Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chuck Martin met with the media today for the first time since mid-August. I’ll have more of his thoughts on the quarterback situation in particular (his guess on how it will play out: “I have no idea”) and the offensive struggles as a whole in tomorrow’s paper, but here are some bonus cuts:
On Everett Golson’s struggles against Michigan: “He’s had some hot and cold moments in every game. The Michigan game was different. He doesn’t really have an explanation. We haven’t dwelled on it. I asked him. You were off, you knew you were off, Coach knew you were off. Whatever’s gotten to him, was it Saturday night against Michigan, was it a couple mid-terms during the week? I’m not a psychologist. For me, it’s just part of life. You learn from it and you move forward. He knows that he wasn’t locked in like he should have been locked in, and you can’t have that happen again.”
On whether Golson’s running ability will be integrated into the offense: “I think the kid definitely can be an asset in the run game, long term. We know he’s got some good athleticism and the ability to run the ball. There’s a lot on his plate already. (If) we add the run element, is he capable of running? Yeah, but it’s just another piece, it’s running, getting hit, getting more tired, gasping for air. Now I gotta go back the next down and try to throw the ball. It’s a slow progression moving forward, which he’s doing a nice job of. … Certainly there’s a run element that we haven’t really used during his career, and we’re going to use it. (But) you don’t want to crush the kid. First game in Ireland; second game is his first home game; third game he’s at Michigan State, a pretty hostile place; fourth game is prime time against Michigan. He hasn’t really eased into his college career. So we’re trying to keep him moving forward knowing there’s going to be some highs and lows, but keeping him pointed in the right direction.”
On Tommy Rees’ experience: “It helps. His experience certainly helps in
the management of our offense, there’s no question. He’s got a lot of
experience under his belt. And a lot of calmness. It’s like anyone else.
That certainly is a factor anytime he comes in. Even the last two
minutes against Purdue — did we not feel comfortable with Everett going
out there and throwing the ball? No. It more had to do with the
management of the drive. We felt good about both of them throwing the
ball. That certainly is something a more experienced guy brings
to the table. You’ve got experience, you’ve played you’ve got
confidence, you’ve seen it before 100 times. You don’t flinch. Where
Everett’s at the point where he understands, he’s seeing it, but he
still flinches sometimes. He doesn’t flinch all the time, he’s made some
great run checks this year. You know the knowledge is there. It’ just
about experience. Unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you look
at it, he’s getting experience under fire right now.”
On the chemistry among Golson, Rees, Andrew Hendrix and Gunner Kiel: “The chemistry’s been awesome with all five of our quarterbacks. There was a lot of competition in fall camp, everybody was helping each other. Right now it’s been awesome, everybody’s still helping each other. They’re awesome kids. I think they all see that the other guys are talented, too. They all see they all have things to work on and they’re working on it together to try to get better. That’s how we’ve been coaching them since Day 1.”
