A number of Notre Dame players spoke to the media on Monday as part of media day at the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams made it abundantly clear that the Irish feel they have to run the ball against Alabama to have a chance and that they are very well aware of how much everyone else is doubting them right now.
And being the underdogs, it’s motivating. Not everybody in the world believes in us. And it’s okay because we don’t want anybody to believe in us besides us.
As long as we’ve got us as a team and the coaching staff, as, like, everybody else in the building believes in us we know what we can do. We’ll go out there on Friday and do what we do best and play to the Notre Dame football standards. Being the underdog is nothing new to us. We’re just going to keep proving to the world who we are.
Notre Dame RB, Kyren Williams – December 28, 2020
The full video is included here, but I’ve also included some highlights as well.
- Williams stressed that Notre Dame needs to stay ahead of the chains and not have the kind of negative plays they had against Clemson to have a chance against Bama.
- Williams said he felt that the pandemic actually helped Notre Dame come together as a team this off-season.
- Williams mentioned that he knew the running back position was a big question mark for this team over the summer and that many were skeptical of it.
- The most interesting aspect of Williams’s interview was when he was asked about Jordan Johnson who, like Williams, didn’t play much this year as a true freshman. It sounds like Williams is mentoring Johnson a bit this year and helping the talented freshman receiver keep his head in the right place despite not playing much at all this year.
- Williams mentioned that RB coach Lance Taylor has been pushing him to elevate his game even more. He said after the season opener against Duke, Taylor sat down with him and told him he could have played even better.
1. Too bad Kyren. Millions of Notre Dame fans ALREADY believe in you! To read David and Pete, and some others on this site, you would never suspect that. I suppose playing before empty stands might also give you that idea, but trust me, they (the millions of fans) are there for you, just on the other side of those TV lenses. And to those younger ND fans, I’ll say this: Don’t worry kids, This IS your grandfather’s Notre Dame Team. Here Come the IRISH!
2. Any player, coach, or even team manager, on ANY team that competed this year, will be able to write a book about all this. (meaning the Pandemic, BLM, the election, the recession/depression, etc.). You only need to be a good writer and an excellent story teller! Movie rights to follow. Merry Christmas children!
3. Now that you’all sports writers have sufficiently humiliated what little credibility you (still) have, it’s time for you to cement your place with the greatest of all time incompetents by leaving IAN off all the All American Teams, just as you did with JOE MONTANA…so neither can be admitted to the College Football hall of fame. Then the geniuses who draft QB’s into the League can DOUBLE DOWN your moronicy by drafting IAN in Round 3 or 4 or 5 or 6, ala MONTANA and BRADY. Go get em’ boys.
BGC ’77 ’82
Took the words right out my mouth Bruce.
The NCAA, ESPN and NBC all appreciate your 1950s naivete.
The plucky, dissed underdog. Wonderful, heart-warming sentiment.
But until ND football gets beyond the emotional, and rises to the professional, it will remain roadkill on the big stage.
What do I mean, “professional”?
To be clear, when it comes to monetizing value and getting paid, there is no program in America more professional than ND. A true money machine.
And I’m also NOT referring to the illicit, money-passing activities that some repeat-offender programs are charged with every few years.
I’m referring simply to the standard of reliable, accountable excellence displayed by those who win at the highest levels of sports.
Rewatch the 2018 NC game….2018 Alabama vs. Georgia. The level that game was played at is off the charts. Every person involved played or coached like absolutely elite, experienced professionals.
These kind of programs will keep knocking on the door, and maybe get to win one.
As things are, ND and its fans would be better served (in every other way but financially) by playing in other bowl games, in which they can be competitive.
Until ND football actually wins something after over thirty years of mediocrity and close but no cigar, “David,” “david,” “dav” will have the last word and the last laugh.
I’m a die-hard ND fan. I don’t think ND has a chance in heck to beat Bama. I’m not even confident the game will be close. But perhaps unlike “David,” “david,” “dav,” I pray to be proven wrong time after time. I was happy to eat crow after the first Clemson game. But after the ACCC game, that win looks like a mirage or fool’s gold. But I’ll love nothing more than another helping of crow stew come Friday!
GO IRISH!
So revel in 10-0 for4 2020.
And embrace the disappointment and humiliation of 11-2.
You got what you want, KW!
1. Kyren. There are already millions of fans who believe in you. I suppose reading posts like David’s and seeing empty stands might lead you to think otherwise, but the millions are there. And to the youger fans i’ll say this: Don’t worry kids, this IS your grandfather’s ND team…and HERE COME THE IRISH!
2. Anyone who played Division 1 football this year can write a best seller book! The pandemic, the BLM movement, the election, the Covidiots, the conspiracy nuts, etc…you only need to be a good writer and a great storyteller. Merry Christmas kids. People will be still writing about this 50 years from now!
3. Finally, will the sportswriters of America humiliate themselves forever by keeping IAN off any of the AA Teams that would qualify him for the College Football Hall of Fame, ala Joe Montana? I think they will!
BGC ’77 ’82