Blue & Gold Illustrated

sept. 12, 2011 • $3.50 volume 31 • issue 1 • est. 1981

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april 2012 • $3.50volume 31 • issue 16 • est. 1981 www.blueandGold.com

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Qb scRamble

Incumbent Tommy Rees looks to hold off

talented trio of challengers

www.BLUEANDGOLD.com ApriL20123

April 2012 ✦ volume 31, issue 16senior editor

Lou Somogyi

FootbAll recruiting editorJason Sapp

AssistAnt editor Wes Morgan

stAFF writerDan Murphy

mAnAging editorSteve Downey

contributing editorChris Riffer

contributing writerTodd D. Burlage

photogrAphyJoe Raymond

cover photosJoe Raymond

design Cory Lavalette

Jeanette Blankenship

✦ ✦ ✦

publisherStu Coman

business mAnAgerLinda Autry

circulAtion mAnAgerGail Evans

AssistAnt circulAtion mAnAgerJason Jones

mArketing/merchAndise mAnAgerBeverly Taylor

Advertising sAlesDave Searcy

Michelle DeLee-Hamilton 800-421-7751

✦ ✦ ✦Blue & Gold Illustrated (ISSN 0746-2557)

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✦ inside this issueUpon Further Review ✦ Todd D. Burlage....................4Fighting Words ✦ Wes Morgan ..................................5Murphy’s Law ✦ Dan Murphy ....................................6Fan Forum ................................................................... 7Under The Dome ......................................................... 8Harrison Smith ........................................................... 16Football Players Hit The Track....................................18Coaching Staff Changes .............................................20Spring Football: Overview .........................................22Spring Football: Offense ............................................24Spring Football: Defense ...........................................32Hybrid Linebackers .................................................... 36Spring Football: Special Teams ..................................38Davonte Neal Joins Class Of 2012 ..............................40Commitment Profiles ................................................ 42Football Recruiting .................................................... 44Prep Profiles .............................................................. 46Recruiting Master List ................................................ 47Men’s Basketball ........................................................ 48Eric Atkins And Jerian Grant ......................................50Men’s Basketball Recruiting ......................................52ND Sports .................................................................. 55Irish In The Pros ......................................................... 57Blue & Gold Marketplace ..........................................58Where Have You Gone? .............................................60The 5th Quarter ✦ Lou Somogyi...............................62

DEcisiONs,DEcisiONshead coach Brian Kelly begins his evaluation of his

four potential starting quarterbacks this spring ✦ pAGE28

EyEsONThEprizEWomen’s basketball looking to return to the Final Four

✦ pAGE53

Photo by joe raymond

Photo by joe raymond

8 April 2012 blue & gold illustrAted

by lou somogyi

t ee, we hardly knew ye. Notre Dame’s prized 2012 cornerback recruit and

early enrollee Tee Shepard — the first player to ver-bally commit from his class to the Irish back in 2011 — left the university during spring break (March 10-18) and returned to his Fresno, Calif., home. He apparently has no plans of returning.

“Tee is a special person, and it’s unfortunate it didn’t work out here,” head coach Brian Kelly said in a March 15 press release. “Everyone at Notre Dame wishes him all the best in the future.”

On March 20, the day before spring practice, Kelly said he couldn’t elaborate any further, and he cited privacy laws such as HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act).

“I’d love to talk for 45 minutes on it, I’m just not al-lowed to,” Kelly said. “We love Tee Shepard, and it’s unfortunate, but he’s not longer with us, and we have to move on.”

In an interview with CBS47 in Fresno, Ray Shepard, Tee’s father, cited health reasons as the root of the depar-ture and said he hopes his son can be cleared to resume working out again back home in May or June.

Cornerback was a priority in Notre Dame’s 2012 re-cruiting, and when the Irish received early verbals from Shepard and Maryland five-star prospect Ronald Darby, that tandem was classified at their positions the way cur-rent Irish defensive ends Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt were at the prime need area in 2011.

This January, Darby switched his allegiance to Florida State, where he signed. Shepard came close to enrolling

at USC in January, according to Ray Shepard, before Irish assistant Mike Denbrock swayed him back to Notre Dame several days before classes started in South Bend.

Shepard’s cousin, five-star wideout Deontay Green-berry, also had verbally committed to Notre Dame last year, but out of the blue on the eve of National Signing Day he opted for the University of Houston.

With Shepard gone, there is a huge void at corner, which graduated 2011 starters Gary Gray and Robert Blanton. The front-runners are juniors Bennett Jackson, who converted from receiver last year, and Lo Wood. Be-hind them are sophomores Josh Atkinson, who played on special teams last season, and Jalen Brown, a scout team performer.

Shortly after Shepard’s departure, the staff moved sophomore running back Cam McDaniel to corner to add another body there.

“There’s nobody coming in on a white horse,” Kelly pointed out. “Those are the five guys. We can’t trade for anybody.”

Kelly noted that if anyone else moves to corner next August, it would likely be someone already on the roster rather than incoming 5-9 freshman Davonte Neal, who provides game-breaking speed in the slot.

under the DOME

shepard, the first player to verbally commit from his class to the irish back in 2011, left the university during spring break.

photo by Jamie oakes/Wahoos247

tee shepard leaves the Flock

Thin cornerback position suffers another setback

Unlike cornerback, the running back/slot posi-tion coached by Tony Alford will have a full cup-board of experience and youth, led by seniors Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick, plus sophomore George Atkinson.

The unit also received a pleasant surprise this spring when the NCAA approved the waiver request by Notre Dame allowing sophomore Amir Carlisle to be eligible for competition in the 2012 football season. The Santa Clara,

Calif., speedster transferred to Notre Dame in January after spending the first semester of his freshman year at the University of Southern California, where he rushed for 118 yards and caught seven passes. His father, Duane, was hired by Purdue University as director of sports performance.

“I want to thank Notre Dame and its compli-ance office for helping me with this request,” Carlisle said. “I also want to thank my Lord and

Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the blessing to play this year. I love being here at Notre Dame and can’t wait to run out of the tunnel this Sep-tember wearing my gold helmet.”

A week prior to the start of spring drills, Car-lisle broke his ankle in a non-contact seven-on-seven drill. He is projected to be ready to work out with the team and its summer conditioning program by the time June arrives.

— Lou Somogyi

Amir Carlisle Eligible In 2012


0 Career starts at the cornerback position by Notre Dame players enter-ing the 2012 season — a first since 1998, the year after starters Allen

Rossum and Ivory Covington graduated. Even then, starting 1997 free safety Deveron Harper was moved to corner. The Irish appear to have no such luxury this season after graduating starters Gary Gray and Robert Blanton.

3-0 Notre Dame’s record against the University of Michigan when it hosts the Wolverines in a night game — and will do again for

the first time in 22 years this season. The Irish defeated Michigan under the lights in 1982 (23-17), the first night game ever in Notre Dame Stadium; 1988 (19-17); and 1990 (28-24).

4 Running backs in Notre Dame history who posted back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing campaigns: Vagas Ferguson (1978-79), Allen Pinkett

(1983-85), Autry Denson (1996-98) and Darius Walker (2005-06). Cierre Wood will attempt to be the fifth during his senior year in 2012 after rushing for 1,102 yards last season.

6 Seasons granted by the NCAA to for-mer Notre Dame tight end Mike

Ragone. However, Ragone was not in-vited back by the Irish and will use it at Kansas, where he will be reunited with former Irish head coach Charlie Weis and starting quarterback Dayne Crist. Ragone missed the 2008 and 2011 seasons because of injuries. An-other graduating Notre Dame senior, defensive lineman Brandon Newman, will use his fifth year of eligibility at Ball State.

9:35.48 Time posted by Notre Dame’s 2012 indoor track na-tional champion distance medley relay team of se-

nior Jonathan Shawel (1,200 meters), freshman Chris Giesting (400 meters), senior Randall Babb (800 meters), and junior Jeremy Rae (mile) March 10 in Nampa, Idaho. The quartet joins Rick Wohlhuter (600 yards) in 1970 and Tom McMannon (55-meter hurdles) in 1972 as the lone track and field student-athletes at Notre Dame to win an indoor national title. The late Ryan Shay won the 2001 NCAA title in 10,000 meters at the outdoor championships.

11 Ranking of LSU baseball, led by former Irish coach Paul Mainieri, when the Irish upset them 7-1 in Baton Rouge March 11. It was

the highest-ranked opponent Notre Dame had defeated on the road since stunning No. 1 Florida State June 10, 2002, to advance to the College World Series under Mainieri.

19 Consecutive weeks during the 2011-12 women’s basketball cam-paign that Notre Dame was a consensus top-five team in both the

Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. That eclipsed the previous pro-gram standard of 18 set by the 2001 national champions.

25.8 Career scoring average at Notre Dame of Nai-smith Basketball Hall of Fame member AdriAn dAntley (1973-76), who on March 2 joined

Austin Carr (1968-71), Luke Harangody (2006-10) and Ruth Riley (1997-2001) as the four players in Notre Dame’s Ring of Honor at Purcell Pavilion. Dant-ley’s scoring average is second only to Carr’s 34.6. He also averaged a team-high 19.3 points for the 1976 United States Summer Olympics gold medal team (tallying 32 points in the championship) and had a 24.3 average (same as Larry Bird) during a 15-year NBA career.

100-7 Notre Dame men’s basketball record in Purcell Pavilion the past six seasons, highlighted by three unbeaten

ledgers and a 16-1 mark this past campaign. The .935 winning percentage is the third best in the country since the 2006-07

campaign, behind only Kansas (106-4, .964) and Utah State (94-6, .940). The 47-6 (.887) record in Big East

play during that time also is the best in the 16-team league, ahead of No. 2 Louisville at 43-10 (.811).

302 Passes completed by Notre Dame in 2011, a school record that topped

the 301 set in 2009 with Jimmy Clausen at quar-terback. However, whereas the 2009 Irish had a dozen completions that covered at least 40 yards (and half of them more than 60 yards), the 2011 Irish had only two, with the latter a 45-yard dump-off to Theo Riddick in the final minute when the Irish trailed 28-7 at Stanford in the regular-season finale.

48,224 Followers that Notre Dame head coach

Brian Kelly has on the social network Twitter, as of March 19, according to Pete Roussel of CoachingSearch.com. LSU’s

Les Miles was first among college football head coaches with 63,249, and Washington’s

Steve Sarkisian a distant third at 36,705. All three combined don’t have as many as Notre

Dame women’s basketball All-America point guard Skylar Diggins, who was at 159,938.

ByThENUmBErs

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joe

raym

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UNDErThEDome


under the Dome

Five Questions With … heAd bAsebAll CoACh Mik Aoki

Mik Aoki began his second spring with the Irish baseball team in February after finishing 23-29-1 last year.

Aoki revived the baseball programs at Columbia and Boston College prior to coming to Notre Dame. In 2001, he led Columbia to its first 20-win season in

14 years. He then reeled off two more 20-victory campaigns before joining the Eagles in 2004. Aoki brought Boston Col-lege to the NCAA Regional round for the first time in more than 40 years while coaching four All-ACC players in 2009. He graduated from Davidson in 1990 where he was a three-year starter.

This season, the Irish jumped out to a 7-5 start with a benchmark victory over No. 11 LSU in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are the highest-ranked team Notre Dame has defeated since downing No. 7 Nebraska in 2007.

Blue & Gold Illustrated: How important is beating LSU to your team’s confidence and getting established in your second year?

Aoki: “For me, and I think for all of the players in our program, the level at which LSU has been for the last 20 years or so is the level we all want Notre Dame baseball to get back to. I think you need to go out there and play a few games in your non-conference schedule that are like that to give yourself a little barometer of where you are as a program.

“Every year we need to … go play some quality teams.”

Blue & Gold Illustrated: What do you hope the identity of this team will be? Aoki: “I think in this new age of the new bat you better be pitching first. [Our

starting pitchers] are guys that typically when they’re throwing well they com-mand the strike zone very well. They’re strike throwers. You’re going to need to string some hits together to beat them.

“You want to pitch and play defense and get a little timely hitting. That’s sort of the age-old axiom in baseball.”

Blue & Gold Illustrated: Your players describe you as a “drill sergeant” type of coach. Is strict discipline a big part of your coaching philosophy?

Aoki: “You don’t want to be too crazy and over the top and dictatorial, but I think at some level or another kids crave that structure and respond well to that structure. So you put your rules in place, you understand and you try to com-municate to them the way you want to see the game played.”

Blue & Gold Illustrated: You’ve coached at some pretty good academic schools in your career. Does that give you an advantage by coaching presumably smart kids?

Aoki: “I think the biggest thing with that is I’ve had the privilege of coaching really good kids. … The quality of the person that I’ve had the privilege to coach has been really high. This whole team is no exception to that. They’re phenom-enal kids and that part is really good.”

Blue & Gold Illustrated: What’s the biggest difference at Notre Dame com-pared to Boston College and Columbia?

Aoki: The biggest thing is probably the level of expectation for baseball. I don’t mean this as a slam on BC or Columbia, but I don’t think the places I’ve been have looked at baseball and said, ‘We should be able to compete at a national level.’ … Notre Dame really across the boards feels as though they should be competitive at every sport they put out there.”

— Dan Murphy

Two of Notre Dame’s greats from its Golden Years in 1946-49 — when the Irish were 36-0-2 on the gridiron with three national titles — were lost during the first week of March.

Both running back/linebacker John Panelli (passed away on March 2) and lineman Marty Wendell (March 7) were 85 and 1949 graduates.

Last fall Blue & Gold Illustrated listed 10 of the greatest one-two running back punches in Notre Dame history during one season, and at No. 8 was the duo of Panelli with College Football Hall of Fame member Emil “Six Yard” Sitko.

During Notre Dame’s 1948 unbeaten campaign, Panelli rushed for 692 yards and 7.52 yards per carry — the third highest by an Irish back in one season, behind George Gipp (8.11 in 1920) and Reggie Brooks (8.04 in 1992).

The 12th pick in the 1949 NFL Draft by Detroit, Panelli earned the Coffman award for Most Valuable Player in the East-West All-Star Classic in 1949 and played five years in the NFL before starting a con-struction equipment dealership in Southfield, Mich. He was a founding member and president of the National Football League Alumni Asso-ciation, which worked with NFL franchise owners to create a fund for pre-1960s players who were not pensioned, many of whom were in financial difficulty. He also was active in Notre Dame clubs, including serving as president of the Notre Dame Monogram Club.

Pound for pound, the 5-9, 210-pound guard/linebacker Wendell was one of the toughest and most overshadowed players ever at Notre Dame. On Irish teams where fourth-team players such as Art Statuto — who starred in the NFL — couldn’t crack the top three units, the relatively undersized Wendell played guard alongside College Football Hall of Fame members such as George Connor, Leon Hart, Jim Martin, Zygmont “Ziggy” Czarobski and Bill “Moose” Fischer.

Yet, back in 2000 former teammate Jack Connor recalled the respect the rugged Wendell — nicknamed “Spearhead” — had among his teammates just in blocking or tackling drills alone and knowing where Wendell was in the line.

“You’d pretend you had a shoelace untied or something to let an-other guy ahead of you so you would be blocking someone — anyone — else [than Wendell],” Connor said. “After you’d hit Marty head on, you just didn’t ever want to do it again.”

Named an All-American by the then prestigious Collier’s Magazine, Wendell played in the College All-Star Game in his native Chicago and one season in the NFL before opting for a career in general contracts for construction and carpentry contracting.

r.i.p. John pAnelli And MArty Wendell

in his first season at the helm, Aoki guided the irish to a 23-29-1 record in 2011.

photo by Joe Raymond

running back/linebacker John panelli (left) and lineman Marty Wendell (right) were 1949 graduates and passed away in the first week of March, both at the age of 85.

photos couRtesy notRe dame media Relations


by lou somogyi

i t has been well documented over the years that the third season of a Notre Dame head coach ends up defining his career.

The five since 1918 who thrived in their third season with champion-ship play have their statues encircl-ing Notre Dame Stadium.

The seven who lost at least five games in year three didn’t last be-yond five years, if that, with the Irish.

The one wild card was Elmer Layden (1934-40), who finished No. 8 in the Associated Press poll in his third season. His 6-2-1 season that year defined his seven-year tenure as well — respectable, but not quite at the elite level.

Brian Kelly isn’t about to state pub-licly that his third season at Notre Dame will be his make or break cam-paign, but he does acknowledge it’s a time to go beyond the status quo.

“Year one, it’s the typical learn the names of the players, begin to im-plement your schemes,” Kelly said. “Year two, try to develop that depth in the units. And I think for year three it’s a comfortable feeling that I know my football team very well.

“Building those relationships with your players, understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a team, and now having, by and large, put in the schemes offensively, defensively and special teams.”

Notre Dame has posted five con-secutive seasons with a minimum of five losses, including 8-5 in each of Kelly’s first two years. Thus, conver-sation about returning to the top 25 in 2012 would seem to be more real-istic than playing for championships, or at least outside the football office.

Another phase to 2012 — the 125th year of Notre Dame football — began with spring practice on March 21.

The 15 practices will conclude with the April 21 Blue-Gold Game in Notre Dame Stadium, which will be telecast by the NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus) for the second year in a row.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the roster entering the spring:

position ChAngesMany of the position changes actu-

ally are on the coaching staff, most notably Chuck Martin shifting from the defensive backfield the past two years to offensive coordinator/quar-terbacks coach.

From the player personnel side, there are a handful of major changes.

Troy Niklas' 2011 freshman num-ber 58 at outside linebacker and as a special teams mainstay flips to 85 at tight end. The 6-7, 252-pound Niklas is the consummate “Big Skill” athlete who was recruited as a tight end by Stanford. He joins All-American Ty-ler Eifert and another top 2011 tight end recruit, Ben Koyack.

“It gives us a lot more flexibility with Tyler Eifert,” Kelly said. “Now you could possibly see Tyler moving to a number of different positions.”

The Irish did not sign a tight end this February, and a few of Notre Dame's safeties can also line up at outside linebacker versus option or spread teams.

“We feel like we’re pretty good at

the outside linebacker position and that we had the ability to make that move,” Kelly stated.

Speaking of outside linebackers, there might be a tweak there with the shift of Prince Shembo from the drop outside linebacker position (Dog) to the hybrid Cat/end slot, where his pass-rush skills might be better utilized. Junior Danny Spond and sophomores Ishaq Williams and Ben Councell all could fit in somewhere on the outside, making the shift of Niklas easier.

The running back/slot position is also replete with candidates this spring, never mind the fall, but the shortage is acute at cornerback, espe-cially with the departure of early en-rollee Tee Shepard. Sophomore Cam McDaniel therefore is moving from the offensive backfield to corner, where he is one of only five scholar-ship players for the two slots.

Recruited as a safety in 2011, Mat-thias Farley apprenticed at wide re-

troy niklas — a 6-7, 252-pound sophomore — is making the move from outside linebacker to tight end this spring.

photo by joe raymond

spring footbAlloverview

topiCAl springA thumbnail sketch

of the irish personnel


ceiver as a freshman and did not see action. With wideout stocked a little better, Farley returned to safety this spring.

FiFth-YEArSENiOrSNotre Dame officially approved

six fifth-year seniors for the 2012 campaign: center Braxston Cave, guard/center Mike Golic Jr., wide re-ceiver John Goodman, defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, safety Jamoris Slaughter and safety Dan McCarthy.

Walk-on offensive tackle Dennis Mahoney will be a graduate student with the aforementioned six.

iNjUrYUpDAtESThe main setback was USC transfer

running back/slot Amir Carlisle suf-fering a broken ankle in a non-contact, voluntary seven-on-seven session during spring break (March 10-18), right before drills opened.

“He’ll be ready to go for June when we come back for our summer condi-tioning program,” Kelly said.

Most of the players who missed part or all of the 2011 season have been fully to partly cleared for spring drills:

• Fifth-year defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore, who suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the Oct. 22 loss to USC will have no restrictions and can compete in all the drills.

• Fifth-year senior center Braxston Cave (foot) will be mainly doing non-contact drills “with the hope and the possibility that maybe he even plays in the spring game,” according to Kelly.

• Sophomore defensive linemen Chase Hounshell and Tony Spring-mann won’t be able to participate in contact work this spring after under-going winter surgery. Hounshell had to have a shoulder repaired, while Springmann had a discectomy, the surgical removal of herniated disc material that presses on a nerve root or the spinal cord.

• Junior offensive tackle Tate Nich-ols and sophomore linebacker An-thony Rabasa both have been cleared for work after having shoulder prob-lems cleaned up last fall, putting them ahead of schedule for spring.

• Junior running back Cam Rob-erson, who suffered a severe knee injury last March 26 during a scrim-mage, will be involved on a limited basis.

• Sophomore safety Eilar Hardy, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last August after working with

the No. 1 kick coverage unit, has been cleared for full work this spring.

pErcEivEDStrENGthS1.DEFENSivEFrONtSEvEN— Headlined

by the return of senior All-America Te’o and a hungry young line with the likes of Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix III, this is the prime building block in 2012 to keep the Irish competitive in every game.

2.tiGhtEND— Eifert is in line to join Anthony Fasano (2003-05), John Carlson (2006-07) and Kyle Rudolph (2008-10) as the fourth Irish tight end in a row to be taken in the top two rounds of the NFL Draft. Koy-ack and Niklas provide an excel-lent future, while junior Alex Welch

would start on a lot of major college teams.

3.rUNNiNGBAck/SLOt— Seniors Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick provide plenty of experience, while George Atkinson III might be the most explo-sive of all after returning two kickoffs for scores as a freshman last year. It won’t be easy for Carlisle to get snaps, just like at USC.

4.LEFtSiDEOFOFFENSivELiNE— Seniors Zack Martin (tackle) and Chris Watt (guard) answered the bell for all 13 starts last season, and Cave’s return at center should make the Irish stron-ger at the point of attack.

5.SAFEtY— The single most veteran unit on the team, with Slaughter pro-viding play-making skills against both the run and pass.

pErcEivEDcONcErNS1. QUArtErBAck iNStABiLitY — Junior

Tommy Rees has 16 career starts un-der his belt, but Kelly acknowledged that the competition once again likely will spill over into August — if not into the season. That always is an unsettling situation in a football program.

2.cOrNErBAck— For the first time since 1998, after the graduation of starters Allen Rossum and Ivory Covington, Notre Dame will enter a season with no one on the roster having a career start at cornerback. Juniors Bennett Jackson and Lo Wood might be the early front-runners. Former commits Shepard and Ronald Darby (Florida State) might have been to Irish corner recruiting this year what Lynch and Tuitt were to the line last year, but that went by the wayside.

3. rEcEiviNG YArDAGE — Even with projected first-round pick Michael Floyd, the Irish lacked a vertical at-tack last year. Eifert’s 12.7 yards per catch led the team — a rarity for a tight end.

4.pUNtrEtUrNS— Notre Dame totaled 91 yards in returns in 2010 (but only 53 in the last 12 games) and 48 last season (44 by Floyd in the Champs Sports Bowl when he had the green light for the first time). This cannot just be in damage-control mode all the time.

5. riGht SiDE OF OFFENSivE LiNE — The No. 1 right guard slot might be the single most competitive position on the team, with Golic Jr., sophomores Nick Martin and Conor Hanratty and maybe even tackle Christian Lom-bard in the mix. ✦

FOrStArtErSDefining how many “starters” are actually

back on offense and defense can be nebu-lous. Some positions have co-starters, and other times it can depend on formations or schemes.

Here is the breakdown on career starts by top returning members on offense:

Offense CareerStartsPlayer (2011Starts)OT Zack Martin 26 (13)C Braxston Cave 22(9)TE Tyler Eifert 21 (13)*RB Theo Riddick 18 (9)WR TJ Jones 19 (12)QB Tommy Rees 16 (12)RB Cierre Wood 14 (9)OG Chris Watt 13 (13)WR Robby Toma 6 (4)WR John Goodman 5 (1)C Mike Golic Jr. 4 (4)TE Ben Koyack 1 (1)#TE Troy Niklas 1 (1)* Starts came at slot receiver/wideout# Start came at outside linebackerStarters lost: WR Michael Floyd (41 career starts), OG Trevor Robinson (40), OT Taylor Dever (23), QB Dayne Crist (10), TE Mike Ragone (9) and RB Jonas Gray (5).

Defense CareerStartsPlayer (2011Starts)ILB Manti Te’o 36 (13)DE Kapron Lewis-Moore 29 (7)S Jamoris Slaughter 16 (10)S Zeke Motta 15 (7)ILB Dan Fox 13 (13)NG Louis Nix III 11 (11)OLB Prince Shembo 9 (9)ILB Carlo Calabrese 8 (0)DE Aaron Lynch 6 (6)DE Stephon Tuitt 3 (3)Starters lost: S Harrison Smith (47), DE Ethan Johnson (37), OLB Darius Fleming (36), CB Gary Gray (33), CB Robert Blanton (26), NG Sean Cwynar (7).


football recruiting roundup

QuarterbackAustin Allen, 6-2, 205, Fayetteville, Ark. (Fayetteville)*Matt Alviti, 6-1, 180, Park Ridge, Ill. (Maine South)Aaron Bailey, 6-2, 210, Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook)Riley Ferguson, 6-3, 190, Matthews, N.C. (Butler)Devante Kincade, 6-0, 174, Dallas (Skyline)*Kohl Stewart, 6-3, 190, Houston (St. Pius X)Cody Thomas, 6-5, 210, Colleyville, Texas (Heritage)*Malik Zaire, 6-1, 185, Dayton, Ohio (Alter)*

Running BackGreg Bryant, 5-11, 190, Delray Beach, Fla. (American Heritage School)Justin Davis, 6-1, 180, Stockton, Calif. (Lincoln)*Tyshon Dye, 6-0, 208, Elberton, Ga. (Elbert County)*Ryan Green, 5-10, 195, St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Petersburg Catholic)Ty Isaac, 6-2, 215, Joliet, Ill. (Joliet Catholic)T.J. Johnson, 5-8, 165, Cape Coral, Fla. (Island Coast)*Taquan Mizzell, 5-10, 180, Virginia Beach, Va. (Bayside)*Khalid Thomas, 5-9, 170, Tallahassee, Fla. (Amos P. Godby)*David Williams, 5-10, 171, Philadelphia (West Philadelphia Catholic)Dontre Wilson, 5-10, 165, DeSoto, Texas (DeSoto)*

Wide ReceiverDevon Allen, 6-0, 187, Phoenix (Brophy College Prep)*Alvin Bailey, 5-10, 175, Seffner, Fla. (Armwood)Richard Benjamin, 6-1, 180, Tampa, Fla. (Middleton)Tyler Boyd, 6-1, 170, Clairton, Pa. (Clairton)*Jordan Cunningham, 6-3, 175, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (University School)Reggie Davis, 6-1, 160, Tallahassee, Fla. (Lincoln)Robert Foster, 6-3, 190, Monaca, Pa. (Central Valley)Ahmad Fulwood, 6-4, 200, Jacksonville, Fla. (Bishop Kenny)Keeon Johnson, 6-3, 190, Kannapolis, N.C. (A.L. Brown)*Travis Johnson, 6-4, 200, Tampa, Fla. (Jesuit)Uriah LeMay, 6-2, 200, Matthews, N.C. (Butler)Eldridge Massington, 6-3, 203, Mesquite, Texas (West Mesquite)*Steven Mitchell, 5-10, 180, Mission Hills, Calif. (Bishop Alemany)*James Onwualu, 6-2, 205, Saint Paul, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)James Quick, 6-1, 180, Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)*Corey Robinson, 6-4, 195, San Antonio (Christian Academy)*Juwaan Williams, 6-0, 181, Tucker, Ga. (Tucker)*Mike Williams, 6-4, 205, Santee, S.C. (Lake Marion)

Tight EndHunter Henry, 6-5, 235, Little Rock, Ark. (Pulaski Academy)*Mike Heuerman, 6-4, 215, Naples, Fla. (Barron Collier)DeSean Smith, 6-4, 224, Lake Charles, La. (Alfred M. Barbe)

Offensive LineHunter Bivin, 6-7, 290, Owensboro, Ky. (Apollo)Aaron Cochran, 6-8, 350, Atwater, Calif. (Buhach Colony)*Nico Fallah, 6-5, 270, Bellflower, Calif. (St. John Bosco)*Steven Elmer Jr., 6-6, 315, Midland, Mich. (Midland)Darius Latham, 6-5, 270, Indianapolis (North Central)*Mike McGlinchey, 6-9, 275, Philadelphia (William Penn Charter School)*Colin McGovern, 6-6, 280, New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln Way West)*John Montelus, 6-5, 305, Everett, Mass. (Everett)*Ethan Pocic, 6-7, 280, Lemont, Ill. (Lemont Township)Laremy Tunsil, 6-6, 275, Lake City, Fla. (Columbia)

Defensive LineAlvonte Bell, 6-5, 220, Hollywood, Fla. (Everglades)*Tashawn Bower, 6-5, 231, Somerville, N.J. (Immaculata)*Kylie Fitts, 6-4, 241, Redland, Calif. (East Valley)*Joe Mathis, 6-4, 250, Upland, Calif. (Upland)*Jacob Matuska, 6-5, 240, Columbus, Ohio (Bishop Hartley)*Donovan Munger, 6-4, 285, Cleveland (Shaker Heights)*Isaac Rochell, 6-5, 245, McDonough, Ga. (Eagle’s Landing)Wyatt Teller, 6-5, 255, Bealeton, Va. (Liberty)*Eddie Vanderdoes, 6-4, 285, Auburn, Calif. (Placer)*DeMarcus Walker, 6-4, 265, Jacksonville, Fla. (Sandalwood)*

LinebackerAlex Alzalone, 6-3, 220, Reading, Pa. (Wyomissing Area)*Chans Cox, 6-2, 220, Lakeside, Ariz. (Blue Ridge)*Dajaun Drennon, 6-4, 225, Sicklerville, N.J. (Timber Creek)*Marcus Farria, 6-4, 225, Peoria, Ariz. (Centennial)Jason Hatcher, 6-3, 234, Louisville, Ky. (Trinity)Frank Herron, 6-5, 245, Memphis, Tenn. (Central)*Michael Hutchings, 6-2, 215, Concord, Calif. (De La Salle)Trey Johnson, 6-1, 220, Lawrenceville, Ga. (Central Gwinnett)E.J. Levenberry Jr., 6-3, 227, Woodbridge, Va. (C.D. Hylton)Courtney Love, 6-1, 215, Youngstown, Ohio (Cardinal Mooney)*Alquadine Muhammad, 6-4, 230, Ramsey, N.J. (Don Bosco Prep)Torrodney Prevot, 6-4, 215, Houston (Taylor)*Doug Randolph, 6-3, 220, Woodberry Forest, Va. (Woodberry Forest)*Jordan Sherit, 6-4, 230, Tampa, Fla. (Hillsborough)*Jaylon Smith, 6-3, 212, Fort Wayne, Ind. (Bishop Luers)Stacy Thomas, 6-1, 233, Miami (Gulliver Prep)*

Defensive BackMacKensie Alexander, 5-11, 175, Immokalee, Fla. (Immokalee)Nadir Barnwell, 5-10, 175, Piscataway, N.J. (Piscataway)Tré Bell, 5-11, 175, Jersey City, N.J. (St. Peter’s Prep)*Vonn Bell, 6-1, 190, Rossville, Ga. (Ridgeland)*Devin Butler, 6-1, 180, Washington, D.C. (Gonzaga)*Hatari Byrd, 6-1, 195, Fresno, Calif. (Central East)*Antonio Conner, 6-0, 190, Batesville, Miss. (South Panola)*Su’a Cravens, 6-1, 205, Murrieta, Calif. (Vista Murrieta)Kendall Fuller, 6-0, 175, Olney, Md. (Good Counsel)Vernon Hargreaves III, 5-11, 180, Tampa, Fla. (Wharton)Marcell Harris, 6-1, 197, Groveland, Fla. (South Lake)Chris Hawkins, 6-0, 175, Rancho Cucmonga, Calif. (Rancho Cucamonga)*John Johnson, 5-10, Fresno, Calif. (San Joaquin Memorial)*Rashad Kinlaw, 6-0, 175, Absecon, N.J. (Absegami)*Desmond Lawrence, 6-1, 175, Charlotte, N.C. (Christian School)*Cole Luke, 6-0, 170, Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton)*Leon McQuay III, 6-2, 184, Seffner, Fla. (Armwood)L.J. Moore, 6-2, 185, Fresno, Calif. (Central East)*Max Redfield, 6-3, 195, Mission Viejo, Calif. (Mission Viejo)Maurice Smith, 5-11, 178, Sugar Land, Texas (Dulles)*Priest Willis, 6-2, 200, Tempe, Ariz. (Marcos De Niza)*

AthleteEzekiel Elliot, 6-0, 195, St. Louis (John Burroughs School)*Torii Hunter Jr., 6-2, 170, Prosper, Texas (Prosper)*T.J. Johnson, 5-8, 165, Cape Coral, Fla. (Island Coast)*Khalid Thomas, 5-9, 170, Tallahassee, Fla. (Amos P. Godby)Commitment in bold italics; * Prospects added between Feb. 7-March 21

Class Of 2013 Scholarship Offer Master List

Master List ChangesProspects removed: QB Tyrone Swoopes of Whitewright, Texas (committed

to Texas); RB Keith Ford of Cypress, Texas (committed to Oklahoma); WR Devin Lauderdale of Bellaire, Texas (committed to Texas Tech); WR Ricky Seals-Jones of Sealy, Texas (committed to Texas); TE Adam Breneman of Camp Hill, Pa. (commit-ted to Penn State); OL Kyle Bosch of Wheaton, Ill. (committed to Michigan); WR Tramel Terry of Goose Creek, S.C. (committed to Georgia); OL Logan Tuley-Tillman of Peoria, Ill. (committed to Michigan); DL Taco Charlton of Pickerington, Ohio (committed to Michigan); LB Deon Hollins Jr. of Missouri City, Texas (committed to UCLA); LB Garrett Sickels of Little Silver, N.J. (committed to Penn State); DB Nick Washington of Jacksonville, Fla. (committed to Florida); DB Eli Woodard of Vorhees, N.J. (committed to Ohio State); and athlete Laquvionte Gonzalez of Chatfield, Texas (committed to Texas A&M).

Prospects offered since Feb. 7, but have committed elsewhere: QB Johnathan McCrary of Ellenwood, Ga. (Vanderbilt); RB Kyle Hicks of Arlington, Texas (Texas); RB Johnny Jefferson of Killeen, Texas (Baylor); OL Patrick Kugler of Wexford, Pa. (Michigan); OL Evan Lisle of Dayton, Ohio (Ohio State); and LB LB Isaac Savaiinaea of Honolulu (Stanford).

Worth noting: DB MacKensie Alexander of Immokalee, Fla., has decommitted from Tennessee; and LB Doug Randolph of Woodberry Forest, Va., is committed to Stanford, but considering the Irish after being offered.


in a month that is known for Final Fours, here are four primary topics that will help dictate Notre Dame’s

2012 football season:

1. Chuck Martin’s title as offensive coordinator is overrated, but his title as quarterbacks coach is underrated.

The title “offensive coordinator” of-ten is associated with “play caller.” In some cases it is true, in others it is not.

Like predecessor Charlie Weis, cur-rent Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly handles the play-calling duties while receiving input from his coor-dinator. Ara Parseghian (1964-74) and Lou Holtz (1986-96) did the same. Weis temporarily relinquished the re-sponsibility in 2008 to Mike Haywood — but took it back by the end of the season. Old habits die hard.

However, teaching quarterback fun-damentals and conveying it consis-tently and properly on a day-to-day basis is the type of behind-the-scenes work that doesn’t get noticed.

We believe this will be the more im-portant part of Martin’s job descrip-tion, especially given the uncertainty at the position. How he mentors that unit when most of his experience has been on defense will be telling.

2. Special teams are a crucial X-fac-tor with new coordinator Scott Booker.

Upon taking the job in December 2009, Kelly noted that having defen-sive line coach Mike Elston also coor-dinate special teams is “a big load.” Thus, he said assistants would aid Elston.

While Elston will remain part of special teams, he will be able to con-centrate primarily on his talented and developing young line. Unlike Elston, Booker does not have any previous experience coordinating special teams, but Kelly stresses he won’t fly solo.

“We have a 10-coach emphasis now as it relates to our special teams,” Kelly asserted. “We have nine assis-tants and a head coach involved in special teams working through that and shoring up some deficiencies that we had last year. We will do that in the spring.”

All things being equal on offense and defense, special teams play and turnover margin are usually what

spell the difference between 7-5 and 8-4 seasons and 10-2 or even better.

Back in 2000, the Irish finished only 76th in total offense and a middle-of-the-road 51st in total defense — but they made the BCS by 1) committing an NCAA record-low eight turnovers and 2) having the greatest all-around season at the school in special teams, including several blocked punts/kicks or returns that saved four victories.

3. It is premature to believe right now Notre Dame’s defense is champi-onship level.

The Irish front seven will be her-alded this season as probably its strength, especially with the return of senior linebacker Manti Te’o. In his time here, the Irish ranking in total defense has improved from 86th to 50th to 30th.

However, every time you begin to think Notre Dame’s defense has “ar-rived,” remember that when the Irish faced top-10 rated teams last year, USC totaled 443 yards and 31 points, Stanford 429 yards and 28 points, and Michigan’s Denard Robinson ac-counted for 446 yards by himself (338 passing and 108 rushing) in a 35-31 Wolverine victory.

After the 18-14 loss to Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl, Kelly said, “It’s great to be able to talk about a Notre Dame football team that plays championship defense because they did that today.”

With all due respect, we can’t quite

yet qualify “championship” defense as one that can’t shut the door when your team is leading 14-0 in the sec-ond half while going against four true freshmen offensive linemen.

Don’t take for granted that because a couple of freshmen, ends Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt, had excel-lent rookie campaigns that every-thing automatically will be elevated as sophomores. There is a reason why “sophomore jinx” has become popular in the American sports lexicon.

En route to a surprising Frozen Four last spring, Notre Dame’s hockey pro-gram had nine freshmen playing ma-jor roles, including its top two scorers TJ Tynan and Anders Lee. It was a main reason why the Irish were pro-jected as a preseason No. 1 this season. Instead, the Irish didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s because guys think, ‘This wasn’t that hard,’ ” head coach Jeff Jackson said. “They think it’s going to be easy, and it’s not. It gets even harder … When there are expectations to do more, and when it’s not happen-ing, the frustration sets in and confi-dence gets hit.”

Which brings us to …

4. Expectations shouldn’t be as much a burden this season — or will they?

Every year it seems not much is ex-pected of Mike Brey’s basketball team, and almost every year it overachieves, which is why Brey repeatedly wins Coach of the Year notice.

This Irish football team is supposed to be “a year away,” but the problem is it seldom does more than projected on the field. When you expect 10-2, it’s 8-4, when you project 8-4 its 6-6, when you realistically predict 6-6 it’s 3-9 … it always seems less.

This program desperately needs a “Where did that come from?” season on the plus side. The opportunity is there this season.

However, expectations of the Notre Dame football head coach never drop, especially in the third year. ✦

of Job titles, special play And expectationsthe fifth quarter lou somogyi

senior editor lou somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at [email protected]

offensive coordinator Chuck Martin’s biggest responsibility in the coming year isn’t to call plays. it’s making sure his quarterbacks, like tommy rees (above), are heading in the right direction.

photo by joe raymond

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Quarterback Gunner Kiel highlights top-20 haul

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By Dan Murphy

notre Dame’s regular season may not have gotten off to a quick start, but its

bowl season certainly did. The Irish scored a touchdown on their opening drive in the 77th annual Sun Bowl and never looked back on the way to a 33-17 victory over Miami.

Notre Dame (8-5) scored the first 27 points of the game, and its defense held the Hurricanes (7-6) at bay until the game was well in hand. The win, Notre Dame’s second consecutive postseason victory and fourth straight overall this season, ended a tumultuous maiden voyage for first-year head coach Brian Kelly on a high note.

“We beat some good football teams later in the year as we’ve come together and found our identity,” Kelly said. “It’s going to taste a whole better in the offseason talking about a win — and eight wins.”

Kelly said he knew it would be impor-tant for his team to jump out to a quick start against Miami, and junior wide re-ceiver Michael Floyd gave the Irish the spark they needed. Notre Dame was backed up on a third-and-16 from its 40 on its opening drive when Floyd shook loose on a slant and picked up 36 yards. Three plays later he motioned out of the back-field and caught his first of two touchdown passes to give the Irish an early 7-0 lead.

“Whenever they gave us one-on-one coverage, [freshman quarterback] Tommy [Rees] made a good throw, and we got the job done,” Floyd said.

Rees didn’t wait long to find his favorite target once again. On the next drive, the

pair hooked up again when Floyd beat his defender on a long post route for a 34-yard score.

Floyd, who may have been playing his final game in a Notre Dame uniform, had more than 100 yard receiving for the fourth time this season. He finished the game with six catches for 109 yard before a tweaked hamstring sidelined him during the third quarter. He was named the Sun Bowl MVP for his efforts.

“Our offense starts with Michael,” Kelly said. “He just allows us to do so many things. When we can get him the football and make sure he gets touches, it opens up so many other things within our offense.”

The Irish offense racked up 397 total yards while amassing a season-high 196 on the ground against one of the fastest and strongest defenses they have faced all season.

Senior Robert Hughes capped off the strong conclusion of his career by picking up 81 yards on 27 carries. Hughes did not have a carry through the first four games, only 17 during Notre Dame’s 4-5 start, and then 24 in the month of November, highlighted by 11 carries for 69 yards in the regular-season finale at USC.

Sophomore Cierre Wood also had 81 yards while mixing in a handful of big plays to keep the Hurricane defense off

sun bowl game recap Jan. 1, 2010

Sun-ny DayS at notre DaMe

notre Dame players celebrate the 33-17 victory against miami on Dec. 31 by hoisting the sun bowl trophy aloft. It was the second straight Irish bowl win after losing an ncaa-record nine in a row.

Photo by aaron suozzi

irish break open game early in 33-17 victory versus Miami

“we beat some good football teams later in the year as we’ve come together and found our identity.”

IrISh heaD coach BrIan kelly

2011 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ISSUE

LIKE AROCKJunior linebacker Manti Te’oleads resurgent Irish defense

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