Spring Practice Update I

I just wanted to write a few things regarding spring practice this year. I've watched several days of practice video. Much of it is just the first twenty minutes of practice consisting of stretching and drills. However, last Saturday the entire practice was open to the media. Much of what I write here will be based on what I saw in those bits of video in addition to what I've read on the Internet and Weis' comments from his press conferences.

Let me state up front that I by no means assume this to be an accurate account of the state of ND football. It is difficult to sufficiently glean nearly anything substantial from what is out there. Weis runs a pretty tight ship in terms of what he lets get to the media and I don't blame him. I'll discuss a bit about Weis (and Bill Lewis), the offense, and the defense. This will be mostly a stream of consciousness type of thing. Finally, let's remember that we are nearly five months away from our first game.

Weis

It seems that Weis is too comfortable. I previously wrote that I believed we were nasty and intelligent the first year of Weis' tenure but not as much last year. It seems like we don't have that any more. I'm all about having fun at practice (which is what seems to be going on), but where is the business-like attitude? We don't have the athletes (yet) to have much room for error and we certainly don't have the experience. I feel like Weis isn't imposing a sense of urgency like he should. On top of that, he has made comments about using different quarterbacks in different situations. To me, that is a terrible idea. I know, I know, look at how well it worked for Florida last year. But show me that one time it was successful and I'll show you a dozen when it wasn't. I like his general approach to the quarterback selection process: see who can run the offense, then make the reads, then get the accuracy of the throws, but I think not having one guy, one leader, is divisive for the team.

Bill Lewis

I have to give Bill Lewis a shout here because the guy never shuts up during practice. From the moment the players arrive until they leave he is constantly coaching. Even during stretching he is going to players to work with them on certain things. We are fortunate to have him.

Offense

Quarterbacks

If we had a game tomorrow I believe Sharpley would start. He knows the offense, has command of the huddle, and is proficient enough throwing the ball that we could be successful provided we had a decent running game to take pressure off the passing game, help keep the defense off the field, and slow the game down. The place where we would hurt would be in third and long situations. However, I have a feeling that is going to be problematic for us all year.

Clausen, I believe, is right behind him. His release is super quick, his accuracy (at least on the short and intermediate throws which is all I have see him make) is dead on, and his polish is superb. If he had more time in the offense I believe he would be the hands down winner. The problem is that he doesn't know the reads, the checks, etc. and doesn't have the trust of the other players (or Weis). Between now and next fall that may change.

Frazer looks the part but he seems to have problems with leading receivers on his throws. He has a cannon for an arm and has the strength to make all the throws but the physical tools seem to be where the positives stop. In another system where a coach paid more attention to a backup quarterback and their development he might have a shot at becoming a good quarterback but I don't see it happening here.

Jones, to me, looks the worst of all four quarterbacks. I was rooting for him as the starter because I like his ability to create with his athleticism. However, his throwing motion is terrible, he is frequently grossly inaccurate, and he doesn't seem to have particular control of the team. This doesn't seem to be the general indication of his performance from the media and Weis so it could be that I just caught some bad clips.

One final note about the quarterback situation. If one quarterback is able to separate themselves from the rest of the pack I would expect (at least) one of the others to transfer (or go to another sport in the case of Sharpley). Weis is a one quarterback type of guy and with the limited time and practice constraints he doesn't seem to be too keen on working much with the number two and three guys. If one of the younger guys gets the nod and plays well or even sufficient, I would expect him to be the starter for a while to come (barring injury of course).

Carlson

I didn't give any other individual their own category but Carlson deserves it. He looks to be 20-25 pounds bigger than last year and he hasn't lost a step. In fact, he may be slightly faster. He looks much stronger on his blocking and I think we will see him be a receiver like he was last year and a blocker like Fasano was the year before.

Offensive Line

I have to admit I haven't seen much to form an opinion on the offensive line. The word on the street is that they are playing well and that there is a lot to be happy about. I will say this, Sam Young isn't human. I've never seen someone so large have so much agility and quickness.

Running Backs

Travis Thomas and James Aldridge look very similar running the ball. Thomas seems to have a little better acceleration while Aldridge seems to have a little better "top speed." Both look very physical and you can tell the difference between Aldridge now and a year ago. He looks much stronger in the lower body and much less timid. I can't see Weis not playing them both a significant portion.

This just in, Armando Allen is fast, and quick, and fast. During the running back drills he makes the other backs look slow when they are cutting. And the great thing about him is that he doesn't seem to need to gain size or strength like most freshmen playing a skill position. Luke Schmidt had a nice off-season adding quite a bit of weight (~20-25 lbs) and improving his upper body strength. He doesn't seem to have slowed down much either. Schwaap is getting back into a rhythm coming back from his injury. The bottom line is that we look very deep at running back and we should be productive if for nothing else but having fresh legs throughout the game.

Recievers

Weis has said that Grimes is the clear number one while George West has established himself as the number two guy. I believe we need someone else to step up. It isn't that I don't like short receivers but having two guys that are less than 5"10' doesn't help the vertical passing game. Carlson will alleviate some of that but we need someone on the outside for the jump balls a la Samardzija and Stovall. Small receivers like Grimes and West also typically have problems with beating press coverage. Rhema and Samardzija had issues with this last year and the results were catastrophic for our offense. Their problems, however, were in gaining separation from the defensive backs after the initial push at the line of scrimmage. West and Grimes problem will likely be more related to the physical play at the line inherent when facing bump-and-run coverage.

Having a consistent running game will help take the pressure off the passing game and alleviate some of the need to go downfield as much but I still believe we need a third receiver with some size. That said, I'm not sure there are many defensive backs out there that can cover West one-on-one provided he can get off the line. He is lightning quick. The one disappointment thus far of the spring practice (as far as I am concerned) has been D. J. Hord. Hord has the tools to be a very good receiver but he seems to be quite slow coming back from the Achilles tendon injury of last year.

Defense

Defensive Line

Like the offensive line, I haven't been able to get much from what I've seen on the defensive line. It does, however, appear that Kuntz is the leading candidate for the nose tackle position. This could be problematic as he doesn't have superior size or quickness to be a dominant force in the inside. Playing on the inside of a 3-4 (which I think is really a 5-2 with stand-up ends) you want a nose tackle who is big and strong or small and quick. Either way they need to be able to play both A-gaps and stuff the inside run while simultaneously providing sufficient pass rush up the middle. One bright spot has been Kallen Wade. He has put on about 40 lbs since arriving on campus. He really looks completely transformed. Weis mentioned he will get even bigger and I think once he gets to the right size and gets some explosiveness and speed he could be a dandy.

Secondary

Ambrose Wooden simply amazes me. The guy has all of the natural athletic ability in the world. He just can't get the mental part of playing corner down. He has the quickness and the speed. He just doesn't play fundamentally sound enough to be a dominant defensive back. And it isn't because of a lack of effort either. Lambert looks like he may have gotten a little bigger but he hasn't lost any speed and he is just as physical. Bruton can cover a lot of ground and at 6"2' he has the size to be a good center fielder. All in all I would say the secondary look good in practice but I can't tell if they really look good or if our receivers look bad. With history as hindsight I'm leaning towards the latter.

Linebackers

Our linebacker play looks to have improved...some. Both Toryan Smith and Maurice Richardson look much better than last year. Richardson is un-blockable when he's coming off the edge. He has too much speed for a guy his size. Opposing quarterbacks better learn to step up into the pocket or they are in trouble because there aren't many offensive tackles that will be able to block him. Smith looks like he wants to kill someone every time he hits them. I said when we signed him that he hits like Zach Thomas and so far he hasn't disappointed. He plays with tremendous leverage. The one guy who has disappointed me somewhat is John Ryan. He doesn't play with much speed or intensity and often times looks out of position, lost, or not knowing what he is supposed to be doing.

Things I'd Like To See Next Year

Call it an early Christmas wish list. With so many people out there talking about what they would like to see from the Irish next year I thought I'd like to take a stab. From what I've read out there the wish lists are mostly on the surface of the program. People are talking about getting a kickoff return for a touchdown, not moving Zibi to linebacker, etc. I want to delve a little more deeply into it. I'm going to break it down into offense, then defense, and then I'll have a little grab bag section with some venting. There won't be a lot of writing on here until Spring practice starts. As such, feel free to get some dialogue going relative to what I have written here.

First I would just like to say that I think the offense and defense we run this year will look nothing like the past two seasons. I say that for several reasons. On the offensive side of the ball Weis' playbook is so expansive that you can see, from game to game, the different looks we employ. He has everything you could want in this offense but he only uses the parts of it he believes are appropriate for the personnel he currently has. He also scales it to the ability of the QB to handle it. Next year we will have no proven receiver, a completely different set of running backs (in terms of style) from Darius, and a QB as green as you get in college football. Weis will do whatever he needs to cater our offense to get the best from his personnel. Next season we will have a ton of talent at running back and tight end. As such, expect to see multiple tight end sets and for him to use a running back by committee system even though he says he doesn't believe in it. On defense we will be different not only in scheme but also in the way we play. Brown has a fiery personality and he believes in playing hard and aggressively. I expect to see players like Neal, Richardson, Smith, etc. paying off on blitzes or I expect to see us not blitz at all. I don't think he is the type that will stick with something that isn't working. And I do think he is the type that will get to the QB with his blitz packages. If I have to see another DB coming off the outside and leaving our secondary in one-on-one coverage without getting to the opposing QB I might puke.

Offense

1. The first thing I would like to see more of next year is a consistent running game. I'm not talking about any of our backs in particular getting more carries, I just want our running game to be consistently good. And that goes for all types of runs: zone stretch plays, isolation plays, draws, and downhill off-tackle plays. I think it will be critical for us to be able to convert short yardage situations via the run to take some pressure off our QB's. And with backs like Thomas, Hughes, and Aldridge we have the horses to do it.

2. Point two goes hand-in-hand with point 1. Last season I wrote an article about the offensive line play (link here) and all of the ways it contributed to poor overall team performance. Weis has been high on the young guys on the line in recent press conferences so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I think consistent, more physical offensive line play will be essential to our success. Weis said in a recent press conference that physical play will be the emphasis of the spring. I hope this manifests itself primarily on the offensive line and defensive front seven.

3. Space, I want to see it. Weis' offensive philosophy is heavily predicated on stretching the field, spreading the ball around, and making the defense defend everyone on every play. I love it, it's great. But I would like to see all of these playmakers get the ball out in some space. Let's get these guys with speed (West, Allen, Prince, et. al.) out in the open field with the ball and see if they can make someone miss and take it to the house. Last year it really chapped me when Weis said that wasn't really what the offense was geared towards (link here)

4. With the lack of receiver production returning it will be imperative that more than a single receiver step up. That goes without saying. What is (perhaps) more important in my eyes will be for someone to step up as a downfield threat. Obviously the lack of experience at this position will show in terms of route running, knowing the offense, and catching the ball. However, Brady missed Stovall last season and whoever starts at QB for us in the Fall will miss all of the downfield threat(s) we have had over the past two seasons. Having Carlson back is good, but tight end play action routes down the middle of the field don't do much if you don't have someone on the outside the defense is worried about. I look for Richard Jackson to provide this as he loves to go up after the ball when it is in the air and has good size and speed.

Defense

1. First and foremost better secondary play is essential to more success on defense. I believe the improvements need to occur in two primary phases. First, we need to be better on third down so we can get off the field. And second, we need to minimize the number of deep balls we give up. For the former point 2. below will come into play. The latter can be improved with simplified schemes, more conservative playcalling, and better coaching. I was very high on Bill Lewis when he came in but we haven't improved much in the secondary beyond making Lambert a decent player. It is possible that Minter left us out to dry too often by having us cover one-on-one out on an island. I don't think I see Brown doing that quite so often but I hope he and Lewis work better than Minter and Lewis did. We need more cohesiveness on the field in our secondary. We also need far fewer mental mistakes.

2. We have to be able to get after the QB on obvious passing downs. I don't care how we do it, whether it be with outside linebacker pressure, Zibi, coming off the corner, it doesn't matter to me. I just want it to happen. As stated above, we blitzed too many times and too ineffectively last year. Many times it resulted in big plays for the opposition.

3. I want to see one of these talented corners pay off. Let's see Walls, McNeil, or Grey line up opposite Lambert and shut people down. Teams that are effective blitzing have lockdown corners that can play press-man coverage. All three of these guys are supposed to be able to do that so hopefully at least one will pay off. I know they are young and mistakes will be made but let's see some evidence of talent out there.

4. Even though I've listed it as number four, I think this is more important than anything save the last point on defense noted below. We need more physical play from our linebackers. And that physical play should be evident in three primary areas: stuffing the run, shedding blocks, and aggressive pursuit to the outside. I want to see a linebacker stand a running back up in a hole a la Stonebreaker. I want to see a linebacker pursuing a running back to the sideline and destroy him when he cuts back because a corner turned him inside. And I want to see us get off blocks from offensive lineman and fullbacks to get to the ball carrier. It really isn't asking that much, it's pretty standard linebacker play, but it will only come with a combination of talent and attitude...

5. ...leading me to my final point. I want us to have eleven hats on every ball. Doing that makes good things happen. No one wants to carry the ball or catch a pass if they have eleven gold helmets coming right for their chest. There is nothing more demoralizing to a ball carrier than a defense that stops at nothing to get to you. And I'm not saying we didn't play hard last year. To the contrary, I think we certainly did. But this is in addition to playing hard. This is an attitude. And trust me, it works. On top of demoralizing the offensive players it also allows for more attempts at stripping the ball and forcing turnovers. Defenders can play the ball more aggressively when they know there are ten other defensive players around the ball to make the tackle if they miss.

Grab Bag

Since the end of the season I got used to not hearing about how great Troy Smith was. He was never on any teams draft boards due to his size and perceived inability to effectively read defenses. Some NFL scouts didn't even have him ranked in the top ten QB's available in the draft. Others looked at him as a wide receiver a la Randle El. I still don't understand how someone can be the most outstanding player in college football and not even get drafted in the top five at his position. I guess, given the recent performance of Calvin Johnson at the NFL combine, I was wrong about him being the best player in the country last year. Be that as it may, some people like Stewart Mandel (link here) are still on their knees about Smith. Like I said, it's ok to be convicted of assault, accept money from a booster, and get expelled from high school if you become a good college football player and win the Heisman.

On top of that, I'm so sick of hearing about Russell vs. Quinn. Russell is a very talented athlete that is a good QB at best. He is overweight and the perception that he is a tremendously accurate passer is an overstatement. Yes, he can throw the ball a million yards. So can Michael Vick. Yes, he had quite a large yard per pass average. He had three receivers with exceptional speed. He had tons of talent around him and, despite what people would have you think, played against relatively poor competition. In the big games against big teams this past season (Auburn, Florida, et. al.) he was very mediocre. Brady Quinn's stats are very good against top 35 defenses over the past two seasons including ~60% completion percentage, and a 3 to 1 TD to interception ratio. That isn't to say that Quinn isn't flawed, but putting up 24 reps off 225 on the bench press is unheard of for a QB. Now who wants it more?

Notre Dame Football Recruiting

Well, today is national signing day. While we thought we were going to get 21 in this class, losing three players (Greg and Chris Little and Justin Trattou) in the last month left us with 18. It hurt to lose those three, particularly Greg Little and Justin Trattou, but it is still a solid class. On the offensive side of the ball, it is pretty dang stellar, on the defensive side of the ball, it leaves a lot to be desired. Some will point to the fact that we only got one five star player but I don't buy into those rankings as much as looking at which schools recruited the kids we inked. The fact that we lost three players is indication enough to me that they were all very coveted and that other schools wouldn't stop recruiting them.

To be honest I thought we needed more like 23-25 kids in this class. We lack bodies and depth, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and that will show in the next couple of years (Weis addressed this in his press conference but he also said that he thought we were very close to being where we should be in terms of scholarships and numbers. Perhaps he is more optimistic than I, perhaps he is presenting a unified front of confidence as he always does, or perhaps I am just plain wrong.). That said, if a kid wavers or decommits I don't want him. That is especially true of Greg and Chris Little who essentially changed their minds at the last minute. At a place like ND I feel that they have to be completely on board, totally committed, and really want to be a part of the excellent football and academic tradition we offer. Someone who can't keep their word doesn't fall into that category in my book. Weis even said it in his press conference: "But when it's all said and done, at the end of the day, you want guys that want to be here. You don't want guys that don't want to be here. You want guys that want to be part of Notre Dame. I'd rather have 18 guys that want to be members of the Fighting Irish than 20 of them that two are walking in the door saying, I don't know if I made the right decision or not." Seems like a direct reference to the Little's.

One thing that really stuck out to me reading Weis' press conference was how many coaches he seems to know and how many of his former players he uses as connections. Weis' seems to really be trying to get through to these young players via their coaches and using his extensive network and coaching links to not only learn about players who are legitimately good but to also get them interested in ND football and his program. He repeatedly thanked the high school coaches in helping get the players to come to us. I'm quite impressed by his effort in this area.

I'll talk about the offense in general, address each player, the defense in general, address each player, and then have some general comments below.

Offense

On offense we really racked up some good prospects. Losing Greg Little hurt because he had the potential to be a game changer but we have quite a few bodies at wide receiver and I have to think he noticed that and it played into his decision. We, for the most part, filled our needs. We let two very good wide receivers get away (Little and Benn) but that is about the only place we came up short. Here is what I think about each of the recruits.

Armando Allen
This kid is a game changer. He can flat out fly. Weis said it in his press conference and mentioned possibly using him as a receiver. At the Army All-American Combine he made the other premier offensive and defensive skill players in the country look slow by torching everyone's 40 time. He is legitimately fast, he has surprising strength for his size, he is shifty, and he seems to be genuinely interested in helping bring ND back to the elite in football. Go search on his name at YouTube and you can spend an entire afternoon watching his highlight real. Bottom line is that he is a gamebreaker. He didn't play last year due to a broken fibula but all reports are that he is progressing well in his rehab and will be available for spring practice.

Jimmy Clausen
Well, the Golden Boy lived up to the hype at the Army All-American game and practices. Many times I fear these kids aren't as good as advertised because of the talent they play with and the level of competition they play against. In Clausen's case that doesn't seem to be true. Even though his high school team is loaded with talent and he never lost a game, he is still the real deal. He has a super quick release, great accuracy, the ability to create, throws excellent on the run, is competitive as hell, and is a born leader. I'm not going to predict two Heisman's (Beano) but he is going to be good. I'd like to see Demetrius get the start over him this year just because of his athleticism but I have a feeling it is going to be difficult to keep Clausen off the field.

Taylor Dever
Even though he is rated as a three star offensive line prospect I think he will be better than advertised. This kid has a huge upside and the list of other schools recruiting him was a veritable who's who. He can play guard or tackle and I think he will be able to play early.

Robert Hughes
This may be my favorite recruit in this class. He has excellent hands receiving out of the backfield, is as strong as an ox, and loves to run over people. I think he is of the Ray Zellars mold. That doesn't mean he can't make people miss or get to the corner, but his specialty is just running over folks. Statements like "I take it personally when a single person brings me down." and "It's just my attitude, I don't like to get tackled, I punish people." is enough for me to love him. Watching film of this guy makes me want to go hit someone. I think he will be great near the goal line, be great in pass protection, and be a nice compliment to Allen. With Hughes and Allen in this class and Prince and Aldridge in last year's, we have hauled in two consecutive classes of running backs that have speed and power. That kind of depth development should not go unnoticed.

Duval Kamara
When you're compared to Dwayne Jarrett that can't be a bad thing. Kamara has the size to be a big time receiver. Combine that with surprising quickness and speed and it spells nightmares for defenses. He is definitely of the Stovall mold. I think Kamara can contribute immediately in our receiving corps.

Andrew Nuss and Emeka Nwankwo
I think both of these offensive lineman recruits are going to start on the defensive side of the ball. Both are big bodies, both played defense in high school, and we have a glaring need along our defensive line. To be honest, I really don't know that much about these two except that they are versatile and Weis targeted them both due to their versatility to play on both sides of the ball. Both also prefer to play defense first.

Mike Ragone
Ragone is John Carlson all over again...but with more speed. The kid can really run. His ability to stretch the field is perfect for Weis' offensive system. He is the second straight top TE recruit in the country we have nabbed due in no small part to Carlson and Fasano's success. In this offense having tight ends like Reuland and Ragone who can line up in the slot and spread the field are invaluable. I think he is going to be really, really good. There was even a rumor out there that he ran over one of the current USC safeties when they played in high school last year. When asked about it Ragone said he didn't run over him, he ran around him. He was recruited very hard by USC right up until the end but stayed loyal.

Matt Romine
Romine is going to be very, very good. He is a prototypical left tackle who can play opposite Young (although some have speculated Young will move to left tackle) and provide great protection to our QB's. He was consistently rated as the best offensive lineman at the Army All-American game practices all week this year and that speaks volumes. He was also selected as a captain by his teammates. He is a very solid addition to our offensive line class from last year and I think he has the ability to play early.

Golden Tate
I don't know much about Tate except that he is a great athlete. Weis even said he is as good of an athlete as he has seen. If anything is true in football it is that good coaches take great athletes and make them into good football players. Let's see if Weis and his staff can do this. I believe we will use him at wideout and his speed will be very valuable. He is a little on the small side but he makes up for it with his speed and quickness. The great thing about him that Weis noted was that he is the perfect complement to Kamara. Duval is more of the down the field, Maurice Stovall, possession receiver while Tate is more of the shifty, arrow route, get the ball in his hands in open field type.

Brandon Walker
I don't know all that much about Walker either. Weis said he wouldn't have brought him in if he didn't think he could compete immediately. He was committed to Louisville but opened up his search after Petrino left. Seems to have a lively leg (can we get some touchbacks please?) and should push Burkhart for playing time. It's astonishing to me that we can't get a good, consistent kicker to come to ND.

Defense

To be perfectly honest, I think our defensive recruiting class was a near disaster. While we got a handful of guys I think can contribute, we missed out on a lot of big time targets, didn't fill needs, and really didn't help ourselves in a lot of places. A Wilson, Austin, Barksdale, Blackwell, Donald, Edwards and/or Peters would have gone a long way to help us. (That said, I do think Weis and the staff have continued to bring in people that can get after the passer). I don't really understand why we can't get these top players to come to ND given the fact that most of them could play early. It isn't due to a lack of effort, Weis recruited them all hard and he's not afraid to try, I think they just want to go to a program with proven defensive success. While Weis can turn offensive players into first round draft picks we don't have a history of it on the other side of the ball.

All indications point to Corwin Brown really being able to address this in the future as he is a supposed to be a great recruiter. Hopefully he will be a great coach and address the disparity between our offensive and defensive draft success noted above. But the lack of defensive talent and depth will continue to show itself against top offensive teams. It is really a too little too late type of thing. This is the second most concerning thing to me about this recruiting class (the first will be discussed below).

Gary Gray
Perhaps the most impressive recruit on defense, Gray is of the McNeil and Walls mold. He is a lock-down corner with great coverage skills and excellent speed. The three of them should really, really help in our secondary in the coming years. Having a great man coverage corner is invaluable and all three fit the bill on paper.

Aaron Nagel
Nagel could be the second surprise of this defensive class (the first being Kerry Neal). He is a tough kid, loves to hit, and plays with a very high motor. He has the size and speed to really be effective on the inside of a 3-4 (Which, by the way, isn't really what Corwin is going to run. To set the record straight we are running a 4-3 under/over defense which is essentially a 4-3 with 3 lineman and 4 linebackers. This is an attempt to get more speed and athleticism on the field. Instead of having the smaller, quicker outside linebackers the outside linebackers are bigger and more able to create an outside pass rush. The inside linebackers become the ones that run to the ball as they are covered from the offensive line and fullback on isolation plays via the defensive down lineman. The downside is a lack of size that can show up against a more physical, power running game. The upside is that nearly no one these days runs a physical, power running game as the primary component of their offense.) and is also very intelligent. I see him being a blue-collar player for us and someone that could significantly contribute down the road.

Kerry Neal
The word on Neal is that he is a sleeper. The kid is being touted as the definitive answer to our outside pass rush need. He is quick as hell off the ball and has tons of upside. I look forward to seeing him play on the weak side of the line. He could also play in the linebacking corps although I don't see him being moved from the defensive line (even though Weis mentioned it) where we have so little depth. The great thing about Neal is that after we nabbed him people started taking a closer look and realizing how good he really could/will be. Then the other offers and continued recruiting from other schools started. According to Weis, he never wavered.

Steve Paskorz
Paskorz is another blue-collar kid of the Nagel mold. He doesn't have the speed of Nagel, or the size really, but he is definitely tough. I don't really know where he will line up for the Irish but his toughness will not go unnoticed.

Brian Smith
Smith is kind of a unique recruit. We stole him away from Iowa. I guess Minter didn't think he had it but Brown does. It is probably more accurate to say that Minter didn't feel he fit into the 4-3 while Brown feels he does fit into his system. He started out being a fairly low rated recruit but as this year progressed people got higher and higher on him. It isn't hard to see why watching film of him. The kid can run, especially for someone his size. And I think he is a great fit at outside linebacker for the 3-4-ish type system Brown is going to run. Even though we lost out on a lot of top defensive linebacker recruits, Smith is an admirable replacement. His father also played at ND.

Harrison Smith
I think Harrison Smith has the potential to be a gold mine. I wasn't that high on him initially but after watching film of him and reading some more the kid is a great center fielder for the defense. He has very good speed (in the 4.3-ish 40 range), very good instincts, and the height to be able to compete for the long ball against tall receivers. I think he is a great steal from the heart of Volunteer country.

Ian Williams
The fact that Florida wouldn't let Williams off their radar right up to the last minute tells me he can play. In fact, he may be able to play right away. He is the perfect NT for the 3-4, big, strong, explosive, and quick off the ball. I think he will surprise quite a few people with his pure athletic ability even though he wasn't rated extremely high by most recruiting services.

General Comments

I have to make some general comments because the state of college football recruiting really got to me this year. This is really my primary concern as stated above. Schools and coaches don't honor verbal commitments and keep going after kids right up until the last minute. And what is worse, they are applauded for it. I bet you can find ten articles saying how great Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Butch Davis, et. al. are as recruiters to one concerned about their ethics employed in the recruiting process. We are turning 17 and 18 year old kids into icons and adding to the confusion associated with this whole process. It's tough enough to make a decision about where to go to college without having the added pressure of these coaches calling and texting all the time. We fuel the egotistical nature of many of these recruits and then get upset when they change their minds on some nationally televised press-conference.

I'm not just saying this because it hurt us this year. And I think we are partially guilty of it too (in the case of Brian Smith and perhaps by Vaas link here). I just think that a little more moral culpability would go a long way. I don't want to be viewed as a school who goes behind peoples' backs to steal a kid away from them. I don't want a football player who was committed to another school to come to ND. Our students and athletes need to be on board 100% from the get-go. Weis even talked about this in his press conference. He said he is going to make a more concerted effort next year to let everyone involved understand much more what a "commitment" means: no talking to other schools, no taking more unofficial visits, no silent commits or soft verbals. In fact, what I want is summed up perfectly below in an excerpt from Rivals.

I've been reading a lot of the posts about commitments, visits, etc. I just wanted to share things from our experience and our perspective a bit. I personally think it's a shame that college coaches continue to go after kids once they've committed. If you send your sons to a program, you certainly hope that that program will instill character and values into your boy as much as they develop them as a football player. It may be the way most programs do things these days, but it's difficult for me to understand how you can respect the integrity of a program who from the beginning encourages, entices, and even pressures an 18-year old to violate his word.

With that said, XXX was recruited by a lot of schools and has been contacted by schools since committing to XXX. For example, just this past week, XXX offered him a scholarship and called me at home and came by the school the next day to try and get him to visit that weekend. His response to these programs has been, "I'm sorry, but I am committed to XXX and that is a commitment I intend to keep. No thanks!"

There were a lot of things that XXX and my wife and I liked about XXX, but the one thing that made them stand out above every other program was the staff's emphasis on character and integrity. It was very clearly at the forefront of every facet of the program. There was no pressure, no hard sell--everything was presented very straightforward--the good, the bad, and the ugly--with the attitude of, "These are the things that our program is all about. If you think this is what you're looking for, then we'd love to have you. If not, then we wish you the very best of luck wherever you go."

It took the first evening with the coaches and players for XXX to decide that he was going to commit to XXX and he didn't care what other programs offered. When we were in the office with Coach XXX one-on-one and XXX told him that if the offer was on the table, then he wanted was ready to commit.

Coach XXX responded, very patiently, that he should be absolutely certain that he was ready to commit before doing so because he was giving his word to the team and it had ramifications for a lot of other recruits, players, etc. He told him that a commitment meant that he was removing himself from the recruiting process--no more visits or shopping yourself around--and that his position was no longer available to other recruits. He told him that in exchange, XXX's commitment to him could be considered in stone; they did not pull the rug out from under committed recruits (like I know some other programs do). On the other hand, if he decided to make other visits after committing to XXX, then his scholarship would once again be available and they would look for a replacement.

My point here is that Coach XXX, a man who I only dealt with for three days but gained tremendous respect for, went out of his way to make sure that XXX was ready to commit before doing so. I'm sure that all recruits are treated similarly.

The exclamation point to all of this is that Coach XXX also pointed out that his program has not and never will go after committed players. I think, and so did XXX obviously, that this foundation of integrity is what will make XXX a (XXX Conference) champion soon. Coach XXX summarized it very well when he told us, "I'm here to build a program, not a team." I believe that he understands that a kid who is committed from the beginning will demonstrate that same commitment during his four or five years with that program. It may be painful to watch a talented kid move on to a more high-profile program or see him replaced by someone with "fewer stars," but in the end that approach is going to pay off for this program in the form of dedicated athletes who are committed to XXX and committed to winning.

These are just my thoughts on the whole issue I see coming up a lot on the boards about the recruiting/commitment.

That is how I want ND football to be characterized. Another good example is here.

Make no mistake about it, I believe Weis genuinely cares about these kids, developing them as young men, and their ability to contribute to society when football is no longer there for them. I also think that he needs to learn from this recruiting season to stick with them until the very end to make sure we get them to sign on the dotted line. That, along with playing it smarter, are areas he needs to improve. And I think he will as it seems that he took what happened this time around personally. But I pray and hope that we don't follow in the footsteps of Carroll, Meyer, and (Butch) Davis. I would never want my son playing for someone who encouraged them to break their word to another school to come to theirs and I don't want ND to be mentioned in the same sentence as other schools and coaching staffs who have little or no moral compass. And the excuse that it is acceptable to do it since other schools are doesn't sit with me.

The No Huddle Spread

My father has coached football for 30+ years (obviously this is where I get my extensive football knowledge). When he became a head coach we both sort of brainstormed to come up with an offense. It is primarily a pro-I offense where the flanker is in motion nearly every play. The idea is to utilize the different placement positions of the flanker via motion to create a different formation from the same starting point. This results in an additional blocker in many cases and the flanker is also used as a decoy. The pro-I forms the base of the offense. However, it is always prudent to have a hurry-up or no-huddle offense. Recently my father asked me to take a pass at a no-huddle or hurry-up offense.

A little explanation of my philosophy behind a no huddle offense is necessary. First, it should be of the same vein as the base offense. Two, it should be fairly simple both in the number of plays and in the variety of routes. This set of plays only employs a handful of routes: the out, short post/slant, post, bench, seam, lasso, and hook. Third, it should be able to attack all of the defenses it will likely face. For high school that would primarily be man, cover two, and cover three. Fourth, it should have an element of the run. Five, it should have some form of a screen play. And finally, it should be able to get to the sideline to stop the clock.

Here is likely what I would run, at a first glance, as a no huddle spread offense. Everything (but the players themselves) is drawn to scale and I have used the following nomenclature:

X - SE or #1 receiver
Y - FL or #2 receiver (even though I refer to Z as the flanker in the play names it is just because he is off the line)
Z - TE
W - FL or #3 receiver

Red indicates motion, blue the place the ball is designed to go, and the vertical black dashed lines are the hash marks.



Obviously this is more geared towards a no-huddle offense than a hurry up. The abundance of motion would slow the play execution tremendously (although in hurry up you could just line the Z receiver wherever the motion leads him). Additionally, it is run heavy and only has one play (#8) that goes explicitly for the sideline.

It is, however, highly effective against man and zone, has enough similar looks to be effective at confusing defenses, is versatile, and has a significant run presence. It has an answer for just about anything a defense would dial up.

That said, you can't do any of it if you can't protect the QB with six (5 OL + HB).

Weis Press Conference: Powlus and Brown

Well, I read most of the press conference concerning the new changes to the coaching staff and would like to give my take on it.

Weis said Minter and Vaas didn't have their contracts renewed. To me, that says two things. First, it says that they were essentially fired. And second, it says that Weis isn't going to put up with poor performance. Having only a two year contract means that you can be terminated in a relatively short time frame without the lingering effects of said performance lasting too long. It's cut-throat, I know, but if you want to win you have to be the best. A two year contract basically means you are interviewing again for your job at the end of it.

Second, I agree with what David said when he commented on my last article (link here), Powlus is going to be a killer hire. The things he said in the press conference have already shown me that he understands Notre Dame, the program, the pressure surrounding it, the way to bring along a QB, etc. Plus, he knows how to handle the media. Weis said Powlus has already earned his trust and that he believes it will be a good fit going into next season since a lot of time will be spent bringing the QBs along.

I like Corwin Brown more now than I did prior to this press conference. Weis diffused much of my angst by saying that he went to Groh, Belichick, Parcells, and Crennel and they all came up with the same name: Corwin Brown. This is a good fit for the program. He will run the defense in a manner that Weis is familiar with causing less speculation, anxiety, and uncertainty during the flow of the game. On top of that, he spoke like Weis speaks in terms of his defensive philosophy: you prepare for the teams accordingly but not without being aggressive and dictating the game via your gameplan. If you have a team that runs the ball well, you prepare for the run, if they aren't good at handling pressure, get after the QB, if they can protect, sit back and play coverage, etc. But he also said "You have to get after it. I believe in being aggressive. You have to hit. You have to run. And you've got to play hard. And that's what I believe in. You have to hit and run and you gotta play hard and that's what we're going to do. We're going to be tough." only shortly after talking about how a good foundation of fundamentals is essential to sound defensive play. He's saying the right things, but talk is cheap, it's much more difficult to get the words to show up on the field.

A few quotes from the press conference (link here) that I thought were particularly interesting:

"We have a system in place and within that system we should be able to address different matters that will come up within a game and I feel personally that you have to, sometimes you have to dictate what the game is going to, how the game is going to unfold. Sometimes you have to be the aggressor."

"It's all about players. I've really not been here long enough to really comment on the players. But the one thing I know just by all these guys being here is that they welcome the pressure. These guys are going to be confident and they're going to be aggressive and they're Notre Dame. So that's what you know about our players right now. And believe me, it's all about our players."

"I coach like I played. It's fast and hard. I also believe that you have to know your players, and you gotta respond to them. So some players they need harder coaching. Some players they need more explanation. So that's what I do. I don't believe in just approaching everyone the same way. And that's how I do it."

"I think there is an adjustment, because they're younger and also these guys are students so you don't have them all day. But at the same time at the end of the day it's still football. And it comes down to two things. Blocking and tackling and how you play and getting after the guy with the ball."

It also appears that he is keeping the defensive staff that we have. He didn't say he would be working with the linebackers specifically, but with all of the skill position players (safeties, linebackers, corners) so it may be that some duties of the defensive coaching staff will change. The bottom line appears to me that Brown is a good fit for Weis because they have the same background and experience. They also seem to run the same types of systems and have the same attitude towards football in general. This will only help game planning as Weis often tries to gameplan with both offense and defense in mind.

I'm still skeptical about Brown's ability to call defenses and be the architect of a properly and effectively designed defensive gameplan but he'll have plenty of opportunities to prove himself in the near future, i.e. next season.

Finally, Samardzija isn't going to the NFL. He's going to stick to baseball. This may have been the been the plan all along and would explain the often-times lack of effort in his play this season.

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.

The National Championship Game Debacle

It's wrong to be happy over someone else's loss, but I am, so here we go.

If the national championship game is anything it is irrefutable support that Troy Smith didn't deserve the Heisman (and that Heisman voting is incorrectly applied). What Troy Smith faced in this game Brady Quinn faced in all the "big games" this year: no deep threat at receiver, down in the game trying to throw every down to get back in it, and poor offensive line play resulting in frequent pressure. Now Brady didn't do great in those games but Troy's six yards of total offense is absolutely pathetic. So is the lowest QB rating in BCS game history (including two turnovers). So is the lowest total offensive output in BCS game history. Forget about being a big game QB, he still is. One game of many can't dismiss that fact. (Forget also about OSU being over-rated also. Although slightly, they aren't as bad as they looked. They really didn't play any great teams all year and weren't prepared for the level of competition.) But Troy Smith is a big game QB because of the talent around him in addition to his abilities. It was entirely evident last night. Forget about the Heisman Trophy and missing practice (he only missed three), forget about the layoff (Florida dealt with it also), the fact that Smith put up the numbers he did all year was because he wasn't pressured, had a running game, wasn't playing from behind (a tribute to his defense), and had a tremendous down field receiving threat (Ginn). That isn't only him. Go back and look at all of the Heisman winners who have flopped in big bowl games. It is the same story and is the reason why the Heisman voting is wrong.

A few excerpts from articles out there...

"Smith joined the panned-theon of Heisman-winning quarterbacks -- Vinny Testaverde, Gino Torretta, Eric Crouch and Jason White -- who have stunk in national championship games. But it was a team effort." -- Wow, what a concept, Smith can't be completely blamed for the outcome of the game.

"The Ohio State offensive line that had allowed only 14 sacks all season gave up five to the Gators. 'When they build a lead, they can then dictate to us what we're going to do,' Ohio State center Doug Datish said. '…We were coming from behind, and anytime you allow guys, especially with that type of speed, to pin their ears back and not have any reads, it's tough.'" -- Wow, how many times has that been mentioned to alleviate Brady's culpability for poor play this year?

"Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith played so gruesomely awful (4-of-14 for 35 yards, one interception, zero touchdowns) that the Heisman people might want their trophy back. OK, that's a cheap shot. Smith didn't get much help. Star wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. apparently injured his left foot moments after returning the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. It was the last time he touched the ball and the last time Ohio State had the lead. Ginn spent much of the rest of the game on the sidelines. Hard to score while you're leaning on metal crutches, eh, Jim? " -- Wow, what is it like to not have a receiver with superior speed to be a down field threat?

"With the confetti strewn all over the grass at University of Phoenix Stadium, the Buckeyes' undefeated streak over and the total offensive yards battle won by Florida, 370-82, we've become aware of something else about Smith: He had never seen anything like the speed of Florida's defensive line." -- Wow, I guess I didn't realize that Smith wasn't responsible for that. Quinn always was.

"For what seemed like the first time all season, early in a nightmarish first half of the title game, the nation's most unflappable signal-caller looked flustered. And even though Smith took the blame -- 'It's a lack of execution on my part as a quarterback,' he said -- it was hardly all his fault. What would you do if you lost your most dangerous receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., to an injury in the first quarter? And if two defensive ends with the size and speed of velociraptors -- the 6-foot-6, 251-pound Moss and the 6-5, 262-pound Harvey -- were scorching your O-line and getting up in your grill on nearly every passing play? '[Smith was] running for his life,' said Harvey. 'That's what good D made him do.' Even the strongest Heisman stiff-arm couldn't deflect that degree of heat." -- I revert to previous comments.

"The Florida debacle was just one game in Smith's decorated college career. He still delivered Ohio State fans the greatest regular season by a quarterback in school history, and got the Buckeyes to the brink of their second national championship of the decade. OSU coach Jim Tressel deflected the blame for the loss away from Smith, saying, 'I think we, at times, put Troy in a situation that was tough from a scheme standpoint.'" -- Wow, no one in this country was asked to do more than Quinn.

Although some of it is objective, it's amazing to me how those types of considerations weren't taken into account when Brady was crucified in the media this year. Again, just like his criminal past, Smith gets a pass.