Tangled up in Spring

A couple things I'm thinking about:

Congrats to Armando and RJ for taking home the spring game MVP honors. However, I think it is likely that only one of these players will step up to garner MVP type performance consistently this season. Looking at UHND's breakdown of past Blue Gold MVPs, a runningback has won the award since 2006, but none of these players (Travis Thomas, Junior Jabbie, Robert Hughes) has been able to translate a good spring into a great fall. On the other hand, the Blue/Gold MVP award has recently been a good predictor of success for young, highly recruited defensive players. Look for Blanton to team up with Walls for a great season in the Irish secondary.
All this focus on the running game sounds awfully familiar - remember about this time last year when Weis promised a power running game? The offense did pick up a lot of yards on the ground this spring, but our RBs only averaged 4.2 yards per carry; Weis himself said that number needs to be up to around 4.6 for us to be on par with the better teams in the country. Furthermore, those numbers may even be inflated with our interior defensive line and inside linebackers having little depth (and possibly less talent) compared to some of the teams we will face in the fall.

While it was nice to see Bruton get drafted to a place like Denver where he should have a shot a competing for playing time at safety, it was unfortunate that he was the lone Irish player taken. However, Weis has been working hard to get other seniors signed to rookie free agent contracts. His ability to give some of these players a shot at the NFL has to look good to recruits.
Speaking of the draft, ESPN's recent 2010 draft projections have Sam Young getting drafted 14th overall to the Bills. Hopefully Sam can have a great senior year and raise himself from his current stock as the 5th best tackle in his class.

Now off to do some work for finals, Go Irish!

Quote of the Week

No, that's not a typo, the quote of the week is back. While the segment has been MIA for a long time, I found some time after packing/leaving school and starting my summer job to dig up a moderately respectable Notre Dame related quote: after the first few days of OTA's, the Browns team site gave a shoutout to undrafted free agent signee Travis Thomas.


"The team also added two rookie running backs following the draft this year in Notre Dame's Travis Thomas and Penn State's Austin Scott, who looked impressive in rookie minicamp."


This is coming from a team site that made 7th round draft pick Alex Hall seem like the next Julius Peppers, but it is always nice to hear that an Irish player is holding his own in the big leagues. If TT keeps up the good work, he might even get a chance to switch back to defense as one of the Browns' three remaining cornerbacks sustained a season ending knee injury in practice yesterday...


UHND.com dug up a screenshot of the top players on ND's roster for the upcoming NCAA 2009 video game, and as always, there a few major head scratchers. In the 2008 game, I was able to tear it up with DE #90 (who was black), and a speedy white runningback (#25) that led me to a national championship while winning the Heisman. This year's roster seems to be more of the same.
Sam, Mo, and Bruton seem like decently fair choices for the top three, but the players underneath are questionable to say the least. Paul Duncan and James Aldridge will both be fighting for playing time next season, and to be honest, I would be mildly surprised if either of them got more than 4 or 5 starts next year. And it is a crime to put Schwapp ahead of some other players on next season's roster; UHND put it well when they asked "Who does Schwapp know at EA sports?"


My last gripe about these rankings is Sam Young's break tackle. At only a measly 65, the EA game creators obviously never saw him returning punts in spring practice.

Go Irish!

Projection, Please

My partner in crime that writes as a student blogger for the Sporting News posted his projected offensive and defensive starting lineups for next season (most of you probably read it when it was posted on NDLNA a few weeks ago), and I felt that it was my obligation as a friend to analyze his predictions and test their validity. Let's start off with the 2008 offense:

Potential Offensive Starters:
QB: Jimmy Clausen, SOPH
RB: Robert Hughes, SOPH
RB: Armando Allen, SOPH
WR: David Grimes, SR
WR: Duval Kamara, SOPH
TE: Will Yeatman, JR / Mike Ragone SOPH
LT: Sam Young, JR
LG: Eric Olsen, JR
C: Dan Wenger, JR
RG: Mike Turkovich, SR
RT: Chris Stewart, JR
K: Brandon Walker, SOPH

O-Line

The first thing that stood out to me when I read this was the experience at the O-Line. The group somewhat lacks a senior presence, but having a starting line that consists of all upperclassman should give ND a decided advantage in the trenches compared to last season. Senior Mike Turkovich was nasty and aggressive at times last year, and Olsen, Wenger, and Stewart all showed that they have the necessary combination of skill and desire to be effective. With three year starter Sam Young protecting Jimmy's blind side, this group has a lot of good potential for the next season; the challenge will be if they can learn to play together, something that the 2007 squad was largely unable to accomplish. The Rock Report emphasized the need for experienced depth and talent (to increase competition), and it looks like the right tackle position will be full of competition this year. Rising senior Paul Duncan will challenge Planet Stewart, causing both athletes to work harder.

Time to get physical, men

Running Back:

Hughes was good at the end of '07, but the question is will a healthy Aldridge with two years of experience win the job? My guess is that the starting job is James' to lose; Allen will be used for speed and Hughes for hands on 3rd down situations (or goal line sets), but Weis has said before that he thinks Aldridge is the 'most complete' halfback. I personally believe that we have yet to see Aldridge at 100%, and I'm hoping that he can find a way to take advantage of a better offensive line next season.

Receiver:

The receivers will need to step up in '08 if the passing game is to improve. I agree that the starting two will be Kamara and Grimes, but as a senior, Grimes will need to show that he can be a consistent target. Duval will look to build off of an impressive freshman campaign, but Robby Parris should enter with a chip on his shoulder, and don't be surprised if he rebounds for a big year. Another issue will be if coach Ianello can groom Golden Tate into the playmaker we saw against Purdue. Incoming freshman Michael Floyd will look to get in the mix, but unless he has an incredible summer, expect to see more of Grimes Parris and Kamara for the first few games.

Tight End:

ND lost one of its biggest offensive threats in John Carlson (who is still projected as a dark horse first round pick), but what the Irish lost in playmaking, they made up for in Nastieness. Yeatman is a physical blocker who will add to the run game, and I distinctly remember him making some physical receptions in 2007. Young gun Mike Ragone and incoming 5 star recruit Kyle Rudolph will get chances to prove themselves when Weis runs the double tight and some goal line packages, but Yeatman will get most of the action; he's one of the players I expect to have a breakthrough year.

I think you hear him comin'

Kicking:

I think this is another crap shoot, and quite honestly, I wouldn't be too surprised to see a walk-on get a few looks at this position. I hope that Brandon Walker will get rid of his butterflies next year. Who knows? Once he gets a good off season of lifting in him, the Irish may just be able to attempt 41 yarders this year.

"Wait a minute?" you ask, "Notre Dame has the top ranked recruiting class this season. Why aren't there any freshman in the starting lineup?"

While I was a huge critic of Clausen at times last year, and I think very highly of some incoming players like Michael Floyd, I don't think many freshman will immediately see the field on offense next year. Writer Shawn Courchesne put together a nice article about Zach Frazer and the UConn practice squad, describing the importance of the scout team. Last season, the Irish were so thin at so many positions that they couldn't afford to run very physical practices, and the starters weren't able to get many good looks at opposing schemes before they played against them. This year, the star studded freshman class should be able to give the defense pretty good looks while the newbies can adjust to the college game and get a chance to develop before they are thrown into the fire of a live game.