BK Notebook: Wimbush, Book and Holmes
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly met the media for the final time before the Irish head to Chapel Hill on Friday. Kelly had positive news regarding quarterback Brandon Wimbush, as the 6-foot-2, 226-pounder was practicing on Thursday afternoon.
“He practiced today and did some good things,” Kelly stated. “We’ll go day-to-day and make the decision on game day.”
Wimbush didn’t do much early in the week, but the grade 1 strain has improved as the week.
“We had him throwing and just upper body on Tuesday,” explained Kelly. “Stretching, throwing the football and he didn’t do anything in terms of reps. Wednesday, he ran tracks and working fits with the running backs and light throwing. He took some reps today. He’s in a good place.
“We have two more days. He’ll get some more rehab. He’s where we hoped he would be and we expect more progress to be made over the next couple days.”
Redshirt freshman Ian Book could very well be in the line to make his first start on Saturday, but who would be the backup quarterback? Kelly says the role would be handled by Wimbush if he doesn’t start.
“If he (Wimbush) doesn’t start, he’s going to be able to do something,” said Kelly.
Kelly has seen enough of Book over the last year to know he can be successful moving the offense in a hostile environment.
“He’s very accurate with the football,” Kelly explained. “He’s got a good grasp of the offense, and he elevates the play of the guys around him. He was effective moving his squad in the Spring Game and every time he’s gotten a chance to scrimmage with his unit, he’s been effective moving the ball.
“He’s had a good week.”
As for the worst case scenario, Kelly covered who would be the third quarterback.
“Montgomery VanGorder would be the third quarterback that would play,” stated Kelly.
On freshman running back CJ Holmes:
“We brought him up with us with the intent that he can contribute. Our focus is on getting him involved in the running teams and special teams to see if we can get him involved in our offense.
“He’s a skilled player and has some talents. We hope to play eight more games. That’s a lot of season left. We wouldn’t bring him up with us if we didn’t think he was ready to play physically or didn’t have the skill set for us to win with him. We’ll see how the game plays out, but he’s with us to contribute and help us win.”
On running back injuries
“Josh (Adams) had a good day today. I’d say if I were rating in terms of guys coming back after ankle sprains, Tony (Jones Jr.) looked really good today. In terms of him and Dexter (Williams), Dexter is going to be able to play, but I think Tony is a little ahead of him right now. Josh will be the starter, and we have Deon (McIntosh) and CJ getting some reps. We have plenty of guys.”
On defensive philosophy:
“Part of the plan was to make certain we invested in the players that we had on hand. It wasn’t going to be a 15 or 18 players. We were going to invest in the players that were here and develop our players.
“We made that shift philosophically when I made the change last year through the season and continued when I met with Mike (Elko). We wanted to make sure we develop all of our players.”
Kelly continued.
“We did a really good job of finding what their level of confidence was and really played to it if they were first and second down players or third down players. As coaches, we didn’t say ‘This guy can’t play.’ We looked for reasons to play guys and to find out their skill set.
“We recruited them. We scholarshiped them. It’s our responsibility to develop them and get them on the field to help us win.”
On upcoming bye week:
“We’re all in on this game. It’s not like we played our rival last week. We aren’t emotionally drained, and we’re off next week. It’s all in this week. All of our players are ready to go.
“We have an ankle here and there, but we’re playing everybody. This is a game we need to win. It’s all in.”