Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/638727
UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "It's mid-January, the Dow Jones ain't good but ours is up, baby." Men's basketball coach Mike Brey following Notre Dame's first-ever win at Duke, 95-91, Jan. 16 "I really feel like I'm at the level. I know the NFL gets that notoriety because it's professional sports. But it doesn't mean necessarily it has it right in all facets. I think college football is right for me because, for me, it's coach‑centric. I control the scholarships. I control the roster. Not that I'm a control freak. But this is my 25th year as a head coach. I know — I started when I was 15. "Doing it for so long, I like to be able to know what's going on in the front office. Those are my biggest con‑ cerns sometimes. There's so much turnover in the NFL. There's the lack of continuity. In every great business there has to be some change, but continuity is important. And I've always liked the continuity. "At Notre Dame, we've got great structure, great continuity, great athletic director, great president. So that's why there's no need to go chase anything else. I'm in a great situation at Notre Dame." — Head coach Brian Kelly during an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter when asked about his interest in pursuing an NFL job "[The loss to Ohio State felt] completely different [then the loss to Alabama in January 2013]. We talked about that, that there was a physical difference that we had to deal with. I'm so comfortable that we have it. Brian [Kelly] said it well. At no point did I think, 'Gosh, we physically can't play with them.' We could. We need to execute better and play a little better. "I didn't have any sense of that. We've still got to build depth. It was tested to the max this year, so it's hard to evaluate depth when you have to use so much of it. That's the next step, to continue to build depth." — Director of athletics Jack Swarbrick on his belief that Notre Dame has reached the level as a program that it can compete with any other team in the country "It has been frustrating. It's had its times. I'm not used to sitting down and being on the sideline, but that's just what comes with playing at a big school like Notre Dame, a great school. It's all about patience. "It takes a lot of hard work and determination. You can't give up when things don't go your way. The chips are down and it's how you respond to everything. That's still what I'm learning — how to respond and be a great player for this team." — Irish sophomore cornerback Nick Watkins on how he grew from waiting for his opportunity to play in 2015; he started the Fiesta Bowl after senior KeiVarae Russell and junior Devin Butler suffered injuries TWEET OF THE MONTH @_CremedalaCreme: "Never give up, your dreams may be much closer than you think." Former Irish linebacker Ishaq Williams, who sat out the 2014 and 2015 seasons after Notre Dame's investigation into academic fraud; he is currently pursuing his dream of reaching the NFL PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND