Notes From Assistant Coach Press Conferences

Corwin Brown – Defensive Coordinator

• Brown spoke of the learning curve facing the defense with a new system, but said the way you handle that is to not make the same mistakes twice and always learn from them.
• A common theme from Brown’s talk was about keeping the defense simple which is a reoccurring theme from the spring.
• Brown is looking for the older guys like Zibby to lead by example by playing hard.
• He said he could identify with anyone who likes to hit, run , and is tough – qualities he said Zibby had.
• Brown spoke about wanting to replicate the type of defenses Notre Dame had when he played against Notre Dame.  He brought up the names of Michael Stonebreaker, Todd Lyght, George Williams, “Flash” Gordon, Scot Kowalkowski, Chris Zorich, and Frank Stams.
• He is looking for guys who can hit and like to run.

Rob Ianello – Wide Receivers Coach

• This is the best time of the year for coaches because players are the most eager to learn and everyone if fresh and focused.
• Ianello believes the competition will make the group strong.
• It doesn’t matter to the receivers who the quarterback is going to be.  They will have to run their routes the same way regardless of who is the quarterback.

Bill Lewis – Defensive Backs Coach

Lewis stressed cutting down on the number of big plays this year – something that has plagued Notre Dame for the last few years.
Lewis made mention that pressure and coverage is a two way street – the pass rush is better with good coverage and coverage is a lot easier when there is a good pass rush.
Lining up against the first team offense gives the defense an advantage because of the skill level of the offense.
It’s very easy to see why Bill Lewis is such a good coach – he’s just a natural teacher when he speaks.

Ron Powlus – Quarterback Coach

• His job is both teaching the QBs the art of quarterbacking as well as being a mentor to them as someone how has been a quarterback at Notre Dame.
• Powlus said the situation is fairly similar to when he first came to Notre Dame as a quarterback 15 years ago regarding some of the uncertainty surrounding the team.
• He said his experience of playing the position is his best asset as a coach because he was exposed to numerous coaching styles throughout his career.

Jappy Oliver – Defensive Line Coach

• Oliver said he was familiar with the 3-4 defense, but not necessarily too familiar with everything they are doing with it.  He mentioned that they don’t move as much up front as some versions of the 3-4 do.
• Would love for Trevor Laws to be more of a vocal leader instead of just leading by example, but also said he is still a very good leader.