A bunch of people wanted the position previews split up by team rather than position. I put them all up here, but keep in mind that all of the information is going to get out of date in a hurry as players get hurt, switch positions, rise and fall on the depth chart, etc... Still, most of the names facing the 2006 Irish should be in there somewhere.
The sleuths over at The Wizard of Odds managed to unearth the voters in the 2006 Harris Poll and have posted the new list. If you may recall from last year, the Harris Poll was selected to replace the AP poll in the BCS Standings soup. The Harris Poll also features a nomination process where each conference gets a say.
Each of the 11 NCAA Division I-A conferences were asked to nominate up to 30 potential voters. Through random selection, Harris Interactive found 10 voters per conference. Notre Dame is represented by three voters and Army and Navy have a combined one vote. BCS conferences will hold a 55 percent majority, according to BCS spokesman Bob Burda.Glancing at the new list, I'm trying to pick out the three ND nominated voters as well as any other voters with ND ties. Here's what I came up with.
Gene Corrigan - Former Notre Dame athletic director.Who did I miss? I can't imagine that Hammond was nominated by ND and if Valdiserri was an independent nominee last year, I'd wager he is again this year. So who's the third ND nominee? Any other names that jump out at you?
Jim Morse - Captain of the 1956 team. Member of the Harris Poll last year.
Tom Hammond - NBC announcer for ND football and women's Olympic figure skating.
Roger Valdiserri - Famed former ND SID. On the poll last year, but not as an ND nominee.
Ok, so we've taken a look at all of the various positional depth charts and using my patented "Hmmm, I guess this works" methodology, I've ranked all the positions. If you missed that, here are the links: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends/offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, and defensive backs. Now's the fun part where we add up all of those rankings and see what pops out.
One important thing to keep in mind though. These previews ignored coaching acumen (or lack thereof), offensive/defensive schemes, game location, cheerleader aesthetics, and many other important factors that determine just how hard a team really is to play. This table technically only represents one guy's opinion of how the talent and experience levels of the 2006 opponents stack up against one another.
| Team | QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | LB | DB | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.1 |
| USC | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.9 |
| MSU | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3.9 |
| Ga. Tech | 5 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5.3 |
| Stanford | 2 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 5.4 |
| PSU | 8 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 5.8 |
| Purdue | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 7.0 |
| UCLA | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 7.4 |
| UNC | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8.3 |
| Navy | 11 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 8.5 |
| Army | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10.6 |
| Air Force | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11.0 |
Some more info on Minter going up into the box on gameday, with Lewis coming down to the sidelines. Here's what Charlie had to say about it yesterday.
As a matter of fact, we are making a shift on defense. Rick is going up into the box for the first time in 22 years. And Bill Lewis is coming down. Part of it is communication with the secondary. Jeff [Burrow, grad assistant] works with Bill with the secondary so he’s up with Rick.Lewis was also asked about the change yesterday; here's what he had to say:
I felt some of our biggest problems last year were communication problems in the secondary. And I felt the easiest way to take care of that problem was to have the DB coach down on the sidelines. We had to do some practice sessions over in the stadium to see if Rick would feel comfortable in doing that or not, because if he didn’t feel comfortable in doing it, I wouldn’t make the switch.
There’s some give and take. What’s more important, I obviously want Rick to feel comfortable calling the game. I know he hasn’t been up in the booth for awhile but as a play-caller you have a whole different perspective of the game being up in the box because you have less distractions and you see the game a whole lot better. Every time we went into the stadium at night, we went into the booth and worked it out that way. After the second time, he was ready to roll.
I’m asking him, I’m not mandating, hey, what we are going to do, but that’s what we’re doing.
First off, I think it gives Rick an opportunity to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the sideline, so he can see from up top. As far as my being down on the sideline, you need two defensive coaches on the sideline, so with Rick going up I'll be doing what Rick was doing in between series, and that is trying to communicate to the secondary all the things going on in the secondary, and then tying the secondary into the linebackers. Coach Oliver will do what he did last year, being responsible for the defensive line, tying them into the linebackers as far as the running game is concerned.I confess some conspiracy theories swirled about my mind when I first heard of this change, but if you think about it, what Charlie said about Lewis being able to work more hands-on with secondary is the most obvious explanation for the switch.
Rick can then communicate to us what things need to be addressed as far as each of those groups are concerned.
[Before] Rick was on the sideline, and of course he had a feel for what needed to be done with the secondary, and if I had anything in addition to that I could hear what Rick was saying to the DBs, and was able to add anything I needed. Now we just reversed roles; I'll be down there dealing with them, and he'll be hearing what I'm saying.I think this is emblematic of the entire makeover on defense; no stone was left unturned in an effort to improve performance, and having Lewis on the sideline is probably a huge advantage when addressing those "communication problems" we've heard so much about.
Here's the final position preview, with a look at the defensive backs on the schedule for the 2006 Irish. In case you've missed any, here are the links to the quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight end/offensive line, defensive line, and linebackers previews. The same defensive stats abbreviations are used, and as usual Phil Steele's position rankings (if any) are indicated in parentheses.
GEORGIA TECH
CB - Kenny Scott. (#24 - CB) 56 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 5 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
CB - Pat Clark. WR in 2005. New starter.
SS - Jamal Lewis. 13 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU. New starter.
FS - Djay Jones. 11 tackles. New starter.
Kenny Scott (right) is the only returnign starter on the revamped Tech secondary and brings plenty of experience and the benefit of having to cover Calvin Johnson in practice everyday. At 6-2, he's a very tall cornerback and will be assigned to cover the best WR on the other team. Pat Clark assumes the starting spot at the other corner position after playing as a wide receiver in 2005. He did have the advantage of working at corner during spring ball so he's not completely new to the position. Still, it might take some time to get used to starting. At safety, Jamal Lewis assumes a starting spot after moving from cornerback. He started as the Tech nickel back for a game last year and did fill in for Kenny Scott when he went down with an injury. Free safety Djay Jones is similarly inexperienced and will need to show he can handle a starting gig. Depth: Battling Pat Clark for one of the starting cornerback spots is Jahi Word-Daniels and either one could start against Notre Dame. Word-Daniels hasn't played yet, but has the athleticism to turn into a good corner. Tony Clark played both corner and safety in the spring and the sophomore might turn up at either position if the starters aren't getting the job done.
PENN STATE
CB - Justin King. (#10 - CB) 11 tackles, 2 PBU. New starter.
CB - Tony Davis. 4 tackles, 1 INT. New starter.
FS - Donnie Johnson. 8 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBU. New starter.
Hero - Nolan McCready. 9 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF. New starter.
There might not be a more athletic cornerback on the schedule than Justin King (left). An all-everything recruit, King played corner and wide receiver last year but now will focus exclusively on corner and while he's still an inexperienced sophomore, King will draw the opponent's toughest receiver. The other corner, Tony Davis, takes over the starting job after being a backup under Alan Zemaitis and will probably be picked on until he proves he can slow down his man. Hero-back Nolan McCready and free safety Donnie Johnson also rise up to the level of starter after being backups the past few years. Johnson did play as the nickel back at times last year so he does have more experience than the other new starters in the secondary. Depth: Listed as a co-starter with McCready at the hero position is sophomore Anthony Scirrotto. He played in 11 games last year, but still will be pretty inexperienced if he grabs the starting job. Lydell Sargeant played wide receiver last year as a freshman but has since been moved to corner, where he will back up Justin King. An extremely fast redshirt freshman, Knowledge Timmons, is only 3rd on the depth chart now, but might rise as the season progresses.
MICHIGAN
CB - Leon Hall. (#5 - CB) 61 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 4 INT, 5 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR. Returning starter.
CB - Charles Stewart. 4 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
FS - Brandent Englemon. 42 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 3 PBU, 2 FR. Returning starter.
SS - Jamar Adams. (#13 - SS) 27 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 PBU. Returning starter.
Leon Hall(right) is probably the most highly touted corner on the Irish 2006 schedule and should be in the running for All-American honors this year. He led the team in interceptions last year and is in line for a solid senior campaign. Both of his 2 sacks last year came against ND, where he was named ABC Player of the Game. Charles Stewart played in 10 games last year, but it was mainly on special teams. Now as a starter, he'll have to get ready as teams will probably throw to his man in an effort to stay away from Leon Hall. Free safety Brandent Englemon started 10 games last year, but it was as a strong safety. This year he has been shifted over to free safety, but his experience should ease the transition. Strong safety Jamar Adams came on strong during the 2nd half of the 2005 season as he started the final 6 games. Expectations are high that Adams will turn into a very good safety over his final two years of eligibility. Depth: Listed as a co-starter at free safety with Englemon is Ryan Mundy (#11 - FS), a very talented player who was lost for the year in 2005 with a shoulder injury in the first game. In 2004 he started every game at free safety so he certainly has experience. He might even regain the starting job for the ND game. Morgan Trent (#56 - CB) started five games last year at corner as a redshirt freshman and now will provide very capable backup for Leon Hall. One time ND commit Brandon Harrison has shifted back to corner from safety and now is listed as the backup to Charles Stewart along with fellow sophomore Johnny Sears.
MICHIGAN STATE
CB - Greg Cooper. 48 tackles, 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 PBU. Returning starter.
CB - Demond Williams. 29 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU. Returning starter.
FS - Otis Wiley. 18 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FR. New stater.
SS - Nehemiah Warrick. JUCO transfer. New starter.
The Spartans should have quality safeties this year, but their cornerbacks will be in question until they can prove otherwise. Technically Greg Cooper is a returning starter, but he was moved from free safety to corner in the spring and will have to get used to the new position in a hurry. He's a strong player, but corner skills are different from safety skills. The other corner, Demond Williams, returns as the other corner for the Spartans but really wasn't all that productive last year. At safety, the big name is transfer and JUCO All-American Nehemiah Warrick (left). With an impressive spring, Warrick is poised for a very strong debut season. Free safety Otis Wiley enters the starting lineup at free safety and the sophomore will need to overcome any inexperience quickly in order to make an impact. He is extremely fast though and has the potential to be a decent ball-hawking free safety Depth: The depth chart took a big hit when experienced backup corner Ross Weaver went down with a wrist injury. He might be back later on in the season, but will miss the ND game. In his place, Jelani Nantambu is the backup corner and probably the most likely nickel back on the roster. Other than him, there isn't much depth with little to no experience.
PURDUE
CB - Aaron Lane. Walk-on transfer from St. Francis. New starter.
CB - Zach Logan. 43 tackles, 1 sack, 2.5 TFL, 5 PBU. Returning starter.
FS - Brandon Erwin. New starter.
SS - Torri Williams. Out in 2005 with injury. New starter.
The Boilermakers are undergoing a revamping of their secondary and will field a lot of inexperience to start the year. Zach Logan is the lone returning starter after starting the last nine games of the year for Purdue. He's fast, but it will be tougher on him this year when he has to face the #1 WR for the other team. Aaron Lane is a bit of a surprise starter after walking on to the team as a running back transfer from the University of St. Francis. Torri Williams (right) missed all of 2005 with a broken leg, but is fine now and has high expectations that he'll turn into a very good strong safety for the Boilermakers. Brandon Erwin is another bit of a surprise starter as he' s a true freshman who wasn't very highly ranked coming out of high school. Depth: Of the four players listed on the Boilermaker 2nd string, only one, cornerback Fabian Martin, has played a down at Purdue. And even he didn't record any statistics. The other backup corner, Royce Adams is a true freshman. The backup strong safety, Adam Wolf, is a walk-on while the backup free safety, Justin Scott, is a JUCO transfer. Scott was productive in junior college though so he might be able to add some decent depth.
STANFORD
CB- Brandon Harrison. 67 tackles, 2 TFL, 3 INT, 4 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
CB - Nick Sanchez. 71 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 2 INT, 4 PBU, 2 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
FS - Trevor Hooper. 40 tackles, 4 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
SS - David Lofton. 35 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
The Cardinal return a veteran unit of sorts, although a few players have moved positions. Brandon Harrison has started the past two years at strong safety but now moves over to the corner position. Harrison is a solid, veteran player, but the transition from safety to corner sometimes takes a few games. Nick Sanchez is another veteran who started every game at corner last year. He was 2nd on the team in tackles, but it's not always a good thing when a corner has so many tackles. Sometimes it can mean he's spending his time tackling the receiver who just beat him for the reception. Free safety Trevor Hooper has 17 career starts under his belt, although 11 of them came in 2003 as a strong safety. Last year battled through some injuries before starting the final five games at free safety. David Lofton started five games last year at free safety when Hooper was down with his injury and now Lofton will slide over to strong safety and take over the starting role. At 6-4, 220 pounds, he has the size to be very effective against the run. Depth: Tim Sims is listed as a co-starter for the Cardinal at cornerback with Nick Sanchez. Sims has had very limited playing time as a career backup but if he's pushing Sanchez he must be improving as a player. Junior Wopamo Osaisai had a very strong fall camp and is arguably the fastest player on the Stanford team. As he gains experience at the corner position, he could see more and more playing time.
UCLA
CB - Trey Brown. 53 tackles, 1 INT, 10 PBU. Returning starter.
CB - Rodney Van. 22 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF, 1 FR. New starter.
FS - Dennis Keyes. (#27 - FS) 57 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 TFL, 6 PBU. 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
SS - Chris Horton. 26 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Trey Brown is the veteran of the Bruin secondary after starting all 12 games at cornerback last year. His 10 passes broken up is a pretty impressive number and Brown should be even better with an additional year of experience. Rodney Van was a backup last year but did get into every game and play at least 20 snaps seven times. Still, now that he's starting he will have to prove to opposing offensive coordinators that he's not a weak link in the secondary. Free safety Dennis Keyes (left, top) started nine games at the position last year and the hard hitting safety is one of the leaders of the Bruin defense. Chris Horton had a wrist injury that kept him out of the first half of the 2005 season and limited his play for the rest of the year. Now that he's recovered, he will take over the starting strong safety spot and add a solid run-stopping ability to the Bruin defense. Depth: Michael Norris saw some time last year as a backup and expects to do the same again this year. He might be the choice when UCLA goes into the nickel. If not Norris, then freshman Alterraun Verner. Verner isn't very big at 5'10, 160 pounds, but the coaching staff is high on his potential. Depth at safety isn't experienced at all as all four backup strong and free safeties are either freshman or sophomores.
NAVY
CB - Jeremy McGown. 63 tackles, 1 TFL, 4 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
CB - Keenan Little. 73 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 2 INT, 8 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
FS - DuJuan Price. 62 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 3 PBU. Returning starter.
ROVER - Ketric Buffin. 19 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT. New starter.
Navy returns a veteran line but the loss of Greg Thrasher, who left the team to concentrate on academics, means that Jeremy McGown will shift over to corner from his usual safety spot where he has started 21 games. One of the best athletes on the team, McGown should be able to make the transition without too much of a problem. At the other corner spot, Keenan Little (right) returns to the same position at which he started all 12 games last year. Last year he was 4th on the team in tackles, which again isn't always a great sign for a cornerback. Free safety DuJuan Price started every game last year at free safety for Navy and returns as yet another veteran member of this experienced secondary. The only new starter, roverback Ketric Buffin, will find it easier with all of the experience around him, but at 5-7, 165 pounds, he might have trouble with some of the bigger running backs and tight ends that he will face. Depth: If Navy needs more height at the cornerback spot, 6-2 Greg Sudderth will be available to help out. Last year Sudderth actually tied for the team lead in interceptions with two. If Navy wants more size at the rover position, Dell Robinson has that at 5-11, 205 pounds. However, he is inexperienced as injuries kept him on the bench for most of last season.
NORTH CAROLINA
CB - Jacoby Watkins. 19 tackles, 3 PBU. Returning starter.
CB - Quinton Person. 36 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 4 PBU. New starter.
FS - D.J. Walker. 9 tackles. New starter.
SS - Kareen Taylor. 61 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4.5 TFL, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
The strength of this Tar Heel secondary is strong safety Kareen Taylor (left). He has made 15 starts as the free safety spot and now moves over to the strong safety position due to the injury to Trimane Goddard. His physical, agressive play has made him an All-ACC candidate for 2006. D.J. Walker will try and replace Taylor at the free safety spot, but he is very inexperienced other than his work on special teams. At corner, Jacoby Watkins started every game in 2004 and was doing the same in 2005 until he broke his leg and was forced to miss the rest of the season. The injury also forced him to sit out spring ball. He's back in the starting lineup now and while he may be a bit rusty, should be back to normal by the ND game. Quinton Person filled in for Watkins last year and ended up starting 4 games. Now he's a full time starter without much starting experience, but has collected a decent amount of game experience the past two seasons. Depth: If D.J. Walker struggles at the free safety spot, sophomore Cooter Arnold will waiting in the wings. Arnold, who played running back last year as a freshman, is new to the secondary but is a very good physical athlete. Also, while Walker has dealt with some minor injuries in fall camp, Arnold stayed healthy and got valuable experience running with the first team defense. Kendric Burney also turned heads in fall camp and while the freshman is only 5-9, he has coaches and fans excited about his future at UNC.
AIR FORCE
CB - Garret Rybak. 6 tackles. New starter.
CB - Chris Sutton. 47 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 9 PBU. Returning starter.
FS - Bobby Giannini. 92 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 3 INT, 2 PBU, 2 FF. Returning starter.
FALCON - John Rabold. 36 tackles, 1 sack, 2.5 TFL. New starter.
FALCON - Julian Madrid. 27 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Bobby Giannini (right) is the major, and really only, star of this Falcon defense. The returning team leader in tackler, Giannini is a hard hitter and one of the best safeties in the Mountain West conference. The other returning starter, cornerback Chris Sutton was moderately productive last year as a starter and should be even better this year due to the additional experience. Joining Sutton at the cornerback position is Garrett Rybak. He took the starting job with a solid spring practice campaign, but will need to be ready for a lot of attention as opposing quarterbacks test him early and often. Falcon backs John Rabold and Julian Madrid are both new to the starting lineup too and will need to work hard if Air Force wants to improve it's 94th ranked pass defense. Depth: Carson Bird has some experience and is a decent backup at the falcon position. He played corner last year so he can also help out there. Nathan Smith is perhaps the team's fastest corner and will back up Rybak to start the season. If Rybak falters, Smith could step into the starting role.
ARMY
CB - Kevin Opuko. New starter.
CB - Sean Grevious. 3 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
FS - Jordan Murray. 3 tackles. New starter.
SS - Caleb Campbell. (#21 - SS) 97 tackles, 2 TFL, 5 INT, 3 PBU. Returning starter.
Caleb Cambell (left) is the best player in the Army secondary and one of the better strong safeties that the Irish will face. He'll have a lot of weight on his shoulders as the rest of the Black Knight secondary is extremely inexperienced. Jordan Murray fills in at the starting free safety spot after a very strong showing in the spring. He hasn't only played in a few games, but has impressed the coaching staff with his development so far. The corners are about as green as they come with Kevin Opuko, a former Army walk-on, getting his first taste of Army football once he steps on the field as a starter. Sean Grevious played in a handful of snaps last year but did win the Army's "Most Improved Player" award for his work during spring practice. Depth: Markenson Pierre has earned high expectations for his work in practice but the sophomore, like many of the Army backups, is very inexperienced and will need playing time in order to develop.
SOUTHERN CAL
CB - Cary Harris. 9 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
CB - Terrell Thomas. 5 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
FS - Josh Pinkard. (#12 - CB) 54 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 7 PBU, 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
SS - Kevin Ellison. 6 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FF. New starter.
The Trojans feature a revamped secondary this season, but there is a lot of young talent, albeit untested, lininup in the USC defensive backfield. Josh Pinkard (right) is the lone returning starter, but after starting 6 games at corner last year, he'll have to get used to starting at his original position of safety again. Kevin Ellison was contributing on special teams and as a backup safety before injury sidelined him for the season. He's back and although only an inexperienced sophomore, will look to stay healthy and keep the starting strong safety spot. Terrell Thomas also was sidelined early in last season and was put on the bench for the remainder of the season. He appears to be fully healed from knee surgery and ready to play. He'll probably be rusty for a bit, but should be back to form by the time ND plays the Trojans. Cary Harris was a backup corner last year as a freshman and now the sophomore has earned the starting job for now. Depth: Fighting Harris for that starting spot is another sophomore, Kevin Thomas (#37 - CB). Like Harris, Thomas was a backup corner last year and now is looking at possibly starting. Two freshman are the backups at safety and have a world of potential. The biggest is Antwine Perez, who is already pushing returning starter Josh Pinkard for the starting spot. An all-everything recruit and ferocious hitter, Perez is already a Trojan fan favorite. Meanwhile, Taylor Mays is looking at taking over the free safety spot. Mays has linebacker size at 6-4, 225 pounds and may not be a safety for long, but for now he's impressing everyone with his mix of size and speed.
2006 Defensive Backs Analysis and Rankings.
The first thing that strikes me while writing this is just how inexperienced the 2006 opponent defensive backs are. After looking at the veteran linebackers and wondering how Darius's rushing yardage will be affected, now I look at all of the rookie corners and safeties and wonder if Quinn and his recievers are licking their lips.
Consider that 8 of the 12 opponents are replacing at least 2 starters in the secondary. The only exceptions are Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, and Navy. And considering that Michigan State was 85th in the country in pass defense last season and Stanford was 110th, returning players aren't always the solution. I kept thinking that a certain team would be low in my rankings due to lack of production and experience, only to find that most of the rest of the teams were in a similar situation.
Thinking about Rhema McKnight, he'll likely be matched up with most team's #2 cornerback. Looking back at this list, there are only three games this year (Michigan State, Stanford, Navy) where he'll be covered by a returning starter. The rest of the time he'll be marked by a largely inexperience first time starter.
And of some of that returning starting experience, a fair number of those players are converted safties trying their hand at cornerback. And given the difficulty going from a safety spot where you rarely turn your back on the QB to a position like cornerback that requires much more one-on-one individual skill, I do expect some of those newly minted corners to struggle.
I'm not predicting that Quinn will throw for 500 yards a game, but given the quality of the linebackers on the schedule and the relative inexperience of the accompanying defensive backs, I think Weis will be content to let his Heisman Trophy candidate sit back and throw the ball. To wit, look back at all of the high Phil Steele rankings for the linebackers and compare that to the relative lack of Steele rankings for players on this preview. Would you run all the time if you could pass against players like this? I'd also look for a fair number of draw plays to Walker if opposing teams try to aid their weaker secondaries with numerous blitzes.
Now then, on to the rankings. Normally there are few clear cut winners and losers. But this really is a crapshoot save a team like Michigan that has a decent amount of returning talent. The difference between, say, #2 and #9 isn't really all that great. And of course, depending on how the new corners perform, these rankings could be crap starting with the first set of games this Saturday.
1. Michigan - Leon Hall leads a quality collection of talent and experience.
2. Stanford - A decent group that gets a high ranking based on the returning experienced players.
3. Southern Cal - More potential than any team on this list, but also lots of inexperience.
4. Michigan State - Average returning talent, but Nemehiah Warrick could be a difference-maker.
5. Navy - I really wanted to rank this veteran unit higher, but just couldn't do it.
6. Georgia Tech - Kenny Scott is a solid corner, but the rest of the starters are question marks for now.
7. UCLA - Keyes is the leader and this unit could be better if the new players adapt quickly.
8. North Carolina - Not much experience and not much production outside of Taylor.
9. Penn State - Justin King might be a star. The rest of the group will need to produce or struggle.
10. Air Force - Outside of Giannini, there isn't much in the way of experience or depth.
11. Army - Only the presence of Caleb Campbell keeps the Black Knights out of the last spot.
12. Purdue - When walk-on running back transfers take a starting spot, you're in trouble.
Coming tomorrow....Position preview summary
What to expect...Yellow Jacket Offense
Patrick Nix assumed the playcalling duties from head coach Chan Gailey during the offseason, but as usual the Tech offense will be predicated on (1) establishing balance between the run and the pass and (2) limiting turnovers. Last year the Jackets ran the ball 464 times and threw 418 passes. While Calvin Johnson might be the most talented receiver in the country, the bread and butter of the Tech attack is a strong running game, with an occasional bolt of lightning to Johnson. If you look at his receiving log from last year, you'll see a couple of games that Johnson dominated, but more often than not he served a complementary role in the offense and wasn't the main focus. He didn't have more than one touchdown in any game last year. (For comparison's sake, see the logs from #83 and #21 from last year). Tech ran the ball 39 times a game last year, and you can bet we'll get a steady diet of Tashard Choice on Saturday.
A note about Reggie Ball. Last year he ran the ball about 10 times a game, yet many of those were intended passes where Ball scrambled to avoid a sack. Tech improved their pass protection last year quite a bit, giving up only 10 sacks all year after giving up 28 in '04. This is as much due to Ball's increased pocket awareness as improved blocking. While he's still an inconsistent passer (only 48% completions, even as a 3rd-year starter last year) he's developed into a canny runner and will pick his spots to avoid a sack.
Frankly, I think the Irish are going to come out in a defense unfamiliar to Notre Dame fans: witness the strategy sessions with the Carolina Panthers, the repeated insistence from Charlie that the defense has been streamlined (or simplified, whichever you prefer), and yesterday's revelation that Rick Minter will be calling the defensive plays from the booth instead of the sideline. I think they've made over this defense pretty well, and it will be interesting to see what they've come up with. But there are some things we can try to gauge. For one, it sounds like Charlie Weis and Rick Minter are finally happy with the nickel and dime personnel groupings. As Minter recently stated:
“Keep in mind last year you didn’t hear us talk about that a great deal because we only had four defensive backs, occasionally five. I played three linebackers and I played four DBs, sometimes five, but that’s about it...What’s in the past is in the past. We coach what we had. We did what we could do. We kind of grew into doing it more and more as the year went on...Now our team is just a little bit deeper than it was a year ago.”Second, I think there may be some schematic changes installed on the defense involving more zone blitzing. If the staff wants to play it vanilla and conservative, we may not even see those until the Penn State or Michigan State games, but we might unveil some new blitz strategies against Tech.
We play cover 3 about 50% of the time, cover 2 about 25-30% of the time and man the rest. We just disguise it with blitzes and coverage rollover. The problem [against ND] will be on how the weakside of the D executes the plan. It is easy to take away one WR...tough to take away one WR, a RB, TE another 2 WRs.What this Georgia Tech fan is describing is actually a scheme that more and more defenses are using every year. The cover 3 has its origins with Dick Lebeau as a counterattack for the West Coast Offense. The most familiar examples to fans might be the Philadelphia Eagles under Jim Johnson, and obviously, the Pittsburgh Steelers under Lebeau. In the college game, Nick Saban used a similar defense at LSU, as did/does Ohio State, although it's my understanding that the Buckeyes used it less last year and more under former defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio (now the head coach at Cincinnati, former Saban assistant at Michigan State). For what it's worth, I know Pete Carroll also loves the zone blitz, but he comes from the Cover 2 school of Monte Kiffin. What all four of those teams have in common is that they either won or played in championship games.
"With any quarterback, if we keep pressuring him, he's eventually going to fold. He can't keep getting hit like that all night. No quarterback can."Then top-five-ranked Miami lost 14-10. How can the current top-five Irish avoid a similar fate?
The temptation in playing against [a Philadelphia zone blitz] is to use the draw play more in hopes of getting the defensive linemen who drop out in coverage to initiate the drop, and then have the draw play come right at them.You could mentally substitute Darius Walker for Faulk in this example. Walker runs the draw play so well that it could pay huge dividends for the Irish on Saturday. If the Yellowjackets drop into a zone, it opens up the draw; however, if they hesitate and wait to see whether Walker has the ball or not, short passes could easily be completed, especially considering the talent that Notre Dame possesses at tight end and receiver. It's worth noting that generally, Tech's corners play about seven yards off of receivers (remember, it's a zone defense).
In this game, [Kevin] Faulk should not call off the zone blitz. But the warning to the defensive linemen is be aware of Faulk and make sure he clears the ball before they drop, or else the underneath curl zones could be open for the wide receivers and tight ends. I think tight ends Daniel Graham or Christian Fauria could be factors in the underneath pass attack when Faulk is in the game.
The guys over at IrishRoundTable scored a hit with a link to the ABC ESPN on ABC intro for the Notre Dame - Georgia Tech game this Saturday.
As if waiting for 8pm on Saturday isn't going to be hard enough.
Got a quickie season predictions poll for you. Click here to take it.
When you're done, click here to track the results.
How optimistic is Notre Dame Nation? Early returns: pretty goddam optimistic.
Moving quickly through the defensive positions before kickoff, we arrive at the linebackers. Follow the links for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends/offensive lines, and defensive lines. The DL preview also includes the key for stat abbreviations. Linebacker abbreviations in this post include OLB (outside), ILB (inside), SLB (strongside), MLB (middle), and WLB (weak). Rankings in parenthesis are Phil Steele's positional rankings.
GEORGIA TECH
SLB - KaMichael Hall. (#21 - OLB) 64 tackles, 4 sacks, 14 TFL, 2 INT, 3 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
MLB - Philip Wheeler. 64 tackles, 4 sacks, 11 TFL, 4 INT, 4 PBU, 1 FR, 1 FF. Returning starter.
WLB - Gary Guyton. 19 tackles, 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
The Yellow Jackets will field a very talented linebacker corp that should contend for the best unit in the conference. Preseason All-ACC 1st teamer and Butkus Award nominee KaMichael Hall (right) is the big name and will entering his third year starting at the strongside linebacker position. Hall led the team in tackles for loss last season and is dangerous at rushing the passer, as he does often in the blitz happy Tech defense. Philip Wheeler is another excellent linebacker that pulled in four interceptions last season as a new starter. Considered perhaps the best athlete on the team, Wheeler was moved from the weak-side linebacker position to the middle where expectations on him are sky high. Gary Guyton is the lone new starter with only one career start to his name. Even though he's at the weakside position, Guyton is the biggest Tech linebacker at 6-2, 230 pounds. Depth: There really is no experienced linebacker depth on the Georgia Tech team. Of the four likely candidates to back up the starters, junior Travis Chambers, sophomore Matt Braham, freshman Shane Bowen, and sophomore Taalib Tucker, only Chambers has played a snap at linebacker thus far. And even then he only has 10 career tackles.
PENN STATE
Dan Conner. (#4 - OLB) 116 tackles, 3 sacks, 11 TFL, 3 PBU. Returning starter.
Tim Shaw. (#14 - ILB) 76 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 6.5 TFL, 2 PBU, 2 FF. Returning starter.
Paul Posluszny. (#1 - OLB) 76 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5.5 TFL, 8 PBU, 1 FR. Returning starter.
I think it's fair to say that this not only the best linebacking unit that the Irish will face, but also the best corp of linebackers in the nation. There is talent, experience, and depth at every position. Because of this, there are rumors they might shift to a 3-4 defense in order to get more linebackers on the field. Paul Posluszny (left) is the star of the group and after winning the Butkus Award last year should be no stranger to any Irish fan. From his outside linebacker position, he can stop the run and defend the pass. The only real question is how he'll return from a vicious knee injury suffered in the Orange Bowl last year. For what it's worth, he says he's back 100%. The other outside linebacker, Dan Connor, is burgeoning star who is extremely fast and made a big impact at the starting outside linebacker spot after being suspended for the first three games last year. In the middle is Tim Shaw, a load at 237 pounds who is very tough against the run and able to exploit an offense that pays too much attention to Posluszny and Connor. Depth: Tyrell Sales started the first three games when Connor was suspended and now provides some experienced depth at the outside spots. When Posluszny went down with the knee injury, Sean Lee stepped in and did a very solid job. He will be expected to do the same again this year if Paul can't go for some reason. If the Nittany Lions go to a 3-4, expect Lee to be the 4th linebacker on the field. Young players Dontay Brown and Jerome Hayes don't have much experience, but are still considered talented players waiting in the wings.
MICHIGAN
SLB - Shawn Crable. 14 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 3 PBU. New starter.
MLB - Dave Harris. (#12 - ILB) 88 tackles, 1 sack, 6 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
WLB - Prescott Burgess. 81 tackles, 1 sack, 4 TFL, 1 INT, 5 PBU, 2 FF. Returning starter.
Another talented linebacker group, Michigan has three returning starters but one is in danger of losing his starting spot. Dave Harris returns as the middle linebacker after winning Michigan's linebacker of the year award for his play last season. A big linebacker at 6-2, 242 pounds, Harris is extremely effective against the run. Shawn Crable played himself into a starting position at the Michigan strongside position after being a backup last year. Another big 'backer, Crable is listed at 6-5, 245 pounds, which is huge for an outside linebacker. The final starter is the player with the most press, but also the one in danger of losing his starting position. Prescott Burgess (right) was honorable mention all Big-Ten last year, but might not even be the starter for the Wolverine opener against Vanderbilt. At 6-3, 245 pounds, Burgess is yet another huge linebacker giving Michigan the chance to have all three starting linebackers over 240 pounds. Depth: If Burgess is beat out, it will be by co-starter Chris Graham (#49 - ILB), who started four games last year at middle linebacker. Compared to the other players, Graham is undersized at 5'11, 225 pounds, but he is a consistent tackler and faster than Burgess in the open field. John Thompson is the main backup for Harris in the middle but the rest of the backups such as Brandon Logan and Chris McLaurin are inexperienced. Expectations were high for freshman linebacker Brandon Graham, but he has since been moved to defensive end.
MICHIGAN STATE
WLB - David Herron. (#32 - OLB) 65 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 TFL, 2 PBU, 3 FR. Returning starter.
MLB - Kaleb Thornhill. 63 tackles, 1 sack, 4 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FR. Returning starter.
Bandit - SirDarean Adams. (#33 - OLB) 60 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 TFL, 3 INT, 2 PBU, 2 FF. Returning starter.
The theme of experienced linebackers continues at Michigan State where the Spartans return all three starting linebackers. Unlike previous groups though, there are no potential All-Americans on this unit. Still, they are fast, athletic, and veteran players who had enough talent to give ND fits last year. In the middle, Kaleb Thornhill is a physical presence at 240 pounds. He has had some injury problems, but is coming into this season healthy. On the outside, David Herron is a huge outside linebacker at 245 pounds and is probably the best linebacker on the team. He was 2nd on the team in tackles last year behind the graduated Eric Smith. SirDarean Adams (left) plays the Bandit position which is somewhat similar to the now defunct Apache position at ND. Extremely fast, Adams is solid in the passing game and a very strong tackler against the run game. Depth: The backups include inexperienced Steve Jaurez and a trio of players in Tom Dance, Adam Decker, and promising freshman Josh Rouse who didn't play linebacker at all last season. Eric Andino, a promising backup linebacker was moved to tight end.
PURDUE
SLB - Cliff Avirl. 33 tackles, 2.5 TFL. New starter.
MLB - George Hall. (#16 - ILB) 77 tackles, 2 TFL, 3 PBU. Returning starter.
WLB - Dan Bick. 40 tackles, 1 sack, 3.5 TFL, 1 INT. New starter.
The Purdue linebackers are fast and talented, but also injured. The depth chart took a bit of a hit when starting middle linebacker George Hall (right) went down with a leg injury in fall camp. He's had surgery but it's unknown if he'll make it back in time for the late September game against ND. I'll leave him in here for now, but even if he does make it back he likely won't be at 100%. When he is healthy, he's a veteran linebacker who is extremely quick for his size (6-2, 240 pounds). Cliff Avril also has battled some injuries during last year and this fall relating to his back. And it's never good for a linebacker to have back injuries. If he can play pain free, Cliff is the best run stopper on the team and an excellent tackler. Dan Bick has been playing with a shoulder injury through fall camp and it's not sure just how he'll be able to hold up to the pounding of tackling fullbacks and taking on offensive lineman. Especially considering he's a bit undersized at 218 pounds. Depth: Taking Hall's place for the first few games is Josh Ferguson, an inexperienced junior who had a solid offseason and the benefit of playing with the first team defense for much of fall camp. Jason Werner is an extremely fast former safety but like Avril is fighting with back problems and may have to miss some games. Stanford Keglar has 18 career starts under his belt, but has been related to backup status behind Bick for now. If he gets the call, he'll bring a good amount of game experience off the bench.
STANFORD
OLB - Udeme Udofia. 36 tackles, 1 sack, 4 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF. Returning starter.
ILB - Michael Okwo. 34 tackles, 2 sacks, 5.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU. Returning starter.
ILB - Mike Silva. 57 tackles, 1 sack, 2.5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
OLB - Clinton Synder. New starter.
Stanford has a number of experience linebackers returning but also might fight off the injury bug. Starting inside linebacker Michael Okwo broke his thumb and will miss time early in the season, though he should be back in the starting lineup for the ND game. He was also injured last season and though he played in 10 of 11 games, only started in 3. Mike Silva is the other inside linebacker in the Cardinal's 3-4 defense and is the leading returning tackler of the linebackers after starting the final 8 games at the inside linebacker position. If needed, he's fast enough to play on the outside. Udeme Udofia is a physical presence at 6-4, 240 pounds and when the Cardinal switch to a 4-3 is the likely choice to move to defensive end. Clinton Synder is the new starter of the bunch and even though the redshirt freshman has yet to play a snap in college, the coaching staff are already talking him up as a future star. Depth: With Okwo out for at least the opener, Pat Maynor is going to get the starting nod. Maynor has a special teams contributor last season and now finds himself with the potential for a lot of playing time. Backing up Maynor is freshman Nick Macalsuo. Peter Griffin played strong safety for the past three years but now is the backup behind Synder on the outside.
UCLA
SLB - John Hale. 20 tackles, 1 PBU. 1 FR. New starter.
MLB - Christian Taylor. 43 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FR. New starter.
WLB - Reggie Carter. New starter.
UCLA was hit hard by graduation at the linebacker position and fields three new starters in 2006. They also field the smallest starting linebacker corp on the ND schedule, smaller even than ND's relatively light Thomas-Crum-Thomas lineup. The most productive Bruin starter is Air Force transfer Christian Taylor (left), who only started one game last year in a backup role but was 6th on the team in tackles. He's not that big for a middle linebacker at 6-0, 222 pounds, but is a very physical player. Sophomore John Hale is the most experienced returning linebacker who started 7 games last year. He started games at both the outside and middle linebacker positions, but will start out on the outside for now. Sophomore Reggie Carter hasn't played yet but he's a highly touted recruit and probably the fastest of the three Bruin linebackers. If he can adjust to college ball quickly, he could be the best 'backer on the team come the ND game. Again, another smallish linebacker at 218 pounds. Depth: Still fighting Carter for the starting WLB spot is Eric McNeal, who is actually even lighter at 208 pounds. 215 pound Aaron Whittington is backing up Hale, but is actually starting the first game against Utah while Hale serves out a suspension. Whittington started two games last year but did miss the final four games with a leg injury.
NAVY
OLB - David Mahoney. 76 tackles, 8 sacks, 16 TFL, 1 INT, 4 PBU, 1 FR. Returning starter.
ILB - Rob Caldwell. (#41 - OLB) 140 tackles, 2 sacks, 7.5 TFL, 2 PBU, 3 FF. Returning starter.
ILB - Clint Stovie. 6 tackles, 1 FF. New starter.
OLB - Tyler Tidwell. 67 tackles, 10 sacks, 19 TFL, 2 PBU, 3 FF. Returning starter.
Perhaps the most productive linebacking corp in the schedule, Navy has a very good unit in their 3-4 scheme featuring one of the best tacklers in NCAA football. No linebacker on the schedule had more tackles than Rob Caldwell (right), who finished the year with an outstanding 140 tackles. Caldwell isn't all that big, but is the type of player who is always found near or in the pile after a play is over. Joining him in the middle is Clint Stovie, who at 196 pounds is probably the smallest inside linebacker playing D-1 football. On the outside, Navy returns two talented linebackers in David Mahoney and Tyler Tidwell. Tidwell in particular is a very good pass rusher while Mahoney is no slouch either in that department. Depth: Joe Cylc is a bigger option in the middle at 230 pounds if Stovie isn't able to stop the run while Irv Spencer is an even bigger backup option at 240 pounds. Matt Wimsett offers another option at the outside.
NORTH CAROLINA
SLB - Larry Edwards. (#25 - OLB) 91 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 8 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
MLB - Mark Paschal. 7 tackles. New starter.
WLB - Durell Mapp. 46 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 TFL, 1 FR, 2 FF. Returning starter.
The leader of this linebackering corp is strongside 'backer Larry Edwards (left). He led the team in tackles last season and is expected to contend for all conference honors this year as one of the team leaders on defense. Mark Paschal is the surprise starter at the middle linebacker position after a solid showing in the spring and fall camps. Another relatively small middle linebacker at 225 pounds, Paschal will have a lot of attention as the rookie running the middle of the Tar Heel defense. Durell Mapp started the final 6 games last year at middle linebacker for North Carolina but this season was switched to the weak-side spot. He missed the spring due to a shoulder injury and in fall camp sprained his knee. Assuming another injury doesn't hit him though, he should be healed up by the ND game. Depth: If Mapp can't go, sophomores Chase Rice and Garrett White will look to step into the starting lineup and contribute. Victor Woolsey is a veteran backup middle linebacker who holds some weight room records for the Tar Heels, but also has had injury issues in the past.
AIR FORCE
ILB - Joey Keller. 22 tackles, 1.5 TFL. New starter.
ILB - Drew Fowler. 77 tackles, 1 sack, 5.5 TFL. Returning starter.
Air Force runs a 4-2-5 scheme usually where only two players are technically classified as linebackers. For now I'll leave the hybrid outside linebacker/safety positions for the secondary post. Drew Fowler (right, tackling) is the man in the middle as he was 2nd in the team in tackles last year with 77 despite only starting 9 of the 11 games. Joey Keller was a backup last year and is line for a starting spot, but was injured for some of fall camp. Depth: If Keller isn't a starter by the ND game, Jared Baxely might be the man in the middle. The fastest Falcon linebacker, Baxley is inexperienced but Air Force might need his speed. Austin Randle is another backup looking for playing time on the Falcon defense.
ARMY
SLB- Charlie Rockwood. 15 tackles, 2 TFL. Returning starter.
MLB - Cason Schrode. 69 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 TFL. Returning starter.
WLB - Barrett Scruggs. (#59 - OLB) 80 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 5 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
Barrett Scruggs (left) is the best player on the linebacker line and the former safety is extremely capable in pass coverage. At 213 pounds he might have some trouble with bigger backs, but he did finish 2nd on the team in tackles last year. Cason Schrode mans the middle linebacker position and he finished 3rd on the team in tackles last year. At 250 pounds he's a load and his 11 career starts give him a good amount of experience too. Charlie Rockwood was named the strongside starter last year and started three games before a season ending injury knocked him out for the year. Back and healthy, the Black Knight coaching staff have high hopes that his athleticism pays off in the form of sideline to sideline coverage. Depth: Luke Pell started six games last year in Rockwood's absence and provides a veteran presence off the bench. Sophomore Frank Scappaticci impressed the coaching staff in the spring and from his backup spot behind Scruggs will likely see playing time as he is groomed as a future starter.
SOUTHERN CAL
SLB - Dallas Sartz. (#4 - SS) 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFL. Returning starter.
MLB - Oscar Lua. (#10 - ILB) 66 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 1 FR. 1 FF. Returning starter.
WLB - Keith Rivers. (#3 - OLB) 52 tackles, 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 INT, 2 FR. Returning starter.
If Penn State is the best linebacking corp in the nation, Southern Cal is #2. The collection of size, speed, and talent here is really impressive and the fruit of three years of almost unbelievable recruiting. There is so much talent, the Trojans might be tempted to try out a 3-4 defense, but for this preview we'll stick with the 4-3. And even then, the names of the starters aren't set in stone. Dallas Sartz returns from a shoulder injury that knocked him out for all but two games of the 2005 season and regains the starting strongside spot he has held since midway through the 2003 season. At 6-5, 240 pounds, Sartz is tough, fast, and smart. If he can stay healthy, he should have a fantastic year. In the middle, Oscar Lua returns for his second year starting after leading the Trojans in tackles last year. He has a highly regarded player on his heels for the starting job, but so far Lua has played well enough in practice to hold him off. Keith Rivers (right) had a breakout game last year against Notre Dame and the extremely fast junior will likely show up on a few national award lists by the end of the season. Depth: You can see the depth of the Trojan team when you notice the Phil Steele rankings for the Trojan backups. Fighting Lua for the starting job in the middle is Rey Maualuga (#26 - ILB) , a ferocious player that I honestly think will be the starter when ND rolls into town. Brian Cushing (#9 - OLB) has battled through some injury problems and will push Dallas Sartz at the strongside 'backer position. If USC goes to a 3-4, look for Cushing to get the call off the bench. Thomas Williams (#49 - OLB) actually started 6 games at the strongside position last year, but now finds himself 3rd on the depth chart at both the strongside and middle 'backer positions. Luther Brown was a very highly regarded recruit who was sidelined last year with back issues. Once healthy, he may make a move up the very crowded Trojan depth chart. Allen Bradford is a highly touted freshman, but he was moved from linebacker to running back in fall camp.
2006 Linebacker Analysis and Rankings
Of all the opponent positions, I don't think any is as impressive and daunting as the collection of linebackers that the Irish will face in 2006. Originally I had high hopes that Darius was going to have an incredible year with all of the attention put on the receivers, but there are a lot of very good run stopping linebackers on the schedule this year. Penn State and Southern Cal have incredible talent and depth while every team save Stanford, UCLA, and Air Force has at least one starting linebacker ranked by Phil Steele. Another thing to note is all of the experience. 9 of the 12 teams return at least 2 starting linebackers and UCLA is the only team to have a completely new set of starters for 2006.
There is so much linebacker talent that it's interesting to see teams like the Nittany Lions and Trojans flirting with the 3-4 scheme in order to get more 'backers on the field. Navy and Stanford already run this formation and while Michigan seems to be moving to a more permanent 4-3 alignment, they will still probably drop into the 3-4 at times this year.
The good news for Irish fans is that not only is Darius Walker experienced enough to deal with quality linebackers, but he's a fantastic pass blocker so those blitzing linebackers will still have a bit of trouble getting to Quinn. Ditto Travis Thomas when he's in. Of course, I wonder if this will limit just how much Munir Prince sees the field against some of the team near the top of my linebacker rankings. Time will tell.
1. PSU - The best linebacking unit in the country.
2. USC - The 2nd best linebacking unit in the country with a ton of potential on the bench.
3. Michigan - Big and strong starters but other than Graham, the backups are untested.
4. Georgia Tech - A very athletic starting trio. Not much proven depth.
5. Michigan State - A veteran unit that will be the leaders of the Spartan defense.
6. Navy - Outstanding production and passing rushing ability. Caldwell is a tackling machine.
7. Stanford - A decent mix of experience and production.
8. North Carolina - Edwards needs to be a leader. A potentially good linebacking corp.
9. Army - A veteran unit returns with some experience coming off the bench.
10. Purdue - Hall is a solid player and there is experience, but injuries could hurt.
11. UCLA - Decent athleticism, but nearly no experience.
12. Air Force - Fowler is decent, but there really is no other depth on the team.
Next up....Defensive backs.
As you can tell from our season predictions, we’re a pretty bullish bunch heading into the 2006 season. Of course, at this time last year, our 2005 predictions seemed pretty optimistic to those who had not been following the program as closely. At the time, Jay (and Mister Señor Love Daddy) tried to temper our enthusiasm by recounting the upcoming season’s potential landmines. With national championship fervor gripping Notre Dame Nation, it seemed appropriate to once again catalog some of the reasons Notre Dame might fall short of our predictions.
This will also give Notre Dame haters plausible reasons to downgrade Notre Dame’s chances this year, rather than resorting to arguments that make their author look foolish, such as that Notre Dame can’t win because “Tyrone Willingham had a better first year in South Bend than Charlie Weis did” or "Brady Quinn isn't good."
Can We Kick It? Unfortunately, I’m still a long way from asserting, “Yes, we can!” Last year, the departed D.J. Fitzpatrick handled almost all the kicking duties – placekicking, punting, and kicking off – despite Weis’s statements that he preferred to divide these duties among several guys. That Fitzpatrick carried this load says something about Weis’s confidence level in the other kickers on the roster. Freshman placekicker Ryan Burkhart arrived in August and punter Geoff Price has reportedly made considerable strides this offseason after consulting with Hunter Smith. Nonetheless, neither is game-tested, and at this point Carl Gioia and Bobby Renkes appear to have won the placekicking and kickoff duties, respectively.
I know many believe that Notre Dame’s explosive offense will diminish the importance of the kicking game this year. I’m not so sure. Although I am usually loathe to accord much weight to unquantifiable factors, I am a big believer in momentum in college football. Missed and blocked kicks are often the triggers for decisive momentum shifts.
Just last season, we witnessed how an ineffective kicking game can transform what could have been a walkover into a last-minute victory. In the second to last game of the regular season, Fitzpatrick was injured while punting on a late hit that drew a roughing flag. Although Fitzpatrick was clearly still showing the effects of the injury the following week against Stanford, Weis apparently believed Fitzpatrick remained his best option. The ensuing kicking problems kept the game in doubt until the final minute despite the fact that Notre Dame outgained Stanford 663 yards to 336 yards. (In other words, Notre Dame outgained Stanford by 58 more yards than OSU outgained Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.) In the second half, Fitzpatrick missed an extra point and two field goals. On a fourth-quarter kickoff, Gioia managed only 52 yards, a contributing factor in T.J. Rushing’s kickoff-return touchdown. Notre Dame’s weaknesses in the kicking game contributed to a 14-point swing in Stanford’s favor and reveal why Notre Dame could not pull away from Stanford during a fourth quarter that saw Quinn throw just one incomplete pass.
If Fitzpatrick’s successors cannot approach Fitzpatrick’s 2005 performance, there could be a game or two where the special teams create a deficit that even Notre Dame’s potent offense cannot erase.
Beneath The Surface. While Notre Dame can trot out a starting lineup full of former high-school All Americans and blue-chip recruits, questions abound regarding the backups. That nine freshman already find their names on the two-deep says as much about Notre Dame’s pressing depth concerns as it does about the talent of Weis’s first full class. A dearth of depth can cause problems a couple of different ways.
"Size is a factor in a 3-4 defense," Weis said. "In a four-man front, size is not a factor. It lets (linebackers) run to the ball."Additionally, this year’s schedule does not feature many teams likely to try to cram the ball down the defense’s throat. Michigan would be the most likely candidate, particularly with a quality between-the-tackles running back like Mike Hart. However, Michigan’s offensive line does not appear very frightening on paper and recent history suggests Michigan needs several games to figure out what they want to do with their offensive line.
Howard Richman in the Kansas City Star had a great piece Sunday that captures the resurgent spirit of this Irish era perfectly, drawing from a vast range of sources from around the country. It's not often you see quotes from Murray Sperber, Bob Davie, the athletic director at Oklahoma, and Greg Delinski, the owner of the Linebacker all in the same article.
This past spring we took reader-submitted photos and created a photo slideshow of the Blue-Gold Game weekend. It turned out pretty cool, so we're thinking we'd do the same for regular season games this year as well.
So after the game, send us your pictures of the Notre Dame football weekend, both at home and away...the more creative, the better. Snapshots of tailgaters, your adventures in enemy territory at away games, the team during warmups, recruits and celebs on the sidelines, anything you see fit. We set up a new email account to handle photo submissions -- bgs.photos@gmail.com.
Hopefully this works out as well as the spring slideshow did. For all you budding Neil Leifers out there headed to Atlanta, be sure to grab your camera on the way out the door.
One of the better things to come out of the Adidas apparel contract (and a far cry from the gold flanks on the uniforms in the late 90s) was this gem of an ad featuring Montana and Father Riehle.
With Ernesto bearing down on the southeast, it looks like Atlanta might get some residual weather this weekend from the tropical storm. If you're going to the game, be sure to bring a rain coat (or this guy).
Likewise, team BGS is bearing down on the season like a ND cop on a student tailgater. Our picks for '06: here's what we got.
| GT | PSU | UM | MSU | PU | Stan. | UCLA | Navy | UNC | Army | AFA | USC | W-L | |
| Dylan | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 12-0 |
| Jay | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 12-0 |
| Jeff | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 12-0 |
| Mark | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | 10-2 |
| Michael | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 12-0 |
| Mike | W | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | 10-2 |
| Pat | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 12-0 |
| Pete | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | L | 10-2 |
| Teds | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | 11-1 |
| GT | PSU | UM | MSU | PU | Stan. | UCLA | Navy | UNC | Army | AFA | USC | W-L | |
| Gerd | W | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | ? | ? |
If you're going to watch only one camp presser, make it this past Saturday's. It's great. Charlie talks about his defense being faster...and with more intensity...with a devilish twinkle in his eye.
on game day excitement...By the way, this was the official end of summer camp this weekend, and now we begin the first "game week". Tomorrow Charlie will have his Tech preview.
I feel excitement on Mondays when we're game-planning because that's when I play. I don't play on Saturday, the players play on Saturday. I play when I'm developing the game plan; that's where my usefulness is...when you get together with the coaching staff and analyze the opponent and figure out what you’re going to do. Because I learned a long time ago that people pay their money to watch the players play. They don’t pay their money to watch the coaches coach...
on the improved secondary...
...for the guys that have been playing already and now feel more confident and know what they are doing and they are in good shape. Obviously, Ndukwe is in the best shape since I've been here. So now you have them in good shape and they have a pretty good understanding a year into the system which has been simplified on top of that. They’re playing with confidence because they at least know what to do. And when you know what you’re doing in football, you play it at a much higher speed than when you have to think about what you have to do
on road trip protocol...
We are very good in the hotel; we are very disciplined in the hotel. It’s not a very loose ship. I issue warm-ups and they wear them around the hotel. We wear coat and tie when we make the trip. Their attire back from the trip depends on whether we won or lost. If we won that game, they’re in sweats. If they lost, they’re in coat and tie...
I always explain the best part of going on the road is not the game itself; the best part of going on the road is when there is about three minutes left in the game and their fans start to leave and all your fans get behind your bench and they are the only ones you hear now. All those guys that were screaming at you the first three quarters are all heading for the exits. There’s no better feeling in the world than that.
on defensive expectations...
Everybody’s always telling me how bad the defense is. I guess we’ll just have to wait till next Saturday night to find out. We’ll see if we have any speed or not.
(to borrow a line from Marco).
The two-deep depth chart for the Georgia Tech game was released late last week. Not surprisingly, it's peppered with freshmen, some in prominent roles. Check it out (frosh in red):
| OFFENSE | DEFENSE | SPECIALISTS | |||
| QB | Quinn Sharpley | LDE | Abiamiri J. Brown/Ryan | LS | Jansen Duncan |
| RB | Walker (T. Thomas) Prince | LDT | Laws Leitko | P | Price Renkes |
| FB | Schwapp McConnell | RDT | Landri Kuntz | PK | Gioia Burkhardt |
| Z | Samardzija Grimes | RDE | Talley Frome | H | Samardzija Sharpley |
| X | McKnight Anastasio West | SLB | M.Thomas Vernaglia | PR | Zbikowski Grimes West |
| TE | Carlson Freeman | MLB | Crum T. Smith | KR | Grimes West |
| RT | Young Duncan | WLB | T. Thomas Brockington | KO | Renkes Burkhardt |
| RG | Morton Mattes | LC | Wooden Walls | ||
| C | Sullivan (Morton) Chervanick | SS | Zbikowski Herring | ||
| LG | Santucci Olsen | FS | Ndukwe McCarthy/Bruton | ||
| LT | Harris Turkovich | RC | Richardson Lambert/McNeil | ||
It seemsthat for every positive article and media mention of the 2006 Irish offense this off-season there was another article highlighting the slow Irish secondary. The general line of thought went something like this:
Brady Quinn and the Irish offense will be the best in the country this season, but I just don't think their slow secondary will be good enough for them to go undefeated. With the same guys who got burned by the Buckeyes coming back, the defense isn't going to get any faster.We've already covered the Fiesta Bowl, so I'm not going to get into that. But the whole "the defense isn't going to get any faster" line of reasoning has really bugged me. Which is why I was glad to see this article from Adam Rittenberg, the one non-local writer who seemed capable of actually doing research into the Irish off-season workout program. And while defensive speed doesn't automatically translate to a more productive and effective defense, it nice to read about all of the hard work the team put into improving their speed on the field.
-Joe Sportsbeat
"I wanted to get down there and train for speed," he said.Not to be outdone, free safety Chinedum Nduwke, in addition to losing 15-20 pounds, sought out personal trainer Brett Fisher in Arizona.
Carter helped the Irish senior safety understand how receivers think.
"No break is ever good enough," Zbikowski said. "[Carter is] never satisfied on any given play. You see what their mind-set is, see what they're looking at, whether they're pushing inside or outside."
Fischer's clients include NFL defensive backs Mike McKenzie, Shawn Springs and Darren Sharper. He also works with Ndukwe's older brother, Ike, a reserve guard for the Washington Redskins.As for the rest of the team, the upshift from strength to speed was crucial."We just worked on my backpedaling and my cuts, coming out of my breaks," said Ndukwe, who had two interceptions and four fumble recoveries last season.
Ndukwe also did individual speed work at Notre Dame, getting help from Irish QB Brady Quinn.
Speed also took precedence in Notre Dame's team workouts with the strength and conditioning staff. A year earlier, weight training was the focus, as Notre Dame checked off the "bigger" and "stronger" requirements of football's famous cliché. But this summer the Irish devoted two days of each week to speed and agility drills.Combining the additional speed work with the move of Travis Thomas to defense, I'm excited to see if indeed the defense does look quicker out there next Saturday. Of course, the best way to look faster is to not waste time getting suckered in on play-action fakes and taking good angles to the ballcarrier. So, in that regard, I'm still a bit nervous about how our new linebacking corp will do. But overall I'm pretty optimistic that the defense will be much improved. Improved enough to keep the Irish undefeated, I'm not sure. I guess we'll start to find out in a week.
"We did a lot of box jumps into running sprints, did a lot of tire pulls with weights in the tires," Ndukwe said. "It was just working on turnover, just getting your body forward and your knees going as fast as you can. We did wall [drills]. A lot of people do a lot of the same things. It's just how much you do them."
Added senior DE Victor Abiamiri: "After last summer, we had more of an idea what to expect. We had a goal in mind: improving team speed."
Sorry for the delay in the position previews. I'll try to get the linebackers and secondary out before kickoff, but no promises. For those just tuning in, here are the links for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends/offensive line. Now on to perhaps the hardest position to find information about, the defensive line. Phil Steele position rankings are in parentheses.
The stat legend goes as follows: TFL = tackles for loss, PBU = pass broken up, INT = interception, FR = fumble recovered, FF = fumble forced. If anyone has any additional info/corrections, please feel free to chime in.
GEORGIA TECH
DE - Adamm Oliver. 41 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 TFL, 1 PBU 1 FR, 1 FF. Returning starter.
DT - Joe Anoai. 26 tackles, 3 sacks, 6.5 TFL. Returning starter.
DT - Darryl Richard. (#53 DT) missed year with ACL injury. New starter.
DE - Darrell Robertson. 15 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 4 PBU, 1 INT. New starter.
The Yellow Jackets will sport a formidible defensive line in the Irish season opener with a good mix of talent, depth, and potential. Darrell Robertson assumes a full-time starting spot at defensive end after being a backup last year. He did start four games last year when the starter Eric Henderson was out with injury so he does have some decent experience. It's likely that he'll be Tech's best pass rusher. At the other end position, Adamm Oliver brings plenty of experience with 11 career starts at both defensive end positions and at 265 pounds is a solid run stopper. The tackle positions remind me of ND's tackles as both rely more on speed and quickness than size. The 280 pound Joe Anoai (pictured) is the line's veteran with 23 career starts and also has the flexibility to play defensive end, where he started one game as a sophomore. He's a pre-season All-ACC player who will be tough inside. Pairing up with him will be Darryl Richard, a redshirt sophomore who missed all last year with a knee injury after a very strong freshman campaign. Back and healthy, big things are expected from him. Depth: The Yellow Jackets have a solid 2-deep on the line starting with sophomore Michael Johnson. He has been injured a bit this fall, but he's the next big thing for Tech at defensive end and will be another quality pass rusher when he's healthy. Vance Walker, Elris Anyaibe, and David Brown round out a dependable defensive tackle rotation with a good amount of potential.
PENN STATE
Jim Shaw. 6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Ed Johnson. missed 2005 due to suspension. New starter.
Jay Alford. (#9 DT) - 37 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 11.5 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FR, 1 FF.
Returning starter.
Josh Gaines. - 9 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
The Nittany Lion defensive line was hit hard by graduation, and there are rumors they might switch to a 3-4 to take advantage of their talented linebackers, but Coach Paterno insists they will likely stick with the traditional 4-3. One player sure to start on the line is returning veteran Jay Alford (left), one of the better defensive tackles in the country. A 2nd-Team all-conference player last year and three year starter, Alford will have to adjust to more attention from opposing offensive lines as the star of this year's line. Joining him in the middle is Ed Johnson, who missed last year after being expelled from school for the summer and fall 2005 semesters. He played in every game his sophomore and junior year while making 6 starts so he's a somewhat experienced new starter. Jim Shaw is a transfer from Rice and a big player for defensive end. In fact, he started at defensive tackle for a game last year. He will be very solid against the run and could give quarterbacks a hard time if he's able to bull his way into the backfield. The replacement for All-American Tamba Hali for now is sophomore Josh Gaines, who at over 260 pounds sounds more like a run stopping type than a pure pass rusher. Depth: If State wants to get more speed off the edge, they might turn to talented freshman Maurice Evans. Jared Odrick, Tom McEowen, and Aaron Maybin are other freshman possibilities to see the field early. The main backup in the middle is the large Steve Roach, the team's only 300+ pound tackle, with sophomore Elijah Robinson also providing depth.
MICHIGAN
Lamarr Woodley. (#6 DE) - 48 tackles, 7 sacks, 14 TFL, 1 FR, 3 FF. Returning starter.
Alan Branch. (#12 DE) - 31 tackles, 5 sacks, 7 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF. Returning starter.
Terrance Taylor. (#60 DT) 1 tackle. New starter.
Tim Jamison. 10 tackles, 3 sacks, 3.5 TFL. New starter.
Seemingly the strength of the team this year, the Wolverine defensive line features a number of all-conference caliber players. The big name is LaMarr Woodley (pictured) who has starred as a part linebacker/defensive end at Michigan. With the new 4-3 alignment under Coach English, Woodley has very high expectations from the coaching staff and fans as a permanent defensive end. It's very possible that he will end the year as an All-America type defender. In the middle, Michigan has two huge bodies in 6-0, 305 pound Terrance Taylor and 6-6, 330 pound Alan Branch. Branch won the Michigan DL of the year award last year and the coaches are very excited about the potential of Taylor, who as a sophomore is already one of the strongest players on the team. On the other side of the line Tim Jamison is battling for the starting defensive end spot and if he takes it, will provide a pass rushing compliment to Woodley that will be hard for most teams to handle. Depth: Fighting Jamison for that DE starting spot is senior Rondell Biggs who very fast in his own right and if he can stay healthy has a very good shot at quality playing time. Will Johnson, who started one game last year, will provide depth at the tackle spot along with Marques Walton. One time ND commit Jeremy Van Alstyne might also work himself into a few snaps at defensive end.
MICHIGAN STATE
Brandon Long. 3 tackles, 1 FR. New starter.
Clifton Ryan. (#31 DE) 34 tackles , 3 sacks, 4 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF.
Returning starter.
David Stanton. 13 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 PBU. New starter.
Justin Kershaw. 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL. New starter.
Clifton Ryan (left) was a huge defensive end the past two years and now the 305 pounder has moved inside to tackle. The only returning starter, Ryan will be relied upon to not only stop the run, but also still rush the passer from his new position. If he can do this, the Spartan line should be fairly effective. The two new defensive ends, Brandon Long and Justin Kershaw, are both a bit undersized (244 and 252 pounds respectively) but are quick enough to give QBs some trouble if they can avoid getting locked up by opposing offensive lineman. David Stanton was a key reserve last year and now the former JUCO defensive end will have to adapt to being the starting nose tackle. Depth: Pushing Long for one of the starting DE spots is JUCO transfer Ervin Baldwin who is quickly earning the praise of coaches in fall camp. Another JUCO transfer, tackle Ogemdi Nwagbuo also provides quality depth with a history of pass rushing success at the junior college level. Nick Smith has been a Spartan backup the past two years with one game start last year and will help round out the defensive end rotation.
PURDUE
Anthony Spencer. (#32 DE) 23 tackles, 3 sacks, 7.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FR.
Returning starter.
Ryan Baker. 10 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 0.5 TFL. New starter.
Alex Magee. 18 tackles, 1 TFL. New starter.
Eugene Bright. 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2.5 TFL. New starter.
Anthony Spencer (right) is another lone starter returning to a line racked by graduation. A veteran with 23 career starts, Spencer might find things harder without a Ray Edwards on the other side of the line to attract attention, but he's still a very capable defender. One time ND tight end commit Ryan Baker has surfaced at defensive tackle and the redshirt sophomore has locked down a starting spot with his hustle and aggressive play. Co-defensive tackle Alex Magee started 2 games last year as a true freshman and now has the starting spot all to himself. Eugene Bright looks to be the newest pass rushing Purdue defensive end. Depth: Purdue is somewhat deep at defensive tackle, but like the starters, the depth is made up of redshirt and true sophomores. Jared Zwilling, Mike Neal, Johnathan Patton, and Jermaine Guynn are inexperienced and unproven, but at least have the size to play if and when needed. Jeff Benjamin and Mike McDonald are two JUCO transfers who will shore up the defensive end position.
STANFORD
Pannel Egboh. 15 tackles, 1 sack, 2.5 TFL, 2 PBU. New starter.
Ekom Udofia. New starter.
Matt Kopa. New starter.
Stanford is now running a 3-4 defense which features one nose tackle and two defensive ends. Manning the middle is the player with the most potential, Ekom Udofia. A very highly regarded recruit, the redshirt freshman will see his first playing time as a starter and expectations are sky-high for the athletic 6-2 303 pounder. Pannel Egboh has a great chance at starting which is impressive considering he broke his leg last season and was forced to miss all of spring practice. If he's all the way back from the injury, he'll give the Cardinal a solid pass rusher. Sophomore Matt Kopa is a big end at 270 pounds, but in the 3-4 the ends usually are a bit bigger. Solid against the run, Kopa is also quick enough to cause some trouble rushing the passer. Depth: Gustav Rydstedt has high expectations as he continues to develop as a defensive lineman. The junior is very athletic and posssibly could play himself into the starting lineup or at least a large number of snaps by the ND game. Chris Horn will compete with Kopa for one of the starting end spots and give the Cardinal another big end at 270 pounds. Backing up Udofia will be true freshman Sione Fua, a very solid 300 pounder. Behind Fua is redshirt junior Mike Macellari and redshirt freshman James McGillicuddy, another youngster with promise.
UCLA
Bruce Davis. 28 tackles, 2 sacks, 6 TFL, 4 PBU, 1 FF. New starter.
Kevin Brown. (#14 DT) injured last year. Returning starter.
Brigham Harwell. (#16 DT) 35 tackles, 4 sacks, 11.5 TFL,2 PBU. Returning starter.
Justin Hickman. (#36 DE) 31 tackles , 5.5, 8 TFL,1 FR. Returning starter.
UCLA fought through a number of injuries and now returns a very deep defensive line with not much dropoff from the starters to the backups. Kevin Brown is a big force in the middle, but an ankle injury forced him to miss nearly all of last season. He tweaked his other ankle in fall camp, but should be back to full speed soon. Joining him in the middle is likely Brigham Harwell, a very fast defensive tackle who started out at end before being moved inside. Harwell was second on the team in sacks last year and started 11 of the 12 Bruin games. On the ends, Bruce Davis and Justin Hickman (left) return and look to improve upon their collective 7.5 sacks last year. Depth: The real reason behind the strong Bruin line is their depth. Playing last year as a 265 pound undersized freshman, sophomore Chase Moline was pushed around a bit, but he's gained 20 pounds and valuable experience for this year. Kenneth Lombard started three games last year and also might be in line for a starting spot come October. He's still a bit undersized at 270 pounds, but very quick for a tackle. Nikola Dragovic was another lineman lost for nearly the whole year last year due to injury after starting the first four games. Like Harwell and Lombard, it's possible he might take back a starting spot by the time of the ND game. (see a pattern here?) William Snead is a fast pass-rushing defensive end who started five games last year and gives UCLA another option on the end. Overall, the Bruins have a very solid 8-man rotation and one of the deepest defensive lines in the country.
NAVY
Tye Adams. 13 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 FR. New starter.
David Wright. 2 tackles. New starter.
John Chan. 53 tackles, 6 sacks, 4.5 TFL, 1 PBU, 1 FR. Returning starter.
Navy is another team that runs a 3-4 defense, which lets them replace another undersized defensive lineman with one of their veteran linebackers. Manning the middle of this line is senior David Wright. At 275 pounds he'll have a hard time, but he'll also be able to use his quickness to try and slide by opposing offensive lines and get into the backfield. On the ends, the starters get even smaller. John Chan (right) is only 249 pounds, but he's a veteran player as well and has proven to be productive in the past. He's not a consistent pass rusher, but he's a solid tackler and effective against the run. The other end, Tye Adams, is perhaps the smallest defensive lineman in the country at 6-3, 225 pounds. Obviously speed is the key to his game as he would be hard pressed to bullrush any 300 pounds offensive lineman. Believe it or not, Adams also plays some at the nose tackle position, mainly on passing downs. Depth: Navy does have a decent D-line rotation with the experiened Larry Cylc, who started 9 games last year and is the biggest Navy lineman at 290 pounds. At end, Andrew Tattersall will rotate in with Adams as Tattersall brings a bit more bulk for when the team is trying to establish the run. Heralded recruits, Nate Frazier and Andy Lark, provide depth at the nose tackle position as well, although Lark is currently out with an injury.
NORTH CAROLINA
Brian Rackley. 15 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF. Returning starter.
Shelton Bynum. 22 tackles, 1 sack, 3 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Kyndraus Guy. 21 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 PBU. New starter.
Melik Brown. 7 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 1 FF. New starter.
Brian Rackley (left) is the leader of this defensive line that returns six players overall with starting experience. Even though he missed the last three games of the 2005 season with a concussion, Rackley has 14 career starts and UNC fans are hoping for a breakout season. The other returning starter is tackle Kyndraus Guy, who started five games last year while playing in all 11. Like some of the other tackles on the schedule, Guy isn't all that big at 280 pounds. Teaming up with him in the middle is Shelton Bynum, a senior who started six games and does tip the scales at 300 pounds. The final starting spot is still up in the air, but Melik Brown has as good a chance as any to grab it. He's been a reserve so far in his career, but could have a productive senior year if he takes the starting job. Depth: Battling Brown for the spot is junior Hilee Taylor, who is in the quick pass-rushing mold of defensive end. Kentwan Balmer started three games at defensive end last year, but has been moved inside to tackle for this year to add depth. Cameron Thomas also has high expectation as the 330 pound redshirt freshman was a highly regarded recruit and will add a lot of bulk to the defensive tackle position.
AIR FORCE
Jake Paulson. New starter.
Gilberto Perez. 33 tackles, 1 sack, 9.5 TFL, 2 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
Grant Thomas. 17, 0.5 sacks, 1 TFL, 1 PBU. New starter.
Josh Clayton. 14 tackles, 3 TFL. New starter.
The inexperienced Falcon line will look to veteran Gilberto Perez for leadership. A 1st team preseason all-conference pick, Perez will look to duplicate his production last year. Grant Thomas filled in for Perez for the final two games when Gilberto was injured and now has a starting spot next to him. He's a decent run-stopper and should benefit from the double-teams on Perez. At end, John Clayton and Jake Paulson will have to quickly prove they are capable defensive ends if they want to reverse last season's 98th overall ranking for the defense. Depth: Kevin Quinn will rotate with Grant Thomas at tackle, but at 245 pounds, he's also can play end. Tight end turned defensive tackle Chris Monson is even lighter at 240 pounds, which give the Falcons not much size behind their starters.
ARMY
Brandon Thompson. 20 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 1 PBU. Returning starter.
Tony Fusco. 28 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 5.5 TFL. Returning starter.
Travis Prikryl. New starter.
Cameron Craig. 56 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 TFL. Returning starter.
The Black Knights return a veteran defensive line that pretty good size and should be moderately effective this year. Cameron Craig (right) is one of the team's leaders and a strong pass rusher with 10 career sacks in 19 starts. At the other end position is junior Brandon Thompson, who earned praise during the spring for his continuing development as a run-stopping defensive end. Tony Fusco is the 308 pound man in the middle who will free up the defensive ends with his penetrating style of play. He had an impressive 7.5 tackles for loss last year, which is very good number for a defensive tackle. Travis Prikryl is the lone new starter on the line but should benefit from being surrounded by returning starters on all sides. Depth: John Wright started two games last year and provides another pass-rushing defensive end if Craig or Thompson need a sub. Likewise, Peter Harrington will backup Prikryl and Fusco in the middle, but he'll need to add some more size because at 255 pounds he's going to get pushed around.
Southern Cal
Kyle Moore. 6 tackles, 2 FR. New starter.
Sedrick Ellis. (#13 DT) 50 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 8 TFL, 3 PBU, 1 FF. Returning starter.
Chris Barrett. 5 tackles, 1 PBU. New starter.
Lawrence Jackson. (#1 DE) 46 tackles, 10 sacks, 13 TFL, 6 PBU, 2 FR, 4 FF. Returning starter.
After some of the solid Trojan lines of the past few years, this one might take some time to regroup and reload, but it should be a solid line by the time the Irish roll into town. There is talk that the Trojans might play a 3-4 defense this year at times to take advantage of their stellar linebacking corp, but I'm going to stick with the 4-3 in this preview in order cover more of the Trojan depth at DL. The star of the line is Lawrence Jackson (left), generally considered one of, if not the best defensive ends in the country. He's big at 6-5, 265 pounds and as fast as most linebackers. He will be hard to handle this year. Sedrick Ellis is the returning veteran in the middle and while he's not as well-known as past star Trojan defensive tackles, he's a very capable player who should be even better now that he's a returning starter. Next to Ellis is Chris Barrett, an inexperienced player who rose to the top during spring practice, beating out more highly touted recruits in the process. Initially he might be the target of opposing run games until he can prove himself in a game. The other defensive end spot is still up in the air but 6-7, 265 pound sophomore Kyle Moore impresses everyone with his speed coming off the edge. If the Trojans stick with the 3-4, Moore's spot will be the one that is taken off the field in favor of a linebacker. Depth: Fighting Moore for that starting spot is the talented but oft injured Jeff Schweiger. Schweiger might also see some time playing linebacker in the 3-4 as he's extremely fast. Adding bulk to the defensive tackle rotation will be the job of 300 pounder Fili Moala and 295 pound Walker Lee Ashley, one of the top DL recruits from a few years ago. Alex Morrow is a solid defensive end and will be Jackson's backup. Also look for Travis Tofi and Averell Spicer, yet another top recruit, to contribute to the defensive tackle rotation.
2006 Defensive Line Analysis and Ranking
There are still some very good individual players, like Lawrence Jackson of Southern Cal, LaMarr Woodley of Michigan, and Jay Alford of Penn State, but there is no real proven, complete defensive line that jumps out like like year's Tennessee and Purdue lines. And given how the ND offensive line handled those Volunteer and Boilermaker linemen, I'm not too terribly worried about the defensive lines that the Irish will face this year.
No team returns all four starters, although technically UCLA returns a whole raft of guys who started games last year. Speaking of UCLA, these same players were the reason the Bruins finished with the 2nd-worst rushing defense in the country last year. But just as I expect an additional year of coaching and experience to help the Irish secondary, I feel the same way about the UCLA D-line. And getting back two quality players from injury (Brown and Dragovic) doesn't hurt either.
One thing to consider when looking at this preview is the lack of depth on the Irish offensive line, and even if the opposing DL isn't all-star caliber, a physical game can wear down the Irish lineman and cause injuries. My two top DL teams, Michigan and Georgia Tech, are teams we face right at the beginning of the season. This is good in that the Irish will be fresh and able to put up with a physical game, but bad in that freshman starting right tackle Sam Young will be thrown right into the fire against great competition. If he comes out of those first three games without too many mistakes, we might be looking at one of the all-time greats.
One last thing I noticed. Other than Lawrence Jackson and LaMarr Woodely, there really aren't many proven dangerous pass rushers at defensive end. That doesn't mean one of the new starters can't be a force, but at least Quinn shouldn't have to worry about too many potential All-Americans bearing down on him from the edge. And Sam Young doesn't have to worry about lining up against too many guys with the experience to take consistent advantage of a rookie.
On to the rankings. This one is pretty tough to rank, given just how much coaching scheme plays into how effective a line is, so while I did list out my picks, it's very possible that reality won't match my predictions. As usual I looked at production, new starter potential, and depth at the position.
1. Michigan - Big and strong across the board. The strength of the 2006 Wolverine team.
2. Georgia Tech - A veteran line that is strong and quick. Also have quality depth.
3. Southern Cal - Depth and the presence of perhaps the best pass rusher in the nation.
4. UCLA - No superstars, but a legit 8-man rotation with plenty of experience.
5. Penn State - Alford is solid. The new starters and freshman have some promise.
6. Stanford - Udofia should be a force as he develops. Quality depth with some experienced backups.
7. Michigan State - Ryan can't do it all by himself. The new starters need to contribute early and often.
8. Purdue - Similar to MSU, the new guys must help Spencer. Inexperienced depth.
9. Army - A solid, experienced line. More size than usually seen on an academy team.
10. Navy - More speed than size, but Chan is dependable and there is experienced depth.
11. North Carolina - Could improve on this ranking if Rackley breaks out and the others surprise.
12. Air Force - Perez is good, but the rest of the line is small and inexperienced with very little depth.
Next up....Linebackers.
Gettin' ready for kickoff... Paul from Classic Ground, who's not too far from Atlanta, was gracious enough to pull together this overview of the Notre Dame-Georgia Tech series. Enjoy!
Overshadowed by the prominent rivalries with Southern California and Michigan and the ongoing series with Purdue, Michigan State and Navy, the history between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech often goes unnoticed. But Notre Dame has a rich legacy with the Yellow Jackets (that goes beyond fish-throwing, believe it or not). Overall, ND has squared off against Georgia Tech 32 times, with the very first meeting between the two schools coming in 1922.
The series with Georgia Tech came about as part of Knute Rockne’s plan in the 20s to make football a financial asset for the University, to build fan enthusiasm (especially among Catholics), and to take his “rambling” squad out to play the best teams from around the country. But the first match-up with Georgia Tech did not get scheduled as quickly as Rockne and Georgia Tech officials would have liked. One of the ongoing conflicts between Rockne and the priests under the Golden Dome involved the road games -- how many, and how far away -- and Rock often quarreled with the Faculty Board of Control of Athletics, which held veto power on football scheduling.
In late 1920, Rockne and Tech agreed in principle to a game in Atlanta in 1921, only to have the ND Faculty Board deny the arrangement; thus forcing Tech to schedule Rutgers instead. Cliff Wheatley, writing a sports editorial in The Atlanta Constitution on January 29, 1921 had this to say:
“For want of a better reason for Notre Dame’s withdrawal it looks like ‘cold feet,’ and a case of a business manager [Rockne] ‘biting off more than he could chew.’”In November 1921, Georgia Tech turned down an invitation from Evanston, Illinois to play Notre Dame at Northwestern in a post-season game for the benefit of the American Legion. This time, the Georgia Tech faculty denied the game. Coach Rockne finally got the Faculty Board to agree to let him take the Notre Dame football team to Atlanta in 1922.
1922: North vs. South“The game between the Yellow Jackets and the great Notre Dame team will draw the eyes of southern football lovers from every gridiron in the nation Saturday, and the attention of football students throughout the land will be largely turned to what promises to be one of the greatest exhibitions of flash and fly in the history of the modern game...He then set the stage, in the un-politically-correct and flowery way typical of the “Gee Whiz” sportswriters of the Roaring 20s:
It is southern football’s greatest opportunity...It will mean the greatest possible impetus to football in this section.”
“Followers of Tech teams of the past few years have been fairly well agreed that the Tech team is almost unbeatable on its Grant field. This view seems to be well taken for the game of the ordinary type, but Notre Dame has a team far from the ordinary type, and its game here will be far from the ordinary kind...It was for the fixed purpose of adding Tech’s scalp to its long pelt that the Indianans consented to come to these parts, and the magician [Rockne] will have his team instructed to show all of its stuff.”
| Notre Dame Coaches versus Georgia Tech: | |
| Knute Rockne Elmer Layden Frank Leahy Joe Kuharich Ara Parseghian Dan Devine Gerry Faust Bob Davie | 7-1 3-0 5-1 0-1 5-0 4-1-1 1-0 1-1 |
“Epic is the word. For the 20,000 people who jammed those stands Saturday afternoon will never blot from memory the sixty hair-raising minutes of ripping and tearing, doing and daring performed by the two teams who had foregathered to do each other battle. It was one of those struggles that cause sane people to write books, an event that was shot to the core with romance and drama. It was one of those reasons small boys believe the dime novels, for it proves nothing colorful is impossible to red-blooded men.”Rockne usually gave one emotional locker room pep speech per season, and the Georgia Tech game was his choice for 1922. According to witnesses, Rockne quietly went over the game plans and starting lineups. Then, as he usually did, Knute read a number of telegrams from significant well-wishers. Finally, he pulled out a crumpled telegram from his pocket and hesitantly offered that the team’s unofficial “mascot,” his own six-year-old son, Billy Rockne, was in the hospital and extremely ill. Billy’s message to the team: “PLEASE WIN THIS GAME FOR MY DADDY. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO HIM.” The Notre Dame players reacted by roaring out of the locker room.
1928 would turn out to be Coach Rockne’s single worst year – the Fighting Irish would finish 5-4. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, would eventually be declared national co-champions and win the Rose Bowl that season. October 1928 was also a terrible time for the Catholic school’s football team to be visiting Atlanta. The Ku Klux Klan and fundamentalist preachers were begging southerners to abandon the Democratic Party and vote against Al Smith, the Catholic presidential candidate. The pre-game build-up focused on the Irish jinx over Tech. “The lull before the storm has arrived,” wrote Dick Hawkins in The Atlanta Constitution, “and there remains nothing between the football-mad populace of Atlanta and a perfect day but a victory for Tech over Notre Dame this afternoon at Grant field...Just for today the future is forgotten. The past is just a little memory.”Georgia Tech beat Notre Dame 13-0. The October 21st edition of The Atlanta Constitution had this headline: “Gold Wave Fills Streets/ As Tech Conquers Irish.”
“Down Peachtree thundered the roaring Tornado. The golden avalanche burst forth in all its fury. Shopping mothers hurriedly gathered up their ambling offspring. Noncombatant males sought neutral ground. Up and down, back and forth surged a shouting, shrieking, yelling, swaying mass of young manhood. Georgia Tech had downed Notre Dame – a feat unparalleled in the institute’s football history.”Two Tech spectators collapsed and died of heart attacks at the game. The loss to Georgia Tech and the defeat of Al Smith in the presidential election would lead to Rockne giving his most memorable speech that November -- “Win One for the Gipper” -- to inspire the Irish over Army.
1953: Streakbusters
1975: Rudy Tackles Rudy
1980: Yellow Jackets Earn a 3-3 Tie with #1 Irish
1998: Green Jerseys for the Gator BowlIn the summer of 2002, a group of prognosticators gathered together for an annual darts competition. But it wasn't your ordinary game of Cricket or 301: these were the folks from Insiders, Rivals, and the turtleneck-wearing Tom Lemming. Based on where their darts landed, these men would publish a Top 100 list of the best football recruits in the country.
Just how accurate were these guys?
We did this last year for the 2001 class, so it was a no-brainer to repeat the process, especially since Heisman hopeful Brady Quinn was among the recruits from the class of 2002. Surely Quinn would have been at the top of that '02 list since he's been identified as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and a likely top 5 NFL draft pick, right?
Here's how the index was compiled (and how the ratings have been tweaked since last year):
• Final top 100 lists were gathered from Insiders (now known as Scout), Lemming, and Rivals.Here's the tally. In the parentheses following each player's name are his total points and his individual list rankings (Insiders-Lemming-Rivals) separated by hyphens.
• The rankings were converted into points by giving a recruit (101-x) points, where x represented his ranking. The #1 recruit would therefore receive 100 points, and the #100 recruit would receive 1 point.
• Players who were not ranked on a list were automatically assigned a 150th place ranking, which converted to negative points.
• The total points for each recruit were compared, and ties were broken by the highest ranking on any individual list. (For what it's worth, only one player who wasn't ranked in a list made the top 50.)
#1 - Kyle Wright, Miami (291 pts, 5-2-5)
#10 - Lamarr Woodley, Michigan (260 pts, 2-27-14)
#16 - Antonio Cromartie, San Diego Chargers (234 pts, 24-5-40)
#24 - Chad Jackson, New England Patriots (215 pts, 33-38-17)
#27 - Steve Smith, Southern Cal (207 pts, 59-7-30)
#35 - Jayson Swain, Tennessee (162 pts, 65-21-55)
#40 - Darrell Blackman, North Carolina State (145 pts, 88-24-46)
#48 - Shawn Crable, Michigan (99 pts, 92-73-39)58. Ryan Harris (50-51-NR)If you're wondering who was the best dart thrower, the final tally shows Rivals (3,575 pts) beating both Insiders (3,224 pts) and Lemming (3,137 pts). All that means is that more of Rivals' highly-touted recruits made the top 50 than those of Insiders and Lemming.
65. Tom Zbikowski (85-29-NR)
66. Brady Quinn (95-20-NR)
70. John Sullivan (60-61-NR)
97. Trevor Laws (NR-41-NR)
125. Ambrose Wooden (NR-67-NR)
126. Isaiah Gardner (71-NR-NR)
128. Freddie Parish (NR-NR-72)
A couple of thoughts on the Rothstein non-violative violations. (ND put out a statement yesterday confirming that this was all much ado about nothing: )
• I'm still not sure how Rothstein got from hearing about a Darius Walker bump to citing the other incidents from earlier in the year (as far back as January), especially when WSBT couldn't even provide actual aired footage of the Zbikowski segment. According to the Observer:
In fact, Notre Dame declared Zbikowski ineligible despite the fact that WBST has not been able to provide Notre Dame with the tape of the show that Zbikowski appeared on, only supplying the athletic department with the unedited footage from his appearance, which included bloopers of Zbikowski trying to film the "bump."• Although Rothstein dug this up and called the NCAA initially, Notre Dame apparently "self-reported" the violations, declared the players "ineligible", and then "asked for reinstatement", which was granted. This "inelgibility" did not restrict Zbikowski from practicing, although if it had happened during the season he would not have been able to play in a game while ineligibile.The important point here is that the NCAA did not come knocking; we declared it a violation first and the NCAA concurred. I'm sure this was ND trying to play things safely and assume the worst.
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that ND was featured on the cover of the college football preview issue of both Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine. Both magazines went for the trendy regional cover angle so on SI, the three Irish captains (Quinn, Zibby, Travis) share the spotlight with Ohio State, Southern Cal, Texas, LSU, and West Virginia while on ESPN the Magazine, Quinn joins Frank Okam of Texas and Lawrence Jackson of Southern Cal as cover subjects.
Is it a good omen for Quinn that the last Irish player to appear on the SI cover for their football preview issue was eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown in 1987?
________
Brady is also on the cover of The Sporting News, with a nice backdrop of the library. Unfortunately there isn't an online picture available.
With the dawn of YouTube and other video sites, we decided to set up a catalog all of the Notre Dame football-related videos floating around out there.
Frank from UHND gets the credit for kicking things off with his excellent primer of some of the best videos around the internet. But more and more are being added everyday, and as we start the 2006 season, I suspect the number will keep increasing.
So, rather than relying on one person to catalog all these videos, we started a BGS Video wiki where anyone can edit the page to add any ND football related video they find. I already started the page with a few videos to give it a bit of a framework, but hopefully others out there can help catalog the ever-increasing numbers of ND videos.
Right now, some of the more prolific youtube video contributors like tjnd88, Oldie, Flanner89, havasuking, and bane34, are linked at the bottom, and they have plenty of video links that can be added to the directory as a good starting point. If you're familiar with wikipedia, then you know how this open-source stuff works. If you're not sure how to begin, there are FAQ's on how to edit the page. Feel free to begin contributing right away. This page should grow into a great resource.
Feel free to bookmark the BGS Video Wiki. We also added it to the sidebar links here for easy reference.
Big congrats to the final four guys who were awarded scholarships: Senior offensive lineman Dan Chervanick, senior defensive lineman Casey Cullen, junior long snapper J.J. Jansen, and senior defensive lineman Travis Leitko (right). Per the release:
Chervanick, who returned as a fifth-year walk-on, was an entire staff decision as he has played on both the defensive and offensive sides of the ball during his career at Notre Dame. Cullen has earned the scholarship for the second consecutive year based on his performance on Notre Dame special teams. Leitko returns to the scholarship list after a year away from the program. Jansen, who took over the long-snapping duties on both punt and field goal at the USC game last year, was the lone junior honored with a scholarship.Last year Cullen earned a walk-on scholarship and starred on special teams, with 8 tackles and two forced fumbles while playing in all 12 games. You might recall that Cullen's great-grandfather played for Rockne, and led the Irish in rushing for three consecutive seasons.
Now that the AP Poll is out, it's time for the Pick Six contest. This is your opportunity to showcase your pigskin prognostication skills, get on the record and be able to tell everyone, "I just knew Louisiana-Monroe was going to win it all this year!"
Here's how it works.
1. We divide the top 25 into 5 groups of 5 based on the AP Poll: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, etc. For this year's poll, the groups are thus:
A - Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, Auburn, West Virginia2. You pick one team from each group, plus one unranked team. You're trying to pick the teams you think will finish highest in the final AP poll.
B - Southern Cal, Florida, LSU, California, Oklahoma
C - Florida State, Miami, Louisville, Michigan, Georgia
D - Iowa, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Penn State, Nebraska
E - Oregon, TCU, Tennessee, Arizona State, Texas Tech
ENTER THE 'PICK SIX'
The University has started to mail out tickets and since blogging about your favorite team doesn't come with season ticket privileges yet, we're looking for some kind soul to email us a picture of this year's set. Something like the picture montage we did last year.
Everyone’s talking resurrection, redemption--all manner of religiously-backed metaphors for the Weis conversion from Saturday suckage to Sunday morning euphoria. The last time it felt like our wandering in the desert was coming to an end was back in '02, during Willingham’s surprising first season. The essay that follows was originally written by our friend Gina in the flush of that once-miraculous time, and should sound a clarion note of recognition for anyone who has faced that age-old dilemma on a Fall Saturday: a family wedding, or Notre Dame football?
A SPECIAL REVERENCE
by Gina P. Vozenilek
The more years that slide in between my days in the shadow of the Golden Dome and me, the less able I am to handle the football thing. It is just too much now, too much energy to waste. In 1988 it was hard not to get swept away by the excitement; my freshman year was Holtz’ third and the National Championship. I still consider myself a big fan, but the lackluster Davie years were almost a convenience to a girl-turned-grown-up whose attention was strung out by babies and real-world concerns. Who had time to memorize players’ names and jerseys and keep track of the ugly seasons? Who had four hours every Saturday to sink into the pigskin wars that we mostly lost? Who cared that much anymore?
Used to be I would stand body–to-body in the frenzied, somewhat erotic crush of the student section, roaring or chanting or sucking teeth in the collective cacophony. Used to be I would check the papers for the AP poll on Mondays, learn the Top 20, and memorize stats. Used to be we would hang sheets out our windows decorated with collegiately witty barbs aimed at Saturday’s enemy and paint our faces and go on road trips to East Lansing and Ann Arbor and generally make a big deal of it.
After the final score would post on the board, my pal Mary and I would hustle across campus to the Basilica and suit up for the vigil Mass, still stinking of beer and sweat as we climbed up to our perch in the choir loft. The University thought they were being smart by assigning this musical duty to the Women’s Choir, not trusting any of the co-ed choral groups to make a good showing after a day of tailgating. More than a few of us ladies, however, would show up apologetically hoarse, buzzed, and off-key. It was ok. We played to a packed house of similarly compromised penitents. There was a special beauty to that kind of devotion, I always thought, a statement about what is really important.
The game-day fervor that for me has faded to a warm memory of sillier, more carefree days has only intensified with some of my brethren. I admit I am friends with some of the most obnoxious of Irish fans. Most of them are the husbands who seem to enjoy different cultural freedoms where sports-watching of all kinds is concerned. They are training their children from a very young age to watch the game quietly or go play with mommy. My poor husband, a lowly Gator, has stood by stupefied while I have posed for pictures with the alumni posse in front of Fighting Irish ice sculptures at countless weddings while the band belts out the fight song. The best of these frozen wonders was an interlocking ND positioned on a motorized lazy-susan. A spotlight illuminated its slow, majestic rotation.
Last Saturday I attended a double-Domer wedding in Milwaukee. Last Saturday was also the Michigan game. For the rowdy Irish faithful, the ones who had been the true “we” when we beat Michigan and Miami and won the National Championship in 1988, the ones who still get Blue & Gold Illustrated, this was a most unhappy coincidence. It created a fascinating crisis of conscience.
The bride and groom said never mind to all this football crap. Well, technically, I think that in the early going, the groom may have gently suggested alternate wedding dates. By all accounts this became a defining moment in the development of a young man in love and his methodology for setting priorities. This Saturday there would be no ice sculpture. This was the day two people were getting married. A man and a woman were joining their lives together in the sacred bonds of marriage.
On the steps of St. John the Evangelist Cathedral we, their friends and witnesses, gathered and greeted each other. It had only been a few weeks since the last nuptial ice-sculpture, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Admirably, the boys were careful to steer clear of football chatter just now, since the groom was right inside the great doors trying to get ready for the sacrament at hand. This was the first wedding any of us could remember that was timed to coincide exactly with an Irish kick-off. And to intensify the conflict just that much more, ND was going into their third game undefeated behind an exciting new coach and riding a tide of good press and renewed promise. There have been whispers, barely audible, of a return to glory.
My friend the groom is an amiable fellow who always enjoyed game day but who was also always able to keep it in better perspective than most of his buddies. He is rumored to have selected his two best men based on the idea that they were a flight risk; being best man was perhaps the only honor high enough to keep them in the church. One of these men—rotating ice sculpture groom—was late to his own wedding because he and his guys felt compelled to stay in the limo long enough to see a crucial play in the ‘96 Army game. They watched while the bride tapped her satin-tipped toes and Ivory Covington tackled the Army tight end at the goal line on the last play to preserve the Irish victory. When this groom walked down the aisle moments later, his joy was truly complete.
After the ceremony in Milwaukee, the strategizing began. Rumor spread that the bride had asked the reception place to physically remove all television sets from view to prevent the crowd from focusing on the wrong Big Play. Kick-off was in twenty minutes. The holy business was concluded and it was time to get serious. One of a dwindling number of yet-unmarried, and therefore especially uneducated? unencumbered? unafraid? men headed out for a Best Buy and a Sony Watchman while the rest of us snaked our way to the reception. While we waited for him, sipping champagne, the presiding priest, a Jesuit and no fan of the Holy Cross boys, lied to our faces by telling us that our friend should save his money because the game was blacked out in Milwaukee. Those Jesuits. Pity the 15-piece band was playing to a nearly empty dance floor by the time the Irish were holding off the Wolverines in the fourth. I have pictures of guilty party-goers huddled under a tree outside the hall all watching a 3-inch screen and trying to hide from the bride. Even the groom, God bless him, sneaked out behind a shield of bodies to catch the action. I hope it didn’t cost him his own.
The newlyweds are in Hawaii now, and the Irish are 3-0 for the first time since 1996. The bride is surely relaxing, the details of a beautiful wedding having been executed perfectly. I talked to her about it. She was very happy. She knew about the mini TV. It was hard to miss the thunderous roar of the Watchman throng, to which I added my voice, as the last Michigan pass was intercepted. I think she should be proud to realize that she managed to make us all at least consider what is truly important on any given Saturday in the fall or any time. It was a gorgeous wedding. And I think I may be trying to make a little time this Saturday to watch the Michigan State game.
An earlier version of this essay appeared in Sport Literate Magazine, Vol. 4, Issue 3. Thanks to Gina and the editors for letting us reprint it.
Darius Walker does not have top-end speed. That, combined with the dramatics of Notre Dame's high-flying aerial show, would appear to explain how Walker had what seemed like the quietest 1,000-yard rushing year in Notre Dame history. Between James Aldridge's considerable prep accolades and "five-star" ranking and Weis's glowing comments on Munir Prince's speed, many are eagerly anticipating what Weis's offense will look like when Brady Quinn is joined in the backfield by a home-run threat at running back. While this is undoubtedly something to look forward to, I believe we are still a long way from seeing Aldridge and Prince garnering more than spot duty (and not just because of Aldridge's injury). When asked about Walker at today's press conference, Weis had this to say about his starting tailback:
I'd say his number one attribute is he's very gifted at reading fronts. He's one of those guys who, he sees where the holes are, he has great peripheral vision.... The other thing I like about Darius is the things that he perceives as weaknesses, he'll work on a lot. For example, blitz pick-up. Last year at this time, I didn't know whether he'd pick up the blitz or not. This year I would have total confidence that he'll pick up the blitz. He earned that, but that's something you have to work on, that doesn't just happen by accident. You have to go stick your face in there, be fundamentally sound, and be technically sound. It's easy to see what happens when the guy's got the ball in his hands. It's the other things that come into play, and one of the things that comes into play is blitz pick-up.Darius Walker is not the perfect running back. In 2005, Notre Dame had just 5 rushing plays of over 20 yards, one of which was a David Wolke scramble. Ohio State and Michigan each had 11 such plays, and Southern Cal had a mind-boggling 36 runs of over 20 yards. (It helps to have Reggie Bush.)
Melissa Richter, the organizer of last year's Red Cross T-shirt, has pulled together another T-shirt effort to benefit Hannah & Friends (the Weis family's charity) and The Women's Center. Here's Melissa with the details.
Thanks to the support of many of you, we were able to contribute all proceeds -- $457 dollars to Toys 4 Tots and $1088 to the American Red Cross (Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund) -- from the sales of last year’s shirt.So if you're looking for another T-shirt to add to the wardrobe this fall, please consider this worthy cause.
Since we like to support various charities that don’t always receive nationwide attention, we have chosen this year to donate all proceeds to two charities (thanks to the feedback from several Irish fans). The first is a national charity that you are probably familiar with, Hannah & Friends.For those of you who are unaware, this charity was developed by Charlie and Maura Weis to improve the quality of life for children and adults with special needs. The second is a local Wisconsin charity, The Women Center, which supports and shelters battered women and their children.
The shirts are $15 (same as last year) and will be sent via FedEx at the end of August. Shipping will be $7 (no matter how many shirts you order) and this includes insurance and delivery. A tracking number will be sent to your email address as well. Similar to last year, the shirts will be shipped out of Wisconsin. I'll be keeping the order open for the next few weeks so we can get as many Irish fans as possible to wear these shirts and Hannah & Friends. You will receive a “donation of thanks” card with your purchase.
- The shirts are navy blue in color with white font (an inverse of the logo you see to the right; click for a larger version)
- The brand of shirt is Gildan
- There are adult sizes (S to XL) and youth sizes (XS to L). The Gildan brand tends to run slightly large.
You can pay for these shirts via PayPal (which is owned by Ebay and is a secure payment center) or you can send a check to my home address…whatever is more convenient for you. Either way, if you are interested please send me an email to ndhoops@hotmail.com with the following information and I will send you an invoice:
- Number of Shirts w/ Sizes
- How would you like to pay (paypal or check)
- Shipping Address
Dear Michael Rothstein,
We linked your blog a couple weeks ago because you were doing some good day-to-day practice reports from campus. We even sent a few emails back and forth. I feel like I can talk to you on the level here. So excuse my bluntness when I say, what the hell were you thinking?
Here's the scene. I'm out of town for a family get-together, and yesterday morning over my Cheerios I open the Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch to see this blurb:
Possible Violations at Notre Dame?Followed by a short AP slug. Looked a lot like this.
Football players and other sports checked
Notre Dame is investigating a possible NCAA violation involving a football player and two men’s basketball players after an inquiry by The Journal Gazette on Friday.Not as bad as I imagined. "Possible Violations" blaring in an AP slug actually appears to be a few players running afoul of a "media endorsement" bylaw. But then you end with this doozy:
Irish senior safety and captain Tom Zbikowski and sophomore men’s basketball players Luke Zeller and Kyle McAlarney all appeared on the South Bend-based WSBT-TV show “Sports Dogz” in the past year.
That, itself, is not a violation. But in the course of their appearance, they did promotional spots for the show, which may be a violation of NCAA Bylaw 12.5.3.
The bylaw states that while athletes can appear on shows, “the student-athlete shall not make any endorsement, expressed or implied, of any commercial product or service.”
Should the three Notre Dame athletes be deemed ineligible, the school would have to then apply for their reinstatement.Crap. Are we going to lose Zibby? What's ND response? And what did the NCAA have to say about it?
The NCAA became involved when Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reporter Michael Rothstein witnessed a WSBT sports reporter filming Irish running back Darius Walker doing a bump for the new "Irish Sports Report'' TV show after practice earlier this week. "Irish Sports Report'' debuts Sunday in the old 11:30 p.m. Sunday time slot of "Sports Dogz.''You followed up with some further explanation in an entry on your blog:
Tribune sports reporters will be regular guests on "Irish Sports Report'' as they had been on "Sports Dogz.'' The Tribune and WSBT-TV are both owned by Schurz Communications.
After witnessing the bump and talking to WSBT's Todd Bella, Rothstein then called the NCAA to see if it was a violation.
When I discovered a potential issue – found out when someone mentioned to me a Darius Walker spot being shot for the new show "Irish Sports Report" after Wednesday’s practice – I went and spoke with Todd Bella, the host of “Sports Dogz.” We chatted and I felt there was more there so I continued to investigate. I left messages with both Notre Dame compliance officer Mike Karwoski and the NCAA to ask them about the potential violation. Karwoski, actually, got back to me before the NCAA did. I spoke with both of them and explained the situation.(Hold up. Did you witness the Walker spot, or did you hear about it second-hand? And how do you get from hearing about a Darius Walker interview last week to focusing in on a piece with Zeller and McAlarney that ran back in January, and a segment with Zibby that ran back in June? How did this go from Walker to Zbikowski? Did this turn into a fishing expedition?)
The fact that something "might" be a violation is not news. It's potential news. I understand the pressure to break stories, and I understand the importance of trying to appear independent when covering an institution like Notre Dame in its home state. But if you want to have anyone respect you as a journalist, you need to apply journalistic rigor to your job. First rule: make sure it's a story first. This stuff you reported may yet prove to be a violation. But this doesn't make your article right. You should have waited until you had something definitive to say before pulling the trigger.Imagine running down a local government story about corruption at city hall. Wouldn't you get city hall's response before saying that the attorney general MIGHT bring charges IF it's a crime? It should have gone like this:
AP Poll is out. We're #2. This is the highest ranking for the team since the '94 preseason poll.
Stay tuned for the Pick Six contest, coming early next week.
Speaking of travelogues, this morning I took a spin through some of our opponents' newswires to catch up on the latest tidbits leaking out of practice. I've been meaning to do this for about a week now, but as Twain said, "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow". I have been following that mantra like a pro.
Georgia Tech. The injury bug is biting hard. The offensive linemen are dropping like flies. Starting guards Nate McManus and Matt Rhodes came out with injuries at Tuesday's practice, joining starting RT Mansfield Wrotto and top backup Jacob Lonowski on the sidelines. Two defensive linemen have been switched to the OL. "It's extremely hard [to practice], especially when you went into the season thinking [the offensive line] was a strength, and now all of the sudden we're really scrambling," Gailey said. "We've got guys playing in that second offensive line that have been in the offensive line for two days." No word on whether these are long- or short-term injuries. Other bits: the younger defensive backs are reportedly looking good in practice, and Reggie Ball is very inconsistent but much better when Calvin Johnson is in the game.
Penn State. Lions are feeling confident despite breaking in an almost-completely new OL and new QB. "We have to get some offensive linemen to grow up in a hurry," Paterno said. "They have a lot of ability, but they haven't played. With the blitz schemes that are available these days, as clever as they are, it's up to our offensive line to pick them up. And whether we can handle that will make the difference."
Michigan. The skunkbears lost two OL to injuries, Justin Boren and Mike Kolodziej. While neither were starters, Kolodziej was battling for a starting RT spot and Boren was hoping to compete for playing time and avoid a redshirt season. New defensive coordinator Ron English's schemes are being well-received, while new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is emphasizing "dramatic changes" in the Wolverine attack. Meanwhile, QB Chad Henne is feeling very confident and a lot tougher now that he's year older at the reins. (He also got a new tattoo.)
Michigan State. Quarterback Drew Stanton has been getting all sorts of raves nationally in anticipation of his senior season, but offensive coordinator Dave Baldwin believes that Stanton still has room for improvement. Baldwin has been stressing to Stanton the value of hitting receivers on shorter, safer routes, as the Spartan quarterback has a tendency to work too much downfield, something that he believes contributed to Michigan State's late-season nosedive. "This offense is not about the quarterback making big plays," Baldwin said Monday at MSU's annual media day. "It's about letting the offense work for you." To that end, Baldwin, Stanton and the Spartan offense have focused more during the offseason on throwing outlet passes to runners slipping out of the backfield. Given the fact that Stanton completed nearly 67% of his passes in 2005, the notion that he could become a more complete quarterback by tempering his maverick ways is a little scary.
While ND continues to sort out its shaky placekicking competition, Michigan State is still undecided for more positive reasons. In Tuesday's scrimmage, freshman Brett Swenson connected on all five of his field goal attempts (long of 49), while sophomore Todd Boleski was successful on kicks of 50 and 52 yards among his three attempts. Coach John L. Smith asserts that the two are neck-and-neck and hinted that he might use both kickers, with Swenson taking extra-points and short kicks and the strong-legged Boleski handling long-range attempts. The Spartan coaches have come to a decision on restocking their offensive line, however, as senior Kyle Cook will be the new starting center and junior Peter Clifford takes over at left guard. The other three positions will be manned by last year's incumbents.
Purdue. Joe Tiller seems to be excited about most of his offensive unit, going as far to say that he hasn't had an offensive line as talented as the 2006 group since the Boilers' trip to the Rose Bowl back in 2000. Purdue also returns a promising young tailback (Kory Sheets) and a capable mix of proven production and young talent at receiver. But in Tiller's offense, it all comes down to the quarterbacking, and he's put all his eggs for 2006 in third-year sophomore Curtis Painter's basket. Painter threw 3 touchdowns against 5 interceptions and completed passes at only a 52% rate in a five-game stint as the starter to close out the 2005 season, but Tiller and co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ed Zaunbrecher were very pleased with Painter's development in the spring session. Further commentary from the staff since fall camp opened regarding their young quarterback's performance has been noticeably absent, but it's clear that he needs to improve significantly in 2006 in order to put the Boilers' offensive weapons to good use.
Meanwhile, George Hall, Purdue's starting middle linebacker the past two years, will have surgery over the next day or two related to "compartmental syndrome" in his leg and will be lost for at least the season opener, perhaps longer. Tiller commented yesterday that he hoped to have Hall back by the end of September but didn't know anything more at this point. On a defense already replacing seven starters from an underperforming 2005 unit, the loss of Hall's experience represents yet another hole that defensive coordinator Brock Spack will have to plug, if only for the first portion of the schedule.
Stanford. Starting QB Trent Edwards recently went three scrimmage sessions without throwing a single incomplete pass. True freshman running back Troy Gerhart is taking reps with the #1 unit with the other two running backs out with injury, and he's impressing the heck out of everyone. Running back was a weak spot for the Cardinal already, so if Gerhart can emerge as a legit running threat that's going to make Edwards even tougher to defend.
UCLA. Patrick Cowan is fighting hard to win the starting QB job; it's not necessarily Ben Olson's just yet. Two injured starting defensive tackles are back in camp, including 300-pound DT Kevin Brown who led the Bruins in sacks in 2004.
North Carolina. After a clean, turnover-free showing in their first scrimmage last weekend and steady improvement through fall practice, the Tarheel offense took a step back in their second test on Thursday evening. "I was disappointed that we didn't run the ball more effectively," UNC coach John Bunting said after the scrimmage, which was closed to reporters. "We had too many negative runs. We had a hard time throwing because of protection on a couple of occasions and because of improper throws on others. We had a touchdown called back because of an illegal formation. If you can name pretty much what the offense could do wrong, they did it." The starting quarterback position is still up for grabs between redshirt freshman Cam Sexton and junior transfer Joe Dailey, and coach John Bunting expects that the competition will continue for the remainder of camp, perhaps even carrying over into the regular season.
Junior Trimane Goddard, UNC's starting strong safety, likely will miss the 2006 season after breaking a bone in his left foot. Goddard started the final six games of the 2005 season at strong safety and led the team with three interceptions, also finishing with 53 tackles and five pass breakups. In the interest of avoiding a similar pitfall, the Tarheels have limited Ronnie McGill's participation in fall practice and scrimmages. McGill, North Carolina's incumbent starting tailback, missed camp and the first four games of 2005 due to a torn chest muscle, later returning to post 530 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns on the ground. Commented Bunting, "I don't need to see Ronnie McGill scrimmage a lot. He needs to scrimmage some so that he gets used to the speed of the game when we play on September 2."
Southern Cal. It's still Sanchez versus Booty for the starting QB spot, although Booty has struggled in scrimmages thus far. The Trojans also switched 5-11, 230-lb safety Allen Bradford to running back, and so far the reviews are great. "He's like the other No. 21, only with more violence," said running backs coach Todd McNair, referring to LenDale White, USC's career touchdown leader.
But the juiciest piece of news out of the Trojan camp might be from this post on the wildwest message board, referencing the dumbing-down of the Southern Cal offense. The last remnants of Norm Chow have been swept away:
USC has completely thrown out the Chow playbook and is pretty much running a standard, boring, play-action offense that could just as easily be the domain of Jimbo Fisher or any other average SEC coordinator. Fewer formations, less trickery, less motion, fewer rollouts, deeper drops and more play action and it all means not as many receivers open and a tougher margin of error for the QBs. But mind you, this is at this point in camp before potential new wrinkles are not yet installed for Arkansas. Still, it does not bode well for the overall philosophy of the offense. More talent than any other team, but about as predictable as morning haze in Marina Del Rey. A talented defense will have a fighting chance--don't expect a team with comparable talent to be beaten down 55-19 anymore.
In case you missed it yesterday, Orson went travelogue and whipped up a guide to Atlanta for the visiting football fan. Great stuff to help you prep for the opening roadie against Tech.
There's a must-read piece on Brady Quinn in ESPN The Magazine (also available online here, subscription only. But if you dig around the ND boards this morning you may find it for free). It's a great profile piece, and has some terrific anecdotes about Brady's family and upbringing. There's also this part about how Charlie & Brady work together on the sidelines during a game:
"We came in with a big question mark." Which only got bigger when Pitt scored first. "New coach," thought wideout Jeff Samardzija, "same deal." But on Notre Dame's first drive, Quinn dumped a screen to tailback Darius Walker near midfield, then watched as defenders were blocked off the play one by one, like dominoes. Some blockers got to the end zone before the ball did. The next week, against Michigan, in the near-90-degree heat of the Big House, Notre Dame marched downfield in the first quarter with an opening no-huddle drive that rumbled like a tractor.
Against Purdue in Week 5, on third and short from the 22-yard line, Quinn jogged over to the sideline, and when Weis asked, "Do you want to go for the first down or for a touchdown?" Quinn replied, "Touchdown, but you're the coach." Weis gave him a play and got in his face: "Carlson is going to be wide open in the end zone. Don't screw it up." Quinn faked a handoff, spun and there he was -- tight end John Carlson, miles from everyone. Six.
There were quieter moments, like when Quinn came off the field after a second interception against Stanford to hear Weis say softly, "I told you to be careful. This isn't good enough." Quinn might have been able to detect the manipulation in the coach's inflection, but instead he felt as if he'd let Weis down. When Stanford took the lead with fewer than two minutes left in the game, Quinn was on a knee next to Sullivan on the sideline. "I was freaking out," says the lineman. "But he just gave me a look that said, 'Time to go.' We scored in 50 seconds." Quinn not only takes all the heat -- but he also basks in it. "Now he was tough," says Weis, "and confident."
By the end of last season, Quinn had honed his outdoor voice -- complete with Weis-taught modulation and trigger words -- and the team was listening to the quarterback the way the quarterback had listened to the coach. "You couldn't have picked anyone better for Brady," says Uncle David. "What Charlie brought Brady is a sense of assuredness."
Charlie at his presser today:
Question: Can you talk about [fullback Asaph] Schwapp?Charlie said some other interesting things in this presser:
Charlie Weis: Oh, he's one of the guys that, he never says boo. You'd never have to give him the ball. He doesn't have a selfish bone in his body. Alls he wants to do is hit people. That's all he wants to do. I wouldn't want to get hit by him. Pound for pound, he might be the strongest guy on the team. He's a 500-plus bencher. This is a strong man. But alls he wants to do is block and hit people. And it's kind of funny when we give him the ball...when we get into a 'pound it' mentality, the defense is not very happy. He might only get two yards, but somebody is gonna get hit.
We've all heard the reports about freshman lineman Chris Stewart's massive body redefinition at the hands of Ruben Mendoza. Here's a "before" pic, from our post on his commitment last fall.
Well, he might be a little leaner, but he's still massive. Here's a shot of Big Stew (via ChestertonLep) from a recent practice:
Reports say that the man standing next to Stewart is actually 6-foot-1. How big does that make Señor Plow? I couldn't tell from the photo, so I sent it over to a crack team of Michigan photo experts for further analysis. These were the guys that gave us this, so you know they don't mess around.
Good news! From their analysis, we now know that Chris Stewart is actually 8-foot-6:
Adjusting for height/weight distribution, that would make Stewart about 612 pounds. Those are incredible results from Ruben Mendoza and his team of trainers. Ole!
But then there's the bad news. While Stewart may have developed into the Berlin Wall, the training regimen had disastrous effects on linebacker Anthony Vernaglia and defensive back David Bruton:
Fresh out of college I worked at a record company owned by Disney whose offices were on their Burbank studio lot. At lunch time, I would wander around the backstages and check out the movies being filmed. Watching a football team practice is a lot like watching a movie production: you can see some neat individual moments, but it's impossible to get a sense of the overall picture.
Yesterday I stopped by practice for about an hour while dropping some stuff off at ND for my brother-in-law, who's a sophomore to be. It's really hard to tell anything about how the team looks from standing thirty yards away behind a rope, but you can see who's playing with the first team, who's with the second team, etc. For a while, the #1 offense went against the #1 defense, but there were so many guys rotating in on defense: five, six, seven defensive backs, Mo Richardson at defensive end, Leitko in and out, all kinds of substitutions. The coaches are either still trying to figure out who can play, or we're going to see a lot more variety on D this year.
Occasionally a big play will happen that gets your attention. Yesterday, Ray Herring had an interception off of a tipped pass from Sharpley, and Jappy Oliver exploded with glee. "That's what happens when you get your hands up!". Darius broke off a scoring run around the left side and showboated a little as he crossed the goal line. Ndukwe came up and punched the ball out well after the whistle blew. Darius laughed and shook his head.
About the only thing I could determine with any degree of certainty: Sam Young is not shorter than he appears on TV.
But man, it was a beautiful day in South Bend (80ish, light breeze), and it's just really fun to see the players runnin' and hittin', coaches barkin', and everyone gettin' ready to play.
Mike Frank had a nice conversation with Holtz last night on his internet radio show. Give it a listen here.
Also, I heard that Lou is signing copies of his new book at the ND bookstore today at 7pm, so if you're in the area, run on over and say hello.
And what the heck -- as long as we're talking about Lou, here's a link to the 1988 season highlight reel, "They Wanted to Win". The section on the Miami game starts around the 21:00 minute mark.
Rice. Stams. Stonebreaker. Zorich. Ismail. Terrell. Lou. Okay, it's getting a little dusty in here.
"Here Come the Irish" is now shipping. I just received my copy yesterday, and it's really slick. Jim Walsh (ND '99) did a great job with this.
Over on SI.com Stewart Mandel does a pretty good job debunking four common myths about this Notre Dame team: 1. Notre Dame doesn't have enough talent. 2. Notre Dame's defense is hopeless. 3. Notre Dame didn't prove anything last year. 4. Notre Dame's coach isn't the genius he's cracked up to be. He misfires in his excusal of Willingham's recruiting dropoff ("Contrary to popular belief, however, former coach Tyrone Willingham did upgrade the talent level considerably during his first two years", etc), but his main points are solid rebuttals to the grousing about the Irish from other fans. I especially enjoyed his spirited defense of Notre Dame's schedule last year:
But you can't blame Notre Dame for the quality of its opponents. By some bizarre coincidence, the Irish managed to catch traditionally formidable foes Pittsburgh, Michigan, Washington, Purdue, Tennessee and Syracuse in each of the programs' worst stretches in recent memory. The only thing the Irish could control was the score, and they did, winning seven of their games by at least three touchdowns. The only victory that was closer than it probably should have been was the regular-season finale against Stanford (38-31). And then there were the three losses.Overall, I appreciate the effort here from Mandel, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Dyed-in-the-wool ND bashers will not be swayed, no matter the logic in the arguments to the contrary. The main bone of contention and the source of kvetching from the rabble is ND's high preseason ranking: #3 in the Coaches poll, and probably somewhere similar once the AP comes out.
Two, to Michigan State and USC, came in OT or at the last second. And two of their three conquerors, the Trojans and Ohio State, finished the season among the nation's top four teams. Was it the season to end all seasons? Hardly. But it also wasn't nearly as forgettable as some would have you believe.
Charlie gave an extended interview to Fox Sports yesterday. It's broken up into several clips on the Fox Sports website (link is here, MS Internet Explorer seems to be required). After one clip plays, the next clip should load. Lots of great stuff, including a discussion of his long-term contract with ND:
Chris Myers: I think it was a few months into the job, you got this ten-year contract. I ask this because no matter what the contract says, you'll hear rumors that this [NFL] team might be looking at him, or that team might be looking at him.
Charlie Weis: Well, that's what we were trying to do. We were trying to end that...because by doing it the way we did it, it showed a commitment by both parties. It showed a commitment from ND to Charlie Weis, but it also showed a commitment from the Weis family to ND, saying, "We're not looking to jump ship the first time a better offer comes along."
Myers: There won't be that burning desire after all those years in the NFL, with the Giants, and--
Weis: I'm at Notre Dame...the head coach at Notre Dame. I mean, why would you have a burning desire to go anywhere else?
Myers: Well, there's the college versus the pro grame--
Weis: (sounding it out) No-tre-Dame...the University of No-tre-Dame...
Myers: (laughing) I feel like I'm being recruited here. Where do I sign, coach?
Weis: Well, I mean...it is something different.
Right about now you'll start to see those "First Play from Scrimmage?" polls on football message boards. These products of late summer ennui pop up during the last two to three week of August with alarming reliability. Why? Because we football fans can't contain our preseason jitters and we're about to burst from excitement. Nine out of ten doctors would agree that it's often best to completely ignore these threads, or if one feels compelled to respond, to use sarcasm: quadruple reverses, flea flickers, halfback toss passes to wide open, downfield quarterbacks, fumblerooskis and the like.
Nevertheless, the first play from scrimmage often does have a magical aura about it, as all those jitters and anticipation get their release. Finally! Game on, baby.
A review of the first plays from the 2005 season:
Pitt
Play-action pass intended, Quinn tucks and runs
The first play of '05 started on the left hash in what would appear to be a running formation. Jeff Samardzija, on the near sideline, is motioned toward the formation and runs toward the wide flat as Brady Quinn fakes the hand-off to Darius Walker. Quinn bootlegs toward the wide side, but instead of throwing it to Samardzija, he runs for about 7 yards. And the Wannstache rout is on.
Michigan
Pass complete to Stovall over the middle
ND takes the opening kickoff out to the 25. First play is 5-wide, empty backfield, with Quinn going to the shotgun and Darius split way out left. Quinn quickly finds Maurice Stovall dragging in front of a Wolverine linebacker for an easy 6 yard gain.
Michigan State
Incomplete to Samardzija
After forcing a punt on MSU's first possession, ND breaks the huddle on the Irish 37 with three wide and Walker the lone setback. Play action pass, Quinn tries to find Samardzija down the left side but hits a Spartan defender in the back. It's an easy pick if the defender is looking for it.
Washington
Quinn to Fasano to Mazurkiewicz
Pass Right...what more really needs to be said?
Purdue
Quick Pass to Stovall for a nice gain
Fasano begins this play by lining outside Samardzija on the wide side of the field, and he is motioned toward the line of scrimmage. By design, this movement almost seems like a magician's misdirection, as Quinn then throws a quick pass to Stovall on the boundary side. With the Purdue cornerback ten yards off the ball, Stovall easily turns upfield and picks up 18 yards.
USC
Walker runs up the gut
Here Weis used the same personnel grouping as the week before, but this was a completely new formation that the Irish hadn't used in the first six games. Set up on the right hash, the Irish have twin receivers to the wide side of the field, and both Fasano and FB Asaph Schwapp are also shaded to that side. A simple rush by Walker behind lead blocker Schwapp and the left side of the OL gains about 6 yards.
BYU
Slant to Stovall complete
One tight end, four wide. Not only the first time that this personnel group was used all year, it was also utilized heavily throughout the rest of the game. Set up on the right hash, Quinn has three receivers (including Fasano) to his left and two to his right. Unlike the Michigan game, Quinn is under center and not in the shotgun. Here, Quinn finds Stovall on a quick slant for an 8 yard pick-up. Again, the BYU defensive back is about ten yards off the ball.
Tennessee
Screen pass to Thomas falls incomplete
For the second time, Notre Dame starts its possession backed up near its own goal line. The offense shows a new wrinkle: Travis Thomas and Walker line up in a split back set for the first time all year. The move probably caught the Vols' defense by surprise, although the screen pass to Thomas that follows a pump fake screen to Walker on the short side of the field goes incomplete.
Navy
Pass complete to the Shark
Two wide, two TEs. This was a very common formation for the Irish in 2005, and was also employed on the first play against Washington. Here, though, Quinn finds Samardzija on a play action pass for 11 yards.
Syracuse
Looks like a pass, tastes like a run
Although most teams didn't rely on creativity to defeat an awful Syracuse squad, this was only the second time (out of seven) that the Irish ran from this WR "bunch" formation all year. Given Weis's predilection toward play action passes, it's reasonable to believe that Syracuse probably expected pass here. The offense lines up on the left hash. Three receivers (including Fasano) bunch outside RT Mark Levoir. Fasano is motioned toward the middle of the line, and on the snap, Walker rushes for 4 yards up the middle.
Stanford
Incomplete to Fasano
Again the Irish use a dependable 2-TE, 2-WR formation, although what made this unique is that Fasano lined up as a blocking TE and John Carlson lined up as the primary TE. This was the first time that the Irish switched them all year. Although the pass to Fasano is incomplete, it was soon forgotten because of Samardzija's 80-yard touchdown on the very next play. Weis switched Carlson and Fasano a few more times later in the game.
Ohio State
Long down the middle and...just barely incomplete
Two tight ends, two wide and Walker. Quinn play-actions, drops deep, and throws a fifty-yard bomb to Samardzija who had gotten behind the secondary. Shark lays out, has it in his fingertips for a half-second, but it skitters away as he tries to haul it in.
"Charlie can get you ready for the NFL". We've heard that bromide a lot as part of ND's new recruiting pitch, and a couple of quick anecdotes from training camp seem to bear it out.
Fasano expected to contribute:
The move was made because coach Bill Parcells plans to use more two tight-end sets in 2006. Having played for Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who won three Super Bowl rings as the offensive coordinator for the Patriots and also coached with Parcells with the Giants, [Anthony] Fasano could make an immediate impact.Stovall fighting for a spot:
"My expectations are that it should be a quick transition," Parcells said. "He made a couple of mental errors yesterday (Monday). You know, we're getting into that information overload time of camp, particularly for the young players, but I expect him to make a quick transition to pro football.
"You couldn't ask for a situation that's better for him. He's playing the same exact position for the Cowboys that he played for Notre Dame. I'd say it's 90 percent the exact same terminology. I couldn't see how it could get to be any easier transition. ... I do think, of all the rookies, he should make the quickest transition."
Fasano had a strong senior season with the Irish, catching 47 passes for 576 yards and two touchdowns.
While it was his pass-catching abilities that earned him recognition at Notre Dame, Parcells said Fasano is a complete player who can also block and run as well as catch.
"The more of those they can do, the better I like them," Parcells said of his tight ends. "He (Fasano) does all three of them pretty well."
Stovall blossomed as a senior for the Fighting Irish. It's no coincidence his senior season coincided with the arrival of longtime NFL coach Charlie Weis, the former offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Stovall started all 12 games, with six 100-yard receiving games, catching 69 passes for 1,149 yards (16.7 avg.) and 11 touchdowns.Of course, whether Fasano, Stovall, and the rest of the Irish draft picks become stars in the NFL is almost beside the point. It's that pro-style system that Charlie brought in -- the preparation, playbook, terminology and the way things are run day-to-day -- that really benefit those guys and helped ease their transition to a higher level of competition. Mo and Anthony graduated ND with a pretty good base understanding of how things work on the next level, and that's a terrific selling point for top recruits. Imagine four years of working with Charlie instead of only one, and how big a leg up that will for the players moving on to the NFL over the next few years.
"This is like the transition from high school to college," Stovall said. "It's a totally different game.
"But I played under coach Weis. He has a lot of NFL credentials. He opened our eyes a lot. Our record reflected that last year. I'm used to being coached by intense coaches the way Gruden is.
"The way our practices were, our schedule, the way our meetings were. We studied more film and studied our opponent and their personnel. Again, that's why we had a good record last year."
One of the common themes in sports is redemption, and there are always a few stories along those lines playing out while a team is getting ready for its season. There's the crusty vet trying to come back from injury, the kid who made some bad decisions and has to work his way out of the doghouse, the one-time phenom whose career was derailed for whatever reason and now has one last shot. This year's ND team has a healthy sprinkling of all of those storylines, and none more inspiring than Travis Leitko's, which both the SBT and the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette highlighted.
Just a reminder that UND is archiving each Charlie post-practice presser. Monday's is here and yesterday is here. Jerry Stabley over on IE is also doing transcripts. A few morsels from the last two days:
You hear a lot in the preseason that your defense and secondary was a weakness. As a coach, with all those guys back, do you look at that as a strength because of the experience they gained?
“That answer is two-fold; one is personnel-related and one is schematic and they are two separate issues. I think we will be better both personnel-wise from the guys having more experience and having a better clue of what to do, plus the influx of the young guys coming in. We have tweaked our system so I think we are far ahead of where we are schematically. Sometimes you are searching for answers and we feel pretty good about what the potential answers are. And now we have to find out if we can validate that or not.”
There was a time here where kickers were reluctantly given scholarships and there wasn’t much coaching going on with the kickers. How important is it to have someone like Brian Polian coaching the kickers?
“Brian does a really good job and goes the extra mile, research-wise, to get answers to both our schemes on special teams and help with the kickers. I have come from a string of head coaches who all have special teams backgrounds and so do I...there are a lot of programs where if you don’t have the backing of the head coach, if he doesn’t make it important, the players don’t perceive it as important. The guy I feel that has done the best job in college football, year-in and year-out, over the last decade is Frank Beamer. Frank Beamer’s special teams have always been great because of his emphasis. In Brian’s case, he knows he has my backing. And when you have the head coach’s backing, it’s no different than the strength coach, no matter how good they are, is only good if the head coach finds that important. I like to think that I find that important.”
How long does it take, like with the freshmen, to get an assessment of a guy and say this guy might be able to help us out?
“There are some guys out there today that you say, [whooosh]. The thing is, they don’t do it on every play. But once you see that they can do it once, you know they can do it. There’s a difference between someone who just can’t do it. Once somebody has done it once, you know they are capable of doing it. Now it’s our job and their job getting them to do that on a regular basis. There are other guys who will come along at a much slower pace and each guy is going to be different and evaluated based on what we see, not what we are hoping to see.”
Who made you say that today?
Munir Prince; I think if you asked any of the defensive guys what they saw out there. I’m not used to seeing that kind of speed at running back. When I’m talking speed, I’m talking, [whooosh]. I can’t describe [whooosh] but you kind of know what I’m talking about...I’m not used to seeing that type of speed.
It's not exactly going out on a limb to say that giving up a quarterback sack is bad. In fact, a sack is usually a key component of a busted drive, and the statistics clearly bear this out: last year, on sixteen regular-season possessions where the Irish allowed a sack, Notre Dame scored only twice. Ironically, both occurred against Michigan State, and the Irish could have gone three for three on that dubious distinction were it not for the failed Schwapp run on 4th & 1. (By the way, a shout-out to Sportscenter: Charlie Weis has never beaten Michigan State. Brilliant.)
Notre Dame has since graduated the entire right side of its OL (Dan Stevenson & Mark Levoir). Right guard will be manned by seasoned veteran Bob Morton, but three players are competing for Levoir's vacated spot: 5th-year senior Brian Mattes, sophomore Paul Duncan, and freshman Sam Young. Additionally, the Irish lost another important blocker on that right side in TE Anthony Fasano. Three spots, and three new players. Although Morton has a ton of experience under his belt at LG and C, he has yet to take a snap at RG. Meanwhile, likely starting TE John Carlson is also undergoing re-education.
The new right side has its work cut out for them, since last year's version played a vital role in protecting Brady Quinn. Overall, the Irish only gave up 16 sacks during the regular season, although they surrendered five more to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. But overall, OL coach John Latina clearly has the pass protection headed in the right direction.
Sacks Allowed per Pass Attempt
| Year | Pass Att. | Sacks | % Allowed |
| 2005 | 450 | 21 | 4.6% |
| 2004 | 362 | 25 | 6.9% |
| 2003 | 411 | 24 | 5.8% |
| 2002 | 341 | 38 | 11.1% |
| 2001 | 218 | 26 | 11.9% |
| 2000 | 200 | 20 | 10.0% |
| 1999 | 332 | 33 | 9.9% |
An Example from '05: ND vs. Michigan
An Example: Syracuse vs. ND
An Example: BYU vs. ND
Teams like USC and Michigan were able to blitz their slot cornerbacks to force Quinn to step up into the pocket. Because both defenses had strong DLs, these blitzes were able to force Quinn to run into another defender, who could take Quinn down if the original blitzer hadn't done so already.
With that in mind, the key to continued success against blitzing defenses is going to be blitz recognition. How well can Brady anticipate and spy blitzes, and at the same time, set up his blockers with the best pre-snap protection scheme? Additionally, how well can his blockers adapt on the fly to well-disguised blitzes? A closer look at last year's offense showed us that pre-snap deception often befuddled the offense, and a second viewing of the Fiesta Bowl might convince others that Jim Tressel felt the same way.Talking to Peyton Manning, you truly realize he is a business guy and he is obviously a tremendous quarterback, a very talented athlete, but at the same point of time, takes a business approach to everything. He looks at himself as his own corporation. I think some of the stuff that he talked about that he does before games, or even just going into his final season as a senior, it's just amazing. I think hopefully, you know, I can kind of work in some of the same routines that he used his same year.There's not a quarterback in the NFL who studies defenses as intensely as Manning. Are these the "routines" to which Quinn refers? If so, our excellent pass protection will be even more formidable this year.
More on Travis Thomas' tryout at linebacker from the SBT:
Thomas made sense because of his speed, because of his history as a standout defensive player, because he was such a good tackler on special teams, and because this gave him a chance to be a starter.
But it took awhile for it all to make sense to Thomas.
"There are a lot of things that run through your mind," said Thomas, who at 6-foot, 218 pounds won't have to gain or lose any weight to fit in. "And the first thing that goes through your mind is, 'Why me?' I had a good year last year. I had a really good spring.
"But then again, you start to think about the other possibilities. If I move and do great, then my stock's going to rise even more. And I have played the position before. And what it really came down to is me being on the field more and me helping the team win. That's my ultimate goal is for the team to win. And for me to make the move, I think that's the best option."
In addition to signalling the start of fall camp, Media Day is one of the few times when the assistant coaches are available to the media. The assistant coaches' quotes provide a few interesting tidbits:
As with Weis, receivers coach Rob Ianello was confident that Rhema McKnight had made a full recovery:
We have two really talented really guys to start out with. We expect Rhema to be everything that he was a year ago at this time. All indications are that he is there, which could make it really hard for defenses.Weis had been even more effusive in his remarks:
He was our No. 1 wide receiver in the second game last year, to be honest with you he is in a lot better shape now than in game two last year, because he's on a mission. He's had a long time to get ready for this. And no one is more ready than him.I remember having serious concerns about our passing offense when McKnight went down early in last year's Michigan game. While his loss appeared to contribute to Notre Dame's offensive funk for the remainder of that game, the team quickly regrouped and Maurice Stovall and Jeff Samardzija went on to become the nation's only receiving duo with more than 10 TDs each. This success made it easy to forget that for more than two years McKnight was widely regarded as the team's best receiver.
It's the mental aspect of the game as much as the system. Technique at this level plays such an important part in success. The physical part of the game is always difficult, but getting ready mentally for the college game is the greatest challenge.Latina also had some interesting comments regarding the returning starters. Much was made last year of Weis, offensive coordinator Mike Haywood, and Latina inheriting "the most experience offensive line in Notre Dame history." This statement overlooked the nature of Latina's challenge:
They were veterans last year in (class year) only. This year, all the linemen I have are all experienced in our system and I think that is going to be the biggest difference this season.While I have no reason to disagree with this statement, it's telling that we didn't hear anything like that at this time last year. There was no talk of the time it would take to get the offense installed. There was no lowering of the bar. A high standard was set, and the line was expected to achieve it. At the same time, it was clear that the line had not made the same enormous strides in short yardage and power running situations that it had made in pass protection. With this added year of experience, we should look for an offensive line that can take control on short-yardage downs.
(Victor) knows that as we went back and looked at last year, there were many plays that he could have made that he didn't make. (Some of it is) being consistent in terms of just keeping leverage on the quarterback. There's times when we're going to have good coverage and the quarterback is going to be pressed. As long as we keep the quarterback pressed and (Victor) keeps getting after him, he's going to make a lot of those plays that he didn't make last year.As we've previously stated, many of the big plays attributed to Notre Dame's much maligned secondary could just as easily be pinned on the lack of a pass rush. I expect Abiamiri's play to be one of the determining factors in Notre Dame's season.
I came here for two reasons: because of Coach Weis, and because it's Notre Dame. I had competed against Charlie for nine years, 20 games with the AFC schedule twice a year and a couple times in the playoffs, and I just felt that he was the best offensive football coach that I had ever competed against ... the best.26 days.
I've come to fix deine blogroll...
Just updated the Blog links down the righthand side of this page with a few new Irish-related additions. First up is Brian Smith's blog ND Weekly. "Smitty" was a reporter for Irish Eyes and BGI and now has his own site. Also check out MarkMayBeWrong, a group of domer grad students who are going to track the punditry and prescience (or lack thereof) of the major media players in the college football world. They're off to a great start with some in-depth analysis of the history of the AP poll. Finally, keep an eye on Irish Insights, a blog penned by Michael Rothstein of the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. Some of my favorite sports blogs out there are actually kept by reporters attached to the local press, where they can initiate discussions and drop tidbits of info that wouldn't fit into the regular "beat" of the print edition.
If there are any other regular reads you think we should track, please don't hesitate to let us know.
"Now I would not let him play defense if it wasn't for the fact that I'm going to give him an opportunity to start. I told everyone we were getting more athletic on defense, he's one of the best tacklers we have on our special teams, played strong safety in high school, he's dying for an opportunity to get on the field on a full time basis and I'm going to give it to him.Now the logical question will be, let me get this straight, Aldrige isn't ready to go and you're moving Travis over there to defense, Travis is also going to play offense, so I've created a two way monster here. So right now I'm not going to worry about him practicing on offense for the first week at least, see what he can do on defense, if it doesn't pan out, we'll bring him back to offense full time. But we'll give him an opportunity to start at linebacker for us."
Travis Leitko and Junior Jabbie are officially back on the team. Jabbie will get a chance to earn the backup running back spot while Travis is now a walk-on working to earn back his scholarship. Good news as both will provide depth at somewhat thin positions. It will be interesting to see if Leitko stays on the outside or is moved inside to shore up depth at defensive tackle.
Today’s Los Angeles Times features a piece by the nearly unreadable, paragraphically-challenged (only six of sixty paragraphs contain more than one sentence, two of those second sentences being a single word) über-hack Bill Plaschke in which he dips the tiniest bit of his pinky toe into the torrent of sewage flowing out of the University of South Central. Is the honeymoon over? Is the supine L.A. sports media waking up? Plaschke blurts:
USC has not reached those depths yet. But it's sinking fast.Reading that made me disoriented, like when Pokemon spurred an epidemic of seizures in Japanese kids.
It's one bar fight from being mentioned in the same alcohol-tinged breath as Miami.
It's one gun charge from being lumped with the rowdy likes of Florida State.
It's one DUI from reaching the current rocky top inhabited by Tennessee.
In recent years, all three teams suffered from a national championship hangover that has made their reputations pale and queasy.
Since January, USC's head has been pounding.
One Heisman Trophy winner's parents apparently violate NCAA rules.
Another Heisman Trophy winner's father definitely violates NCAA rules.
The heir to the quarterback throne is exonerated of sexual assault suspicions that arise after a night of alleged fake ID use and underage drinking.
A former defensive lineman is charged with two misdemeanor counts of spousal battery and two counts of vandalism for an alleged incident that allegedly occurred while he was a Trojan.
A defensive back tests positive for steroids, immediately quitting the team and taking his twin brother with him.
Taken separately, none of these incidents are any different than the sort of stuff that happens with every football team.
Lumped together, they are the beginnings of a trend.
Feeling stalked and sucker-punched, the USC football team has returned to the ring this summer with a decidedly different stance.Is Plaschke taking up the mantle of the late Sid Hudgens? He seems to be setting up Don Poodlino for a cannoli run. Unfortunately, this is just a sad bit of legerdemain, for Plaschke doesn’t like what he sees and jams the plank back in his eye:
It's not about fighting on.
It's about keeping your guard up.
"Rule #1" reads the cryptic message across the front of their new team T-shirt.
And what is Rule No. 1?
The same rule Pete Carroll has been selling since he arrived six years ago, only now he's screaming it.
Protect Your Team.
Protect it from embarrassment. Protect it from outsiders. Protect it from itself.
"The older guys around here who are used to doing things high class, we're now taking criticism for stuff that happens off the field, and we're tired of it," senior linebacker Oscar Lua said.What a bunch of crap. Setting aside the unprovable assertions about players and their parents "wanting it stopped" and ignoring the ridiculousness of Plaschke’s taking Carroll at face value on the cleanliness of the program, notice the dishonesty on display by the inclusion of the Dwayne Jarrett quote with no mention of his centrality in the Leinart-Jarrett-Leinart three-way and the lack of a metion of Rey Maualuga punching a guy. In Plaschke’s half-assed account, the renegade elements of SC’s program are in the past. Never mind the internal inconsistency of that thesis and the fact that “The older guys are used to doing things high class.”
"We want the controversy to end. We want to see it handled just like Coach Carroll's handling it, with an iron fist."
The veteran players indeed want it stopped.
Prominent alumni who spoke to me this summer want it stopped.
The parents who want nothing to stain their children's unique experience under Coach Pete Carroll, they want it stopped.
And usually Carroll seems to be doing his best to stop it.
Last spring, he shouted and cursed at a roomful of agents, warning them to stay legal around his players.
Last week at his annual parents' meeting, Carroll and his staff spent nearly an hour talking about NCAA rules and regulations, asking each set of parents to sign a statement that they have read them.
In every locker room meeting, every day, Carroll talks as much integrity as strategy.
"We're cutting edge on this stuff, we're working it and working it," Carroll said.
"I'm disappointed we have to deal with these questions, but we're working hard to do this better than anyone's ever done it before."
First poll of the preseason is out. USA Today/Coaches has the Irish at #3.
There's a good dispersal of #1 votes, unlike last year where Southern Cal got 60 first places, Texas got 2 and nobody got another. This year we've got first place votes for OSU, Texas, ND, Southern Cal, Oklahoma (whoops) and Auburn.
It's funny how teams rise and fall between the last bowl game and the beginning of the following summer practice. What magical things happen in the offseason that cause voters to drastically recalibrate their opinions, without a single down of football being played? (I can understand dropping a team down if key players graduated, but bumping other teams way up seems like so much crystal ball gazing. But hey, it's the Coaches Poll, where even Duke gets a vote at the beginning of every year. It's all hunches at this point anyway.)
Last year's final poll looked like this. And since the Rose Bowl, you've got this:
biggest gainers
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