the quarterback, and that makes it a lot easier on the back end for us." NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER KEVIN AUSTIN JR. … On his 36-yard touchdown that was reviewed: "I was sure that I caught the ball and secured the catch. Just going down to the ground, I wasn't sure if they were going to call him for stripping the ball out or anything like that. "But I knew that I caught the ball, secured the catch and got into the end zone. I looked up at the ref, he had his hands up, so I knew it was a touchdown." On the direction of Notre Dame's offense: "We're nonstop. We are going to continue to grind, continue to fight. We're going to continue, no matter what quarter it is, what down it is, no matter how much we're down or whatever the case may be. "We're going to just keep driving and keep fighting to get to our goal." On his own play so far this season: "Obviously the ultimate goal is helping my team win and being able to be a part of that. Being able to do that today was a big step forward for myself and for the team. "I just felt great being out here and great competing with all my brothers. It's a great feeling." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne came off the bench when starter Jack Coan went down with a leg injury in the third quarter. He completed 6 of 8 throws for 81 yards with one touchdown to help the Irish secure the victory. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER