Former Notre Dame OL, Super Bowl champ Ryan Harris joins TA Live

Key notes from Ryan Harris interview

• I had a wonderful experience there last year when Notre Dame came to play A&M.
   
• I think A&M is better with Marcel Reed at quarterback. He is very impressive, throwing the football as well as rushing. A&M has a good rushing attack. A&M’s defense, I am not sure, has improved. Notre Dame has lost some key players. They have a quarterback coming into his second start with CJ Carr. The defensive tackles and safeties have struggled. Both teams are at a new spot coming in. A&M has a chip on its shoulder from losing last year, and Notre Dame has a chip on their shoulder from losing to Miami.
   
• It was so hot out there in Miami. The noise was insane. Carr got all the experience you want him to feel. On the road, in the heat, in a wild atmosphere. They didn’t change the snap count, and he was under duress the whole game. He made big plays and some mistakes, too. When you make a mistake, acknowledge it and improve. That is what he’s done.
   
• Carr had some plays to run the ball, so he decided to do some bubble screens. Carr has said he is working to continue to understand what his team needs. There will be more designed runs. I think coaches will be a little more reluctant to give the ball to him because of what they saw in the game against Miami. The turnovers were brutal, and you gave Miami three points in turnovers. That was enough to make the difference. Notre Dame is a resilient group, one that has continued to succeed despite having a loss in each of Marcus Freeman’s head coaching seasons.
   
• Boubacar Traore, the defensive end, is one of the best in the nation. Jordan Botelho on the other side. The real weakness has been at the defensive tackle position. It is hard to say what the actual game is going to look like. I will tell you what A&M will do out of the gate. They are going to put as many double teams against the defensive tackles after seeing them get pushed back against Miami. So those players need to improve.
   
• Nothing is worse than losing a game, and the coach says, “We aren’t changing anything.” You are thinking, “You'd better change something, cause something wasn’t right.” I think Notre Dame will make some changes, but I expect A&M to try to attack the middle of the defense. The corners are the best in the nation. I would want Christian Gray on any NFL team I was playing on. These are NFL corners, and some experienced safeties as well.
   
• It is going to be a fun environment. It will be loud. Lots of people are coming. I am sure we will see a lot of Aggies running around. Night games are tough for players, watching football all day, waiting for the game. I know they are excited, but it feels like an entire year before you get to the first snap.
   
• Gary Kubiak is my favorite Aggie of all time. He has put together more championship careers for players than anyone would know. He is a Hall of Fame coach. He played the game and would immerse himself with players. He would be honest with players and hold them accountable. Had a fantastic offense and schedule. After every four games, he would cut the schedule down by 15 minutes. That allowed us to get more body work as the season went on.
   
• After winning the AFC Championship, Kubiak had a meeting saying, “We have three days off, and then I need your focus for 12 days. I will drink a beer with you after.” He said something a coach no other has never said, “Play fast, there are no mistakes on that field. If you make one, it is on us coaches, and we will fix it the next day. Don’t let that stop you. Let your personality show.” That is why we won Super Bowl 50.
   
• Von Miller is the ultimate teammate. He made everybody better. He was so skilled. He was a constant Aggie fan. Some might say that he, more than Johnny Manziel, brought Texas A&M back. He is one of the most prolific athletes of all time.