Alabama QB Mac Jones Talks Notre Dame Defense
Mac Jones has been getting familiar with Notre Dame’s defense in advance of Friday’s College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Dallas and one thing the Alabama quarterback has learned is that the Irish defenders know themselves and their scheme.
“I think the big thing is that those guys in the back end, they know where their weaknesses are, and they're always in the right spot,” Jones said earlier this week. “When you play a defense like that, you've got to understand that they know where they're supposed to be and you just have to find the right holes in the defense.
“And obviously they're really well-coached and they play really hard. Whenever someone is getting tackled there's nine, 10, 11 guys on the ball. It just shows that they play together and they play really hard. And they're one of the top defenses in the country.”
Jones has certainly got to know Irish safety Kyle Hamilton well since the matchup was announced last Sunday.
“He's all over the tape,” Jones said of Hamilton. “You see him everywhere. He's blitzing, he's in the back end, hiding pressures then coming or covering people.
“He's a real lengthy guy. I think he's like 6-4. You can see it on the tape. He understands football. You can tell he really studies his part and he knows exactly what to do.”
Then Jones paid Hamilton about the highest compliment a safety can be paid.
“It's almost like an Ed Reed-type person where you have to find him every play,” said Jones. “You've got to know where he is, because he can really ruin a play for you if you're not finding that player.”
Rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is another potential game-wrecker for Notre Dame.
“The guy obviously won the Butkus Award,” said Jones. “You see him on film, he can cover people, he's all over the field, creates turnovers, causes fumbles, interceptions, all sorts of things. I think he's like the pivotal piece in the defense, but at the same time they've got great players all around. They create a lot of movement in the defensive line, play a lot of different guys.
“Linebackers are bigger, run-stopper-type guys, but at the same time they're all over the field as well. And with the four guys on the back end, we already talked about 14 and he's kind of the leader back there. All those guys played a lot of football. It's nine seniors, something like that. We've just got to be ready. They're the top defense in the country, and obviously really good on third down, too. So, we're just looking forward to the opportunity.”