Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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zone … you have to be a technician at corner. "I'm kind of sloppy right now … I'm not as consistent as I know I could be … even the greatest sometimes get lazy. It's tough to have to be a technician every single play, but that's what I'm working to- ward. … We can play with anybody athleti- cally, but that goes only so far." jury this August to pro- jected starter and junior Lo Wood made the cor- nerback position even more shaky. Yet a week prior to the opener, head coach Brian Kelly con- fidently declared that Russell would be the starter opposite junior Bennett Jackson. "There's always a cou- A season-ending in- 'HE JUST HAS IT' ple of kids that just have it," Kelly said of Rus- sell at the time. "He's a great kid. He's so confi- dent in his ability. He's extremely athletic. He's picked it up so quickly." According to Diaco, ments of the position, but the intangible ele- ments complement his athletic skills. "We knew we could call a few things to get KeiVarae through the game based on his tan- gible traits," Diaco said. "We're delighted to watch him move and change direction. He really looks like a top- flight corner." Russell said some- times he is tentative because he has such an internal fear of getting beat deep, like he did on a 25-yard scoring play in the opener against Navy. "I was kind of down an outsider for a min- ute," a laughing Rus- sell said of his intercep- tion that he returned 31 yards. "I was like, 'Man, everybody's getting picks but me. What's go- ing on?' " An infectious atti- tude has overtaken the defense, with senior All-America linebacker Manti Te'o the ring- leader. "We really want it," on myself, but the coaches said playing corner that's going to happen," Russell said. "Just keep smiling and work. Let's get better, erase the play and let's go to the next one." Kelly, Diaco and the Russell is a neophyte when it comes to eye progression, some fun- damental footwork and other rudimentary ele- staff have set up the de- fensive alignments that allow little room for the corners to get exposed too much. Against Mich- igan, Russell recorded his first career intercep- tion on the last play of the first half — the fifth straight Wolverine pass that was picked off. "I thought I was being Russell said. "Our whole 'D boys' just are hungry. Every single play we just want to get better. … Every single game we do something that we haven't done the previ- ous game." He still turns to Wood and fifth-year safety Jamoris Slaughter, who also is out for the year with an Achilles tendon injury, as his mentors. And to no one's sur- prise, Te'o clicked in- stantly with Russell. "He told me, 'You won't realize why you chose this school until a few years later,' " Rus- sell recalled. " 'You'll feel it.' "I said, "What do you mean?' He said, 'I can't tell you. You'll feel it.' " It would appear Rus- sell already has. ✦