Kelly mentioned in his conference today that Grace has been 'hampered' by an ankle, and a hamstring, so he has not been healthy the last week or so, and he’s still not 100 percent,” Kelly said. “If he was 100 percent you probably would have seen him a little bit last week.”
Other notes:
-Amir Carlisle is averaging 15 yards on three kick returns through two games, with his longest return going for 20 yards. The problems don’t lie solely with Carlisle, though, and the coaching staff has set out to improve the coverage unit’s blocking this week.
“We’ve made some adjustments on a couple of things,” Kelly said. “We felt like our depth was a little shallow, so we’re working on that in terms of our frontline, and we made a couple of changes on personnel, because we just don’t feel like we were getting the blocking necessary. It’s natural that the first guy you’re going to look at is the returner. I get that. But upon further evaluation, there are some things we have to coach a little better.”
-Defensive end Grant Blankenship and defensive tackle Jay Hayes were among a group of true freshmen to play in 2014 because the Irish lacked depth on the defensive line. Neither has stepped onto the field this season, though. Kelly didn’t say the plan is to redshirt the duo, but the possibility is being monitored.
“We’re always cognizant of that and we’re aware of their situation,” Kelly said. “If we get further down in the season we would make that decision.”
-Notre Dame plays Navy every year, and this Saturday’s opponent also runs the triple-option. There is a difference between the two teams, but it has less to do with the kinds of plays being run and more to do with who’s running them.
“I think there’s more similarities than there are differences,” Kelly said. “The quarterbacks are very similar in a sense that both of them are very dynamic. Both quarterbacks are game-changers. Both of them have outstanding fullbacks.
“I would say the perimeter players are probably. Georgia Tech possesses as we’ve seen over the last few years, No. 1 draft picks at the wide receiver position. And a bigger, veteran offensive line for Georgia Tech as well. But system-wise there are a lot of similarities.”
-Two of Notre Dame's problems in the 34-27 win over Virginia were its secondary--which failed to make plays on the ball and allowed 289 passing yards--and the offense on third-downs, which failed to convert any of the 10 opportunities.
Kelly said the cornerbacks need to be more aggressive and gave specifics about third-down and short-yardage plays that failed.
-Two of the failed attempts were because of poor throws by quarterback Malik Zaire.
-One wide receiver received the wrong signal and ran a different route.
-On another play, Zaire ran to the outside instead of staying behind an offensive guard.
Other notes:
-Amir Carlisle is averaging 15 yards on three kick returns through two games, with his longest return going for 20 yards. The problems don’t lie solely with Carlisle, though, and the coaching staff has set out to improve the coverage unit’s blocking this week.
“We’ve made some adjustments on a couple of things,” Kelly said. “We felt like our depth was a little shallow, so we’re working on that in terms of our frontline, and we made a couple of changes on personnel, because we just don’t feel like we were getting the blocking necessary. It’s natural that the first guy you’re going to look at is the returner. I get that. But upon further evaluation, there are some things we have to coach a little better.”
-Defensive end Grant Blankenship and defensive tackle Jay Hayes were among a group of true freshmen to play in 2014 because the Irish lacked depth on the defensive line. Neither has stepped onto the field this season, though. Kelly didn’t say the plan is to redshirt the duo, but the possibility is being monitored.
“We’re always cognizant of that and we’re aware of their situation,” Kelly said. “If we get further down in the season we would make that decision.”
-Notre Dame plays Navy every year, and this Saturday’s opponent also runs the triple-option. There is a difference between the two teams, but it has less to do with the kinds of plays being run and more to do with who’s running them.
“I think there’s more similarities than there are differences,” Kelly said. “The quarterbacks are very similar in a sense that both of them are very dynamic. Both quarterbacks are game-changers. Both of them have outstanding fullbacks.
“I would say the perimeter players are probably. Georgia Tech possesses as we’ve seen over the last few years, No. 1 draft picks at the wide receiver position. And a bigger, veteran offensive line for Georgia Tech as well. But system-wise there are a lot of similarities.”
-Two of Notre Dame's problems in the 34-27 win over Virginia were its secondary--which failed to make plays on the ball and allowed 289 passing yards--and the offense on third-downs, which failed to convert any of the 10 opportunities.
Kelly said the cornerbacks need to be more aggressive and gave specifics about third-down and short-yardage plays that failed.
-Two of the failed attempts were because of poor throws by quarterback Malik Zaire.
-One wide receiver received the wrong signal and ran a different route.
-On another play, Zaire ran to the outside instead of staying behind an offensive guard.
