Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Quick Notes: Mike Elko
April 21, 2017
4,618
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko was anxious to get to work before spring football. 13 practices later, Elko has seen progress from his defense but admits there is plenty of room to grow and improve before Temple comes to South Bend in September.
On Rover
“We’ve tried quite a few bodies out there,” said Elko. “As spring has gone on, we have got a feel for what each of them can do and what parts of the package we can run with each of them. We have a good pulse on how we want the position to play out and who will be there doing what.
“Asmar Bilal is playing there a good amount. Drue Tranquill and Rob Regan are playing there, so those three have predominantly been the guys. As we move into the fall, maybe someone like Shaun Crawford could potentially get involved there too.”
On the installation of his defense
“We have maybe gotten close to 50 percent of all of it up and running,
stated Elko. “With where we are right now if we were to defend the style of offense we are playing every day, I think we have about 50 or 60 percent in.
“This spring was more about developing the way we want to play. We wanted to develop things the way we wanted it to look. We knew we had to spend at that and it was the priority. I am happy with where we are, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Improvements
“We are disrupting the football better,” Elko said. “We are leveraging the football better. We are playing harder. Those three things over the course of spring have gotten better. We fit the run better. We are rushing the passer better.
“I am not trying to simplify the answer, but when you put the video on, they are playing harder than the first practice. We are disrupting the football more than in the first practice. That’s the stuff we chart and look at every day.
“They are trying to strip the football and running as hard as they can. They aren’t rocket science answers. You put on practice one and guys aren’t running as hard as they can. You put on practice 13, and they are running as hard as they can.”
On safety
“It’s a process of figuring out what they do well and how to best utilize their skill sets,” explained Elko. “I think we become better with that as we have come on and we have evolved the package to fit who we are going to be playing back there. I am excited about it, and we have to continue to develop. We have to utilize the next few months to get better.”
Interior Defensive Line
“I am happy with our defensive line progress,” said Elko. “There was a lot written about that group, but I am happy with the progress they have made this spring. Mike (Elston) has done a good job developing them and they have bought into the way we want to play defense.
“I think there are four or five guys on the inside that are starting to get into a position where we feel comfortable with them stepping in.”
On Rover
“We’ve tried quite a few bodies out there,” said Elko. “As spring has gone on, we have got a feel for what each of them can do and what parts of the package we can run with each of them. We have a good pulse on how we want the position to play out and who will be there doing what.
“Asmar Bilal is playing there a good amount. Drue Tranquill and Rob Regan are playing there, so those three have predominantly been the guys. As we move into the fall, maybe someone like Shaun Crawford could potentially get involved there too.”
On the installation of his defense
“We have maybe gotten close to 50 percent of all of it up and running,
stated Elko. “With where we are right now if we were to defend the style of offense we are playing every day, I think we have about 50 or 60 percent in.
“This spring was more about developing the way we want to play. We wanted to develop things the way we wanted it to look. We knew we had to spend at that and it was the priority. I am happy with where we are, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Improvements
“We are disrupting the football better,” Elko said. “We are leveraging the football better. We are playing harder. Those three things over the course of spring have gotten better. We fit the run better. We are rushing the passer better.
“I am not trying to simplify the answer, but when you put the video on, they are playing harder than the first practice. We are disrupting the football more than in the first practice. That’s the stuff we chart and look at every day.
“They are trying to strip the football and running as hard as they can. They aren’t rocket science answers. You put on practice one and guys aren’t running as hard as they can. You put on practice 13, and they are running as hard as they can.”
On safety
“It’s a process of figuring out what they do well and how to best utilize their skill sets,” explained Elko. “I think we become better with that as we have come on and we have evolved the package to fit who we are going to be playing back there. I am excited about it, and we have to continue to develop. We have to utilize the next few months to get better.”
Interior Defensive Line
“I am happy with our defensive line progress,” said Elko. “There was a lot written about that group, but I am happy with the progress they have made this spring. Mike (Elston) has done a good job developing them and they have bought into the way we want to play defense.
“I think there are four or five guys on the inside that are starting to get into a position where we feel comfortable with them stepping in.”
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