Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles met with reporters Tuesday ahead of Monday's national championship game against Ohio State.
Below is everything Kelly and Knowles had to say in transcript form provided by ASAP Sports.
CHIP KELLY
Q. Notre Dame mixes in a lot of man coverage, probably heavier than other teams you guys have played recently. Are you excited to get your receivers in those match-ups and see --
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, Al Golden does a great job with that defense. They mix and match their coverages. I think they're one of the top pass defenses in the country. And it shows.
I think they're well coordinated. Their front and back end work really well together. That's a challenge that we're going to have on Monday night.
Q. When you look back at the Texas game, what were they doing in your more technical eyes to kind of cut down on what Jeremiah was able to do; obviously Cornell got free, Emeka comes up -- what was successful about Texas' secondary?
CHIP KELLY: I think they rolled some things to Jeremiah to try to take him away, some bracket coverages and a guy inside, guy outside, guy over the top. And Will did a great job of diagnosing what they were doing. I think Cornell had a huge game for us.
And Will did a great job diagnosing what they were doing. I think Cornell had a huge game for us. Mek had five. Carnell had seven. I thought the tight ends, the combination of Gee and Will, did a great job. And then obviously the back out of the backfield.
So the beauty of what we have is we have more than one weapon. So I think the quarterback has to make really good decisions on what they're trying to take away and then adjust accordingly. And I think Will did a good job of that.
Q. Did you say you gave Will a hard time over the headset after he tripped on the fourth-down run?
CHIP KELLY: I could have.
Q. You don't have to tell me what you said. Do you normally lighten the mood? Is it always a play call straight in? What are the communications like? He can't respond.
CHIP KELLY: He can't respond, so I can say whatever I want. It's kind of like being married. It's reversed, reversed.
Q. Do you take that opportunity much to ever lighten the mood?
CHIP KELLY: It all depends on the situation. I can't really pinpoint one thing or another. It was huge probably for us, it was fourth-and-two. We had to convert, keep the drive alive. And I talked to him but it wasn't the next play. It was in between series and we had an opportunity to chat about that because we still had to go down and score.
Q. Big picture, are you happy with what's happened to Ryan Day after what he's gone through? You guys are friends. You're close. Can you speak to -- I know coaches sign up for the deal, but you've got to be really happy?
CHIP KELLY: I am. I think the one thing that, knowing him for so long, I'm not surprised. I told him a long time ago he was built for this. He understands the gravity of what you have to do to be a head coach here. I think he's handled it tremendously.
He's the same person every day. I think the consistency in how he shows up here every day and what his mission is, and how he drives this entire program -- coaches, people in the building, players, whatever -- is very evident.
And we get a chance to play one more game. And that's what the mantra had been since the last game of the regular season. We get to keep this group together. Everything he's talked about since that day we've done. So we've got to continue it.
Q. It's a load off his shoulders. Did you see after --
CHIP KELLY: I do not sense any load off of his shoulders right now. Maybe ask me that question next Tuesday. But I don't sense any load off his shoulders right now.
Q. You mentioned the tight ends. You've been using the 12 personnel a little bit. What do you like about that? What And how important is that going to be against a physical defense like Notre Dame?
CHIP KELLY: I think it depends on how the other team deploys, when you put it in the game. There's always a response to, we put a personnel grouping in, they have an opportunity to match that personnel and have an opportunity to say, we're going to play it in this grouping. And do we think that match-up is favorable to us or is it favorable to them?
I think when you look at how Notre Dame does it, they're good. And I think that would be an interesting match-up, along with our 11 personnel and along with some of our other personnel groupings. And that's part of a game that goes on within a game.
But we'll see how they decide that they're going to handle it. And then if it's how we thought it was going to be, then maybe we'll continue that. But it may not be what we thought it was going to be, and then we say, all right, that's probably not a personnel grouping we're going to use today.
Q. You guys have been rotating Luke, Austin and Tegra at the guard spots (indiscernible) two games. I think Luke played every snap at left guard. Just seeing him with extended snaps how do you think he graded out?
CHIP KELLY: I think Luke did a nice job. I think the rotation part, Austin was banged up a little bit, so how much could we get from him? He's a warrior and gave us everything he had.
So those decisions on the reps of what we're going to do with those guys will be based upon where is our health when we get to next Sunday and Monday, when we start to talk about depth. But I thought Luke, with extended snaps, did a nice job.
Q. They pride themselves on defense, ranked second in the country behind Ohio State. Just how big of a challenge is it? And when you have a defense you can be in a game can't you?
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, obviously. I think both teams have proven that, that's why we're here. But they do an outstanding job. They've got some real veteran leaders. Cross and Kiser have both been there, this is year six for those guys. And Watts in the secondary has been around a long time.
They've got depth up front, second level and third level. They're really smart. You can watch their communication that goes on during the play, and you can see how in tune they are to what the coaching staff is asking them to do.
So that's a huge challenge for us on Monday going up against a really, really well coached defense. They've got some really good players that have played a lot of football.
I think both teams have guys that have played a lot of football. And that experience has thrown through the playoffs.
Q. When you see Will make the mistake on the first drive in the second half, you're trying to get the ball to Jeremiah, is that an aggressive mistake for Will, and you're trying to get the ball to Jeremiah and trying to involve your best players? You're not excusing something like that, but is it almost, like, we're trying to get the ball there, you understand why (inaudible)?
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, he just didn't see the linebacker underneath in the coverage. He read the top of the coverage really well. He didn't see the underneath part of the coverage. We discussed it just like we normally do between each series about what just transpired and what we need to do next.
The one thing about Will is he owns everything he does. Because if you don't own it, then you're going to make the same mistake again because you don't realize how you did it. He knew right away he just didn't see the linebacker.
He felt like the top of the coverage was deep enough and Jeremiah had pushed them off enough where he could throw the ball to him, but he didn't spot the underneath coverage.
That's something he'll learn from. And hopefully, the one thing I love about Will, usually he doesn't make the same mistake twice. So let's hope that he has that out of his system.
Q. Obviously came into the season, probably one of the best (inaudible). Leonard Moore stepped up really well. Curious thoughts on him and what that whole secondary has got.
CHIP KELLY: I think the whole secondary, you look at how much man they play, and the reason they do it is because they can. And no one's really exploited that with them. So I think they all can cover.
So it's not like, well, just stay away from him and throw against this guy. I think all of them are really, really skilled. And I think how coordinated it is with the whole group, that they all have an understanding of where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be there. And they do a really good job of it.
So I know they did lose a corner early in the season. But they've seemed to just continue to roll on defense and the statistics will show you that.
(more)
Below is everything Kelly and Knowles had to say in transcript form provided by ASAP Sports.
CHIP KELLY
Q. Notre Dame mixes in a lot of man coverage, probably heavier than other teams you guys have played recently. Are you excited to get your receivers in those match-ups and see --
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, Al Golden does a great job with that defense. They mix and match their coverages. I think they're one of the top pass defenses in the country. And it shows.
I think they're well coordinated. Their front and back end work really well together. That's a challenge that we're going to have on Monday night.
Q. When you look back at the Texas game, what were they doing in your more technical eyes to kind of cut down on what Jeremiah was able to do; obviously Cornell got free, Emeka comes up -- what was successful about Texas' secondary?
CHIP KELLY: I think they rolled some things to Jeremiah to try to take him away, some bracket coverages and a guy inside, guy outside, guy over the top. And Will did a great job of diagnosing what they were doing. I think Cornell had a huge game for us.
And Will did a great job diagnosing what they were doing. I think Cornell had a huge game for us. Mek had five. Carnell had seven. I thought the tight ends, the combination of Gee and Will, did a great job. And then obviously the back out of the backfield.
So the beauty of what we have is we have more than one weapon. So I think the quarterback has to make really good decisions on what they're trying to take away and then adjust accordingly. And I think Will did a good job of that.
Q. Did you say you gave Will a hard time over the headset after he tripped on the fourth-down run?
CHIP KELLY: I could have.
Q. You don't have to tell me what you said. Do you normally lighten the mood? Is it always a play call straight in? What are the communications like? He can't respond.
CHIP KELLY: He can't respond, so I can say whatever I want. It's kind of like being married. It's reversed, reversed.
Q. Do you take that opportunity much to ever lighten the mood?
CHIP KELLY: It all depends on the situation. I can't really pinpoint one thing or another. It was huge probably for us, it was fourth-and-two. We had to convert, keep the drive alive. And I talked to him but it wasn't the next play. It was in between series and we had an opportunity to chat about that because we still had to go down and score.
Q. Big picture, are you happy with what's happened to Ryan Day after what he's gone through? You guys are friends. You're close. Can you speak to -- I know coaches sign up for the deal, but you've got to be really happy?
CHIP KELLY: I am. I think the one thing that, knowing him for so long, I'm not surprised. I told him a long time ago he was built for this. He understands the gravity of what you have to do to be a head coach here. I think he's handled it tremendously.
He's the same person every day. I think the consistency in how he shows up here every day and what his mission is, and how he drives this entire program -- coaches, people in the building, players, whatever -- is very evident.
And we get a chance to play one more game. And that's what the mantra had been since the last game of the regular season. We get to keep this group together. Everything he's talked about since that day we've done. So we've got to continue it.
Q. It's a load off his shoulders. Did you see after --
CHIP KELLY: I do not sense any load off of his shoulders right now. Maybe ask me that question next Tuesday. But I don't sense any load off his shoulders right now.
Q. You mentioned the tight ends. You've been using the 12 personnel a little bit. What do you like about that? What And how important is that going to be against a physical defense like Notre Dame?
CHIP KELLY: I think it depends on how the other team deploys, when you put it in the game. There's always a response to, we put a personnel grouping in, they have an opportunity to match that personnel and have an opportunity to say, we're going to play it in this grouping. And do we think that match-up is favorable to us or is it favorable to them?
I think when you look at how Notre Dame does it, they're good. And I think that would be an interesting match-up, along with our 11 personnel and along with some of our other personnel groupings. And that's part of a game that goes on within a game.
But we'll see how they decide that they're going to handle it. And then if it's how we thought it was going to be, then maybe we'll continue that. But it may not be what we thought it was going to be, and then we say, all right, that's probably not a personnel grouping we're going to use today.
Q. You guys have been rotating Luke, Austin and Tegra at the guard spots (indiscernible) two games. I think Luke played every snap at left guard. Just seeing him with extended snaps how do you think he graded out?
CHIP KELLY: I think Luke did a nice job. I think the rotation part, Austin was banged up a little bit, so how much could we get from him? He's a warrior and gave us everything he had.
So those decisions on the reps of what we're going to do with those guys will be based upon where is our health when we get to next Sunday and Monday, when we start to talk about depth. But I thought Luke, with extended snaps, did a nice job.
Q. They pride themselves on defense, ranked second in the country behind Ohio State. Just how big of a challenge is it? And when you have a defense you can be in a game can't you?
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, obviously. I think both teams have proven that, that's why we're here. But they do an outstanding job. They've got some real veteran leaders. Cross and Kiser have both been there, this is year six for those guys. And Watts in the secondary has been around a long time.
They've got depth up front, second level and third level. They're really smart. You can watch their communication that goes on during the play, and you can see how in tune they are to what the coaching staff is asking them to do.
So that's a huge challenge for us on Monday going up against a really, really well coached defense. They've got some really good players that have played a lot of football.
I think both teams have guys that have played a lot of football. And that experience has thrown through the playoffs.
Q. When you see Will make the mistake on the first drive in the second half, you're trying to get the ball to Jeremiah, is that an aggressive mistake for Will, and you're trying to get the ball to Jeremiah and trying to involve your best players? You're not excusing something like that, but is it almost, like, we're trying to get the ball there, you understand why (inaudible)?
CHIP KELLY: Yeah, he just didn't see the linebacker underneath in the coverage. He read the top of the coverage really well. He didn't see the underneath part of the coverage. We discussed it just like we normally do between each series about what just transpired and what we need to do next.
The one thing about Will is he owns everything he does. Because if you don't own it, then you're going to make the same mistake again because you don't realize how you did it. He knew right away he just didn't see the linebacker.
He felt like the top of the coverage was deep enough and Jeremiah had pushed them off enough where he could throw the ball to him, but he didn't spot the underneath coverage.
That's something he'll learn from. And hopefully, the one thing I love about Will, usually he doesn't make the same mistake twice. So let's hope that he has that out of his system.
Q. Obviously came into the season, probably one of the best (inaudible). Leonard Moore stepped up really well. Curious thoughts on him and what that whole secondary has got.
CHIP KELLY: I think the whole secondary, you look at how much man they play, and the reason they do it is because they can. And no one's really exploited that with them. So I think they all can cover.
So it's not like, well, just stay away from him and throw against this guy. I think all of them are really, really skilled. And I think how coordinated it is with the whole group, that they all have an understanding of where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be there. And they do a really good job of it.
So I know they did lose a corner early in the season. But they've seemed to just continue to roll on defense and the statistics will show you that.
(more)
