Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O'Leary spoke to local writers after Monday's practice. Here's a transcript of that conversation. The questions may be paraphrased.
On Antonio Carter:
"He’s built to be a safety. Steps in the box and strikes. He’s 200 pounds, and when he hits you, you feel it."
How long did it take for him to assimilate?
"I think the first day with pads, there was a thud in the alley and you look around and were like ‘Oh, that was ‘Tone.’ That’s been great because a focus on us was our violence going into this season and I’ve seen it in, whatever, 10 practices now, it’s night and day. From top to bottom the guys hit."
How's he handled the corner to safety transition?
"He’s made it look easy because he’s a smart football player. He’s making calls in the box that I would never expect a corner to understand because he gets it. Some of the middle-open coverages and things like that he still has to take that step because he’s not used to being back there, but that’s nothing that I didn’t expect."
Improved violence seems to be a theme for this safety group. Where does that come from?
"I attribute it to 1.) the mindset of the older guys and a little bit to the guys we brought in, whether it’s T-Harp or Tone, like, there’s non-negotiable that when the ball is in the alley or in the box we’re hitting and we’re hitting with violence. The best part about that is those guys have stepped it up. Tone already strikes. T-Harp already plays the game fast and violent. But now you bring a freshman in Adon Shuler and he’s one of the best (hitter) we’ve got. If you’re an older guy and you see a freshman hitting with violence out there, you’ve got no choice."
How does it help to have veterans in that group?
"It allows us to double down on who we are and to play really fast. Every one of us on defense and Coach Free has noted how much faster it feels like we’re playing on defense compared to last year. On top of that you get into some nuances and coaching points you could’ve before because you were just trying to figure it out.
How has a focus on safety rather than nickel helped Ramon Henderson?
It’s calmed him down a little bit. He’s really specialized now and it’s allowed him to play fast and focus on his techniques more so than ‘What’s my job at this and this?’ I think he’ll be a really good weapon for us back there, roaming around and using his range."
How are the nickelbacks being utilized with Thomas Harper and Clarence Lewis?
"We expect both those guys to be huge factors for us. We play a lot of Nickel defense. Both of those guys we see as starters because of the way they play the game. That’s been the biggest competition of fall camp."
Do they have different strengths?
"Absolutely. T-Harp has been playing man over the slot for four years now and he’s really good at it. C-Lew has really good zone awareness so he’s a physical player. They both bring a little something to the table."
How are you using the safeties in different sub packages?
We’re rotating guys. In fall camp, we get into some practices working on two-deep but we cross train guys for when we get into the season and game plan. But those three will be heavily involved and they will cross-train some guys at corner and nickel to rotate
Does Thomas Harper work with the cornerbacks or the safeties?
He trains with the safeties but in practice he gets primarily nickel reps, but he’ll know safety jobs.
(more)
On Antonio Carter:
"He’s built to be a safety. Steps in the box and strikes. He’s 200 pounds, and when he hits you, you feel it."
How long did it take for him to assimilate?
"I think the first day with pads, there was a thud in the alley and you look around and were like ‘Oh, that was ‘Tone.’ That’s been great because a focus on us was our violence going into this season and I’ve seen it in, whatever, 10 practices now, it’s night and day. From top to bottom the guys hit."
How's he handled the corner to safety transition?
"He’s made it look easy because he’s a smart football player. He’s making calls in the box that I would never expect a corner to understand because he gets it. Some of the middle-open coverages and things like that he still has to take that step because he’s not used to being back there, but that’s nothing that I didn’t expect."
Improved violence seems to be a theme for this safety group. Where does that come from?
"I attribute it to 1.) the mindset of the older guys and a little bit to the guys we brought in, whether it’s T-Harp or Tone, like, there’s non-negotiable that when the ball is in the alley or in the box we’re hitting and we’re hitting with violence. The best part about that is those guys have stepped it up. Tone already strikes. T-Harp already plays the game fast and violent. But now you bring a freshman in Adon Shuler and he’s one of the best (hitter) we’ve got. If you’re an older guy and you see a freshman hitting with violence out there, you’ve got no choice."
How does it help to have veterans in that group?
"It allows us to double down on who we are and to play really fast. Every one of us on defense and Coach Free has noted how much faster it feels like we’re playing on defense compared to last year. On top of that you get into some nuances and coaching points you could’ve before because you were just trying to figure it out.
How has a focus on safety rather than nickel helped Ramon Henderson?
It’s calmed him down a little bit. He’s really specialized now and it’s allowed him to play fast and focus on his techniques more so than ‘What’s my job at this and this?’ I think he’ll be a really good weapon for us back there, roaming around and using his range."
How are the nickelbacks being utilized with Thomas Harper and Clarence Lewis?
"We expect both those guys to be huge factors for us. We play a lot of Nickel defense. Both of those guys we see as starters because of the way they play the game. That’s been the biggest competition of fall camp."
Do they have different strengths?
"Absolutely. T-Harp has been playing man over the slot for four years now and he’s really good at it. C-Lew has really good zone awareness so he’s a physical player. They both bring a little something to the table."
How are you using the safeties in different sub packages?
We’re rotating guys. In fall camp, we get into some practices working on two-deep but we cross train guys for when we get into the season and game plan. But those three will be heavily involved and they will cross-train some guys at corner and nickel to rotate
Does Thomas Harper work with the cornerbacks or the safeties?
He trains with the safeties but in practice he gets primarily nickel reps, but he’ll know safety jobs.
(more)
