Everything Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock said in summer sit-down with Blue & Gold

Last week, Blue & Gold reporters Tyler Horka and Jack Soble, as well as Irish Sports Daily reporter Matt Freeman, caught up with Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. The interview session covered potential breakout players, transitioning into Year 2 of his system, the quarterback competition and much more.

Here’s everything Denbrock said in Blue & Gold’s summer sit-down.

When you’re is preparing for Miami, is it similar to Texas A&M last year: New DC, basically a brand-new secondary?

“Yeah, I mean it’s always a little bit of a challenge, obviously, when you open the season with a coordinator change. So, what do you do? You kind of go back last year, we had to study a lot of Duke tape and then kind of compare that with their personnel that they had on the roster and try to formulate the best plan you possibly can. And then, you just gotta be ready to be light on your feet and make in-game adjustments and get moving once you see, what’s the structure gonna be? Is it the same? Is it different? Is it changed at all? Is it a similar philosophy?

“Minnesota defensive coordinator [Corey Hetherman], now at Miami, is kind of a similar thing. We’re gonna have to study a lot of Minnesota game and see how he goes about calling the game and how he used the personnel that he had at Minnesota. And then we’ll have to get a feel for the personnel from Miami tape and kind of who they’ve got coming back, and how that fits. And then you merge those kind of things together as much as you possibly can, and say, ‘Here’s what we’re planning for,’ and then be ready to adjust everything that you do if you have to and hopefully play some solid football.”

Marcus Freeman said Notre Dame’s Tyler Buchner vs. Drew Pyne competition in 2021 was slanted toward Buchner, and that was a lesson he learned. How do you not slant this battle one way or another?

“I think you’ve just gotta do a good job of having a plan, even before practices start, about how you’re gonna structure — even situational football things, so that there’s a real cross-section of everybody getting a similar amount of work in different critical situational plays as they possibly can, so that you can ultimately make what decision is best for the football team.”

You said in March that Year 1 at Notre Dame was all about establishing a foundation, and you couldn’t really dive into the details. What did you accomplish this spring that you couldn’t last spring?

“I was talking about this to [offensive line] coach [Joe] Rudolph yesterday. You go into Year 2, and it’s almost like you’re starting on second base, if that makes sense.

“It’s just remarkable, the amount of retention that our players have, based on what we went through a year ago and what we were able to kind of grow into as the season went along. We’re so much farther down the road at this point in our preparation for the season than we were at this time a year ago.

“Even when we were doing our ‘football school’ and things like that, it was more — last year at this time — of introducing how to do it the right way, what the expectations were, what the standard was, so that everybody had a clear understanding. And now, they all understand that, they retain it, so it’s just a complete build on top of that. And then they gained a lot of knowledge during the season, obviously, experience-wise and playing with each other and really understanding the entire scheme of what we’re doing offensively, so that itself helps you be that much farther ahead.

“I just feel like we’re in a position where we’ve got an opportunity to make a real positive move in the right direction.”

Are there any specific areas you think Notre Dame’s offense will improve from last year?

“I don’t see an area where we shouldn’t be better. I think we’ve got an opportunity at all positions to play at a higher level than we did, at a more consistent level than we did a year ago. We’ve got talent at every position. We’ve got capable bodies at every position. We’ve got pretty good depth at every position. So it’s an exciting time for us, I think, offensively. And as the year went along, I thought our players really developed a lot of confidence in what we’re doing and how we do it. And I think that’s just something that we’re continuing to build on.”

How different does it feel this year, with both potential starting QBs practicing in the spring?

“I think the quarterback position in particular illustrates what I just talked about as much as anything, right? Those guys have been in the system for a year. They’ve learned it. They didn’t have a lot of opportunities to play last year, but they had a lot of opportunities to study the details of what their responsibilities were and how to keep themselves out of harm’s way, and to kind of orchestrate the entire offense. I’ve seen that progression carry to what we’re doing now in our football school things. Like everybody else, I just think we’re farther ahead at that position than we were, even with a veteran starter coming in, who wasn’t able to physically participate in a lot of things that we did.”

How much does the system change, given that you lose Riley Leonard’s rushing ability?

“I mean, obviously, it’s gonna change to a certain extent. It won’t be, you know, probably as much quarterback run-driven as it was a year ago. But I think there’s always tweaks in what you do schematically, right? There’s things that just fit your personnel better. And that’s as much my job as anything else, is to make sure what we end up looking like offensively fits who are the guys that we’re asking to do those jobs. And that will require us to get out on the practice field and put them in critical situations, kind of dissect what they’re best at and then build the offense around that.”

How do you get CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey in game situations in practice so you can catch them up?

“Yeah, as much as it’s hard to do, you’ve got to try to simulate as many critical-thinking scenarios for the quarterback as you can on the practice field, by just really planning into practice, areas where you can hit those critical moments. Whether that’s third down, whether that’s red zone, whether that’s — whatever that happens to be, whatever situational football you want to kind of throw into it, and then see how they respond, right?

“And then understand, okay, is this guy who we feel like is best for our football team as the starter, is he able to handle these situations, or do we have to protect him from a scheme standpoint and a coaching standpoint? Can we let him rip it? Can we cut him loose? Do we have to be a little bit more cautious early on, as he grows into this system? All these decisions, we’re gonna have to make as we go.”

You had Kenny and CJ last year, but they weren’t on the depth chart. What have you learned about them in the past four months, and how, if at all, has your perspective on them changed?

“I don’t know that it’s changed. I think what I’ve learned about them the most is that football and being really good at it’s really important to them. They study the game. They’re up in our offices all the time, watching tape, going back and watching the plays they did get from last year. Watching their practice tape. Watching this year’s practice tape. Watching last year’s practice tape. They’re students of the game that just seem to love the process. You got somebody like that, and you got two guys like that, you’re in a pretty good position, because those guys give themselves an opportunity to continue to grow and get better.”

Freeman said about Jaden Greathouse, ‘If he’s covered one-on-one, he’s not covered.’ What allowed him to be that guy in the last two games?

“So much of it is a chemistry thing, you know what I mean? Between the quarterback and the receivers or the quarterback and the tight end or whatever it happens to be, whoever that guy who kind of emerges happens to be, right? And a lot of times it’s the quarterback gaining enough confidence that no matter whether he looks covered or not, I know if I throw it close, he’s gonna make the play. That builds over time, and unfortunately, last year, because of circumstances that were outside our control, we lost a lot of that developmental time.

“As the season went along, that confidence continued to build, and we got better and better because of it. I think now we’re in a little bit more position where I think these guys, even though they weren’t the guy throwing the ball, the quarterbacks have seen we do have guys who can make plays if you give them opportunities to do it. So let’s not be so afraid to cut it loose and let those guys be a part of what we’re trying to get done.”

How big was it for Greathouse personally, to remind himself that he’s that guy?

“Yeah, I mean, we need him to be. Obviously, we want him to continue his progression. And I think it did wonders for him understanding himself, kind of fulfilling his own prophecy in some ways, where he knew he had the talent to play football that way and then to have the work that he put in to even refine that some more, have that rewarded and on a big stage in particular. I just think it instills a lot of confidence, and he’s playing very confident football. And I think everybody’s looking to him as what we all know he can be and will be, is a guy who can make plays.”

You called a higher rate of screens last year at Notre Dame than you called at LSU and Cincinnati. Does that change this year with a more experienced offensive line, or is that just the college game?

“I think it’s a good way to keep defenses off balance, and not let them pin their ears back and just kind of get after you. We’ve got some guys who — it’s also a good way to keep your completion percentage in a good spot [laughs] and get the ball in some playmakers’ hands. And hopefully get some bodies on some perimeter players who don’t like to tackle, and give those guys who can really do something with it a chance in space. So that’s all a piece of it, but I think it’s game to game that would really kind of dictate how many screens are we running, how many do we carry into the game plan and things like that. A lot of it depends on who we’re playing against.”

What are the challenges of facing a defense that plays a lot of match-man coverage?

“Yeah, just making sure that what you have in the game plan is versatile enough to handle that type of coverage and what they’re trying to take away from you. If they’re on-body coverage defense, like a lot of match defenses are in today’s college football, you gotta have guys who can make contested catches, right? And you also have to have some guys who can separate from that match coverage and take advantage of it.

“Part of the fun of it, I think, as we went through the year last year, as we progressed offensively, the matchups that teams tried to defend us with, we were able to take advantage of. We did that with the tight ends at times, we did that with the wide receivers at times, we did that with the running backs at times. So, I think overall, it starts with talented players. But beyond that, having enough versatility in what you’re doing that if they decide to use the Mike linebacker to cover Jeremiyah Love, we’ve gotta make sure that in the game plan, there’s a way to take advantage of things like that.”

Speaking of Jeremiyah, what, if anything, are his next steps?

“I think for him, just understanding that he’s got the ability and will show the ability to everybody that he can be an every-down back. He’s somebody that has the versatility necessary to not only be electric out of the backfield, but be electric as somebody who can run and catch the football. If that means on third down, if [Jadarian Price] is in the game at tailback, he’s in the game as one of the wide receivers, then that’s what it means. But also using him out of the backfield more on some option routes and in different things where he’s got an opportunity to break people down in space, catch the football and do something special with it.”

Everyone was convinced Love would break out last year. Obviously, that was correct. Who do you look at in that same light for 2025?

“Oh, boy. I hate to start with tight ends, because I coach tight ends, but I think Eli Raridon‘s gonna have a huge season. He’s really come into his own, fully healthy. Really playing good football.

“I like a lot of the young wide receivers. I think their development from where they were a year ago to where they are now, there’s an opportunity for two or three of those guys to really break out. A healthy Jordan Faison is a problem for a lot of teams. He had an ankle part-way through the year that hindered him a little bit, but when he was healthy, boy, was he explosive. I look for him to have a really big year.

“I think Will Pauling is a great addition to the wide receiver room. Malachi Fields, obviously, is a nice addition to the wide receiver room. God, who else? Listen, there’s a good number there. There’s a lot of guys I could list that I really like the trajectory of where this whole group is going.”

Aside from Raridon, who steps up for Notre Dame at tight end?

“I’m really happy with Jack Larsen, his ability to continue to get better. I think he’s in a position to really contribute this season. [Cooper Flanagan] is a wild card. We don’t know exactly when he’s gonna be available to us. Kevin Bauman is a guy that, now that he’s kind of fought his way through, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna get hurt again,’ it takes some time with that, right? He had some devastating things happen to him a couple years in a row, or more than a couple years in a row. Now that he’s been through a full spring healthy, he looks 1,000 percent better than he did a year ago.

“And I think you’re gonna see some good things from Tyrus Washington, who is the transfer from Arkansas. I’ve got a long relationship with Tyrus, since my days at Cincinnati, trying to talk him into coming to Cincinnati. Like I told him in football school on Monday, ‘It took me about seven years to get your ass on a practice field. I’m gonna go at you pretty good this year and see what you got.’ I like the depth that he’s gonna be able to provide to that group. And I wouldn’t discount young James Flanigan, who’s coming in here. He’s got size, he’s got power and he’s a mature kid for his age. So I think we’ve got plenty of depth there, and I like where that group’s going.”

What can a healthy Ashton Craig give the Notre Dame offensive line?

“I think you saw a lot of it last year. He’s just a force in the middle of what we do. He’s a good communicator, very smart, understands how to really adjust the things that we need to get done up front. I just think the stability of — good Lord willing — having that guy being the mainstay of what we’re doing, the stability that brings is irreplaceable.”

Freeman said you compared Charles Jagusah to Will Campbell. What are some of the similarities you see there?

“I think they’re both, really, No. 1, gifted with a lot of God-given ability. I think No. 2, both of them are kind of like, ‘You can’t fool me more than once’ type of guys. So they may make a mistake on a play, but you’re not gonna get ’em twice. And they never make the same mistake twice, and they have the ability to make sure that they correct whatever needs correcting, and it happens between reps. Those are unique qualities to have, and not to mention, he’s a big, powerful dude. Could probably play a number of different positions along the front, and in an effort to make sure we got the best five guys out there, he’s anchoring himself down inside a little bit.”