Brian Kelly: Notre Dame prepared for Clemson to try to steal signs. ‘We’ve lived it’
Notre Dame is doing a different kind of preparation ahead of Saturday’s top 5 showdown with No. 1 Clemson.
In addition to game planning on offense, defense and special teams, the Irish are also preparing for Clemson to try to steal signals and are making adjustments to prevent that from happening.
The fourth-ranked Irish will host Clemson Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
“We’ve gotta do a great job so that we don’t tip anything off,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said on a teleconference Thursday. “If that’s wristbanding more or doing other things, we’re looking at all those alternatives.”
This will be Notre Dame’s first matchup with Clemson since the 2018 Cotton Bowl, a game the Tigers won 30-3 on their way to a national title.
A Kelly-coached Notre Dame team faced Clemson on one other occasion — when the Irish played at Clemson in 2015. The Tigers came away with a 24-22 victory.
Kelly said Thursday that his program has experienced Clemson stealing signals before, and Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables in particular has been accused of stealing signs.
“I think you have to be cognizant of it and be aware of it,” Kelly said of Clemson stealing signals. “There’s no question it’s something that we are dealing with. We’ve lived it and we’re prepared for it.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 12:42 PM.
