"He's as good as advertised." - Adrien Spencer on Mike Elko

Notre Dame looks to have landed its guy in defensive coordinator Mike Elko, as multiple reports surfaced on Thursday night that both sides were in the final stages of finalizing a multi-year deal. But who is Mike Elko? What kind of coach is he? Is he a good recruiter? How does he coach his players?
 
We had the chance to talk to one of Elko’s former players, Adrien Spencer. The former Bowling Green defensive back played three seasons with Elko as the defensive coordinator and told Irish Sports Daily the details on the man who had a big impact on his career.
 
“Coach Elko is outrageously smart,” Spencer told Irish Sports Daily. “The guy is a genius when it comes to X’s and O’s. He is almost so smart it was almost tough to learn. I can’t really describe it. He eats, sleeps and lives football. He’s just a genius in a nutshell when it comes to that.
 
“He’s very, very passionate about the game. If you don’t meet that level, you’re not seeing the field. He’s an excellent guy on the field. Coach Elko is a great guy and he’s good as advertised.”  
The Fort Wayne native comes from an extensive background in football. His older brother, Anthony Spencer, played for Purdue and the Dallas Cowboys, but Spencer also has close ties with AWP (Athletes with Purpose), a local training facility that has produced many Division-I athletes and NFL players, including former Notre Dame stars Tyler Eifert and Jaylon Smith.
 
When Spencer says the defense was complicated, it doesn’t mean that it’s a complex scheme, but more so about Elko finding a way to learn how to teach it to his players. Spencer admitted the system does take time to click, but once it clicks, there is nothing but good things to come from it.
 
“It wasn’t complicated at all,” explained Spencer. “He’s just so smart, it was pretty tough for him to dumb it down for us. Once he was able to dumb it down, kids were flying around with their heads off. It’s pretty simple, but we were just young and looking into it too much. It’s pretty basic.
 
“It’s not complex or too hard. It’s almost mind-blowing. It’s almost a whole different level of football that he sees. It just falls in place and it’s like a domino effect. The whole process is putting the dominos up and then once they are up, it’s just rolling. It may take a year or two, but once it’s setup, it rolls and is a joy to see.”
 
In three seasons of play, Spencer tallied 83 tackles and two interceptions in Elko’s defense. Spencer gives Elko a lot of credit for his work leading up to the game to put his players in position to have success on Saturday.
 
“One thing I do give him a lot of credit for is his opponent study,” stated Spencer. “He could predict plays before they even happened and that’s pretty tough with all these different schemes and things coaches are running. You guys will see and that’s all I can say.
 
“Everywhere he has been, the defense has been dominating. That’s all he does. He eats and sleeps football. The hard work is paying off and he’s climbing the ladder.”
 
Spencer also has plenty of first-hand knowledge of the type of coach Elko is. It’s clear in talking to past players, former Notre Dame defensive coordinators Bob Diaco and Brian VanGorder had good relationships with their players, but Spencer feels Elko can relate to his guys to get the most out of them.  
 
“He is energetic,” said Spencer. “He’s kind of chill and jokes around sometimes, but when he gets fired up, he’s really fired up. We thought his head was going to explode sometimes because his head gets really red. If you don’t come with that juice or energy on the practice field, he’s not afraid to start it over or kick you off and come back later.
 
“That was one thing that was tough for me to learn and I learned the hard way. I was more of the laid-back guy and didn’t show too much emotion. He promotes emotion and it fuels you as a player. It honestly makes you play better and once you realize that, he gets kids rolling.”
 
While Spencer wasn’t recruited by Elko, he picked up on Elko’s style and how he recruits, which he feels will be a hit at Notre Dame.  
 
“He’s good recruiter,” Spencer stated. “He’s just a down to earth guy and he keeps it honest. That’s what kids like these days. They don’t want sugarcoating and he will keep it honest with kids. Sometimes it’s tough to recruit kids from different backgrounds, because you can’t relate, but he does a good job trying to relate. Sometimes it will be forced and you can’t get mad at him for that, because he doesn’t know.
 
“He’s not a bad recruiter, but he’s not the greatest. He does what he has to do to get kids. At BGSU, we had some talent and had athletic guys like Notre Dame has. If he gets kids at BGSU and Wake Forest to ball and dominate without that talent, the sky is the limit for him at Notre Dame.
 
“Even if he doesn’t get the top-notch kids, the kids he gets are going to play well. He just brings it out of you. I wouldn’t be too worried about him recruiting.”

Spencer knows the Notre Dame program well, as several friends and people he knows played for the program and gave his stamp of approval on the hire.  
 
“I know all about the tradition at Notre Dame,” said Spencer. “They definitely got a great coach.”