Aug. 8, 2005
2005 Notre Dame Football Media Day
August 8, 2005
Michael Haywood
Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs
On what makes a good play caller…
“The main thing is calling the unexpected. You also have to have a knowledge of the defensive fronts and secondary coverages an opponent is going to throw at you. (Head coach Charlie Weis) does a great job of that.”
On working risk into a gameplan…
“It’s just little wrinkles here and there. You have to have confidence in your team to take gambles. You have to feel that if you take a gamble on first and 10 and it doesn’t work that you’ll get half of it back on the next play.”
On the hardest adjustment for a player…
“Up until this year, freshmen came in by themselves. You were lonely, you were homesick and you didn’t know anybody else. Now, with changes to NCAA rules and regulations, they can come in for summer school and they go through that period early. You get to meet more of the older guys and spend more time with them to build relationships. That way, it’s easier when two-a-days roll around.”
On coaching players who played for a different coaching staff…
“When I take over players who learned from a previous coaching staff, I start from scratch. I erase everything they learned up to the point when I get them. Some of the things they learned are good and sometimes some of the things they learned aren’t bad, but they’re not what I’m teaching. I just try to build a foundation that they can build on each and every day they go out.”
Rob Ianello
Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator
On beginning practice …
“We are excited and enthusiastic. We are looking forward to finally get a chance to work on the field after a long summer of not having any contact with our players. We can’t wait to get to work because we have a lot of work to do.”
On how the coaching staff has meshed together …
“I think it’s terrific. I think how our staff has meshed together is terrific. We have good comaradery, good chemistry and hopefully that will trickle down to our players.”
On why the coaching staff has clicked so well …
“When your families aren’t here but you are here and you’re living together at the hotel and eating together and you are in the office late because your families aren’t here, your natural tendency is to bond. When that happens you get to know the guys better in a professional sense, an off the field sense and in a comical sense.”
John Latina
Assistant Head Coach (Offense) and Offensive Line
On the players’ comprehension of Charlie Weis’ system…
“Our kids have a pretty good grasp on what we’re doing and that’s only really going to get better. We’ve only had them for about 15 days during spring practice. Now, we expect them to get better on a daily basis. We put a lot of expectations and demands on our players and we expect them to grasp the system. We have kids here that are capable of doing that.”
On the coaches’ ability to learn the system…
“At first it was tough because it was new language and new terminology, and some things were a little bit new. Once you start figuring out the basics and the progressions of it, it gets easier. We spend all day with it because it’s our livelihood. Our staff did a great job, and I know I felt comfortable teaching it during spring ball. Coming out of spring ball, I feel like I can teach it better.”
On establishing depth on the offensive line…
“We have some young kids who are coming into the program who we think are good players and we want to get a look at them. We also saw noticeable progress from the second-teamers during spring ball. We still have a long way to go with our second line because depth is always a critical thing to have. We’d like to come out of fall camp knowing that we have at least two or three players, other than our starting line, that can go in and play. Ideally, you’d like to have an entire second line that can play, but you at least need two or three guys.”
On a veteran offensive line having to learn a new system…
“They’re going to know what to do when our games start, and that goes back to their game experience. Game experience is the most critical thing you can have on the offensive line, and I’m really excited about the experience we have.”
On preparing offensive linemen to play more than one position…
“If you’re only going to have two or three (backups), they obviously need to have be combination guys. We did a little bit of that in the spring, but when you’re learning a new system and you have to play multiple positions, you’re under the magnifying glass a little more. The kids that we asked to do that handled it well mentally in the spring and hopefully they’ll come out of fall camp able to (play multiple positions).”
Bill Lewis
Assistant Head Coach (Defense) and Defensive Backs
On the most important thing a veteran player can have…
“The guys that have game experience always, at any position, have a leg up on new guys coming in.”
On finding four starters in the defensive backfield…
“All of our guys, both older guys and young guys, have a lot of work to do. It’s going to be a very competitive training camp. I expect all of those guys to compete against each other to see who our four best guys are. This is as competitive a spot as there is anywhere on the team.”
On his plan for evaluating the Irish defensive backs…
“I mentioned to our guys in a meeting today that, for the first two weeks of fall camp, it’s a competitive situation. Every drill is going to be evaluated and we’re going to compare one guy to the next – who’s doing the best in those competitive drill situations. We also want to put them in as many group situations and team situations as we can. Everyday the evaluation is in terms of how one guy is doing compared to another and the bottom line is how they’re getting the job done on the field. Eventually you’ll get to a point where you have to start to settle in to a depth chart.”
On junior Chinedum Ndukwe permanently moving to safety…
“The last couple days of spring practice and in the spring game, we made the move and we will continue to work him there. That was done before any other personnel moves. He’s going to be given an opportunity to be a safety. To be fair to the player, you have to give him full-time work in the secondary.”
Rick Minter
Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers
On the state of the team since the end of spring practice…
“It’s been a long process since spring practice. You have the Blue-Gold game, and players go through summer workouts. Hopefully the results show that they’re bigger, faster and stronger. We’ve had a chance to do our evaluations since spring practice and we’re excited. Today’s an exciting day for us because it matters not what we did in the spring, but what we do from this day forth.”
On off-season departures from the Irish defense…
“We’re going to coach the guys who are here and are committed to being at Notre Dame. We’re going to put together a good defensive unit that flies around and executes our philosophy. We’re going to coach the guys who are going to show up out there to play.”
On the team’s work ethic over the summer…
“Well, being unable to witness or participate in any of that, I don’t know much about it. The first true sign of their hard work was today, and their conditioning tests went well. The strength staff has done their job, and they’ve turned them over to us. It’s time for us to take them over.”
On replacing the departed lettermen…
“We’re excited about the guys we’re lining up with right now. We’ve got six or eight guys who will be competing for jobs and playing time on the front four. We’re looking forward to starting with that today – it’s all a fresh start. We don’t put our eyes in the rearview mirror and we don’t predict the future based on what’s happened in the past. We don’t care what happened in the past. We’re just going forward and trying to make our mark with these young kids.”
Jappy Oliver
Defensive Line
On maintaining a professional relationship with your players …
“It’s something you have to learn how to do. The first thing they have to understand is that I’m not in it to be your friend. I am your coach. If we develop a friendship along the way that’s great but I’m here to win games. That is what they brought me here for. As long as they know what is expected of them I think they can relate to you better. I let them know right away what is expected of me and what is expected of them.”
On the status of the defensive line …
“Going into the spring we were worried about our depth both at end and at tackle. I think we came out of spring with a better feeling about our depth at tackle. We are getting a couple guys back that we didn’t have in the spring. At end, we still feel like we have some holes to fill and that is one thing we are looking forward to.”
On how much the team can learn from now until the season-opener on Sept. 3 …
“They can learn quite a bit. Our kids have been working all summer. Even though we have a short span between now and the first game, our kids have been busting their tails all summer and they’ve done a good job. That’s the one thing that we picked up from this morning’s workout, is that they have been working out. So now it’s just a matter of getting used to the system for the guys who weren’t with us in the spring. They just now have to turn all of that hard work into something that will pay off in the next few weeks.”
Bernie Parmalee
Tight Ends / Asst. Special Teams
On the kicking game…
“Whom ever gets the job done is going to be the one we send out on the field. It might be a guy from last year or not, but we will send the best guy out on the field for that first game.”
On special teams …
“It’s a game inside of the game. It’s a game of hidden yardage. It’s about getting field position and helping the team succeed.”
Brian Polian
Head Special Teams Coach / Asst. Defensive Backs
On the importance of special teams …
“If you can win the battle up front – that is what the job of the special team is. When you can get the offense or the defense good field position that helps the success of the team.”
On getting players in the game …
“The kicking game is an area were guys can get involved and help the quickest. You have to buy in and listen to the coaches and put forth the effort.”
On players filling roles …
“The best guy will be on the field regardless of whom it is. The three different areas are very different and we want the best thing for this team, and that’s whom wewant to send out on the field, the guy that can get the job done.”
Peter Vaas
Quarterbacks
On the quarterbacks…
“We are looking for a guy, that whom ever puts their hands under center, will get the job done. Realistically at the end of fall camp we would like to have five guys that are capable of doing that. Some people may say that’s unrealistic, but that’s my job as the quarterbacks coach.”
On the development of Brady Quinn …
“Brady (Quinn) and I have really not had any football contact with one another. But in a general, you like to think that a player gets better every day.”
On learning the offense …
“It’s to late for it to be difficult now. One of the things that you have to do now as a coach is to make a determination on what (a player) knows and what (a player) can handle. By the time we get to September 3rd, we will know what each quarterback is capable of handling.”