Elliott Loving Competition At Safety And Leadership From Lea
Notre Dame got the Clark Lea era off to a good start on Saturday night as the Irish defense controlled the Michigan offense for most of the game in a 24-17 win.
Junior safety Jalen Elliott believes Lea has ramped up the competition on the defensive side of the ball over the last nine months and that has turned the Irish defense into an aggressive group.
“It’s all attributed to Coach Lea,” Elliott stated. “He’s a great leader and competitor. It rubs off on us when we’re out on the field. We’re pushing each other and feeding off of him. It’s definitely something we appreciate from him.”
The 6-foot, 205-pounder doesn’t feel like Lea changed the defense much from Mike Elko’s scheme a year ago, but year two of the same scheme and Lea’s leadership have allowed Notre Dame to take the next step.
“The changes have been minimal, but it’s been more about him leading and instilling us to get to the ball and also be accountable to each other,” said Elliott. “He wants us to play smart, fast and hard. We’ve carried it over to the field.
“Being the competitors we all are, we love playing for someone like that.”
Entering training camp, the safety positions were up for grabs and Elliott was at the center of it as he was in a battle with Nick Coleman.
While each player wants to play, Elliott stated there wasn’t any bad blood in the competition as the group wanted to get better as a whole.
“We were all pushing each other regardless of who started or who was playing,” explained Elliott. “We were all working on our craft to get better. That was the biggest thing. We’re only as strong as our weakest link, so if we’re all pushing each other, we aren’t hurting each other.
“We’re all competitors, and we all want to win. It’s easy to feed off each other. Everybody won’t be on every day, but we try to keep the energy up.”
Elliott was thrown to the wolves as a freshman and had some growing pains as a sophomore, but those experiences have helped him be in a position to take significant strides this fall. The addition of safeties coach Terry Joseph has been a positive experience for Elliott as well as a focus on finishing.
“I’ve really tried to work on finishing plays whether it’s tackling or the ball in the air,” stated Elliott. “With the help of Coach Joseph and my other safeties, I have finished plays, and we all got better in that aspect.
“I think the physicality of the game is definitely showing in all of us. We’re just trying to take it one week at a time and get better every week.”
Speaking of physicality, Elliott had the hit of the week last week as he laid out a Michigan tight end. Elliott downplayed the hit, but it was the kind of play that has been missing from the Notre Dame defense for quite some time.
“You hope you get opportunities to make plays like that,” Elliott said of the big hit. “It felt good, but we have to continue to work and get ready for the next week.”