Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408565
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly … On the victory: "It's hard to win. I told our guys in our talk before the game that playing Navy — this is the 88th edition of that, for those who were counting — is always going to be a challenge." On how his defensive coaches handled Navy's triple-option attack: "[Outside linebackers coach] Bobby Elliott, one of the best defensive coordina- tors in the country in the '80s and '90s, has forgotten more foot- ball than I know. [De- fensive coordinator] Brian VanGorder is an accomplished defen- sive coordinator at the NFL and college level. [Defensive line coach] Mike Elston has been with me for a really long time. "These are really good coaches. It's hard to defend what they do at Navy. My hat goes off to Navy and their coaching staff. They do a great job on offense." On junior defensive lineman Shel- don Day returning to the game after suffering a shoulder injury: "That's one of our captains. That's our guy. He played really well tonight. He got off blocks. "He did exactly what we needed him to do tonight and he came up big for us." On sophomore linebacker James Onwualu's possible injury: "James did not pass his on-field concussion protocol, so he was held out. … He was up singing the fight song in the locker room. "I don't know if that's passing the second phase of the concussion tests. He looked pretty good to me, but I'm not a doctor." Notre Dame senior offensive lineman Nick Martin … On Navy's relentless attitude every year: "They're so trained. The one thing is, they never get down on themselves. They'll al- ways fight back. "They're one of those teams that won't fold, won't crumble — no matter what they're go- ing to fight to the end." Notre Dame fifth-year senior de- fensive lineman Justin Utupo … On learning he'd get his first career start: "First of all, it's a blessing, hear- ing from the coaches that I was going to play a lot more. When you hear that, you still have to have the same mind- set as if you're not starting. You have to have the same attitude, the same work ethic and try to do your best. FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Junior defensive lineman Sheldon Day (91) and sophomore linebacker James Onwualu (17) both were injured during the physical battle with Navy. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA