Blue & Gold Looking Deeper

With Spring practice coming to an end this week and with the upcoming Blue & Gold Game, we thought we would give you a couple of players to keep an eye out for.  You’re going to keep tabs on the likes of Golson, Nix and Tuitt, but there are some players and positions that will be pivotal come fall and Saturday should provide some early insight. 

I wish I could say that for those coming back from injury this would provide great insight. However, the coaching staff is not going to push anyone who is not ready.

The Center position will be one of if not the most important battle (behind running back) going into the season.   Bruce Heggie and Matt Hegarty along with Conor Hanratty were thought to be the players battling for the starting role at center, but the word out of spring camp is that Nick Martin is leading the pack at center.  Martin is listed on the roster as a guard/tackle, but muck like his older brother Zach, his talent allows him to play anywhere on the Offensive Line.

At Running Back, AG III was and is still expected to be the featured back.  However, there is a full stable of contenders, several on campus and a couple more coming in.  As for the Spring Game, I am very interested to see William Mahone.  He is the only back with a complete question mark at the college level.  We have seen glimpses of the other backs - McDaniel and Carlisle have run the ball in game action.  Mahone could be an unexpected surprise this year.

Across the board, the wide receivers will be jockeying for positioning, even T.J. Jones who is the number one receiver has question marks next to his name.  I have a pretty good idea of what most of the receivers can do; the question is what they will do.  As for who to focus on this Saturday, early enrollee freshmen Corey Robinson and James Onwualu are the epitome of potential, with Robinson still learning the game as well as his height potential and Onwualu his reputation of being an athletic and physical football player.

“Tight End U” will continue at Notre Dame with Troy Niklas.  He is just too impressive of a football player to not make that happen.  After Niklas it’s up for grabs with two returning underachieving backups and an early enrollee with potential down the road.  There is a Graduate Student on the roster who has been on the campus for years, but is on the football team for the first time.  Former Irish basketball player Joey Brooks walked on and has made this team and it should be super exciting to see how this 6’ 5” athlete makes the transition from the hardwood to the gridiron.

Even though the defensive backfield feels a little more stable than last season, there are still questions as to depth and playing time.  There could be a couple of starters who helped the Irish to an undefeated regular season who may be bumped for guys returning from injury.  I am curious (for a lack of a better word) to see how performs.

Manti Te’o may be gone but the sky is not falling at the linebacker position.  There is a ton of talent returning in South Bend with a mix of players who have meaningful game experience as well as those who have waiting to show what they can do.  Jarrett Grace has been the “player in waiting” and word out of spring camp is that he is not disappointing.  I can’t wait to see for myself.

Irish fans should feel pretty confident in what they have in the defensive line.  Even the backups have provided us with playing time, giving us insight to their abilities.  Jarron Jones came to South Bend with expectations and questions.  At nearly six and a half feet and 300 lbs., Jones could have just as easily been put on the offensive line.  He took his freshman year to develop into a college player as he had few challenges at the high school level and used his physical advantage to dominate opposing players in Rochester, NY.  Due to the proven depth along the defensive line, Jones does not need and probably won’t play extensively this season but should continue his development to be a force in the future.

Special Teams have not been overly special in recent years, especially on punt return.  I don’t know what to expect in 2013 but it has to get better, right?  We thought that last year and we saw how that went.  C.J. Prosise’s name keeps coming up this spring.  He came to Notre Dame to play in the defensive backfield but I think we will see him catching in the ball on the offensive side of the ball this fall.  Also, because of his size, speed and athleticism, he should be returning punts.  I just want to see this guy play.

Players to watch recap: Nick Martin, William Mahone, Corey Robinson, James Onwualu, Joey Brooks, Elijah Shumate, Jarrett Grace, Jarron Jones and C.J. Prosise