Archive for the ‘Notre Dame Football’ Category

Former head coach Lou Holtz was named an inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday headling this year’s class along with former UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman.

Holtz, a studio analyst for ESPN’s college football coverage, coached six schools to 249 victories in a career that spanned more than 30 years. He won a national title with Notre Dame in 1988. - AP

Apparently winning a Heisman Trophy is not enough to get inducted into the Hall of Fame as Tim Brown was snubbed again this year.  Dave Casper and Jim Seymour were also on the list of finalists but did not make the cut.  How Brown isn’t inducted when Don McPherson, the Syracuse quarterback he beat for the Heisman in ‘87, was this year is a bit curious.

According to ESPN, a potential 6 game series with Rutgers has been called off because the Scarlet Knights did not want to play home pages at the new Giants Stadium

According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Irish wanted Rutgers’ three home games in the series to be played at the new Giants/Jets stadium in the Meadlowlands — a compromise that Rutgers, which is undertaking a $102 million renovation of Rutgers Stadium, was unwilling to make, according to the report.

Can’t say I blame Rutgers here.  Unlike the UConn series, Rutgers isn’t a new Division 1A football school and have made a lot of progress with their program in the last few years.   Having a “home” game in your own state where the opposing team has more fans would do them more harm than good in recruiting - especially considering how well the Irish already recruit in New Jersey. 

After doing some research on Cierre Wood tonight, here is a collection of stats and quotes on Notre Dame’s latest five star running back commitment.

2007 Season Stats (source):

• Rushing: 178 Carries for 2612 Yards (14.7 Avg) with 34 touchdowns
• Receiving:  7 catches for 191 yards (27.3 Avg) with 2 touchdowns
• Passing: 2 for 2 for 71 yards with 1 touchdown
• Punt Returns: 7 for 373 yards (53.3 Avg) with a long of 97
• Kick Returns: 7 for 307 yards (43.9 Avg) with a long of 91
• 6 total return touchdowns
• Punting: 23 for 923 (40.1 Avg) with a long of 56
• 42 total touchdowns

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Here’s some thoughts from watching the Blue-Gold game.

Offense

• Jimmy Clausen’s arm looks a lot stronger.  He was throwing some bullets out there today.  He only completed 10 of 27 passes but that was in part because of a large number of drops.
• The wide receivers didn’t look too good.  Duval Kamara and David Grimes each had multiple drops and the blocking amongst the receivers in the run game was not that strong.  Considering the problems with drops last year,  seeing the #1 and 2 receivers drop balls that hit them square in the hands is not very encouraging.
• Golden Tate looked great on the go route in the final minute, but we knew he could run go routes last year.  We still didn’t see him get the ball in space where he can use his speed to make any big plays.   Tate is still probably the only receiver who can create much separation so he’ll need a great fall camp if this offense will have much of a downfield threat.
• Armando Allen was looking pretty good running the ball.  He ran with more confidence and was able to run through a couple arm tackles - the same type of arm tackles that he’d go down too easily on last year.  Allen didn’t get the ball in the passing game, but in his 11 carries, he totaled 50 yards.
• James Aldridge didn’t get the ball much at all - just six times total - but he did look pretty good in limited action.  Not really sure why Aldridge only got the six carries compared to Allen’s 11 and Robert Hughes’ 22.
• Hughes looked great again.  He showed great vision and footwork in turning
• It was tough to tell how the offensive line is doing since they weren’t allowed to cut block.  Then again, based on how the OL executed cut blocks last year (see Michigan game), maybe they permanently shouldn’t be able to cut block.   Still, the  defense was getting a lot of pressure on Clausen throughout the day - was that the offensive line letting the defensive line through or was the increased pressure a result of Jon Tenuta’s influence.
• Weis said two of the sacks given up were on plays where the offensive linemen yelled “cut” which was supposed to get the defender to stop in their place.  Instead, the defenders ignored the calls and kept going after Clausen.
• A holding call negated a Clausen to Grimes touchdown - gee, where have I seen that happen before?
• Trevor Robinson is already as big as the other ND offensive linemen - he is going to be a beast.
• Mike Ragone had one nice catch and was lining up in more of an h-back position at times.  He was also wearing knee braces on both knees just as the ND Oline does.
• Barry Gallup didn’t look too bad running the ball considering he spent all last season at receiver.  He won’t challenge Hughes, Allen, or Aldridge, but he could be a competent back who takes carreis in the event we are ever far enough ahead to pull the starters.  He’s also quick enough to the edge that I’m sure there’s a few plays Weis could draw up for him.  If we see much of Gallup at RB this year though, we’re either a lot better or a lot worse than we thought.
• The fullback was not featured much at all yesterday - that wouldn’t be a bad thing if that carried over into the season.

Defense

• Harrison Smith was lining up all over the field.  When the second team defense was on the field, he was playing strong safety.  When the first team defense was out, he was playing as a safety getting dropped down to the line in certain packages.  He made a great play in picking off Clausen on a quick pass to Ragone.
• Brian Smith looked GREAT and recorded two sacks.  He was getting looks at ILB and if the staff can find another OLB, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Smith playing inside more permanently.
• Kyle McCarthy played well enough to secure the starting strong safety spot heading into fall camp.
• Morrice Richardson was getting good pressure on Clausen most of the game and looked good playing along the line.   Richardson led all defenders with 7 tackles.
• There weren’t a whole lot of negative running plays caused by the defense and it looks like we could be susceptible to the run up the middle again this year.
• Toryan Smith was playing with the second team and it looks like he still hasn’t really put it together.
• Darrin Walls ankles might be a little sore today after Armando Allen make him fall over with a nice cut on the run to the outside in the first half.
• Emeka Nwankwo played A LOT and looked very solid.  I was impressed with his size in all of the practice videos and he looked the part standing next to ian Williams.
• Terrail Lambert had the hit of the day with a punishing knock on Armando Allen at the goal line.

Gotta head off the airport and catch my flight home.  I’ll have more updates tonight.

• Matt Romine missed the game due to the same ankle injury that has slowed him all spring. He was in a walking cast Saturday.
• Robby Parris also missed the game due to an undisclosed injury.
• Kallen Wade also had an undisclosed jersey and was in jeans. It’s been rumored that he only had a low ankle sprain.
• Richard Jackson left the game in the first half with, you guessed it, an undisclosed injury.
• John Ryan was held out of contact all spring with his shoulder surgery and missed the game.

Sophomores to be Robert Hughes (RB) and Harrison Smith (S) were named the MVPs for the 2008 Blue Gold Game on Saturday.

Hughes ran the ball a game high 22 times for an even 100 yards and a touchdown. Hughes’ 22 carries were twice as many as other Irish running back registered and more than all of the other backs combined. Armando Allen gained 50 yards on 11 carries, James Aldridge six for 18, and Gallup four for three.

From Weis:

“Because he’s so big and physical, you can get away with that a lot of times. But all I’m saying is when you start going for real, the difference between maybe getting five yards and getting seven yards, you know, that subtle hidden yardage could just be the difference between running like this and running like that.

It might be a yard or two. But those yard or two add up as the game goes on. It might not be the difference between rushing for another 50 yards, but it might be another 20 yards. And instead of it 2nd and 5, it’s 2nd and 3. It’s something that we’ll continue to work on.”

Harrison Smith got the defensive MVP after picking off Jimmy Clausen and returning it for a touchdown in the second half.   He also totaled 5 tackles and nearly recorded a sack of Clausen as well.

From Weis:

He’s not playing linebacker, actually. He’s playing a safety that we’re dropping down. That’s, as I said the other day, we have a couple of different packages. But one package, you saw Scott Smith playing a lot of the same position. We’re trying to get interchangeable parts so that we can play the same defense with what we call “base people” with linebackers with a big body like Scott Smith. Then play it with a smaller body that is more of a safety type like a Harrison Smith.

Charlie Weis named 5th year senior Maurice Crum and seniors David Bruton and David Grimes captains for the 2007 season on Saturday.

Crum will be a captain for the second year in a row while Bruton and Grimes will be first time captains this year.

Weis said of the captain’s vote on Saturday after the Blue-Gold game:

“There was a few other contenders that got some votes in there. But in all three cases, these guys were clear winners. You know, they were clear winners. Like if it came down to it a guy was a vote difference, I would have seen that the offense or defense or special teams saw two guys as the guy. But in all three cases, you know, it was a clear winner. “

Saw the following ad in this week’s ESPN The Magazine - it’s been floating around a couple of the ND sites the past couple of days so I figured I would scan a high res version of it.

According to some state representative from Connecticut who is writing articles for the Hartford Courant, Note Dame is and will still be, the “Walmart” of college football.

There is no question Notre Dame will remain the “Wal-Mart” of college football as long as it is able to keep its national television network deal.

Um, what that a compliment?  A back handed compliment?  A jab?

It seems that Mr. Christ is a little bent out of shape that UConn will be playing Notre Dame in Gillette Stadium instead of Rentschler Field - UConn’s normal home stadium.  He writes:

As a UConn football season ticket holder, state legislator from East Hartford and taxpayer who at the request of UConn supported using nearly $100 million in taxpayer funds to build Rentschler Field, I find it insulting that the school’s athletic department is now considering leaving “The Rent” in favor of outsourcing our home games against Notre Dame.

Nevermind the fact that an up and coming program like UConn’s benefits greatly from playing a team like Notre Dame on a national stage for 10 straight years.

Ask most Notre Dame fans how they feel about the series with UConn and many will question why the series is 10 years long.   Could playing the games in Gillette Stadium be a consolation for a 10 game series?

And honestly, what does being the “Wal-Mart” of college football mean?  Many people see Wal-Mart as a gigantic corporation which puts small town “mom and pop” stores out of business.  Is that how Mr. Christ sees Notre Dame in this deal?  As a giant corporate bully pushing around the small mom and pop in UConn?  Because if that is the case, shouldn’t the corporate giant have been able to pull the same deal without agreeing to a  guaranteed 10 game series?

Granted, this 10 game series has not even been formally announced yet, despite multiple reports that it is all but signed.

I asked from some opinions on the running back battle this spring after writing an article on the homepage about all those involved.  Here are some of your thoughts from the football forum:

fightNYirish wrote:

I started a thread on this but when I was done typing it there was already one up but heres my take. The article made me curious, because I felt differently on some parts of it, so I went to nbc and watched some game replays to rethink some things. The MSU game especially stands out.On offense, our line wasnt too bad, and our 3 running backs were healthy and I feel best showcased their own personal style againt a tough opponent. Heres what I saw for the season out of the 3 guys

James was the most well rounded and when lanes were opened he found them. He has great vision and showed he can break tackles for yards, run by guys for yards, or bend the facemask of anyone who wants to stand in front of him. His downside, he is too patient, he was handed the ball with no lanes opened and didnt move forward, he did what darius did and waited than would be hit in the backfield. I think he shows better speed and agility in 08 with another year from injury, I think he still runs upright too early in the hole, but he has shown he knows when to drop the shoulder, and he hits with the force of a car. Side note, his role in pass blocking/recognition was the best of the 3, and throughout the season did not see some of the nice lanes Hughes was given. I think he is underestimated in this position battle because he is not as flashy, he doesnt have armandos speed and doesnt drag entire defensive lines behind him. However he is the best mix of size and speed, as well as great vision, he breaks arm tackles, and is solid in pass blocking. Total package who got banged up but played tremendous against bowl caliber opponents in our early games when the team was not gelling. His consistency,and vision should allow him to put up big numbers this year if the line plays well so we can open the passing game and get guys out of the box. I think he has 1000 yard season.

Hughes had some nice runs too, to me he definitely shows better cutting ability than aldridge,he has great lateral movement but he loses too much speed on his cuts, which is why out of the 3 backs he is suited for redzone play.When holes open hughes finds them, when they arent, he makes them, ridiculously strong lower body where its less punishing blow than James, but unbelievable second effort drive with his legs to move the pile. I think next year he continues to do what he did for us this year, and that is beast his way into the endzone and force defenses to bring more guys in the box when we are in the redzone to either A.be run over by Hughes. B.leave kamara 1on1 outside and get jumped over. C.get pushed of yeatman so he can make the easy grab. or D. not notice luke on play action and he gets the underneath route for a td. I think Hughes is slightly over hyped in this race.Im trying to pick my words carefully because I too am super excited about this kid and think he is awesome. However his best moments were against low level teams when our offense was showing signs of life and our starter was injured, so he left a good taste in the mouths of ND fans at the end of our season. He was 100% going into 07 and now going into 08 which is a huge upside for him not battling serious injury he has a year of speed and strength gain, and not recovery. Unless JA gets injured, I dont see Hughes starting. Huge contributor, will lead the irish in td’s.

Allen had some screens,draws and outside runs that he looked good on, he doesnt take long to control the ball and become a runner after the catch or pitch, and as he gets stronger will turn those small gains into larger ones. I take into strong account that he broke his leg and missed his senior year, and how big of strides he made in the strength department by the end of 07. I expect him to look like travis thomas standing still, and blur like rocket when he runs. He can pack on some more size without losing speed, I think 08 he still plays that 3rd down back role, but he is going to get some looks, this kid is going to be special over the years. He isnt the typical speedster track star that is put on the field just for his speed, he knows the game very well, and as he gets more physical he will be outright dangerous. Should lead the backs in avg yards per touch this year.

Very good breakdown of all 3.  I agree that Aldridge starts off the season as the #1 guy and if he can hold off Hughes, there isn’t a reason why he can’t top 1,000 yards as fightNYirish suggests.

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