What Spring Practice will tell us about The Offensive Line

There is no other area on the team that has both as much certainty and uncertainty as the offensive line.  With the return of Braxton Cave, the only question left is whether or not Mike Golic, Jr. will back him up or slide down the line.  The left side of the line is as sure as any in the country with Zach Martin at tackle and Chris Watt at guard.  The right side is up for grabs with what I consider to be great potential talent.  Spring Practice will give some of these young men a leg up heading into fall.  Junior Christian Lombard will most likely take one of the spots as he could play guard or tackle.  I look for Lombard to stay inside at guard as the Irish have Tate Nichols and Jordan Prestwood vying for that right tackle position.  However, there is a group of young linemen who are hungry to prove their ability and jump into a starting role this year, if not at least getting some quality playing time.  Connor Hanratty, Nick Martin and Matt Hegarty have the potential to play and play early.

What Spring Practice will tell us about Wide Receivers

Spring practices along with the Blue and Gold Game may give us a look as to the replacement – or more appropriately - replacements for Michael Floyd, as it will probably take more than one player to fill his shoes.  The wide receiver position will have a feel of true “tryouts” for playing and starting roles in this offense.  It will be important for players wanting to be at the top of the depth chart in the fall to make good impressions in the spring.  Even veteran players like Robby Toma and John Goodman will have to claw their way onto the field this fall; this by no means guarantees  any younger players an easier road.  After being switched from quarterback, Luke Massa  needs to emerge as a college football player in a position other than what he came to South Bend to play, and at 6’4” and 220 lbs. he should be able to do it.  Putting aside Eifert at tight end and the moving around of Riddick and George Atkinson III, most believe that T.J. Jones is the heir apparent.  Some are a little down on Jones after his sophomore season did not live up to their expectations.  T.J. had a solid freshman campaign but did not grow into an offensive leader at the wide out spot.  Spring would be an opportune time to quiet his critics.  I don’t think spring will give us any new insight on John Goodman as he has had four years to step up.  Another question (two, actually) that will hopefully be answered is in regards to the development of our red shirts.   First, can DaVaris Daniels use his great athleticism to get him playing time?  As for Matthias Farley, will a year of redshirting help him grow enough (skill wise as his height was exaggerated out of high school) to contribute or will he possibly find his way to the defensive side of the ball?

What Spring Practice will tell us about Tight Ends

With the return of Tyler Eifert, spring practice may help us see who may get reps in a two tight end formation and who will get end of game playing time after Tyler is down for the day.  Koyack and Welch can use the spring to show why they belong ahead of senior Jake Golic.  The big peek under the tent we may get is whether or not Troy Niklas moves to the other side of the ball.  Sometimes a kid will come to college with some talent and the coaching staff has to figure out how to use their talent because they may not have enough in one area.  Notre Dame coaches have a player in Niklas - with maybe too much talent - and he really can play on both sides of the ball and be effective.  Although Eifert will be number one no matter what, Koyack and Welch have multiple years of eligiblity left with a lot of potential.  Niklas is in a log jam on the defensive side of the ball as well.   Either way, Niklas can make an impact.  Finally, we may see if Eifert splits out a little to a wide out /tight end hybrid.