Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ness — he's from the NFL. He wants things done his way, and that's the right way. We understand that now. We have a year in the system, we feel much more comfortable — and he feels much more comfortable with us because we're learning the defense better. "I feel like he has been a little more open than last year, but obviously with time comes comfort." An eloquent and confident speaker, Redfield has carried 1 8 - c r e d i t a c a d e m i c course loads at Notre Dame per semester, most notably learning Manda- rin Chinese while pursu- ing goals to be involved in international relations or the CIA. When asked whether Van- Gorder's defense or Chinese was more difficult, he paused. "I would say consistently being suc- cessful in that scheme is harder than learning Chinese," he responded. "It is the communication that is demanded from the safety, as well as the many different responsibilities that can hap- pen on a play-to-play basis. "Responsibilities can change based on the formation, based on the receiv- ers' splits — and then after the snap of the ball, based on what the receiver runs. Knowing all those different things that you have to process in a split second is a lot, as well as commu- nicating and making sure everybody else is lined up. "I feel a lot more comfortable doing it. Now I feel great about it, and my team looks for me to do that." Defensive meetings under Van- Gorder are not necessarily broken down by units — they often meet as a collective group. "When he talks to the D-line, we [defensive backs] hear it. We need to know some of the D-line concepts; we need to know some of the stunts," Redfield explained. "When he talks to the linebackers, he wants us engaged, listening to what he's telling the line- backers so we know. "Being on that same page and know- ing the whole scheme is making our defense much more fluid and much more likely to be successful." Head coach Brian Kelly cited the improvement of Redfield as a prime high- light so far in 2015, but particularly important is how well teammates have responded to his assertiveness and talks to them this preseason. "I think Max has realized how im- portant football is to him," Kelly said. "Academics are very important to him; it's always been important to him. I think he's seeing how impor- tant football is to him as well. He has a gift — that gift is he's a great com- municator, if given the chance." "I feel like it is natural to me," Red- field said of developing as a leader. "The fact that I feel I can articulate that is beneficial to my team and me as well. I do feel comfortable in it. I love talking to my team … I'm going to give them 100 percent every single day." It just might lead to an All-America performance and make Chinese even simpler. ✦ "IF I CAN BE SUCCESSFUL WITHIN THE DEFENSE, THEN WE'LL HAVE A GREAT SEASON." REDFIELD