Y2K Irish Take First Loss
Frank Vitovitch
December 2, 1999

Notre Dame, Ind - This season has just ended, but the Irish have already had one loss for next season.  John Merandi will not be back for a 5th year.  There was question as to whether he would be back or not, but the answer came today and the answer is no.  Merandi, however, should be the only player not returning from his year's line.

It would have been very nice to get John Merandi back for a 5th year which would have made him a three year starter.  Merandi was the only starter on this year's line with a full season of experience under him and he did a good job.  He may have missed a few blocks here and there, but overall he did a pretty good job.

Returning will be Mike Gandy, John Teasdale, Jim Jones, and Jordan Black from the line that started this year.  Teasdale will be challenged this spring for his starting job.  Ryan Scarola played well at the end of the season when he got playing time due to injuries.  Add last year's freshman class, all of whom will have 4 years of eligibility left and the line looks solid.  Taking Merandi's starting spot will be Jeff Faine.

Faine could have seen action this year, but Notre Dame wanted to keep all five of the offensive linemen off the field so they would all have 4 years of eligibility left.  Faine was ready to play on the college level and I don't expect to see him get beat too often next season and would not be surprised in the least if showed signs of dominance.

The offensive line will have to be much improved from last season when the Irish could not run the ball well against their best opponents.  They did run all over teams like Kansas, Stanford, and Navy - but that's not saying a lot.   With a year of experience under their belts, the line should be fine in 2000.