Notre Dame Football: A Mid Season Report
Bob Wible
October 18, 1999

With Notre Dame's exciting come from behind 25-24 victory over U.S.C. yesterday
afternoon coupled with the upcoming break in the schedule, I thought it
appropriate to examine the Irish squad as it prepares to face the last five
opponents of the 1999 season.

Let's start at the top with Head Coach Bob Davie.  Despite the 4-3 record, you
have to admire Bob Davie and the fact that despite some glaring coaching
mistakes in the Michigan, Purdue and Michigan State games, he has kept his
composure and pulled this team together.  One can't ignore the fact that the
last three games clearly demonstrate this team's willingness to play their
hearts out for this coach and his entire staff.  The victories over Oklahoma and
U.S.C. hint that this team is not ready to quit on Davie, when earlier this
season they may have had every right to do so.  I'm not supporting the
administration's decision to give Davie a contract extension, but I
believe he does have this team going in the right direction, especially in the
area of recruiting.  One can see that the Irish, through Davie's efforts in
revamping the entire recruiting structure, have added more speed and athleticism
at the skill positions (RB, WR) and on defense (LB, DB) than the Irish have had
the least several years.  His decision to add Kevin Rogers as offensive
coordinator will pay dividends for years to come from both a coaching and
recruiting standpoint.  You can clearly argue that Davie is not the man for the
job, but at this stage I'm willing to reserve final judgment on his ability as a
head coach until the conclusion of his initial five year contract.

Jarious Jackson, over the last three games, has finally begun to play the type
of football that the Irish coaches and fans had expected at the start of the
1999 campaign.  Once again, the come from behind wins over Oklahoma and U.S.C.
have proven that Jackson is the "heart and soul" of this team and as he goes, so
goes the Irish offense.  Jackson is one of the finest leaders that the Irish
have had at the QB position since Joe Montana and has won games this year with
both his feet AND arm.   He is the one player that the Irish can ill afford to
lose, as was demonstrated in last year's U.S.C. game.  If the offensive line and
running game continue to improve, Jackson will be more of a threat and will have
a banner year for the Irish.

The Irish running game, which is struggling to find itself at this point of the
season, seems to be improving game by game.  Turnovers, which killed the Irish
at the start of the season have been reduced and the offensive line appears to
be playing better as a unit.  I like the fact that Davie and Rogers have seen
fit to give Tony Fisher the bulk of the carries and have begun to work Terrance
Howard and freshman Julius Jones into the TB mix.  These three TB's are all
athletic and appear to give the Irish the speed that they have lacked over the
past several years.  Tony Driver, who has been useful in goal line and short
yardage situations, should be moved to strong safety where he can add valuable
experience while collecting more playing time.  Driver is too good an athlete to
be used in spot duty and is better suited to play strong safety.

The fullback position continues to be a major disappointment.  Joey Goodspeed
and Tom Lopienski have been ineffective running between the guards, and as a
result, the triple option is severely diminished.  If a team cannot establish
the FB as an inside running threat, the perimeter option game will not be
effective.  This area must be addressed by the coaching staff in order for the
option attack to function properly.  It is puzzling that the Irish have not had
adequate production at FB for several years, even when running behind an
experienced offensive line.  Oh for the days of Anthony Johnson, Jerome Bettis
and Marc Edwards!

The offensive line, John Merandi, Mike Gandy, Jim Jones, John Teasdale and
Jordan Black appear to be playing with more consistency in the last several
weeks, but have not demonstrated the "smash mouth" demeanor that has been Notre
Dame's trademark.  For the Irish to dominate in the final portion of the season,
and to have a chance against Tennessee, the offensive line is going to have to
put a "hat on a hat" and run the ball effectively between the tackles.  At this
point, I'm not sure the Irish OL is capable of doing that based on what I've
seen so far.  Hopefully, they will prove me wrong in the coming weeks!

The wide receivers and tight ends Bobby Brown, David Givens, Javin Hunter, Jay
Johnson, Joey Getherall, Raki Nelson, Jabari Holloway and Dan O'Leary have been
a pleasant surprise this season.  What can you say about Joey Getherall?  Since
the unfortunate injury to Raki Nelson, Getherall has stepped in and provided the
Irish with the "go to" receiver and deep threat that has been lacking.
Getherall, "pound for pound" might just be the toughest player on the Irish
squad.  Would like to see more snaps for Hunter and Givens, and more involvement
with Holloway in the passing game, but so far the Irish receiving corps have
been more than productive. With Nelson's return, this group will be a major
strength in the last half of the season.

Now to the defensive side of the ball.  Along with the FB position, the
defensive line has to be one of the bigger disappointments. With the experience
level of Antwon Jones, Lance Legree Brad Williams, Lamont Bryant, Grant Irons,
Anthony Weaver, Andy Wisne, and Jason Ching, its hard to explain why the Irish
have so few QB sacks this season.  The coaching staff has been advertising the
front four as a major strength in 1999, and everyone expected so much from this
group.  In fairness, the lack of production cannot be pinned on this years DL
alone, as the Irish have not had a group of DL's who had the ability to "just
pin their ears back" and rush the QB, since the days of Ross Browner and Willie
Fry in the mid to late 70's.  I have to wonder if it is the coaching, defensive
scheme, or the type of players the Irish are recruiting?  Certainly, the current
group of DL's had outstanding high school credentials, but they seem to have a
great amount of difficulty getting off their blocks during a pass rush.  Also,
it speaks volumes when your LB's and safety's continue to lead the team in
tackles.  This is an area that must be addressed if the Irish expect to be among
the elite programs in college football.

The linebackers, Ronnie Nicks, Rocky Boiman, Anthony Denman, Joe Ferrer, Carlos
Pierre-Antoine and Tyreo Harrison have done an outstanding job despite their
relative inexperience coming into this season.  Once again, the recruiting
efforts over the last several years have brought more speed and athleticism to
the LB corps.  Denman, in particular has been outstanding in defending both the
run and the pass and Ronnie Nicks, when healthy, is one of the hardest hitters
on the team.  If Davie and his staff can add one or two blue chippers to next
years class, the Irish should be in good shape for several years.

The secondary, like the offensive line, was a major question mark at the start
of the season.  This group however, has more than held it own against top
competition.  Clifford Jefferson has done an outstanding job at corner filling
in for the suspended Brock Williams and Deveron Harper is playing the best
football of his career at Notre Dame.  Lee Lafayette, and Shane Walton have been
adequate backups and freshman Jason Beckstrom and Albert Poree will give the
Irish the raw speed that the CB position requires.

Free safety Deke Cooper and strong safety A'Jani Sanders provide the Irish with
one of the best safety combinations in the country.  What they lack in speed
they more than make up in hitting ability and run support.  Ron Israel has
provided adequate minutes as a backup and if all that we hear about freshman
Gerome Sapp is true, we have a lot to look forward to.  Again, I believe Tony
Driver would really help the depth and experience of this group if he returns to
safety either this year or in 2000.  This is another area that needs to be
addressed during the upcoming recruiting campaign to add quality depth.

Next I would like to examine the kicking game.  First off, freshman Joey
Hildbold has done a tremendous job as the Irish punter replacing Hunter Smith.
For a true freshman to step in and average 42.0 yards a punt is a credit to his
ability.

The placing kicking is another matter.  Jim Sanson has improved on his kickoffs
and is doing a great job.  I was relieved however to see him replaced by David
Miller in the Arizona State game on field goals and extra points. It appears
that Sanson is not solely to blame for the kicking problems, as long snapper Dan
O'Leary continues to be erratic at best.  Maybe Miller is not the answer, but he
or freshman Nick Setta should be given an opportunity.

Place kicking is the one area of the Notre Dame football team that really
frustrates me.  Not since the days of Craig Hentrich has the kicking game been
in such disarray.  I can't understand how a major university like Notre Dame
that has five kickers on scholarship (Setta, Hildbold, Miller, Sanson, and Kevin
Kopka, who's career is over due to injury) cannot find one who can kick field
goals and extra points with regularity.  Remember, most major programs get the
job done with one or two scholarship kickers or walk on prospects.  In fact,
Notre Dame for years had depended on walk on kickers and was quite successful.
Extra points should be close to automatic, and along with the DL deficiencies
addressed earlier in this article, the kicking game miscues must be identified
and addressed soon.

Last is the special team play, another area identified by Bob Davie as a
concern.  With the exception of the Oklahoma game, where Brandon Daniels came
within 19 yards of setting a national return record, the Irish have improved
slightly.  Again, it appears that Notre Dame has added more speed in both the
kickoff and punt return areas with Tony Driver, Terrance Howard, Joey Getherall,
and now Julius Jones getting a shot.  Hopefully, with the upcoming off week, the
coaching staff can add a few wrinkles and will upgrade this area over the
remainder of the 1999 season.