Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on freshmen LBs, Navy game, Boston College WR Zay Flowers
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden will coach against a former college teammate Saturday. Boston College offensive coordinator John McNulty and Golden were at Penn State together from 1988-90, McNulty a walk-on safety and Golden a tight end. Both went into coaching within two years of their college careers ending and are in their first seasons at their respective schools.
“We stayed in touch for a long time now,” Golden said. “I’m excited for the opportunity he has.”
They will face off Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium when the 7-3 Irish play the 3-7 Eagles (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC). Golden met with reporters Tuesday for his usual game week press conference. Here are some topics he discussed.
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On Notre Dame freshman linebacker Jaylen Sneed’s debut vs. Navy
“He is what we thought he would be. He’s getting there in terms of understanding and learning the defense and playing faster. In terms of his raw ability, you can see it on the film when you watch. His ability to beat blocks, be disruptive, stay on his feet, all those things. His length shows up when he’s trying to disengage. The biggest positive step was his approach to practice every day. It gave us confidence. He has to continue to do that, because we can play him as much as he wants to play right now.”
On freshman linebacker Junior Tuihalamaka’s first start
“I’m excited about Junior. He’s a versatile guy. He can play on or off [the ball.] That will probably be his M.O. for a long time. He’s a big guy. He’s smart. It’s hard to make your debut against that outfit, but I’m proud of him the way he battled. There are some things we have to clean up, but certainly glad to see him out there.”
On Boston College quarterback Emmett Morehead
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. He has a big arm. He can escape and reset his feet and get the ball down the field. Good vision. He’ll stay with the read. He’s not going to panic on it. He’s doing a really good job with them.”
On Boston College receiver Zay Flowers
“He’s an awesome player. I think he’s excellent. He’s in that league with [North Carolina’s Josh Downs] and [Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba]. He’s in that group. I have a ton of respect for him. The kid makes plays all over the field, down the field, he can make plays with the ball in his hands. The targets for him are up recently. He’s a challenge vertically, a challenge underneath. He has the hands to make you pay. We have to make sure we know where he is and what he’s doing.”
On the parts of the defensive performance vs. Navy that translate
“Everything we’ll take away is probably fundamentals – tackling in the alley, ball disruption. Everything else goes in the vault and we’ll pull out February when we get ready for Navy in Dublin. Other than that, we transition really quickly as a staff. We moved forward almost immediately Sunday morning. You have to. It doesn’t really apply going forward.”
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On safety Xavier Watts’ first career start
“He tracked really well in the alley. His technique and tackling was very, very good. His block destruction was good. Those are all elements that once you own those fundamentals, you should be able to carry them forward. None of those guys just get to that point where they’re the player of the game. He worked really, really hard over a long period of time and made gains. We were fortunate he ended up having that kind of game.”
On linebacker Jack Kiser
“Jack played really well. He was right there in terms of player of the game. He ended up getting special teams player of the game. He was locked in all week. He played really well for us. He had 8 tackles and was playing a little different position for us. He was playing outside [at rover] in the game. I thought he did a good job.”
On Marcus Freeman’s message through Notre Dame’s ups and downs
“He has been unbelievable. Just really consistent the whole season. The same guy every day, approach with the players has been awesome. Players respect that. They respect his consistency, his appreciation, his gratitude toward them and the fact he’s in the foxhole with them.
“That’s going to be the big thing down the stretch. One practice. Don’t worry about anything other than this one practice. Learn from it on the film, get better tomorrow and have another good practice.”
