AL GOLDEN 11142023
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden met the media after Tuesday's Irish football practice, with an eye toward Saturday's home game with Wake Forest. Here's everything he had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity. ... NOTE: A couple of questions were asked almost verbatim twice. So, I simply combined them into one answer block for each of those questions.
There’s talk that the headset-in-the-helmet technology that the NFL uses could be coming to the college game as soon as next year. Are you in favor of that?
“I am. I want to answer generally. I want to answer with respect to the question, not with respect to anything that's going on anywhere else. So, I think it's time. I think the game has gotten so complex, and there's so much energy spent trying to conceal, trying to fool, trying to do — I mean, just it's time.
“Like when you're in those NFL camps, it's just too simple. And I just think it's time for us to adopt that. And really, if we're going to adopt it, I hope, as a governing body, we spend a lot of time talking to the NFL and how they orchestrate it and how they organize it, because you have to designate three on game day.”
How does that work? Is it usually a middle linebacker?
“No, no. There's only one green dot on the field, but if that green dot gets injured, you can give the green dot to somebody else. So, I think the NFL does a great job with it, and I hope that we don't just blanket say ‘Hey, let's use the technology’ without really understanding why the NFL does what they do. Because they are great in terms of their operations in the NFL, and it would be great to adopt that very same system. It cuts off at 15 seconds, I think. You hear three beeps in your helmet, and it cuts off and your communication is over. So, to me, the NFL is really fair. It's highly organized, and it doesn't give anybody a tactical advantage.”
Was there ever a time before you had the NFL stint where you thought it was coming to college?
“I did. I thought it multiple times. I mean, this has been this discussion that has been going on a long time.”
Is it because of cost?
“I don't know. I mean, what cost? Like what are we talking about right now? I mean, I'm sorry, I have to laugh when we say costs, right now.”
Have you ever experienced communication issues with that technology?
“It goes out every once in a while. There's no doubt. And you still have to learn how to signal in case there is an issue. But if it goes out, they have backup, so you go and grab a backup, and you can resolve it pretty quickly. Sometimes the headsets go down in the NFL. They do. So those things happen, but they have backups on the sideline, and they're able to rip it out and put it into somebody else's helmet.
“They always have three in a box, the NFL does. I don't know if you guys know that or not. But yeah, so there's three on each side of the ball. You’ve got to designate them, like two hours before, with your roster. But if it malfunctions, you're allowed to get a new one, but it's pretty interesting. And I just hope they really — instead of just saying OK, yeah, let's have 20 helmets [with communications] out there — I hope they understand just slow down and understand why the NFL is the premier league in the world and why they do what they do, because I think they do it really well.”
I want to ask you about the slow-mesh offense Wake Forest runs and how it must be a pain in the butt, especially for the linebackers?
“Yep. Pain in the butt. No doubt. I think there's challenges, especially as good as they are at it. So, the quarterback — without penetration — will walk the running back right up into the line of scrimmage. The running back will sometimes get the ball at three, four seconds. Think about that. At three, four seconds into the play. And he does a great job at pressing it and sneaking out. And then I think the one thing that you have to be careful [about] when you play this team, it's kind of like Navy in that you can commit to it if you want, but you're going to be vulnerable somewhere else down the field. And you’ve got to be able to hold up, because if you commit to a pressure and you don't get there, then the ball’s over the top and it's a one-on-one. So, it's definitely unique. Dave [Clawson] does it better than anybody. I'm sure there's a bunch of guys that are trying to replicate or do it the way he does it. He's — by far — better than anybody.”
So what's your overriding message to your linebackers?
“I can't tell you that. But there's certain things that we're trying to teach them that make it challenging.”
You say, “You’ve got to be patient, guys?”
“Yes. Yes. That is definitely one of the things that we need to do. But it is a challenge. And when you watch it and when it's rolling, it's challenging.”
What about the corners? Or the DBs In general?
“You’ve got to win through the down. We call it ‘the interval’ — but win through the interval. It's an extended interval. It could be longer than most plays. And I haven't really talked to Dave in the past about this concept, but there's a lot of patience that, to me, he exhibits just to get that one matchup that he's looking for, just to get that one route that he's looking for. That's a challenge to the DBs, for sure.”
[More on preparing for the slow-mesh offense]
“There's a lot. So, it just challenges all three levels differently. If you're a defensive tackle, you may have to lock out and protect your gap a little bit longer. If you're on the back end, you may have to handle a double move or just know that you're going to have to stay longer with your man. If you're a linebacker, you really have to know when can I be aggressive? When do I have to sit back? So, there's a lot of challenges in it, and I can see why David does it — A. And then — B — why he's been so successful with it.”
Did you spend any time talking to Sam Hartman about it?
“Yeah, we did briefly, in the beginning. The reality is Sam's got his hands full with that defense right now, so we're beyond that. That was more like, early on. I mean, we’ve got a plan right now, and we're just trying to execute it. We had a good day today. We did our early-down stuff today, and we’ve got to get our third-down stuff in tonight and get rolling.”
[More on how Sam Hartman has been able to help with that preparation]
“I think, obviously, he's got a lot of reps built up, and I don't want to make too much of it. I think Sam just gave us a general idea of what direction we need to go with it, initially. And then after that, he's got his hands full with their defense. So that's his focus right now. I don't want to make too much of it. But, obviously, he's a veteran. He's smart, and we’ll listen to a young man like that.”
And against whom and when have you dealt with this with other teams?
“No, no [we haven’t]. Oh, I shouldn't say that. Stanford ran a little bit last year. I shouldn't say that. Stanford ran it. A little bit different version, but definitely there were some things that showed up.”
How would you characterize how the vyper position has evolved this year for you with Jordan Botelho, Josh Burnham and Junior Tuihalamaka?
“I think they're all contributors. To me, they're executing and they're contributing to a really, really good group and making us better and improving us. So, I don't know what the future holds in terms of their growth, their development in terms of separation — who and when. But, obviously, those three guys have all contributed this year, and I just like the position, because they do their job. They execute.”
And if Jordan were to come back next year, where do you see the growth he can make, given all the bouncing around he did position-wise before you got here?
“He's played at all. I think he was at rover — right — before I got here, so he's made a great progression. He's holding more weight now and he loves the game. He loves to compete. So yeah, I think there's a lot of things he can do for us.”
Thomas Harper is a nickel with safety skills but the speed to play inside at nickel. How rare is that, to have those two things in the same package?
“Pretty rare, I think. First of all, we're so grateful that he chose to come to Notre Dame, and he's such a great kid. I mean, he is a super kid and a competitor. You can argue he played best in the biggest game so far. You know? He never backed down from a tough matchup, whether it was Clemson, Ohio State, USC —any of those games. So, I just think he's been a blessing, to be honest with you. He’s done a really good job for us, and I can see improvement in his skills. I think coach [Chris] O'Leary and coach Mick [Mike Mickens] have done a great job with him. Just see him improving in everything — tackling, coverage, his leverage. I think he's still ascending as a player, and that's hard to do at his age.”
You were named a Broyles Award nominee today. Were you even aware of that?
“I just was made aware on the way over. To me, I'm humbled and grateful that my name is on the list, but being named is a reflection of the organization, starting with coach [Marcus] Freeman, the great coaches that I get to interact with every day. The trust that I have in them and with them is phenomenal. And the players, the execution of the players and the passion and energy that they play with, it's awesome.”
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