ND’s Kelly seeks discipline

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly recently tried to send a message to his new players about what it takes to be successful by having them show up at 5 a.m. for winter workouts on a field still surrounded by snowbanks.

“We’re creating, really, an atmosphere that’s a little bit different,” he said.

Kelly said the workouts showed the coaches and players there’s a lot of work to be done if Notre Dame is to end the longest championship drought in the school’s history. Notre Dame last won a title in 1988, before many of the current players were born.

The Irish players know the workouts have shown they need to be more disciplined and pay more attention to detail, Kelly said.

“You have to work for it. It hasn’t worked out so well the last three years. You’re 15-21,” he said. “If you want to be a championship football team you have to be able to pay attention to detail. Our guys are starting to understand that.”

Some of the former Notre Dame players working out for NFL scouts during the school’s pro day on Tuesday said they have heard good things about the workouts under the new staff.

“They seem excited,” center Eric Olsen said. “They seem like they’re really buying into the strength program in the offseason and they’re excited about what Coach Kelly has done in the past and the success he’s had. They hope that he brings it here.”

Olsen laughed talking about some of his former teammates spending the 5 a.m. workouts “standing over trash cans.”

Offensive tackle Sam Young said the linemen have been talking about how their body fat is down. “Guys are buying in. I think at this early stage to be able to do that is phenomenal,” Young said.

Kelly said he was encouraged by the team’s desire to win and work as the team prepares to start spring practice on Friday.

“We did not lose one guy in this football program, where in the last three programs we had mass exodus. So this group understands how important it is to jump on board,” he said.

Kelly followed up on athletic director Jack Swarbrick’s recent comments about Notre Dame’s desire to remain independent in football despite concerns that sweeping changes in conferences could change that. Kelly said he prefers the independent status.

“You love the independence status as it relates to football, being able to play on the West Coast and the East Coast and not have to play at those same destination stops. I think it’s great for everybody, and our fan base goes coast to coast,” he said. “If we can continue to do that, that would be a preference. But again, I’m a realist. We’re going to do what’s right for the University of Notre Dame.”