Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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head coach Brian Kelly said. "By midseason he became somebody that has now developed himself into a cornerback. He understands the position." The transition isn't an easy one to make, especially for a player like Russell who had early success before mastering the techniques and study skills he is now trying to hone. It's not foreign to the Notre Dame secondary, though. Senior cornerback Bennett Jackson and junior safety Matthias Farley both made similar fast leaps from offensive positions to starting jobs in the defensive backfield. The three of them formed the majority of the country's 16th-ranked pass efficiency defense last year in their first season as starters. Farley said the tough part comes in the second year when you have to parlay experience into the skills needed to meet much higher expectations. "KeiVarae puts in a ton of extra work. He's one of the harder workers in my opinion. I think the fruit of all that has really paid off," he said. "It's one of the most obvious things in the world being on the field with him. Just the confidence he plays with now, he comes up and he'll bang people, which he didn't do last year as much, and just the consistency he's playing with." Russell said he has always put in extra work, but learning to stay focused throughout the week of practice has made a difference this season. He said he treats football practice like his job this year — no more goofing around on Thursdays and Fridays when the pace of the team's workouts get a little lighter. That's helped him earn a reputation as "a student of the game" from Russell made 32 tackles, including one for loss, and broke up five passes in Notre Dame's first eight games this season. photo by bill panzica the coaching staff. Before they saw his work ethic and his smooth back pedal, before they even saw him in pads, the Irish coaches decided Russell would be a good fit at cornerback because of his attitude. Negativity beads and wicks away from the Seattle area native like