Let me say this. I have been a Charlie fan since he was at ND. Has a great head on his shoulders and is very goal driven.
LINK
Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong stepped up to the podium five days before his team takes on Notre Dame and praised his week one opponent.
Strong, who coached Notre Dame’s defensive line from 1995-98, discussed topics ranging from Irish quarterback Malik Zaire to his days at Notre Dame and why the Longhorns won’t conduct a walk-through on Friday.
Strong: Zaire can beat you with speed
When LSU prepared for Malik Zaire prior to last season’s Music City Bowl, there was scant film of the Irish quarterback. Strong has the benefit of watching tape of Zaire’s 12-for-15 passing performance against LSU, where he also rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries.
Texas’ head coach was impressed by what he saw.
“Well you look at Zaire, a big, physical runner and he’s a guy that can beat you with his feet,” Strong said. “And then you watch him when he releases the ball, the deep throw is amazing where he gets the ball and he hangs it out there and he can throw it a long ways. He’s a runner that can beat you with his speed and he can throw the ball very well. Just know that we’re going to have to be able to tackle him and then be able to cover those wide receivers.”
Texas offense no surprise
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly believes Texas’ new-look, up-tempo offense will be a surprise for the Irish.
The Longhorns, who will start quarterback Tyrone Swoopes but play redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard as well, revamped an offense that ranked 105th in total offense and 108th in points scored a year ago. The result? Kelly and the Irish won’t find out until Saturday night.
“Offensively we think they’re going to an entirely new offense,” Kelly said. “We have no film other than a grainy ESPN Longhorn Network game from the spring. That’s not much to go on…so we have to prepare for that and the potential for two quarterbacks.”
The offense’s operation might look like a curveball to the Irish defense, but Texas head coach Charlie Strong thinks Kelly’s squad won’t be fooled.
“They have a lot of good defensive personnel coming back, and so I don’t think you’re going to surprise them, because when you have a really good football team like they are, a well-coached football team like they are, I don’t think you can surprise them,” Strong said. “Because at the at the end of the day, you still have to line up and they know what we have at quarterback and they know some of the returning players that we have coming back. I don’t think we can surprise them at all.”
Strong reminisces on Notre Dame days
Strong coached Notre Dame’s defensive line for two years under both Lou Holtz and Bob Davie. Saturday will be the second-year Texas head coach’s first return trip since he left the school, but his memories are still vivid. Strong also spent last week showing his team video of Notre Dame Stadium and talking about past Heisman Trophy winners and tradition, because he doesn’t want his players to be startled when they arrive at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time Saturday.
“I had a great time there,” he said. “Great university. I was back there in 1995 with coach Holtz and then I ended up staying with coach Davie, but it was great. It’s an unbelievable place just like here and like I said, you’re looking at a program so rich in tradition, there’s so much pride and passion in the program.”
The Longhorns, who won’t conduct a walk-through Friday because of time constraints, won’t see the field until Saturday afternoon.
“We won’t have a chance to get on campus because when we arrive [Friday] I think they have all their festivities with the pep rally, so I didn’t want to take our players through that,” Strong added.
Concern for freshmen on offensive line
Two true freshmen will start on Texas’ offensive line Saturday night. Connor Williams will protect quarterback Tyrone Swoopes’ blind side at left tackle, while Patrick Vahe fits in at right guard. Strong admitted he has a little concern about two freshmen making their first career starts at Notre Dame under the lights.
“When you go on the road and you’re playing in the environment that we’re playing in, those two freshmen linemen, it’s a concern,” Strong said. “You just don’t know how quickly it’s going to tick for them, and if they bring pressure and they always say this, I’m a defensive coach, if I see two freshmen linemen I’m going to blitz you every snap and I’m going to see if they can block you.
“But we’ve just got to be ready to make sure we can balance our offense and make sure that we don’t allow them to put the pressure on those two guys.”
LINK
Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong stepped up to the podium five days before his team takes on Notre Dame and praised his week one opponent.
Strong, who coached Notre Dame’s defensive line from 1995-98, discussed topics ranging from Irish quarterback Malik Zaire to his days at Notre Dame and why the Longhorns won’t conduct a walk-through on Friday.
Strong: Zaire can beat you with speed
When LSU prepared for Malik Zaire prior to last season’s Music City Bowl, there was scant film of the Irish quarterback. Strong has the benefit of watching tape of Zaire’s 12-for-15 passing performance against LSU, where he also rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries.
Texas’ head coach was impressed by what he saw.
“Well you look at Zaire, a big, physical runner and he’s a guy that can beat you with his feet,” Strong said. “And then you watch him when he releases the ball, the deep throw is amazing where he gets the ball and he hangs it out there and he can throw it a long ways. He’s a runner that can beat you with his speed and he can throw the ball very well. Just know that we’re going to have to be able to tackle him and then be able to cover those wide receivers.”
Texas offense no surprise
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly believes Texas’ new-look, up-tempo offense will be a surprise for the Irish.
The Longhorns, who will start quarterback Tyrone Swoopes but play redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard as well, revamped an offense that ranked 105th in total offense and 108th in points scored a year ago. The result? Kelly and the Irish won’t find out until Saturday night.
“Offensively we think they’re going to an entirely new offense,” Kelly said. “We have no film other than a grainy ESPN Longhorn Network game from the spring. That’s not much to go on…so we have to prepare for that and the potential for two quarterbacks.”
The offense’s operation might look like a curveball to the Irish defense, but Texas head coach Charlie Strong thinks Kelly’s squad won’t be fooled.
“They have a lot of good defensive personnel coming back, and so I don’t think you’re going to surprise them, because when you have a really good football team like they are, a well-coached football team like they are, I don’t think you can surprise them,” Strong said. “Because at the at the end of the day, you still have to line up and they know what we have at quarterback and they know some of the returning players that we have coming back. I don’t think we can surprise them at all.”
Strong reminisces on Notre Dame days
Strong coached Notre Dame’s defensive line for two years under both Lou Holtz and Bob Davie. Saturday will be the second-year Texas head coach’s first return trip since he left the school, but his memories are still vivid. Strong also spent last week showing his team video of Notre Dame Stadium and talking about past Heisman Trophy winners and tradition, because he doesn’t want his players to be startled when they arrive at Notre Dame Stadium for the first time Saturday.
“I had a great time there,” he said. “Great university. I was back there in 1995 with coach Holtz and then I ended up staying with coach Davie, but it was great. It’s an unbelievable place just like here and like I said, you’re looking at a program so rich in tradition, there’s so much pride and passion in the program.”
The Longhorns, who won’t conduct a walk-through Friday because of time constraints, won’t see the field until Saturday afternoon.
“We won’t have a chance to get on campus because when we arrive [Friday] I think they have all their festivities with the pep rally, so I didn’t want to take our players through that,” Strong added.
Concern for freshmen on offensive line
Two true freshmen will start on Texas’ offensive line Saturday night. Connor Williams will protect quarterback Tyrone Swoopes’ blind side at left tackle, while Patrick Vahe fits in at right guard. Strong admitted he has a little concern about two freshmen making their first career starts at Notre Dame under the lights.
“When you go on the road and you’re playing in the environment that we’re playing in, those two freshmen linemen, it’s a concern,” Strong said. “You just don’t know how quickly it’s going to tick for them, and if they bring pressure and they always say this, I’m a defensive coach, if I see two freshmen linemen I’m going to blitz you every snap and I’m going to see if they can block you.
“But we’ve just got to be ready to make sure we can balance our offense and make sure that we don’t allow them to put the pressure on those two guys.”
