Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on Navy triple option prep, Justin Ademilola
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden took a six-year break from facing triple-option offenses when he went to the NFL. His first year coaching in college since 2015 put the option on his plate, though. He will see it Saturday when Notre Dame plays Navy (noon ET, ABC).
It has been a while, but the option is hardly new to him. In fact, it was a yearly staple on the schedule when he was the head coach at Temple (2006-10) and Miami (2011-15).
“Luckily, we have a lot of experience. I think we went 10 years in a row playing Army, Navy or Georgia Tech.”
Golden met with reporters Tuesday night for his weekly press conference. Here are some topics he discussed.
PROMOTION: Join for only $10 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season
On having a veteran defense that has seen the option before
“Experience is important here. Anything where they have a built-up blueprint of what they need to do against certain blocks, certain schemes is paramount going against these guys. The biggest thing for guys is assignment football when you play a team like this, just to be disciplined. The more guys you have who are experienced, play with poise and can communicate, the better off you’ll be.”
On option scout-team QBs Chase Ketterer and Justin Fisher
“We’ll work as many guys who can do it. We don’t want to wear anyone out, but there are lot of looks we have to give. We’re working a couple guys there. [We use] those two for sure, and we’ll go from there. Hopefully that’s all we need, but it’s a lot and a big load on those guys. We appreciate the effort they’re giving.”
On the rule change allowing cutblocking only at the line of scrimmage
“I don’t think its changes defending them. It’s still about the math associated with the option. It has more to do with what kind of block destruction and what kind of blocks you’re going to see. It’s different for them in different instances, but they still have tough guys and guys willing to block their tails off on the perimeter. They have guys who run the ball hard. It’s maybe a little bit different style than it was 10 years ago.”
RELATED: More Notre Dame football
• How Marcus Freeman hopes to keep Notre Dame players fresh in stretch run
• Sinking Ship: Notre Dame meets Navy amid another Midshipmen season gone wrong
On DE Justin Ademilola’s impact on the run defense when starting the last two weeks
“If you look at [Jordan] Botelho when he was in, he played well against the run. I think there are more guys contributing against the run. I thought Marist [Liufau] saw it better the other night. You can argue Jayson [Ademilola] played his bets inside. Justin has been a welcome addition on the other side. JD [Bertrand] has been playing well. Rylie [Mills] has done a great job.
“There are lot of guys contributing to it, including the safeties in terms of run fit. It takes a lot to get into that.”
On linebacker Jack Kiser’s 7 snaps vs. Clemson
“We definitely have to play Jack more. I love Jack as a player. We have to get him on the field more.”
Navy prep before the week
“You pick a couple days – or a day here or a day there – whenever it fits into your installation. Then we hit it again on the bye week. [I have] a 10-year background with it, so there are a lot of things from when we matched up against Georgia Tech or Navy in the past that we’re trying to utilize or trying to coach.”
On if Justin Ademilola will continue to start
“I like where it is and I like that Botelho has kind of distinguished himself as the third, the next guy in at either [defensive end] spot. That has really helped us. Justin’s contribution to the game the other night was significant, really significant. I think about where we have been the last couple weeks with him, how hard he’s working and how he’s trying to prepare and execute, and it’s showing up on gameday.”
On Rylie Mills splitting time at DE and DT
“Rylie is excellent. He’s really good with his hands, he’s smart. He’s really tough. His greatest asset is his versatility and his intelligence. His ability to play multiple spots for us has really bailed us out. Because of injuries – Howard [Cross III] was down, we lost a player [Jacob Lacey] – all of a sudden, Rylie is playing in and out, and he’s doing a great job.”
