Everything Notre Dame DC Al Golden said prior to Week 0 vs. Navy
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden briefly addressed reporters Tuesday evening. He discussed Navy’s offensive system, Notre Dame’s defensive depth and the Midshipmen’s quarterback situation.
Here’s everything Golden said before Notre Dame takes on Navy.
On the overall depth of the Notre Dame defense
“I think the guys have done a great job. It starts in the spring with the installation, and then during the summer, they have to do a lot on their own. And the younger guys in that group that you mentioned really did a great job of learning. A lot of young guys have the ability, certainly the talent level. It’s just getting to the point that they can function without thinking. I think a lot of those guys that are in the mix, that you talked about, have done a great job. And then you have a lot of veterans that have been in it.”
On not knowing what to expect from Navy due to its new offensive coordinator
“Yeah, you basically got three influences on offense, so it’s definitely made us simplify. We’re gonna have to keep it simple and be able to adapt on game day. But that’s game one. It’s just magnified a little bit more this year, because it’s already a different offense than you’re used to seeing. Now you compound that with not knowing the percentage of each system or each concept, how much it contributes to the whole. We’ll see how it unfolds on gameday.”
On the effect of Navy likely playing two quarterbacks
“Obviously, they can both run the system, which is great. But then they have their own personal characteristics, which we have to be in tune to and see if we can get a beat on which way they go on game day.”
On the Notre Dame defensive line’s progress
“It’s one of those questions that I wish you had asked me two weeks ago, but I wasn’t available to you, because we’ve moved on. I think they did have a good camp. I think [defensive line] coach [Al Washington] does a great job with them. I think they love playing with each other. I think they love playing as a unit, as a group, and they kind of feed off that. So yeah, I think there is a together factor there that we’re gonna need every ounce of that as it relates to this game, coming up. Because this is the ultimate, ‘You’re gonna get challenged, then the next series it’s gonna be something else and the series after that it’s gonna be something else.’ And we’re gonna have to learn to improvise and adjust.”
On a potential rotation at safety
“I think there’s a lot of guys that are gonna contribute there and have to contribute. It’s a long year. Safeties are valuable. They can play different spots on third downs; certainly in this system, they can play different spots. So we’re gonna need a whole bunch of safeties to contribute for us Saturday.”
On if the triple option affects which Notre Dame players see the field Saturday
“I think that’s fair. Experience is king here, right? So if you’re experienced in the system, if there’s a tiebreaker, it’s gonna be that, between two guys. So, experience is important. But I think at the same time, from our standpoint, just playing together. Just being a problem-solver on gameday, being mature. Coach [Marcus Freeman] preaches ‘One play, one life,’ just not worrying about what happened last play and solve the next problem, because they just keep coming at you with a different scheme or a different nuance, and you just gotta keep evolving.”
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