How Notre Dame is preparing for ‘hornets’ nest’ at Texas AM

It’s not just another game, nor is it just another stadium. Notre Dame is not hiding from that as it prepares to travel to Texas A&M for Week 1.

Kyle Field in College Station, Texas is one of the more difficult places to play in college football, for several reasons. Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock knows this better than anyone; he brought a vastly superior LSU team there on Nov. 26, 2022 and lost by multiple scores. The Tigers entered at 9-2, having clinched a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship game, and a 4-7 Aggies squad beat them 38-23.

Denbrock captured the Texas A&M game day environment with two words: “hornets’ nest.”

“It is loud,” Denbrock said Saturday. “Chaotic. Warm, I think someone brought up. All of those things are true.

“It’s a very, very difficult, hostile place to function, especially as the visiting team on the offensive side of the ball.”

The noise, brought by over 102 thousand fans who are notorious for raising the decibel level greater than the sum of their parts, will affect the game plan Denbrock brings down south. It has to. Planning like it’s a home game or a normal road game would be setting the Irish up for failure as they venture into hostile territory.

The veteran offensive coordinator explained that he’ll have to be careful about the amount of pre-snap motion, shifts and checks at the line of scrimmage he uses in Week 1. Notre Dame will also have to work in some different cadences and snap counts. The reason is simple: Its players won’t be able to hear each other on the field.

“It’s hard,” Denbrock said. “Communication is hard.”

That aspect could also affect who Notre Dame runs out at left tackle and left guard on Aug. 31.

Underclassmen Anthonie Knapp , a freshman, and Sam Pendleton , a sophomore, have little game experience or, in Knapp’s case, none. Performing well in practice as a young player is one thing, but doing it in a Kyle Field environment is another.

The opponent — Texas A&M might be the best defensive line the Irish face, led by two stars in Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner who combined for 16 sacks last season — is less of a factor here. As Denbrock pointed out, Notre Dame’s defensive line is also quite good. The players who perform best against graduate students RJ Oben and Howard Cross III are most likely to do the same against Scourton and Turner.

However, the implication of Knapp and Pendleton making their debuts in College Station is very much under consideration.

“Those are tough ones,” Denbrock said. “It’s almost like when you have your own children. At one point do you trust them to themselves?”

Then, there is the heat. Temperatures could be in the mid-90s or worse at kickoff, which is 6:30 p.m. local time on Aug. 31.

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden acknowledged that the defense will do much more rotating than it might do in a similarly significant game in South Bend. The rotation of five linebackers for two or three spots has been well-publicized, with linebackers coach Max Bullough being particularly adamant that it is the plan. But defensive line coach Al Washington and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens , Golden said, are preparing their position groups to be just as deep.

According to Golden, Washington has 10-11 defensive linemen that he’s trying to get ready to play. Mickens is preparing eight-10 defensive backs for significant roles.

“We’re trying to develop a herd at each position, or a pod that we can rotate through,” Golden said. “Obviously, the heat in the opener is one of the elements of the game. For us, we’re trying to develop every position.”

Particularly on third downs, Notre Dame will rotate in players who might not be starters, but are considered the team’s best pass rushers. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman singled out sophomore Vyper Boubacar Traore as one of several who could fill that role.

“I really like our pass rush package in terms of who we’re able to get on the field, but it’s a deep one, right?” Freeman said. “We have some guys who can rush the passer, and I know Coach Golden will have those guys on the field that need to be on the field.”

Freeman also stressed the importance of his players taking care of their bodies, hydrating and replenishing themselves the right way. That starts at the tail end of fall camp and has to continue throughout the next two weeks in the lead-up to Week 1.

“It’s not just, ‘Hey, before the game, you got to make sure you hydrate,’ Freeman said. “There are things that we’ve really been practicing during practice now. Like, ‘How do you refuel yourself?’”

The other side of that, Freeman explained, is their mindset. The coaching staff believes it has a well-conditioned, mentally tough team. It’s almost time for the Irish to prove it.

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