Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly did his weekly Monday visit with the media and here are a few takeaways from what the Irish leader said.
-Kelly thinks Rees’ did a good job in play calling. Mentioned that the blocking scheme has changed to an outside zone scheme, and “coach Rees did a good job being patient and sticking with the running game.” Later, Kelly would note that the run blocking “looked better in the second half. Got to have live reps.” The offense was much more effective in the second half, after a very slow start to begin the game
-Michael Mayer’s debut was impressive. Kelly was excited for the freshman’s development and this game was a confidence builder for the Kentucky native. Expect to continue to see Mayer as part of the tight end rotation.
-A young wide receiver needs to step up. Kelly was very happy with getting a lot of players game experience, “it allows them to develop as the season goes on.” Two players were called out at the position, Xavier Watts and Jordan Johnson. Both true freshman came into the program with plenty of hype, Johnson being the more sought after prospect. The opportunity is there for one of them to emerge, we’re all just waiting to see it happen.
"We've got to do a better job with our attention to detail" – Brian Kelly
— Fighting Irish Wire (@IrishWireND) September 14, 2020
-Details, details, details. They say that the best football teams do the little things right and that’s exactly what Kelly is suggesting. Focus on the small aspects and then big things will happen. This seemingly was more towards the offense than the defense, but both sides can work on it.
-When asked about this weeks opponent South Florida, Kelly likened their offense to Virginia’s Tech’s. The Bulls “structure is hard to pick up,” with them running an option offense. He was also very complimentary of their offensive line, saying it might be the biggest one they face all season.
–Here is the latest injury update, with news on safety Kyle Hamilton and two wide receivers.