Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on North Carolina offense, Marist Liufau, defensive line
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden and North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo were cut from the same New Jersey football cloth. Both were born in Monmouth County and were local high school stars at schools in coastal towns, separated by just a year.
“I remember him from back in the day,” Golden said.
Their playing and coaching careers diverged when they left New Jersey. Golden was a star tight end at Penn State, became a Power Five defensive coordinator at age 31 and an FBS head coach at 36. He’s back in college after six years as an NFL assistant. Longo, meanwhile, played at a Division III school. He worked his way up the coaching ladder from high schools to Division II to the FCS to North Carolina, where he landed in 2019.
The two Jersey natives will coach against each other for the first time when Notre Dame plays at North Carolina Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Golden knows he’s in for a challenge. He discussed defending Longo’s Tar Heels offense and more during his weekly Tuesday night media session. Here are some of the highlights.
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On Phil Longo’s playbook
“He has a bunch of different things in there that really go together well, whether it’s the quarterback boot/flash game, counter series, the screen game, quarterback draw – a lot of little things that really challenge you that we would call high degree of difficulty plays you have to be ready for.”
On North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye
“He’s really talented. He’s a perfect fit for the system they’re employing. He has done a great job. You can’t ask him to do much more. They’ve scored a lot of points. He’s doing a great job distributing the ball. He can beat you with his arm or his legs.
“He’s doing a good job in terms of playing with a lot of poise, not forcing the ball, putting the ball where it needs to be and making plays with his feet. He can scramble to run or scramble to get the ball down the field. You have to be really careful.”
On North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs
“He’s a talent. Run after catch, really changes his tempos downfield really well. Sometimes it’s hard to get a beat on the route he’s running. He’s a very crafty receiver, explosive with the ball.”
On Notre Dame’s defensive line play against California
“They got home more because they maintained their rush lanes better. We didn’t have guys behind the quarterback. I thought out defensive tackles – Howard [Cross III], Jayson [Ademilola], Jacob [Lacey], all those guys – did a good job of countering. They kept the quarterback in front.
“The marriage of up front and coverage, we were able to get home and get some of those sacks. That would be the biggest thing. We let him out too many times. That hurt us. There were a lot of rushing yards for nothing.”
On Notre Dame linebacker Marist Liufau
“The next level for him is if he just does his job and the details on every play. He’s talented enough that the explosive plays will come. All of those things, whether it’s an interception or a sack-fumble, those things will come if he stays with his job and does the little details right.”
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On linebacker JD Bertrand’s preparation knowing he will sit out the first half due to a targeting penalty
“Just take some of the reps off him so other guys can get ready. He’s a smart guy who did a foolish thing. That’s it. Guys like that who play hard, make good decisions all the time and try to do the right thing, when something like that happens, you know they feel worse than anything. It doesn’t do you any good to beat them up. He has to get himself ready to go, and this week he will come out of the bullpen.”
On the possibility of adding linebackers Prince Kollie and Junior Tuihalamaka to the rotation
“PK is right there. Junior took a couple reps last week. Prince had the [concussion in August], and that kind of put him back from what was a great summer camp and spring. I feel like he’s really, really close. I’m excited for him. I know he’s anxious to get out there. Hopefully this is the week he can get in the rotation.”
On safety Ramon Henderson
“He’s smart, he has length, he’s sudden. He can cover the tight end. As we’ve seen the last couple weeks, he’s a more than adequate blitzer who can close. You can grab some safeties, corners or nickels, put them in that position and blitz them, but they won’t feel comfortable enough to weave through there. The bullets are flying, and he’s finding a way to get home even if it’s not perfect. That’s a credit to him.”
