Pauly steps into spotlight
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
There is a right that you have to earn on the Notre Dame defense. When you take the field, you don't do it before you've earned that right.
It starts with the right to rotate.
Irish defensive tackle Greg Pauly earned that right early this season and proved it to the world last Saturday.
"We always talk about you have to earn the right to rotate," defensive line coach Greg Mattison said. "Greg earned the right to rotate very early by his effort, his work ethic, by his technique, and so from day one Greg has really rotated."
By the time summer camp was over, Pauly had begun to rotate in and out of plays with the starting nose guards. He and starters Darrell Campbell and Cedric Hilliard took the same number of reps in practice. But when game time came, Pauly generally found himself on the sidelines. That could be frustrating.
"I always want to get in the game, and you always want to be out there and help out as much as you can," Pauly said.
The coaches never saw Pauly complain. He came to practice every day, took every rep that was offered him and then stood quietly on the sidelines while Campbell and Hilliard took the field.
"The thing that I really, really respect in Greg Pauly is he's a guy who comes out every day and works as hard as he can and tries his hardest to get as good as he can," Mattison said. "He never, ever complains about getting half the reps in practice and not many plays in games."
But Pauly was still looking for his chance to put those reps to use against an opponent. He got that opportunity two weeks ago when Hilliard took a hit against Florida State and could not return to the field. Pauly stepped in.
"He played well," defensive coordinator Kent Baer said. "For the first time out of the box, he played good. He got his feet wet."
Pauly didn't just step in because Hilliard was down. The Irish defense doesn't work that way. Pauly stepped in because he had earned the right to rotate. He had proven himself as a player that could step up.
"You don't just get thrown in there because somebody goes down," Mattison said. "You have to earn the right. That's why it's so important that each kid know his role. The second unit guy has to get himself ready so he's earned the right. When his time comes, he's ready to play."
When it became clear that Hilliard would not be able to play against Boston College, Pauly's name started coming up more and more often. The junior was going to have to step up one more time. It was an honor.
"It's definitely rewarding to get a start with that defense," Pauly said. "We have a tremendous defense, and to get the start is really something special."
Pauly turned in a solid performance for the Irish, but he and the coaches recognize that reps in practice aren't quite the same thing as reps on the field.
"It was his first start, his first time playing for a length of time," Mattison said. "But Pauly is a good football player and like Cedric, like Darrell, like Kyle [Budinscak], the more they play the better they get, and that's exactly what we expect to happen with Greg."
On Saturday, Pauly will be in the starting lineup again. Hilliard is still out with no chance of playing against Navy.
The Midshipmen will be playing an option, and the Irish might miss Hilliard with that kind of an offensive attack. Hilliard recorded seven tackles against a similar offense when playing Air Force. But Pauly feels he is ready to step up and try to fill those empty shoes.
"Ced always had a good performance," Pauly said. "I'm just trying to follow in his footsteps the best I can, follow his example."
Pauly earned the right to rotate and found himself on the field. When Saturday comes, he'll have to show why he earned that right one more time.
"He's always ready when his time comes, and that's what I respect most about him," Mattison said.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, November 7, 2002
