This past weekend, the Notre Dame football team concluded spring practice with the Blue Gold game on Saturday. The Gold, coached by former great Lou Holtz, defeated the White, coached by Ara Parseghian 10-6. For a recap go to http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/042107aab.html. I was in attendance for the third consecutive year and got some pretty good observations. Keep in mind that this is just the spring game, not a whole lot can be learned from this but it's fun to try to make predictions nonetheless.
The four quarterbacks in competition to replace Brady Quinn at quarterback were muzzled by head coach Charlie Weis. Only 24 passes were thrown combined among the four. We really didn't learn anything we didn't already know about them.
Jimmy Clausen, the star freshman, looked the most poised and calm in leading his team. He made the best throw of the day when he hit Robby Paris on a 13 yard out pattern right at the sideline.
Demetrius Jones completed 3-6 passes but many were overthrown or behind the receiver, including one that was picked off by David Bruton and returned for a touchdown. However, he did make a great play on a 3rd and long situation when he tucked the ball and took off for a 31 yard gain. I was very impressed by his speed, I just don't know if he fits Weis' offense.
Evan Sharpley had the most impressive stats (5-7, 31 yards) and has the most experience in the system. It looked to me like he was one of the top two quarterbacks along with Clausen.
Zach Frazer went 0-4 passing but he did make a nice throw to Richard Jackson in the endzone that was dropped. He has a very strong arm but didn't stand out in this particular practice/scrimmage.
The running back position appears to have both quality and quantity. I thought all four backs: Travis Thomas, James Aldridge, Armando Allen, and Junior Jabbie have the ability to contribute this season. Jabbie was the most impressive Saturday, carrying 13 times for 87 yards. He showed good speed and nice vision, however he did run behind the first team offensive line who was going against the second team defensive line. Allen is going to be outstanding in my opinion. He has the type of explosive speed and quickness that Notre Dame hasn't had in an awful long time. Thomas runs hard and likes contact, but he does have a little wiggle if needed. Aldridge is similar to Thomas, he's more of a power back but does have some nice speed.
Corwin Brown's new defense looked quite good in the spring game. The defensive backs played tight man-to-man coverage and didn't allow anyone to beat them deep, something that happened far too often the past two years. Linebacker Toryan Smith played very well, I thought, as did fellow linebacker Joe Brockington. I think it's obvious that Brown has brought a new intensity to the defense, a passion that was missing under the previous regime. They might not all be great players on defense, but if you play with excitement and passion, that can make up for a lot of shortcomings.
We didn't get a real good look at special teams in the game, there were no kickoffs and punts were automatically fair caught. We did see, however, that the place kicking still leaves something to be desired. Nate Whitaker had an extra point blocked, then was able to retry it and missed it wide to the left. Ryan Burkhart made his only field goal attempt from 23 yards and an extra point. The kicking game will be of great concern all summer, until we see if either of these two can consistently make kicks from 40 yards in.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Scout Top 100 is Out
Scout.com has released their first installment of the top 100 high school football players for the class of 2008. Notre Dame has received verbal commitments from three of the top 100: tight end Kyle Rudolph, linebacker Anthony McDonald, and defensive tackle Sean Cwynar. To see the full list go to http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=9&c=4&pid=88&yr=2008.
Notre Dame is in good shape with several other top 100 players including WR Michael Floyd, LB's Darius Fleming and Steve Filer and have a shot at many other top 100 players. This class is shaping up to be the best yet for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. The Irish already have seven verbal commitments, all from very good football players, some of which are in the top 100. The offensive line class is 1/2 complete with Mike Golic and Braxton Cave. The defensive line is looking good, with a verbal from Cwynar and another possible commit coming soon in DT Brandon Newman. This could be the best group of linebackers Notre Dame has brought in in over 10 years if it pans out the way many think. David Posluszny (the younger brother of former two-time All-American Paul Posluszny of Penn State) and McDonald are committed and the Irish appear to be in good shape for Filer and Fleming and possibly Brendan Beal. Cornerback is looking solid again with much interest from two of the top players at that position in Robert Blanton and T.J. Bryant. When signing day comes in early February, I think this class will be in the top 10 nationally and a chance to be in the top five.
Quote of the Week: "We are more of a hardball team than a softball team, that is how we are significantly different from last year"- Mike Haywood, Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach. If you're an Irish fan, you've got to love that quote, maybe we'll see some ghosts of Lou Holtz this year. Check out the article at http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/colleges/university_of_notre_dame/17090119.htm.
Notre Dame is in good shape with several other top 100 players including WR Michael Floyd, LB's Darius Fleming and Steve Filer and have a shot at many other top 100 players. This class is shaping up to be the best yet for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. The Irish already have seven verbal commitments, all from very good football players, some of which are in the top 100. The offensive line class is 1/2 complete with Mike Golic and Braxton Cave. The defensive line is looking good, with a verbal from Cwynar and another possible commit coming soon in DT Brandon Newman. This could be the best group of linebackers Notre Dame has brought in in over 10 years if it pans out the way many think. David Posluszny (the younger brother of former two-time All-American Paul Posluszny of Penn State) and McDonald are committed and the Irish appear to be in good shape for Filer and Fleming and possibly Brendan Beal. Cornerback is looking solid again with much interest from two of the top players at that position in Robert Blanton and T.J. Bryant. When signing day comes in early February, I think this class will be in the top 10 nationally and a chance to be in the top five.
Quote of the Week: "We are more of a hardball team than a softball team, that is how we are significantly different from last year"- Mike Haywood, Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach. If you're an Irish fan, you've got to love that quote, maybe we'll see some ghosts of Lou Holtz this year. Check out the article at http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/colleges/university_of_notre_dame/17090119.htm.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Spring Football '07
Spring football for the 2007 Notre Dame football team is reaching it's halfway point. The big questions coming into the spring were: who is going to replace Brady Quinn at quarterback and how is new defensive coordinator Corwin Brown going to turn around the defense. Neither question has a definite answer at this point and likely won't until near the end of fall camp in August.
The quarterback battle between freshman Jimmy Clausen, sophomores Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer, and junior Evan Sharpley has gone well thus far according to head coach Charlie Weis, who wants to whittle the competition to two by the end of the Blue-Gold Game on April 21. By looking at the small amount of video available from practice it seems as though Sharpley throws the best looking ball, Clausen is the most accurate, Frazer has the strongest arm, and Jones has the best scrambling ability. It's anybody's guess right now on who will be the top two going into fall but my guess right now would be Clausen and Frazer.
Head Coach Charlie Weis hired Corwin Brown away from the New York Jets to replace Rick Minter as defensive coordinator for the Irish. He's only been with the program since January but his attitude and enthusiasm seem to have already taken hold. Brown will be changing the defense from a 4-3 alignment with four down lineman and three linebackers to a "3-4 Personnel" which Weis described as using a 3-4 alignment (three down lineman and four linebackers) while changing back and forth between odd and even fronts. This means the three lineman will always be down but one of the outside linebackers could put their hand down and rush the passer going from a three man or odd front to a four man, even front.
The biggest difference so far between Corwin Brown and Rick Minter aside from the scheme of the defense is personality. Brown has gotten rave reviews from nearly everyone on his energy and enthusiasm thus far. He was known as a great recruiter when he came to the Irish as he had been on Al Groh's staff at Virginia before coaching defensive backs for the Jets the last three seasons. He has not disappointed on this front, he's convinced some very good players like running back Robert Hughes from the class of 2007 to come to Notre Dame and he's got a great start on this year's class. He has also gotten much praise from the players on Notre Dame's defense for both his scheme and personality, which should make every Irish fan smile. If both of these questions are answered in a positive fashion, Notre Dame could be a very good football team come fall.
The quarterback battle between freshman Jimmy Clausen, sophomores Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer, and junior Evan Sharpley has gone well thus far according to head coach Charlie Weis, who wants to whittle the competition to two by the end of the Blue-Gold Game on April 21. By looking at the small amount of video available from practice it seems as though Sharpley throws the best looking ball, Clausen is the most accurate, Frazer has the strongest arm, and Jones has the best scrambling ability. It's anybody's guess right now on who will be the top two going into fall but my guess right now would be Clausen and Frazer.
Head Coach Charlie Weis hired Corwin Brown away from the New York Jets to replace Rick Minter as defensive coordinator for the Irish. He's only been with the program since January but his attitude and enthusiasm seem to have already taken hold. Brown will be changing the defense from a 4-3 alignment with four down lineman and three linebackers to a "3-4 Personnel" which Weis described as using a 3-4 alignment (three down lineman and four linebackers) while changing back and forth between odd and even fronts. This means the three lineman will always be down but one of the outside linebackers could put their hand down and rush the passer going from a three man or odd front to a four man, even front.
The biggest difference so far between Corwin Brown and Rick Minter aside from the scheme of the defense is personality. Brown has gotten rave reviews from nearly everyone on his energy and enthusiasm thus far. He was known as a great recruiter when he came to the Irish as he had been on Al Groh's staff at Virginia before coaching defensive backs for the Jets the last three seasons. He has not disappointed on this front, he's convinced some very good players like running back Robert Hughes from the class of 2007 to come to Notre Dame and he's got a great start on this year's class. He has also gotten much praise from the players on Notre Dame's defense for both his scheme and personality, which should make every Irish fan smile. If both of these questions are answered in a positive fashion, Notre Dame could be a very good football team come fall.
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