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✦ QUOTING KELLY "But as I said, 24-hour rule, we enjoyed the win and that is now behind us. Our focus is on BYU. Our focus is on getting better as a football team. There are many things that we have to clean up fundamentally from this past weekend if we want to continue to grow as a football team." thing for our football team is to continue to do what they have done. They don't need to change anything." On keeping a routine: "I think the most important on the sidelines at all last year? This is a process. This just didn't happen overnight. I mean, this is demanding, that mental and physical toughness. The pride and tradi- tion of Notre Dame football will not be left to the weak, the timid or the non-committed. I mean, that's in our locker room. That was put up the first day I got here. "So this is a process of developing that physical and On his team's mental toughness: "Did you see me mental toughness, and along the way, having some scars where maybe it wasn't as evident. So this has just been a process of getting to this point and now they see that. Now it's not just words in the locker room. It's not just a creed with a bunch of words. They are actu- ally filled in now because it's starting, you can see it's starting to play in how they go to compete each week." Niklas gained against some tough assignments last week: "Yeah, there's no question. He was challenged and wasn't taken out of the game at any point. He was right in the thick of it. We put him in a role that some could argue was a difficult one for him to succeed in. "What I loved about him, as I said earlier in my remarks about our team, is that that only will help him as a football player because he went against such a very good football player. But he was there when we won late and contributed greatly to the success in On the experience sophomore tight end Troy the last drive where we were able to run the football effectively. "So all those things are confidence builders. Because he knows, hey, sometimes I get my butt kicked here. But late when he needed it, he made some really big blocks for us, and that just helps your confidence immensely." ment: "We asked him to step his play up. We thought [freshman] KeiVarae Russell was catching him and not that he had not been playing better, but we issued a challenge last week, and Bennett did a great job of stepping up his play and putting himself in a very, very good position to help us. "So we are really pleased with those guys and the On junior cornerback Bennett Jackson's improve- progress they are making each and every week. Same thing with Matthias [Farley]; we thought Matthias came back with a very solid effort. The one thing that you need from him is solid tackling. He put himself in a po- sition to make tackles. And of course, the interception, he was in a pretty good position in coverage. So we are getting those guys to improve each and every week." are all very good backs. I think if there's any com- ment that needs to be made on the three running backs is we still have to continue to get more touches for [sophomore] George Atkinson III. It's less about Cierre [Wood] and Theo [Riddick], because they know their role, they have accepted their role. George has, as well. "We just think that from a coaching standpoint, if On his running back rotation: "So we think they there is anything amongst the three backs, we have to get George some more touches." Head coach Brian Kelly said the Irish need to get more touches for sophomore running back George Atkinson III, who has 32 carries for 290 yards (9.1 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns through six games. PHOTO BY MIKE BENNETT/LIGHTHOUSE IMAGING ✦ PAGE 10 fensive line, big-bodied receivers that can put you in a tough position. It's a good football team. It's a solid football team. They have made some mistakes along the way, have had some close losses. They [were tied] 21-21 in the fourth quarter against Oregon State, who is a top-10 team. "So you know, say whatever you want. Our kids turn On how BYU matches up: "Good, physical of- on the film and look at BYU and go, that's a good foot- ball team. We are not turning on the film and looking at a team where the kids go, oh, these guys can't play. They are physical, play hard and play for four quarters." ✦