Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/416910
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said a huge part of pass blocking and blitz pick-up is "want to" and "Cam's got that mentality to go in there and stone you." Technique, patience and courage are also vital. "Technique for me as a veteran is patience and trying to slow the game down, making sure you get your first snap reads, being comfortable and confident in what you studied about the defense and knowing you can pick up anything they can bring," McDaniel said. According to the senior, who played 49 snaps at Arizona State compared to sophomore Tarean Folston's 27 and sophomore Greg Bryant's three, the main thing he and Irish running backs coach Tony Alford are trying to impart to the youngsters is patience, discipline and getting hands inside. "You're patient until they come inside your vicinity of being able to strike, — and it's just low to high power clean," McDaniel said. A baptism of fire occurred for the 5-10, 205-pound McDaniel as a freshman in 2011 when he was given the thankless practice role of blocking outside linebackers such as current pros Troy Niklas, Prince Shembo and Darius Fleming, and even defensive linemen Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt. "You can't be scared," McDaniel said. "You've got to bring it and you have to be confident in your ability. "My mentality is I'm just going to hit you as hard as I can, hit you in the face, and you're not going to get to my quarterback. Sometimes that works. Sometimes they might throw you out of the barn — but as long as you're in the way for a little bit, that could be enough to get the pass off." More reps and experience are what the sophomore backs will need, but McDaniel still takes his "Mr. Reliable" moniker as a backhanded compliment. "I don't want to be just an insurance policy guy," said McDaniel, who Kelly said came to his office before the Stanford game Oct. 4 to tell the head coach that he should be starting. What he did at Arizona State is what he expects of himself, and others should too. "Even some of my close friends and relatives, when I'm a little bit frustrated because maybe I don't get as much playing time, they tell me, 'Hey, just make sure you're ready when your number is called because when your opportunity comes and you thrive, that speaks volumes,'" McDaniel said. UNDER THE DOME Senior running back Cam McDaniel's pass blocking skills earned him all the second-half playing time in the 55-31 defeat at Arizona State Nov. 8. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA