Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/608448
"They feel that. It hits them, but they get right back up, and they're ready to go." To Kelly, "culture" also is defined by resilience and perseverance, whether it's fourth‑quarter rallies on the road at Virginia and Temple, and at home ver‑ sus USC, with what had been a pro‑ jected third‑team quarterback; prepar‑ ing for the problematic triple‑option schemes of Georgia Tech and Navy; and even mucking through an ugly 19‑16 win versus 3‑8 Boston College. "Five turnovers and three in the red zone, but I never saw one guy point a finger," Kelly reflected the day after the win versus the Eagles. "I never saw any bickering. Nobody was point‑ ing fingers. All they were doing was moving to the next play. They were pulling for each other. It's just a plea‑ sure to be able to coach this group of guys that just persevere." Kelly emphasized that there was no way such a performance was going to win at 9‑2 Stanford in the finale. "As a coach the satisfying moments are when your team is united, when your team plays together, when there's no pointing fingers and they just keep playing together," he said. "That's probably for me the most satisfying thing as a coach when you see that happen, and those dynamics come to‑ gether on the sideline." It wasn't going to by any means as‑ sure victory at Stanford, which has developed a powerful culture of its own, but for the longer haul Kelly said a program is in place. "That culture exists; it's strong," Kelly said. "These guys love to battle. They're going to fight for four quarters and lay it on the field." ✦ During spring practice, sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer and senior running back C.J. Prosise were the third options at their respective positions. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA