Jonas Gray and Steve Filer to See More Playing Time
Jonas Gray and Steve Filer have been seeing some time on special teams the past two weeks and on Sunday Charlie Weis said that the plan is to work both of them on the field more in non special teams situations.
Q. Now that Jonas has played on special teams, would you be more inclined to get him carries?
COACH WEIS: That’s the intent, when we decided to do that, okay, to go ahead and involve him on special teams. It’s the same thing we did a week earlier with by Filer. We don’t all of a sudden, We’re just going to throw him in there. When we put those two guys, Filer and Jonas, I mentioned it last week, when I talked about Steven, I also talked about Jonas, we made a decision these were two guys that could help us on special teams. Obviously when the situation presents itself, we’d like to see them get involved in the offense and the defense.
Since watching film of Gray I had thought he could make a good return man and if Armando Allen continues to run the ball like he did this weekend, its possible Charlie Weis might want to give some other players cracks returning kicks to keep Allen fresh. Seeing Gray get a few carries would also be nice since he has some great speed and has looked good thus far in drills. It remains to be seen what how he will handle blitz pickups right now though. Who will lose carries in order to get Gray into the game though? That’s the big question. With some questionable defenses coming up on the schedule, maybe Weis is hoping for some comfortable fourth quarter leads lending itself to playing time for young guys like Gray.
As for Filer, he by all accounts had a pretty good fall camp and will most likely be starting once Maurice Crum leaves at the end of the season. Getting Filer some meaningful reps will be beneficial for his development. Filer has the tools to be a great linebacker and getting some experience this year will pay off for the Irish down the road.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
I second that JC
C-Dog, with Mo’s work ethic, I think he can.
Guys,
Thanks for the comments on Filer and Gray. I didn’t notice them as I was focused on line play, ( when my kids didn’t need something ). I’m going to take a look this next week.
Anyone think Mo Crum can make it in the NFL? Maybe as a strong safety or nickle back?
woops
Oh, and Kevin..we don’t redshirt at Notre Dame, we grant 5th year Senior status
🙂
I think this might be more of a recruiting ploy for the next class. Charlie is going to sit down and say
“look how many freshman we played..the competition is wide open”
Come to ND
🙂
I still wish we redshirted Gray but i am anxious to see what he can do in the running game
I can’t say enough about Steve Filer, and yes when Mo Crum graduates it’s gonna suck i’m still anxious to see what Filer can do, i think he couold eventualy even be better than Mo. Jr.
Considering this was Purdue, I am cautiously optimistic about the O-line and the running game.
It is certainly an indicator that Jonas Gray now on special team play may get an opportunity at RB. Frankie, I like your idea on kick returns too.
Even with 3 starting running backs, play has been very inconsistant until Purdue. Considering what the freshman have done to date, we need to know what Jonas can do.