Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The starting cornerback duo of junior Cole Luke and senior KeiVarae Rus‑ sell has struggled with eye discipline at times, leading to explosive plays and big gains for the opposing offense. When Notre Dame's regular season started to wind down, Kelly said he thought Luke had made great strides in that department. "It was his best game with eye disci‑ pline," said Kelly, referring to the 28‑7 win over Wake Forest Nov. 14. "Obvi‑ ously he's got to pull that ball away on the big play up the sideline. But he's getting so much better with his disci‑ pline, and that's what he has to continue to work on every single day. It doesn't come easy. "It's his best game in terms of eye dis‑ cipline. If he continues down that road, he's going to continue to improve and get better at that position." Luke often falls in the shadows of Russell due to the latter 's boisterous personality, but it's not due to playing ability. Whereas Russell will be the first to tell anyone within earshot about his play, Luke quietly — and steadily — goes about his business. "People think me and Kei are polar opposites, which is probably the case," Luke quipped. "But I'm curious to see STEADY PRESENCE Now in his second season as a starter, cornerback Cole Luke is a veteran on the Irish defense BY ANDREW OWENS O ne of the buzzwords for the Notre Dame defense this season has been "eye discipline." Referring to the need for players to read their keys and maintain vision on their respective responsibilities, head coach Brian Kelly and his coaching staff routinely remind the unit to be proficient in that area.