Offensive Notebook | Avery Davis & George Takacs
Notre Dame captain Avery Davis and tight end George Takacs spoke following Tuesday’s practice.
Notre Dame WR and Captain Avery Davis
On USC:
"We're excited. It's a rivalry game and a historic game we've been playing for many decades. Personally, I haven't played in the game, so I'm super excited. I think the energy is through the roof and I think we're all ready to go."
On final drive at Virginia Tech:
"In the huddle, you wouldn't have thought we were losing the game by eight. It was a different kind of feeling for some teams. It wasn't like we score and kick the field goal. We scored and we knew we needed to score again.
"Looking at every one of my guys eyes, it was nothing but confidence. We work the two-minute drill every single week. We worked it in camp and we pride ourselves in two-minute. Coming into that, it was nothing but confidence. We looked each other in the eyes and we knew what we had to do."
On QB Jack Coan:
"He has ice in his veins. He's cold-blooded. That just made me excited. We all had confidence in him because we know what type of player he is. He's led us in drives in practices and games. We know he can execute when he's in and just to be able to come in from not playing and lead a game-winning drive, throw dimes, put the ball where it needs to be, execute the play and protections, it's admirable. He's cold-blooded."
On WR Lorenzo Styles:
"I've seen so much growth in that kid so quickly too. It's really crazy to see when he first came in the spring to where he's at now - it's amazing. The growth he's been able to accumulate and how much better he's getting. It's making me realize his potential and I haven't seen his ceiling yet.
"If it was something he struggled with early coming in, he's tuned that up and there are other things he's working on. The way he's able to grow and bounce back or learn from his mistakes and get better is incredible. He's super talented on top of that. The raw talent was always there, but the way he's able to get the fundamentals down - it might be scary with him going forward."
TE George Takacs
On USC:
"That's huge for me. USC is a big rival and probably the biggest rival for me growing up a Notre Dame fan. I always grew up watching the USC games.
"For me knowing I'm going to go in and play pretty significant snaps is a dream come true. I'm a senior, but I've never actually had a snap in the USC game before. It's really exciting."
On TE room:
"It's definitely like a next-man in mentality. All the guys are ready and able and confident in their own abilities. It's really just about trying to make sure we all stay healthy from this point out.
"Some guys have newer roles like you see (Michael) Carmody working with us a little bit and some of the younger guys are getting more action than they probably normally would like Mitch (Evans). It's really about stepping out and executing."
On growth:
"I came in my freshman year and I wasn't ready to play. From there, it's really been trying to work hard, work on my craft and really focusing on the finer details on the position. Stuff that's maybe not physical development as much as it is your hands and feet in the run game or coming in and out of your breaks in the pass game. It's been a long process and I'm happy with where I'm at now and I'm going to keep working to get better."
On offensive potential:
"You see every week the chemistry getting better and guys getting more comfortable. It's never a question about talent, but it's all about the guys really just getting used to playing and getting comfortable with each other. Everyone is doing a better job of it and I think it's going to keep trending upwards.
"You see it practice and in camp all the time. I think it's the most talented group I've ever been part of. Seeing some of guys like Mike (Mayer), Kev (Austin) and Kyren (Williams) and then you see young guys like (Logan) Diggs stepping up last week. There are guys at every position that can make plays, so I'm excited to see where it's going to go."
On next step for the offense:
"It's everyone executing every play. You see it all the time when you watch the tape, there's 10 dudes that really play their heart out and then there's one guy that maybe missed an assignment or something like that, which happens when you're new to playing. Less and less it's happening, but if we keep doing that, the sky is the limit for the offense."
On TE coach John McNulty:
"He's awesome. He's very much an NFL coach. He'll get on you in practice, but he never rides you into the ground. He's really good about taking the coaching points from the plays and not getting into you too bad. He's been huge developing me as a player."