Notre Dame Football: Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock Notebook

His early thoughts on Riley Leonard, goals of camp, and wide receiver growth all discussed

Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock talks to players at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. / GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mike Denbrock is in his third stint at Notre Dame, this time returning as one of the most highly regarded offensive minds in college football.

Denbrock has had success at both Cincinnati and LSU since his last Notre Dame stop and is fresh off helping LSU average 45.5 points per year last season and help develop a Heisman Trophy winner along with a pair of first round wide receivers.

Denbrock met the media for the first time this fall Thursday and shared some of his impressions through the first two days of camp. He also shared some of the mission he has for Notre Dame's offense these next few weeks.

Below are the most important takeaways from Denbrock's media session Thursday.

On Physical Tone of Camp

When I gave a brief preview of fall camp earlier in the week the number one thing to keep an eye on for me was the intensity level of camp. Despite some mixed reports Wednesday, Mike Denbrock made clear the mission of camp.

"Camp is designed to make it as hard as humanly possible and from a coaching standpoint, to consistently demand that they live to the standard" is what Mike Denbrock said of it Thursday.

It's something to keep an eye on as camp progresses and the countdown to Texas A&M decreases.

Getting Riley Leonard up to speed

Denbrock had a short amount of time to work with projected starting quarterback Riley Leonard this spring before Leonard's surgical cleanup cut his spring short.

"Impressive, the way he kind of picked up the system even though he didn't get to take a whole lot of reps in the spring," said Denbrock, "We tried to do as much as we could over the course of the summer to kind of catch him up a little bit and in fall camp obviously giving him as many opportunities we can to kind of get a grasp on his overall knowledge in what we're doing".

Riley Leonard, a leader by example

It's not that Denbrock hasn't spent time around Riley Leonard - they did so even after Leonard was forced out of much of spring ball. How Denbrock describes Leonard as a leader though makes it seem like the transfer quarterback will probably be one of Notre Dame's captains this fall.

"He's one of those magnetic personalities that people like to follow, and he not only asks guys to kind of live to a standard," said Denbrock, "he lives above that standard all time and players will follow people who live a standard, and he does that."

Riley Leonard's surprising arm strength

Again, Leonard threw in the early parts of spring practice but in getting to work with him a couple of days this fall, Denbrock has been surprised by a rather important skill of the quarterback.

"The thing that surprised me a little was how strong of an arm that he's got," said Denbrock, "He's got really good arm talent and that's exciting."

That is exciting for Notre Dame, now can Leonard cut down on some of the accuracy problems he had at times while at Duke.

Offensive Goals of Fall Camp

1. "Solidify what we're doing up front" - he went on to speak about a few open position battles that remain open and gave a subtle reminder that pretty much everything with an offense starts there.

2. "Make sure overall offensive knowledge of what we're doing offensively, down to the fine details becomes a little more inside of us and in our hearts and it's not just in our heads assignment-wise, but we know the schemes, we know how to adjust, we understand it even that much more."

3. "Developing what our identity is going to be offensively. What is that? I'm not quite sure exactly what that is yet. I have an idea where I think we're headed but the guys and the way they execute and the way they play will dictate ultimately what we look like when we line up and play."

Developing Wide Receiver Room

Through two days of fall camp, much of the conversation has been about Notre Dame's wide receivers. The group has struggled a bit in recent years and brought in a good amount of transfers to help change its course this fall. Denbrock has been impressed by what the group has accomplished in short order.

"I've been really, really happy with how we've developed through the spring and summer and now where we are in fall camp. I mean, there's some pieces to the puzzle there for sure. I think we're trying to make sure we've got the right guys in the right spots and making sure we give those guys the opportunities they've earned. But I love the direction that room is headed and I think its going to add a lot to what we do."

Mike Denbrock really loves Notre Dame

When asked what has re-invigerated him in his third time as a Notre Dame assistant coach, Denbrock wasted no time to share his joy of being back in South Bend.

"Just being here is a blessing - everyday. I love Notre Dame and I love an opportunity to be part of this program and a part of this university. Obviously, the student athletes themselves are kind of what gets me up in the morning and gets me rolling."

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