Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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42 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY BRYAN DRISKELL W hen interviewed for last season's football preview, then first-year offensive coordinator Chip Long emphasized the importance of running the football and playing physical. Long's offense went on to back it up. Notre Dame averaged 269.5 yards per game on the ground to rank seventh nationally and set a school record with 6.25 yards per carry. Heading into year two, Long is looking to build a more balanced offense and take it to a higher level. That is quite the high bar for a unit that finished the 2017 season ranked 13th in offensive efficiency according to the Fremeau Efficiency Index. Long sat down with Blue & Gold Illus- trated in mid-June to assess his offense heading into the 2018 campaign. Blue & Gold Illustrated: The players are heading into year two in your offense. What is the value of a year of experience in the system? Long: "It's huge. The biggest thing I wanted to get across to our guys is last year's over with. It doesn't have anything to do with what this team is going to be. Last year we did a lot of great things, but that's over with. "It's up to the players to define the identity of this offense, inside the parameters that we're going to be physical, we're going to run the ball and we're going to be explosive. It's up to them to decide how they want to take it. "When you're playing confident you're going to make plays, you're going to make plays for your quarterback and you're go- ing to be able to play faster. When you're playing faster, you're going to play more physical. "There's also the daily standard of how I expect practice to be. I don't have to re- teach that." BGI: How impactful will year two be for quarterback Brandon Wimbush? Long: "It all surrounds him and what he does well. You got to see a lot of it in the spring. He's just that much more comfort- able with the offense. "He and I can talk offensive football sche- matically without me having to be on the board. He can compute in his mind and see it the way I'm seeing it. He really started ex- ecuting the offense the way I see it out there, and that's been a lot of fun. "Some get it quicker than others — that comfort, being able to anticipate calls, what we want off certain looks, seeing defenses OFFENSE Q&A Long, whose first Irish offense ranked seventh in the country with an average of 269.5 rushing yards per game, is looking for more toughness from all of his position groups this season. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN EXPANDING THE BASE Notre Dame will look for more balance in Chip Long's second season