NOTRE DAME - Five practices into fall camp, junior Andrew Hendrix and sophomore Everett Golson look & feel light years ahead of where they were in the spring.
"It's not even close," Andrew Hendrix said after practice Wednesday.
"Especially the defensive part of it. Understanding defenses. Understanding how our schemes apply to defenses. It's been world's different from where I've been in the past."
"The first five days have been good," Golson agrees. "I'm seeing a lot of progression from the spring."
Coach Brian Kelly has made a point of putting his young quarterbacks in more 11-on-11 situations this fall, something Hendrix sees as great preparation.
"11-on-11 is real football. That's the game we play, so it's a chance for us to get in, show what we have, show how well we know the offense, so those 11-on-11 periods are really good for us."
While Hendrix, who has limited game experience, just needs more of it in live game situations, sophomore Everett Golson is still perfecting what Brian Kelly calls his mix of art and science.
"I have the art of it. I need the science," says Golson.
"That was one of my biggest things: getting into the film room and getting my mechanics down and being a better quarterback."
Both players are comfortable in the spotlight and eager for a chance to prove themselves when it matters most.
"I'm try ing to go at it with all I've got", Golson says. "We're all trying to start at Notre Dame, which is one of the greatest opportunities you can ever have."
" If that's not your mindset then you have no business being out there competing", says Hendrix.
"As long as I just focus on what I can do, being the best me that I can be. If that's not enough, then it's not enough. That's coach Kelly's decision."
