Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2017 7 UNDER THE DOME I've always had that mindset from my mom and my pops. They instilled that in me. "Every time I step on anything I do, I want to win, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how much of an underdog I am. I had always run track, so I knew I could continue it." Whether that will remain the case this winter is uncertain, but he be- lieves he possesses the focus and de- termination to excel at both. "I don't really see a trade-off," he said. "I just like to do both." Especially important to the Irish coaches and Pride, who also ran a personal-best 10.47 in the 100 meters at the ACC Championships, is that he has proven he's not merely a track man attempting to thrive in football. "It just clicks sometimes," Pride said. "I've just focused on getting back to playing football, getting into my technique more, being a student of the game overall." The development of Pride enabled the Irish to shift Love to safety in the Navy game — not a permanent move but one specific to handling the triple option. Love, who already has set a school single-season record in passes broken up and tied another with two interception returns for scores, fin- ished with 14 tackles, 10 of them solo, and was heralded for an outstanding performance. That brought about the inevitable inquiry: Could Notre Dame, in its on- going effort to get its four or five best defensive backs on the field, move Love to safety in 2018? "He's capable of playing safety, but he's our best corner," Kelly answered the day after the Navy game. "If we could clone him, I'd like to do that. I think we're going to roll with the group we've got with only one game left. "Could he be our best safety? Yes. He's definitely our best corner. The problem is we can play him at only one of those two positions. "You've got Troy, you've got Craw- ford, you've got Watkins — why don't you move Love back there? With one game to go, I think we're going to hold serve to where we are right now." For at least another year, the corner market at Notre Dame would appear to be well stocked. ✦ Through 11 games, sophomore Julian Love led the team in interceptions (three) and passes bro- ken up (a single-season school-record 14), and ranked fifth on the team in tackles (55). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA GIFT GIVING These one of the kind, handcrafted pieces are made from wine barrels SHOP THE COLLECTION bit.ly/NDtimeless CHRISTMAS coasters bottle openers bottle stoppers