Next Years First Timers

The Irish had a lot of great plays made by a lot of good freshman football players this year.  Notre Dame also had some good (or at least we’ve been told they’re good) freshman football players who never even played a down.  The good news is we have the potential for having them make plays for the next four years by retaining a year of eligibility, and they also the way picked up a year of practice and tutelage from a coaching staff who gave them a year of weight training and workouts that should payoff big time.

The 2011 season saw a number of players take the field and contribute who were redshirted last season. Louis Nix was not only worth the wait, but the wait was probably necessary.  Nix came to South Bend overweight and under-conditioned; then he took a year, hit the field and produced.  We now have three more years of a developed football player.   Not every redshirt needed to develop, but they all got a year’s work and maybe more importantly get another year of game playing for the Golden Domers.  Andrew Hendrix did not see the field as much as Nix did this season nor did he need the time to work on his weight or conditioning, but I am sure that the time served him well.  He should fit well into Brian Kelly’s plans for a faster spread offense. 

The offensive line has stockpiled some big guys that will ensure quarterbacks have time to pass and running backs have big holes to run through.  6’5” 280 lb. Bruce Heggie, 6’5” 301 lb. Christian Lombard, and 6’8” 320 lb. mountain Nicolas Tate (who due to injury this year could , down the road petition the NCAA for a 6^th year) will all be on board for the future thanks to being redshirted last season.

Even though on the defensive side of the ball youth seems to be on Notre Dame’s side, there were a number of sophomores this year who still have three years of eligibility that could really be beneficial to success the team.   Linebackers Kendall Moore and Justin Utipo will provide stability for the next three years, although next year it will be most likely be in a back up roll for the defense.

Redshirts

Between the incoming freshman class and the lot of quality freshmen from this season who saw game time, the Irish still have a solid crew players who will have four years of eligibility by being redshirted this year.  Players who were not redshirted and contributed this season include George Atkinson III, Josh Atkinson, Stephon Tuitt, Ben Koyack, Aaron Lynch, Kyle Brindza, Cam McDaniel, Chase Houndshell, and Troy Niklas.  Of course, I wish some if not all of these would have four more years, mostly those who only saw limited action.

Obviously, not all of the remaining freshmen who did not play this season will develop into contributing members of the team in the future, but there are a handful of freshmen who we will be happy have an extra year of eligibility if not contribute next year.

Leading the way is quarterback Everett Golson who is expected to be the future of Brian Kelly’s high speed spread offense. There was no need to play Golson this season and I am happy Kelly didn’t.  Everett will be in the hunt next spring with Andrew Hendrix.  Either way, wide receivers DaVaris Daniels (6’1”, 195 lbs.) and Matthias Farley (5’10”, 194 lbs.) will be catching passes for the next four years for the Irish.  The year of development probably did Farley good as he only started playing football in his junior year of high school.  Whether the Irish are running or passing, the offensive line has a bright future.  Notre Dame saved a year of eligibility for some of their highly recruited linemen, which was important because although they are very talented, there probably won’t be an opening along the line for a couple of seasons as all of this year’s starters should all be back for 2012.  6’5” 290 lb. Brad Carrico, 6’4” 280 lb. Nick Martin (younger brother of Zach), 6’4” 290 lb. Matt Hegarty, 6’4” 310 lb. Conor Hanratty, and 6’5” 287 lb. Jordan Prestwood who had to sit out a season after de-committing from Florida State, will all be opening holes and protecting pockets as they all saved a year of eligibility.

There were not as many redshirts on the defensive side of the ball as many freshmen had important roles this season.  I am, however, looking forward to several defensive redshirts play down the road.  At 6’4½”  230 lbs., linebacker Ben Councell along with 6’5½” 280 lb. defensive end Tony Springmann should provide additional defensive talent for the Irish for years to come.

The future has looked bright for the Irish in the past and they have fallen short of expectations for years, so I will not get my hopes up too much.  However, I am cautiously confident that Brian Kelly is moving this program in the right direction and is amassing the players so expectations are met.