Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME and holders. Daly is the second Notre Dame player recruited on full scholar‑ ship just to snap (Jordan Cowart was the first from 2009‑12). Daly's roommate Smith also was a snapper, but moved to holder because they could work the entire practice on their craft. In the past, backup quarterbacks often were used as the holders. That was the case last year with the graduated Luke Massa (also a receiver), but he did not work with the top three units, so he had time to hone his holding skills in practice. This year, both sophomore Malik Zaire and freshman DeShone Kizer are fully engaged with the offense during practice time. "If you can find somebody that is committed to that craft and committed to wanting to do the work, and somebody that really takes the time and ef‑ fort to be with that group, that's a good situation," Kelly said. "You would rather have somebody that's specialized in doing it rather than somebody that's part time." The snap‑hold chemistry and experience — Smith also traveled with the team last season — kept Kelly confident in their skills. "We gave it great thought and it wasn't somebody that we just pulled out of thin air," Kelly said of using Smith, a native of Raleigh, N.C. "He's been in the program a couple years." Managing Third Down When Notre Dame played Stanford's No. 1‑ranked scoring defense Oct. 4, head coach Brian Kelly's play‑calling strategy centered not so much on making huge plays but avoiding the crushing negative ones, especially those that lead to third‑and‑long. Rain, gusting wind and cold weather played a role in how Kelly called the game. Until the final game‑winning series, 10 of 17 second‑down plays were called a run to at least get into "manageable" third‑down situations — defined as six yards or less. "I did not want to get into third‑and‑seven or more," Kelly said. "They got into some exotic pressures in those situations. So I was okay at third‑and‑six. I felt those were manageable, even if we got three yards in running the ball on first and second down. "At times you wonder, 'What's he doing here?' In some instances, we're trying to manage those third‑down situations because I felt like we could convert them when we got into them." Although Stanford controlled the line of scrimmage most of the day, Kelly noted the Irish offensive line was at its best in the fourth quarter, with two of the final three drives netting scores, including the game‑winning TD with 1:01 left. "We got stronger as the game went along," Kelly said.