Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/206976
The Scepter, The Sledgehammer And The Golden Football J unior safety Matthias Farley's pumped the shamrock scepter above his head, while storming the field at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs two weeks ago. The newest totem for Notre Dame's defense — a roughly six-foot wooden pole sharpened to a point on one end with a decorated green shamrock on the other — looks like a medieval battle flag and is treated with the same reverence. It was an entrance that would've made William Wallace proud. murphy's Law dan murphy The shamrock first started making appearances on the practice field this August, stationed on the sideline of a field where Notre Dame's defense does most of its work. It's one of three somewhat secretive and symbolic props the Irish carry with them each Saturday this fall — a scepter, a sledgehammer and a golden football. "I can't get into too much detail about it. It's just something that is at the fundamental basis of our defense," Farley said. "It's an honor to be able to carry it out on the field." November in South Bend isn't easy. Days are shorter. Practices are routine. The growing cold draws all the aches and pains of a long, physical season to the surface. The schedule is rife with nothing to gain, everything to lose games against military academies and Pittsburgh. Energy is hard to find. Yet in the dog days of autumn Brian Kelly's Notre Dame teams are now 11-1, which makes him the most successful finisher among Irish coaches since Jesse Harper nearly 100 years ago. Part of their success in the final third of each regular season comes from keeping players fresh and energized for the home stretch. For Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco is constantly devising new ways to motivate players such as Prince Shembo. photo by bill panzica that, the Irish have to thank defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, a human nuclear power plant. Diaco created all three of Notre Dame's Lord Of The Rings-style tokens. The sledgehammer showed up last year, the scepter this season and the exact genesis of the golden football is unknown. Players earn the right to carry them on Saturday by excelling in practice, an extra incentive to perform and focus for each day of the week. That's about as much information as anyone in the defensive locker room is willing to share. Exactly how one becomes the weekly proprietor of these prizes and their exact significance remains a mystery, which is the way Diaco wants it. Their exclusivity adds a little more allure: This is our thing, so butt out. Diaco has taken heat from an army of armchair coaches this season. His defense slid from a top-10 unit in scoring and ✦ Page 19 rushing yards to the top 40. On his watch, the Navy triple option ran through Notre Dame's injury-splintered defense for 331 yards last Saturday, 34 yards above its average. The 40-year-old rising coach has his quirks, too, but Irish fans will miss him when he's gone. Diaco finds new ways to fill up his players' "energy buckets," as he likes to call them, each week. It starts with his surprising taste in music. Among his other duties, the coordinator is in charge of picking the soundtrack for practice on a daily basis. Despite occasionally giving off the vibe that he's far removed from pop culture, Diaco knows what he's doing near a radio according to his players. "Coach Diaco is a wild, exotic guy," sophomore cornerback KeiVarae Russell said. "He's up in there every day. You don't know what he's going to bring out." Farley, the son of a musician, said Diaco's choices get the team fired up. The playlist varies from new music rapping about waking up in luxury cars to country to classic rock like AC/DC. "You can't let it bog you down or get in a grind," he said when asked about the tedium of practice in November. "We'll have different songs play at the beginning of practice to get everyone hyped up get everyone excited. Guys will dance around, and you feed off of each other." The catalyst for that chain reaction is almost always Diaco. Notre Dame was flat during its warm-ups in Colorado two weeks ago. Diaco came into the locker room hollering. Defensive captain Bennett Jackson followed suit, and a boring pre-game stretch turned into a frenzied atmosphere. The Irish stormed the field, scepters and sledgehammers in hand, and beat the Falcons 45-10, their most lopsided victory of the season. ✦ E-mail Dan at dmurphy@blueandgold.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @BGI_DanMurphy.