Spring Game Reaction

Neither of my predicted most valuable players received MVP honors Saturday, but both of them were named captains, and I was also able to somewhat predict 3 out of Blue and Gold's top 5 spring surprises, so it looks like spring is at least off to a good start for my prediction making. Here are a few of my observations from the Blue Gold game:

The most noticeable improvement in Jimmy Clausen is definitely his improved accuracy and throwing strength, indicating that Weis obviously worked him in the NCAA '09 passing skeleton. It was very comforting to see Clausen missing on fade routes by overthrowing his target (and the coverage) instead of lofting up passes that fell dangerously short. Also, JC appears to have improved on his ability to recognize when to throw the ball away instead of forcing throws or running out of bounds for a loss. However, there are still a few concerns. Everyone has been bailing out his 10/27 completion percentage on drops from receivers and throwing the ball away, but the reality is that WRs do drop passes in games, and Clausen was unable to establish any real consistency on offense through the air. Fortunately, it makes sense for Clausen's completion percentage to increase with more practice heading into the fall, so that aspect of his game should improve. What I am more worried about is live pocket presence; Jimmy did a fine job of stepping up into pressure with the red jersey on, and he was even able to make some great throws as the defense was 'bringing him down,' but it is a lot easier to step into the hit when you know its not coming. Hopefully Jimmy can carry the poise he showed in the Blue Gold game into the season.

Barring something extraordinary happening in summer camp, Robert Hughes is the guy. Aldridge didn't do much to lose the job, but when one runningback in a heated competition for playing time receives 22 carries, it is a sign that the coaching staff is testing and expecting that back to step up. With 100 yards, a touchdown, and offensive MVP honors, Hughes was able to mix up his truck stick and juke skills enough to see significant PT early next season. It also seems that Allen will play the change of pace back, receiving exactly one carry for every two of Hughes' and gaining a comparable 50 yards while looking just about as fast as I've seen him. With top quality young runningbacks coming in fast, Aldridge will need to step it up over the summer to earn his carries this year.

Despite the occasional drops, I liked what I saw of Kamara, Grimes, and Tate. Kamara and Clausen need to develop some better chemistry in the red zone (the fade was thrown 3 times and despite being covered by a much shorter CB, Duval never really came down with it), but he seems otherwise to be a capable receiver, and I like Grimes working in the middle of the field. Tate also seems more polished, but if not, Robby Parris returning from injury and Michael Floyd coming in the fall should provide enough depth and competition to give ND a solid group.

Speaking of Floyd, he was in attendance with Dayne Crist and some of the other incoming freshman and recruited rising seniors at the game. Welcome to Notre Dame, class of 2012/13!

The O-line looks better than I thought it would. Hughes and Allen were both able to average nearly 5 yards a carry, and while the defense landed a few of their stunts in passing situations, the rate that they were successfully picked up seemed markedly better than it was early last season. The other thing I learned is that Eric Olsen is a high-energy player. I'm not just talking about his roles in the team fights this year or his ability to fire off the ball at defenders, but on Tate's long reception at the end of the game, Olsen was the second player (behind Allen) to reach the celebration. Any lineman that can sprint fifty yards at the end of a game to congratulate his receiver is okay in my book.

Anytime Notre Dame is in a short yardage situation, the Haywood should automatically call a run behind Chris Stewart and Sam Young until opposing defenses begin overloading that gap. I am confident that I could have scored the touchdown if I had been given the ball instead of Hughes.

Mike Ragone looks like he has the ability to make some big plays this year, and while he may be the only scholarship tight end on the roster this year, at least he seems capable of contributing in the passing game. As a rising sophomore, however, he does not yet have the necessary size to be a force in the running game, which is why every Irish fan should be crossing their fingers that Yeatman will be able to play in the fall. Will was the most physical blocking receiver on the team last year, and a fortunate side effect of him missing the lacrosse season is that he should be able to focus on improving his strength in the spring.

That's it for today. I'll put up a defensive recap post soon.

Thoughts of Blue and Gold Part Deux

Defense



D-Line


It isn't much of a stretch to say that the Irish will be missing the services of their recently graduated defensive linemen. The optimistic approach for ND fans is that Pat Kuntz will return in the fall and play as well as he did last year, and one or two of the incoming freshman will be able to contribute. However, a more conservative approach that includes one or two unforeseen injuries combined with an average freshman class leads to an Irish front 3 (or 4) that will struggle to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. Because of this, it is especially important for the current defensive linemen on the team to take advantage of the extra reps they're getting now so that the unit can have some depth heading into next season. I'm going to be paying attention to rising junior Maurice Richardson who has been spending less time at linebacker and more time as a DL in a 4-3 scheme; any flexibility ND can get from moving a backer to a contributor in the trenches will improve the depth heading into fall.

LB


'Hole Fillers!' 'Runningback Killers!' Those were the phrases the linebackers on my high school team used to get each other jacked up, and that's exactly what we should have this season. A talented and experienced Mo Crum will lead a group of young exciting players in an attempt to maximize the effectiveness of Tenuta's blitz packages. An aggressive and hard nosed junior in Toryan Smith will look to stuff the run and playmaking sophomores Kerry Neal and Brian Smith will hope to use their speed and playmaking ability to contain the outside and rack up a few sacks. I mentioned before that the O-Line should be able to get a decent push up front, but the more interesting development will be seeing how the O-Line will be able to handle this group of backers in the spring game. The player to watch is without question rising junior John Ryan. After a rough season in 2007, Ryan should feel the heat of the underclassmen challenging for his playing time; Saturday will give fans a chance to see if he is up for keeping his starting spot.


DB


Returning Blue/Gold defensive MVP David Bruton will quarterback the secondary which looks to improve under their second season working with Corwin Brown. With the addition of sophomore Gary Gray (who missed last year with an injury) and plenty of help on the way with the safety/CB hybrids in the incoming freshman class, it looks like Notre Dame will have some quality depth in the secondary for the first time in a few years. Kyle McCarthy will be the player to watch; can he beat out Sergio Brown and Jashaad Gaines to earn the starting safety spot opposite Bruton?
MVP Predictions


As listed in the OC Domer spring preview, the MVPs of the the spring game usually go on to have a pretty good (if not great) season/career at Notre Dame. Last season, the Irish felt the loss of McKnight and Shark at WR, and I think that this spring, David Grimes will be able to take over the leadership role at that position and take home the offensive MVP honors. On the defensive side of the ball, I like Maurice Crum setting some fear into future opponents eyes by making some big plays and earning the remaining MVP award.
That's it for my spring ball preview. All that's left to do is to pray for safe travels and good weather Saturday.

Go Blue! Go Gold! Go Irish!

Thoughts of Gold and Blue

As Notre Dame approaches its annual spring game, I am officially obligated as a blogger to post some sort of preview, so here it goes. First and foremost, for anyone that says the spring game doesn't matter, I'd take a look at OC Domer's spring preview where he makes a convincing argument that anemic offense in the spring game translates to low scoring in the fall (and the sample size is bigger than just last year). Accordingly, I am most interested in watching the offense this year.

Offense

QB

Last year, the four-headed quarterback race lead to a group of under prepared athletes standing under center in the spring game, and the result was 11/24 passing for 77 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. Clausen has looked healthier and more confident in all of the practice videos I've seen this year, but dropping back in Loftus wearing a red jersey is different from scrambling to avoid pressure in a live game. The spring game should give us a better idea of how far JC has progressed since last season.

WR/RB

Notre Dame returns virtually every contributing back and receiver coming into 2008, so the question isn't who will play as much as who will improve. It would be nice to see Kamara build off of his spectacular freshman year and develop into someone who can break tackles and become a reliable red zone target. Grimes has been having an impressive spring, and like Clausen, it will be nice to see what he can do in a higher pressure situation. Of course the biggest WR question is was coach Ianello able to mold the talented Golden Tate into the playmaking receiver that he can be? Behind the QB, the 3 runningbacks figure to impress for some playing time. My guess is that Allen will fill the role of 'change-of-pace' back, but a standout performance by Hughes or Alldridge may be the difference between playing and sitting at the start of the season.

OL

I personally have high expectations for the GCG combination of Olson, Wenger, and Stewart; the physical play of Olson and Wenger are perfect for the trenches, and seeing Stewart anywhere on the field makes me smile. Also worth watching in the spring game is how comfortable Young and Duncan look at tackle; both have seemed more comfortable on the right side so far, so it would be nice to see one of them settle in on the left. I expect the front five to be able to get a good push on our thin defensive front in the run game, but it will be interesting to see if the group can work as a team to stop Tenuta's tricky blitz packages from reaching the quarterback.

That's it for now, hopefully I can get a post up to preview the defense tomorrow.

Go Blue! Go Gold!