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✦ quoting kelly "[Linebacker Jarrett Grace] was a character kid from the day that I got a chance to know him, just a great character kid and leader. I knew not only was he going to be a great player, but he was going to be a leader. He's lived up to that." On the defensive takeaways from last year's 30‑13 win over Oklahoma that the staff plans to imple‑ ment this week: "Oklahoma is very balanced. They've run the football extremely well, and … really showed their ability to throw the football. [Redshirt junior quarterback Blake] Bell threw extremely well vertically. He's got a nice touch on the football. "In their last game [sophomore wide receiver] Sterling Shepard had eight catches. They just have great depth, and they find their big-play receivers. "We have to minimize the big-chunk plays, and that's one of our goals each and every week. We were able to do that last year. We're going to have to do it this year if we want to win the football game." On junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels' pro‑ gression and play against Michigan State standout cornerback Darqueze Dennard last Saturday: "We all know that our guys are not finished products, and the challenges that they get by playing the schedule that we do allows them to grow as players. "You want to see them grow from the experiences that they have. DaVaris is a very smart kid, he watches film, and he's very competitive. "Whether it's Daniels or anybody else on our team, I think when they're put into those challenging situations for them to grow from them, that's what we'll be looking for." On junior linebacker Jarrett Grace's leadership ability: "I recruited him when I was at Cincinnati. Jarrett played at Colerain High School, one of the top public high schools in the Cincinnati area, a great tradition there. To view this video you must log in at BlueGoldOnline.com with your print subscription username and password VIDEO: Head coach Brian Kelly spoke to the media Sept. 24 about the win over Michigan State and Saturday's game against Oklahoma. "He was a character kid from the day that I got a chance to know him, just a great character kid and leader. I knew not only was he going to be a great player, but he was going to be a leader. "He's lived up to that. Even though he was behind the best leader in our program [former Irish linebacker Manti Te'o], and that has a tendency, obviously, to overshadow you, he led in community service. He led in fellowship. Now he's starting to become more vocal as a football player. He'll continue to develop in that manner. "I would say there was very good rapport [between Te'o and Grace]. Manti was somebody that at his position was always communicating with the linebackers. That was a very close room, and it still continues to be a very close room. "There was a lot of conversation about the position. If you were to ask Manti today, he would probably say that's my guy, and I'm not surprised that he's having success." ✦ Page 10 On sophomore safety Elijah Shumate and the rotation at safety: "I would just say it's a very similar situation with the three guys at linebacker. You've got [fifth-year senior linebacker Carlo] Calabrese, [fifthyear senior linebacker Dan] Fox and Grace. I think you now can look at Shumate along with [senior safety Austin] Collinsworth and [junior Matthias] Farley. You've got a three-person rotation that's working out pretty good for us. "I think in both of those situations, all three of those guys are working well together." On throwing more on first down and whether it's due to the way defenses are playing Notre Dame or Kelly's confidence in the personnel: "It's a little bit of both. Certainly we're looking at our tendencies, defensive tendencies, what we get on first down, and then obviously what the box looks are. "The way things have unfolded on first down, it's a little bit of all those things." ✦