Kelly upbeat after 5 practices, blunt about benefit of getting away for camp's start

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is surprisingly upbeat about his team after five days of practice, saying the competition is the best he's seen in a long time.

Kelly says the Irish look as fast as he seen at Notre Dame. He says he's not saying that means the Irish will go undefeated, but he's hoping it will translate into wins.

He also says he was happy with the way things went he first four days when the Irish practiced 100 miles away from campus. He says it was good to get away from talk about the blowout loss to Alabama in January, the hoax against Manti Te'o and all the other off-field distractions.

He says the Irish were able to focus on themselves, which was a good thing.