Here are some important notes from Brian Kelly’s press conference from earlier today as the Irish head coach spoke about Notre Dame ‘s preparation going into Michigan Saturday night.
- RB Jafar Armstrong will be featured in the offense and the game plan with a “prominent role.”
- CB Shaun Crawford is recovering so well from the broken elbow that he’s involved in everything from “7-on-7’s to contact drills.” He should play depending on his comfort level.
- The team had 4 days off after weight training last Thursday. It appears the majority of the roster is as healthy as you would like it to be midseason going into a big game vs Michigan.
- Coaches were all on the road recruiting last weekend while the players were off.
- The offense formationally is looking to give different looks and moving wide receiver Chase Claypool around after doing some self-scouting over the break with help from Pro Football Focus with analytics.
- Working on non-verbal cadence for QB Ian Book as he enters what should be a loud atmosphere in Michigan Stadium and how it compares to Georgia. Execution will need to be at a high level with no distractions.
- CB Donte Vaughn will play Saturday night and this will be his 4th game played on the season. If he wants to be granted a 5th year in 2020 he will have to NOT play another game this season after Michigan.
- The offense will be looking to move the ball at times with the running game with senior Tony Jones Jr. leading the way. They need to be patient with the running game and let it develop.
Catholics vs Khakis in exactly 9 days…any predictions? pic.twitter.com/V9QAG6qek3
— SportsCrack Apparel (@sportscrack) October 17, 2019
Michigan’s stadium is shallow and extended outwards, exactly like our stadium used to be. It does not hold sound well…and even with 110,000 screaming fans it will not get as loud as Georgia, Hard Rock, etc. Nonetheless, I am glad something is being done about snap problems between our QB and our linemen. It will be plenty loud enough, and we can’t spot them a boatload of false starts and expect to win.
Piped in music and crowd noise at practice will fail, as it always does. But if you add military grade earplugs to the loud music the team will have to work with non-verbal communication. They will have no choice.
BGC ’77 ’82