Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly isn’t one to shy away from telling you exactly what he thinks. No one knows this better than Irish receiver Michael Floyd. Kelly’s initial opinion of the junior was, well, different than that of former coach Charlie Weis, who felt Floyd was one of the top five receivers in the country.
“I thought Michael Floyd was overhyped,” Kelly said of Floyd. “I thought he was, at times, average.”
“If you watched him, were evaluating him, you go, ‘OK, he’s got a big body, he runs down the field,” Kelly elaborated. “If they throw it up there, there’s a good chance he’s going to get it. You never saw him in positions to run the dig or drive, be one-on-one, beat coverage on a quick slant on fourth down and snap his hands.”
Zing.
However, Kelly’s no-nonsense coaching style has apparently lit a fire under Floyd, who by Kelly’s own account, has been one of the most improved players over the off-season.
“In 20 years, I have not had a player who has worked as hard as Michael Floyd has worked,” Kelly said. “And I mean that. He has out-worked everybody on the offensive side of the ball to the point where he has single-handedly set the bar for where everybody else needs to bring their play.”
Floyd’s improvement is good news for Notre Dame. With the loss of Golden Tate to the NFL, Floyd will need to play a bigger role in the Irish offense this fall. Last year, Floyd brought in 44 receptions for 795 yards and 9 touchdowns.
