Aldridge to Get a Look at FB, Other Depth Chart Observations

james-aldrdigeAs we continue to get caught up to all of the story lines so far this spring, one of the more interesting comments from Charlie Weis on Friday was his announcement that James Aldrdige might get a look at fullback.   With just one fullback on the roster – converted linebacker Steve Paskorz – it seemed obvious that one of the bigger backs would get a look at fullback this sprng.  I figured junior Robert Hughes would make more sense because he’s got quite a bit of size on Alrdidge and his running style is more conducive to the position.  Here’s exactly what Weis had to say about the possibility of Aldridge at fullback.

We’ve already talked to James (Aldridge), to be honest with you. And we’ve talked to James about if getting toward closer to the end of his career here, and he was buried behind Armando (Allen) or if he got behind Robert (Hughes) and rather than sitting there in third. We talked about using him as a regular fullback.

So, you know, like the first couple of days when we only have one back in the back field, he’ll be a half back all the time. But, yes, James has been addressed in two back sets being the other back in the back field.

Aldridge is listed at 225 lbs which would make him on the small side for a fullback.  It’s possible that Weis has a role in mind for Aldridge similar to that of what Rashon Powers-Neal had in 2005.  Powers-Neal was used as a fullback for the first five games in 2005 and ran for six touchdowns before getting suspended following the Purdue game.  I still think Hughes makes more sense at fullback though because he is light on his feet and runs well in traffic.

Here are some other observations on the depth chart released Friday.  (UPDATE: Here is a link to the depth chart. Note, Scott Smith, Kyle McCarthy, and Paul Duncan have been added in where they are projected.  The 5th year senior process is not yet finalized so they were absent from the official depth chart.)

  • Robert Blanton and Raeshon McNeil are listed as the starting cornerbacks with Darrin Walls listed behind Blanton.  By the end of the spring, I’d be surprised if Walls wasn’t one of the starting corners.
  • There are a lot of players in italics on the depth chart denoting they are limited this spring.  Because of that, there are some players listed as starters that probably won’t be listed there when fall camp begins.
  • At linebacker, Steve Filer is listed as the starting WILL while Darius Fleming is listed as a SAM.
  • Kapron Lewis-Moore, who didn’t play at all as a freshman is listed as a starting defensive end.  All last season I said KLM looked a lot like Justin Tuck in all of the practice videos.  Tuck didn’t start as a sophomore after sitting out his freshman year, but did provide a major pass rushing threat for the 2002 Irish.
  • Ehtan Johnson is listed as a starting DT after being listed as a DE last year.  Johnson is still listed at 275 lbs, but looks noticably bigger than he did last year.
  • Harrison Smith is listed as the starting free safety while Sergio Brown is listed as the starting strong safety (since Kyle McCarthy is not officially on the depth chart yet due to the 5th year senior process not being finalized).  This is a bit surprised to me since Brown seems much more fitted for free safety because of his athleticism.
  • Deion Walker is listed behind Duval Kamara at the start of spring.  Walker and Kamara will get plenty of reps with Golden Tate missing time due to baseball and should have a good battle for the 3rd WR spot.
  • Weis had to have some fun when he made the kick returner depth chart.  Aldridge and Hughes both listed at KR?  I really hope Weis and Polian give Jonas Gray a look at KR if he can’t pass Hughes or Aldridge on the depth chart at RB this year.

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14 Comments

  1. The first time I got a good look at zone blocking was when I lived in Colorado and watched the Denver Bronco’s.
    Coach Shannahan was big on zone blocking. Of course he had seasoned lineman who put in the time to refine the style and a running back by the name of Terrel Davis. They were one of the top rushing teams in the NFL that year. And man was it a thing of beauty to watch. They went on to win the superbowl that year. Can ND get it to work at the college level? That remains to be seen.

  2. By the way shazamrock, excellent point on zone blocking and Jonas Gray with his cut back moves. Zone blocking does not provide wide-open running lanes as man on man blocking does. The running backs will indeed have to create their own cut-back moves to find an open lane generally. This is why I am not all that optimistic about continuing to teach zone blocking exclusively to improve the running game. Not all of our backs are cut-back runners. We should be getting over 200 rushing yards a game this year with the talent we have in the back field, and especially if we have a killer 2-back set. So, the next time we come out and say we are going to run ball and mean it, we had better understand the basic mechanics of man on man blocking. It is like attemping to go to war with the wrong caliber bullets, it back fires and your down to passing exclusively, and we all ready know how well that works in college football.

  3. Frankie,

    I like Huges better at FB too, but hey, finally they are putting some real talent at fullback and I hope they use a 2-back set (now a real threat) more than last year.

  4. I think if you are going to go with zone blocking in the running game you need a good cut back runner. In the last few plays of the bowl game Jonas Gray showed some excellent cut back moves for good yardage. It’s the best cut back moves I’ve seen since
    D.Walker.

  5. faithfulfan, KLM is listed at a different DE position than Neal. John Ryan is listed as the weakside DE position while Neal is listed as 3rd and in italics since he is limited.

    KLM would be the strong side DE.

  6. The only reason KLM is listed as starter is because Neal is limited this spring. Other than playing another sport, what is the reason for being limited in the spring?

  7. Kansirkid, getting Gaffney this past year would have really been nice. He would have had a chance to start pretty much from day one. He’d also have given us some play making ability at the position.

  8. i wonder what aldridge might have been had he not been hurt so often his first 2 seasons at ND. hopefully the move to fullback will allow us to use him as a missmatch. i dont think KLM will begin the season as a starter, but if what all the sites and reports are true about him id be surprised if he doesnt end the year starting. not sure how i feel about Johnson at DT but if its about getting the best players on the field so be it,

  9. At linebacker, Steve Filer is listed as the starting WILL while Darius Fleming is listed as a SAM

    Fleming is starting at sam or is listed at sam

  10. It all depends upon just WHAT CW has in mind with the fullback position. We lost a good fullback to Stanford because we don’t really use one. So maybe??? we may see some 2 back formations.

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