Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist heard complaints from coach Brian Kelly before anybody else.

So when Kelly criticized Crist's footwork and mechanics after practice March 31, the junior wasn't surprised his coach shared his displeasure with the media.

"I have a great deal of respect for Coach Kelly. That's his style," Crist said after practice Wednesday. "I would hope that he would be as honest with me as possible, and to be quite frank, that we address those issues early. I think it served as a great learning tool, and I'm definitely doing everything in my power to improve footwork and accuracy the whole way out."

Even though Crist had heard what he needed to work on before, reading about it heightened the quarterback's need to improve.

"We had the conversation before anything was said, but it definitely infused a sense of urgency," Crist said.

Crist is returning from surgery to repair the ACL in his right knee, but he refused to use the injury as an excuse.

"Sure, it is intertwined, but I think had the knee been healthy my fundamentals would still need work," Crist said.