been commented upon. It’s obvious that the coaching has been outstanding. We knew that the return of so many experienced players from last year’s defensive starters and two deep was going to be the strength of the team. The courageous move to Ian Book was unexpected and brilliant. What was expected to be a mediocre RB corps turned out to be pretty darn good...same for the “unproven receiving group. All of those things go into explaining why ND has played as well as it has.
But, I think that the unheralded element that brought a lot of that together, especially on the defensive side, is the intelligence and commitment level of the players. They have been extremely coachable, i.e the impact of good coaching was enhanced by the ability of the players to assimilate and execute in a very disciplined manner. One used to hear the same thing about Stanford, and I believe it was true. Perhaps, “fit” or “RKG” is finally coming into play for ND.
But, I think that the unheralded element that brought a lot of that together, especially on the defensive side, is the intelligence and commitment level of the players. They have been extremely coachable, i.e the impact of good coaching was enhanced by the ability of the players to assimilate and execute in a very disciplined manner. One used to hear the same thing about Stanford, and I believe it was true. Perhaps, “fit” or “RKG” is finally coming into play for ND.
