Del Alexander Notes

Notre Dame receivers coach Del Alexander spoke with the media on Wednesday. Alexander has been pleased with the development of the receiver room and is looking forward to making some tough decisions.

On the freshmen

"Those guys have hit the ground running. Michael Young has really latched onto Cam Smith. What Cam writes and does, Michael writes and does. He has used Cam to learn the things that happen when the games start.

"Jafar from day one has shown his explosiveness, power, and strength. Those guys haven’t hesitated to come in and act they’ve been here before."

On Cam Smith

"It’s a quiet relationship because Cam doesn’t say much. I have told him Coach Long, and I are proud of him. I was there when he flew in from Dallas after his surgery and picked him up from the airport. It’s great to see where he is coming from where he was two years ago."

On Rotation

"I like the challenge of having six to eight guys capable of playing. You probably don’t get that far into your rotation, but at the same time, if we’re going fast and running a lot of plays, having two groups to be effective is what I am looking for.

"I think we’re really, really close. I won’t say we are there, but we aren’t done with camp and haven’t gotten to the season. Guys are developing fast and taking to the coaching. In the last part of camp, it’s just situational football, being smart in those tough situations on third-down, red zone, and in the two-minute drill. We are trying to find those thinkers." 

On Chase Claypool

"Like most of the guys, last year was his first year playing. It’s about getting experience through reps. Looking at him, you see his explosiveness and how powerful he is, but he has to be more than that. He has to make sure he is focused on attention to detail is at a high level. It’s not about potential, but how he is playing and reacting to every situation."

"That’s where it gets tough. That’s why Coach Kelly says there is one guy that punched his ticket, another guy with a lot of football experience that is right there. The other guys are going out every day with a worker’s mentality. The good news is there is a cluster of guys.

"You have the Claypool, Boykin, Finke, Sanders, and the two young guys. The way I see it is the cluster is depth. Someone is going to separate themselves, but there is good depth at the position."

On Freddie Canteen

"We were looking for experience. We wanted to add experience to the room. We wanted to add speed to the room. I think we hit on both of those with Canteen and Smith. Those guys haven’t stopped the growth and development of the other guys. Those guys are working well together, and they are competing against each other. There is a room full of hungry players.

"Cam and Freddie have not played much over the last couple years. There is a hunger and desire there. I think the other guys are trying to match that hunger."