Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/561665
"It was another piece of the puzzle we could add to just make our overall football team that much better, so we went ahead and did it." Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder on junior linebacker Jaylon Smith: "There are some things that he's done from a visual standpoint, and Jaylon works so hard at the game and he's a real pro with the game. There's some things that he's done respective to a young player that have shocked me more than the physical things that you might be referring to. "His eyes, some things that he's learned about the game of football, have been very impressive from the beginning until now." Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford on what impresses him most about junior quarterback Malik Zaire: "I would say his overall engagement, with wanting to know all the information and wanting to be coached. There's an old saying that I've always said about players, you want them to have the mentality of, 'Coach me, coach,' and he's a guy that personi- fies that in every way. "He wants to be coached. He's always looking for something else that he can improve his game, and he's been very diligent with that ever since the day that I arrived on campus. His desire to be great would be No. 1 in my mind, and then his overall athletic skill set." Linebackers coach Mike Elston on fifth-year senior linebacker Joe Schmidt: "Coaching Joe Schmidt is great. He's another coach on the field, he's a great leader, he works at a very high standard and he holds his teammates to that same standard when he's out there. "He does a really good job." Tight ends coach Scott Booker on freshman Aliz'e Jones: "Aliz'e has done a good job acclimating himself to the college game. Coming from Bishop Gorman [High School], a great program, he was able to play in some big games and play against some really good competition. "That being said, in college football what we ask our tight ends to do is very different than any other university or high school team." Running backs coach Autry Denson on junior running back Tarean Folston's quiet efficiency after rush- ing for 889 yards last year, 600 more than anyone else on the team: "I told him, 'The biggest compliment people can give you is when you make a run, nobody gets excited. You know why that is? Because you've raised the expectations so high that they expect Tarean Folston to do that.' "That's when you know you're making your mark and turning the corner." Offensive line coach Harry Hiestand on junior right tackle Mike McGlinchey: "Particularly in pass protec- tion, you can't be herky-jerky or you'll be out of bounds; Mike just moves really effortlessly, he can change direction and go where he needs to go to get a rusher and still have power when he gets there." Defensive line coach Keith Gilmore on freshman Jerry Tillery: "The biggest thing for him is to understand the scheme of the defense, and that he doesn't have to make every play. He can do his job and we will be fine, as opposed to taking chances and peeking. "Doing things outside of the context of the defense, that's what we're working on." Defensive backs coach Todd Lyght on having the combination of senior KeiVarae Russell and junior Cole Luke at cornerback: "We have a lot of experience. Obviously KeiVarae didn't play last year because of the suspension, but he has come back and we're really excited to have him back. "The combination of he and Cole Luke, being able to play both the left and the right side and match up, it's going to give us a lot of flexibility on defense." MIKE SANFORD