Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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fan forum & Gold Illustrated's 2013 Football Preview. I sent a letter to Coach Elliott re‑ garding his kidney transplant because my son, J.C., is also on dialysis. Coach Elliott not only responded, but he also called my son. He told him that he could call him anytime to talk about his disease and condition, and also told him to not be surprised if he contacts him to check up on him. I can't tell you how much that has touched my heart, let alone how much it has already done for J.C. I am still walking around on cloud nine, and J.C. is so excited that he has some‑ one like Coach Elliott that he can talk to. Also, he told J.C. he will get him tickets to the Stanford game out here and an opportunity to meet the other coaches and players after the game! Unbelievable!! It's acts like this that just put a whole other perspective on what Notre Dame people are all about. Dan Schultz Visalia, Calif. From The WebSite As Brian Kelly enters his fourth season — his "senior" year — Notre Dame fans looked back on what their expectations of Kelly were. Here was a sample: BMD: I know we all agree he's done a great job. You don't go to the national title game if he's not here. But what preconceived notions did you have of him? Has he met them or done it different? From the day we were looking at him, a friend and I both said we like the guy, but why are we focusing only on offensive coaches. It will be just like Charlie Weis trying to outscore them. Boy, was I wrong. Simm: What has surprised me is how successful he has been at consistently recruiting elite defensive players in almost every class he has signed, something his predecessors had not been able to do. I also had a misconception of him running a finesse style of program. 65too: I would add that I expected a much more wide-open, up-tempo offense. I also expected much better QB play, but that has to do more with the gods than Kelly. I expect 2013 to be a run-first, up-tempo offense. And Tommy Rees is still a huge question mark. Hemy: On offense, playing "downhill" as the result of quality offensive line depth. On defense, forcing your opponent to play "uphill" as the result of quality front seven depth. Kelly knows that once you have established this "core," you will be able to find enough skill position players to provide you with a consistent winner, even occasionally a winner that is national championship bound. Kindiah0220: Brian Kelly has made plenty of mistakes, but I think each of them has been an important learning process to help him be a great coach at Notre Dame. I'm actually glad this wasn't a 10-win BCS team for a couple of years. It's made them all work that much harder to get to where we are now, which will hopefully prove to be a consistently winning program. Hodges: Could he recruit with the big boys on a yearly basis? Check. Could he recruit D-linemen? Check. Could he build team confidence and toughness? Check. Kelly had a rough go of it his first year with some questionable play calls, but he has adjusted remarkably, and I have zero complaints. Garyfh: Then: Can he win a national championship? No idea. Now: He made it to the title game, but can he win it? Sure hope so. Teo4heisman: Recruiting has never been a problem at ND unless your name is Tyrone.