Update: The State of ND Football

Ok, a somewhat-quick update to the state of Notre Dame football. I'll essentially go through four things.

There's a lot of news right now surrounding Notre Dame football. First, Jimmy Clausen, Gary Grey, and Armando Allen have enrolled early and started classes. Essentially, this means they will be available for Spring drills and get the extra fifteen practices allowed by the NCAA as well as become adjusted to college life now as opposed to next football season when their time management skills will be truly tested. This is huge for next season as Clausen will need the time to adapt to the offense and the all the young QB's need as many reps as possible. Fifteen practices may sound like a small number but a great deal of improvement can occur in that time. Once Allen is healthy (broken leg) he will also begin getting valuable reps. This also means they can get in the weight room with Mendoza and start building much needed strength and stamina.

Additionally, there is news on the coaching front. Although much of this is speculation, I believe things will be finalized soon. I expect two or three changes to take place. First, Peter Vaas will no longer be the QB coach. I'm not certain, but the word on the street is that he and Rick Minter (at least as defensive coordinator) have been let go. It is suspected that Ron Powlus will fill Vaas' vacancy. Minter may, however, stay on to coach the linebackers. Minter's replacement is Corwin Brown, a former Michigan safety, NFL veteran, and current secondary coach of the New York Jets. If you would like a look at his background there is a good little summary here but I'll discuss his past a little below. I believe Brown will replace Bill Lewis as our secondary coach (I think he's retiring) and take over for Minter as the defensive coordinator. Consequently, if Minter remains as the linebacker coach we won't need to fill another vacancy. If the name Corwin Brown sounds familiar there is good reason for it. In the 1992 Michigan-Notre Dame game there is an infamous run by Reggie Brooks in which he gets knocked out as he crosses the goal line and scores. Corwin Brown is the Michigan player who whiffed trying to tackle Brooks before he scored.

Now, in my opinion, there are good and bad things about these coaching changes. First, I think Powlus will be a good fit. He has been at ND as a student, player, and employer. He understands the school and its mission, the pressure of being the ND QB, and is a student of the game. His first hand experience will be invaluable for our young QB's and their maturity. While he lacks experience in the X's and O's and (potentially) the detailed mechanics of coaching a QB, Weis will compensate for that. By all accounts Vaas didn't work as diligently as Weis expected and having worked with Powlus first hand I'm sure Weis knows better about what kind of effort to expect from him. Quinn may not have needed all the extra attention, coaching, motivation, etc. but these young guys will.

I have mixed emotions about Minter. I've been on the fence about him and his performance all year long (and last season as well). I'm still not certain he is entirely to blame for our lack of "improvement" in defense. I use that word with quotations because, believe it or not, the defense did statistically improve under him from the before he took over to last year and from last year to this. The big plays, however, are inexcusable and with so many people close to the program insisting this is a function of his complex defensive scheme, it's difficult not to listen. Weis insisted he simplify things this year but perhaps he still didn't make enough progress in that area. I don't understand how his scheming could have worked at Cincinnati and South Carolina and not Notre Dame.

As for Brown, I don't like the idea of hiring a first time defensive coordinator at a big name program like ND where he will face some of the best offenses in the country. It isn't that he doesn't know X's and O's, it is that he doesn't have the experience, doesn't know first-hand how the operation works, how to prepare for an opponent, how to chart tendencies, when to gamble with the blitz, how to be the primary architect of a defensive scheme, etc. It's a tall order for someone to learn that in their first season playing the schedule we will play next year with the athletes we have on that side of the ball. This is quite a large gamble on Weis' part. There are rumors out there that Weis spoke with Jim Mora (former Atlanta Falcons head coach), Dewayne Walker (UCLA defensive coordinator) and possibly even Bo Pelini (LSU defensive coordinator).

Having said that, his past is intimately linked with Weis (Brown played on Weis coached Jets and Patriots teams) so much that Weis definitely knows what he is getting. Furthermore, the Jets head coach and defensive coordinator incessantly praise Brown and give him credit for the defensive success of that team. He was also rumored to be an excellent recruiter while working with Al Groh down at Virginia. As this is an area in which Minter struggled, this improvement should go a long way. This is especially true recruiting defensive talent as Brown played in the NFL and, like Weis, knows what it takes and has connections in The League. Brown is also from Chicago. With our recent struggles securing top talent out of that city competing with Illinois, etc. Brown should also help. I'm sure all of this is a strategic move by Weis to upgrade the talent on defense.

Finally, there is news as to which players are returning for their fifth year of eligibility and which players are going to the draft. Essentially everyone who could come back for a fifth year is coming back. Zibi, Trevor Laws, John Carlson, Travis Thomas, John Sullivan, Joe Brockington, Geoff Price, and Ambrose Wooden are all coming back. That makes for a lot of needed experience with a very young (especially on offense) team. What seemed to surprise a lot of people is Darius Walker's early departure for the NFL. I can't say I'm shocked. While I believe it hurts the development of our new QB (a back like him releasing as a safety valve is invaluable) I think it is the best decision for him. He is an outstanding student, will graduate soon, was going to be pushed for playing time next year, and went out on a high note with his performance in the first half against LSU. He's not an every down back in the NFL so he would likely go the same place in the draft this year and/or next. This will also open the way for our younger players in the backfield to get some experience.

In recruiting news we aren't making a lot of progress. We may not get any more commitments this year and that is quite disturbing given the fact that we desperately need an impact linebacker, safety, and defensive tackle. Getting a commit like Major Wright would go a long way but still not salvage the losses of Will Blackwell and Lorenzo Edwards. We need to upgrade the defensive talent badly.

I guess that's about it from my perspective. I may update this once Weis' press conference comes out.