Brian Kelly Wraps up Notre Dame Fall Camp ’16 Week 1

Notre Dame wrapped up its first week of fall camp for 2016 on Saturday.  After the final practice of the week Brian Kelly met with the media.  Thanks to WatchND we have the full video (above) and thanks to a new found setting in our CMS we have the video embedded above all fancy like instead of thrown into the post.

For those unable to watch and listen, no worries, here are all the notes from Kelly’s media session.

• Kelly was not concerned about the offense’s struggles in the red-zone on Saturday.  The Irish offense reportedly struggled mightily in the red-zone against the first team defense yesterday.  Kelly said they feel still have enough weapons with the wide receivers, tight ends, and the quarterbacks running the ball to score point.
• Two of the top  five playmakers on the team are the quarterbacks.  Kelly referenced one (presumably Deshone Kizer) making checks at the line and creating great match-ups while the other (presumably Malik Zaire) is making people miss in the backfield and getting the ball to receivers.
• Kelly said Jarron Jones is showing him more than being a 25-30 plays a game player because of the way he has handled the load of work so far in camp.  Jones apparently had a minor foot injury that would have slowed him down in the past but he hasn’t missed a beat.
• While praising Shaun Crawford’s toughness and instincts, Kelly specifically mentioned his skills in the nickel position because he can cover skill players across the field and make plays.
• Tony Jones has had a high workload and has been impressive so far.  Kelly described him as “very coachable” and gave him credit for some good blitz pickups.  He has been playing a lot in practice with Josh Adams and Dexter Williams nursing minor injuries.
• Kelly described WDE Jay Hayes as one of the more “rough and tumble physical guys”.  Kelly went so far as to say that Hayes can even handle simple drop situations at 280 lbs.  It sounds like that WDE position will be a rotation all year.  Daelin Hayes was the second name he mentioned at WDE even before Andrew Trumbetti.  Sounds like the frosh will play early and often.
• Kelly said that Daelin Hayes is at a point where he can play against the first time and has been facing off against the likes of Mike McGlinchey in pass rush situations.
• No one has wrapped up the right guard position just yet.  Tristen Hoge and Colin McGovern have been getting the most work at RG lately.  Hunter Bivin has been working as a reserve tackle.  Kelly did not mention freshman Tommy Kraemer in the mix.  There’s no timeline for picking a starter at RG.
• When pressed on Kraemer, Kelly said that he will keep playing both guard and tackle.  He is “light years ahead of any true freshman we’ve had here at Notre Dame.”  My own translation here. they want to get Kraemer on the field as soon as possible because they know he’s going to be a stalwart for years to come.
• Nick Coleman, Donte Vaughn, and Julian Love were mentioned as players who have stepped up with Nick Watkins and Devin Butler out.  On Coleman specifically, Kelly mentioned the staff trying to fast track him last year but he was really an offensive player playing defense as a converted running back.
• Cole Luke has been impressive all camp according to Kelly.  He has “mastered his technique” and combined his smarts with his technique.  Kelly praised the senior corner as having been one of the smartest players on the team the last few years.