Chip Kelly Updates: Notre Dame Defense Legit, Buckeyes Healthy And Hungry

Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly met with reporters for his first media availability ahead of Monday’s National Championship Game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Kelly answered questions about quarterback Will Howard, what the Irish do on defense, the difficulty of such a long season, the offensive line, and much more. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden does a good job of mixing and matching coverages. Their back end matches what they do on the front end.
Texas rolled things toward Jeremiah Smith to take him away. Will Howard did a good job of taking what Texas gave him. “The beauty of what we have here is we have more than one weapon.”
Did Chip Kelly give Will Howard a tough time after tripping on the fourth down: “I could have.” Howard can’t respond so Kelly can say whatever he wants to him. It was a huge play for them.
Are you happy for Ryan Day given what he’s gone through? “Yeah, I am.” Knowing him for so long, Kelly is not surprised at his success. “He’s built for this. He’s the same person every day.”
Is there a load of off of Day’s shoulders? “No. I do not sense any load off of his shoulders right now.”
What do you like about two tight ends on the field together? It depends on what the defense does to respond. Do they think the matchup is favorable to OSU or the opponent. Notre Dame is good at matching with the 12 personnel looks. If Notre Dame operates against it like they think they will, they will use it. If they don’t and it isn’t working like they thought, they won’t use it as much.
Austin Siereveld was banged up a little bit against Texas. Luke Montgomery did a good job with his extended snaps.
On the challenge of Notre Dame’s defense: They do an outstanding job. They have some veteran leaders. Two sixth-year guys. They have depth at all three levels. They’re smart and the communicate very well. They are well coached.
On the secondary: They can play man very well. Nobody has been able to exploit that. They can all cover. They are all coordinated well.
Does this being the last game change any preparation: That’s a good question but they haven’t talked about that yet. They certainly don’t save plays for down the road.
On calling the screen play on the second quarter: There were 29 seconds left and so they thought it was a safe play to run. Obviously it worked. It worked because TreVeyon Henderson is a very good player.
How has Jeremiah Smith responded: He’s been great. He was flying around at practice. “He’s always a forward-looking guy.” That speaks to his maturity. He is always looking for the next challenge.
Your reaction to Jack Sawyer’s touchdown: “Just excited.” First and goal from the 1-yard line. They were talking about getting the ball back tied with very little time and what the offense would need to do. That was a storybook happening right in front of you.
Have you watched last year’s Notre Dame game? Yes. They have looked at that game and every game this year. They’ve played man coverage in every game this year.
Would Ohio State be here without the loss to Michigan? “I’ve learned a long time ago as a coach that I’m not into narratives.” They live in a week-to-week world.
On the decision to come to Ohio State: “It’s been awesome.” You think about the day to day operation, so being around these players on a daily basis has made this very special. This is an extremely close-knit group.
On Brian Hartline’s ability to develop players: Whatever the word is that’s better than “really, really good” is what Hartline is. He’s as good as Kelly has been around. He can put together a very good passing game plan. He demands elite practice in drills. Then he shows his players how it manifests in the games.
They talked about the long-term plan for this season from the outset. There was no proven plan in place to get to 16 or 17 games, so they operated with that in mind with regards to the running game. “We knew this was going to be a battle of attrition.” The RBs have been great sharing the load and they’re both producing about the same amount.
Donovan Jackson has been an unsung hero. Switching from guard to tackle is not an easy transition. He’s been outstanding. He and TreVeyon Henderson were the offensive players of the game against Texas. “We all look at Donnie as the leader on that side of the ball.”
On the third-down reception by Gee Scott to give them a 4th and two opportunity: It completely changed their plan. You had the ability to run or throw it. “That was big.” Gee Scott has done everything that has been asked of him all along the way.
Quinshon Judkins’ physicality: He’s brought it all year long. He sets the tone and his teammates expect that from him. You’re not going to win it by being a passive group. Look at his block against Texas on TreVeyon’s run. It speaks volumes on their ability to work together.
What’s impressed you most about Will Howard: His leadership and how he grew into the role organically. He came in and just went to work. The players respected that. They have also seen the growth as a quarterback and player. They saw how hard he studies and his ability to handle everything with this offense. His decision making has allowed the offense to do more. It’s been a joy as a coach.
How did you guys get it together after losing two starting OL? It’s a combination of everything. You look at what the new guys do well and how to protect weaknesses. Having Seth McLaughlin available after Josh Simmons went down allowed them to weather that storm. Carson Hinzman was then ready to step in at center when McLaughlin went down. They knew the depth was going to be tested this year.
Will Howard stepped up as a leader when Seth McLaughlin went down. Howard is conscious of what is always going on, so he stepped up, along with Donovan Jackson, and they brought the rest of the offense along with them.
The last game is here and you have all of your weapons available to you, what does that feel like right now? Is the whole world open to you? You feel like that until you turn the Notre Dame tape on. You watch those guys play and if you’re a fan of football, you appreciate how well they are playing right now.
“I don’t think there’s any coach six days before the national championship game that thinks, ‘I got this.'”