Charlie Weis Jr. Notebook | 9.16
South Florida offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will return to South Bend this weekend and spoke about the challenges facing the Irish defense along with what it will be like to return to Notre Dame.
On the depth of Notre Dame’s defense:
"They played 11 defensive linemen, maybe in the first quarter in their opener. You turn on the tape, 'Yeah, that guy is good. Yeah, that guy is good. Yeah, that guy is good.'
"They roll those dudes in there and ain't any drop-off. We would definitely like to get there at some point. They've done a tremendous job. Coach Kelly has done a tremendous job recruiting there. Their defensive coordinator, Coach (Clark) Lea, has done a great job getting some players there."
On Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton:
"Notre Dame is a team that's really deep. They've got plenty of secondary players they can roll in there. Kyle Hamilton is a special player. He's really long and very physical. They do a whole bunch of different things with him. They get him in the box and add him into the run fit. He's doing a really good job with that. He's going to bring you down in a 1-on-1 situation. When they put him in the middle of the field, he does a good job taking away some of those boundary throws. He has really good range.
"The biggest thing that stands out is his length and being able to take so many different things away at that size.
"I think they'll be fine. They have plenty of good players behind him as well."
On going back to Notre Dame:
"A lot of special memories up in South Bend. The Notre Dame community is an amazing place. Lots of great moments growing up there. The first couple of years, having some awesome memories going to big bowl games and Brady Quinn being a Heisman finalist. Definitely, some special and fond memories. I've seen some tough times towards the end, but overall, I have a lot of love for South Bend and a lot of love for Notre Dame. It'll be really cool to go back home."
On emotions going back to South Bend:
"It's just another game. Probably when I first saw it, I thought 'Wow, that's going to be really cool' going up there and maybe some emotions.
"Maybe I'll feel that when I hear the fight song for the first time on the opposite sideline. At the end of the day, it's another game and my job is to help our players at South Florida do the best they can do and put us in a situation to win the game. That's all I'm focused on."
On talks with his dad:
"I talk to him pretty much every day on my way home from work. He's just been encouraging me to take it one game at a time and all that stuff - keep my head down and keep working.
"He thinks it's a really cool deal going back to South Bend. I have my sister, who lives up there in South Bend. It'll be cool to play back in front of a lot of people I know."