The Bigger the Better

As I review the roster of players this year one thing is for sure, these young men are getting bigger every year.   We have 14 players weighing 300 pounds or more with sophomore Nose Guard Louis Nix tipping the scales at a reported 326 lbs. (I think that may be on the light side)  and several others knocking on the door at 295 plus.  With four freshman weighing 290 lbs. or more, the future seems stable.  

We also have 36 players standing 6’4” or taller, with Offensive Tackle Nichols Tate leading the way at 6’8” who also weighs in at 320 lbs.  With 13 freshman standing 6’4” or taller, height will not be a concern down the road.  Of the 13 verbal commits from the class of 2012, five are 6’3’ or taller headed up by 6’8” offensive tackle Taylor Decker.

We know that Brian Kelly recruits athletes, lets his coaching staff loose on them and then places them in positions that fit their abilities and the team’s needs.  A key player in this strategy is Director of Football Strength and Conditioning Paul Longo.  With 24 years of NCAA experience, Longo will ensure that the Irish have the strongest, best conditioned athletes possible.   Along with the fantastic facilities and equipment in South Bend, the players work hard all year long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKl0kKE35Wo

The Guglielmino Athletics Complex known as the “Gug {Goog}” on the Notre Dame Campus along with the Joyce Center and Loftus Sports Center  makes just about the best facilities college or pro.  The Gug is a 96,000 square foot facility with a 25,000 square foot fitness center in it with the latest and best state of the art equipment available anywhere.

For Starters

Okay, it’s official - Dayne Crist was named the starting quarterback for the season opener against South Florida.  This is no surprise and we can now move on with our lives.  I can’t say that I am happy or disappointed, but I guess that’s what you get with Crist, vanilla.  Don’t get me wrong; I like Dayne and feel good with him behind center.  He carries himself well, is a solid presence on the field.  Hell, you’d even let him take your daughter out on a date and not worry.  Tommy Rees was not too flashy either, but at least there was an exciting storyline with a true freshman leading the Irish.  Can Crist lead this team to a BCS Bowl?  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Dayne may be more developed physically with a 2 inch height  and a 20 pound weight advantage over Rees.  Dayne has more game experience but Rees has the edge in winning percentage as a starter.  Although the quarterback situation was the big question to be answered, there were several other starting positions still in question. 

6’4” 230 lb. Junior Dan Fox out of St. Ignatius High School beat out fellow junior Carlo Calabrese for the inside linebacker position opposite Mati Te’o.  Like Carlo, Fox did not see any action his freshman year; however, the both saw game time as sophomores.  Dan played in 13 games, primarily on special teams, and Calabrese started 11 games at inside linebacker.  This does surprise me, but both may start different games this year, and both will see a lot of the field for sure.  This is a great example of being able to bring in another player for rest or injury, for a play or a season and not miss a beat.

Junior Chris Watt will start at left guard, beating out Graduate Student Andrew Nuss.  Although Chris Watt did not play his freshman year, he did see action in all 13 games last season, providing depth at right guard for Chris Stewart.  With 23 games played, Nuss will use his experience and see is fair share of playing time this year, thanks in great part to his ability to play guard or tackle.

It was announced by Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco that Sean Cwyner will be starting at nose guard.  The nose guard position will be played by committee anyway.  Louis Nix will play on running downs and short yardage scenarios.  Cwyner will see the majority of the rest of the workload with Hafis Williams picking up any other available snaps.  This is another position where the Irish have good depth.

The final announcement that caught my attention is that freshman kicker Kyle Brindza will be handling the kickoff duties.   Kyle has a leg for kickoffs, converting 60 of 63 kickoffs his senior season for touchbacks.   In addition to giving him game experience to build confidence, it will allow Davis Ruffer to focus solely on field goals.  He will be kicking field goals for the Irish soon enough and he will be doing it well.   Brindza set a Michigan State high school record with 19 made field goals as a senior in 2010, including six of nine from 50 yards or more.

My First Sip

Friday evening, I took my first sip of the Kelly Kool-Aid.  I have always loved his attitude, personality, confidence and realistic outlooks.  Holtz was well known for telling everyone how terrible they were and we would be lucky to be in the game or make a bowl.  Kelly is not as harsh as Holtz but he has kept the excitement at bay and has made sure no one is expecting too much.  This is important; fans don’t need to be too jacked up, talking crazy about undefeated seasons and National Championships – at least not yet anyway.  From enthusiastic fans to conservative analysts, people are willing to concede that Kelly may be able to have those conversations in two to three years.   But on Friday I saw a tell.  What is a tell? A tell is any clue, habit, behavior or physical reaction that gives other players more information about your hand.

I was watching coverage from team photo day on Tuesday when Kelly first made me think there may be more at play this season than improving on last year’s 8-5 record and going for a BCS Bowl Bid.  During team photo day there’s more than just the team picture.  Players march through the locker room stopping in front of different screens and backdrops for individual pictures, onto the field for group shots both organized and impromptu, then into the stands for the full team picture.

The first tell was more of a slip or maybe just fun talk with a player.  As each player funneled through the gauntlet of photographers snapping pictures, one stop is a photo in front of the famous “play like a champion sign” for a shot with Coach Kelly.   Kelly takes a moment with each of his players to chat for all of five seconds about something personal from “you’re doing great, keep it up” for freshman tight end Ben Koyack or “you’re mom’s going to love this one, this is for mom” to Aaron Lynch, freshman defensive end.   However, with cornerback Gary Grey, a fifth year graduate student it was a little different.  As Gary came down, Kelly said “Alright Gary, last time with me buddy,” three clicks of the camera then Brian says, “That’s the National Championship photo right there.”  With so many guys coming through many would say he could only come up with so many things to say to them.  Brian would never say that with a media presence around.  His guard was down, just UND.com filming, he was around the inner circle.  Not to over think it, I know the public goal is a BCS Bowl and national prominence, but is the in-house goal a National Championship run this year?

The second tell was a little less, well let’s just say a little less subtle.  While watching Friday’s post practice press conference, I sensed something from Kelly I had not seen before from him.  Something I thought I had gotten from Charlie Weiss, but in the end wasn’t there.  It was like he almost gave a wink indicating “yeah we got it and we got it now.”  I know Brain Kelly has won National Championships at the Division II level, tons of big games and coaching awards at all levels but he’s in another stratosphere being in South Bend and I don’t know if he can know if this team is that good.  With the Irish ranked 18^th in the pre-season USA Today Coaches poll and 16^th in the Associated Press poll, I guess it’s not out of the question, but let’s keep it a little more grounded for now.