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| C.J. Prosise |
C.J. Prosise is a VERY important player of the Irish heading
into the fall. After Folston and Bryant
there was very little at running back with the exception of an incoming
freshman and a couple of walk-ons.
Prosise may not be an experienced commodity at running back but he has
proven himself to be an athletic football player on both sides of the ball
during his time in South Bend. A solid
third running back option is very important in case of the first two (and until
the spring the only two) options is unproductive or injured. Prosise looked more than up to the task and
should not only serve as a solid reserve but should work into the regular
rotation as the number three or in specific packages.
Durham Smythe seemed
to solidify his position as the number one tight end. He may have not had a huge game numbers wise
but he ran clean routes and made good catches.
I am one of those who, as much as I like Malik Zaire, feels
that Golson is still the starting quarterback for the Irish. Now that may change come fall but heading
into the spring game it was still Golson's job.
Zaire however did close that cap in my eyes, not so much with his
passing game but with his confidence and especially his ability to run the
ball. Zaire has a long way to go in his
passing game but the Irish should have enough talent on offense to make his job
easier. Golson was good, not great. good enough to hold onto the number one spot
through the summer.
The offensive line, for the most part, did what expected of
them. There were a few penalties that
will need to be tightened up before the season but overall the looked as good
as promote.
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| Justin Brent |
The defensive line starts with Sheldon Day who came back for
his senior year. Day's best work was
displayed early on in his colligate career with injuries nagging him later
on. However the main story of the spring
on defense has been early enrollee Jerry
Tillery. Tillery played well (fantastic
for a kid who is still supposed to be in high school) and gave us a glimpse
into the future of his potential. He is
very big and strong and realizing that he has not even been exposed to Paul
Longo yet it is a little scary of what this kid could develop into. Injuries to Joe Schmidt and Jarron Jones kept
them of the field for the Blue Gold but they are expected back in time for the
summer.
The return of Jarrett Grace proved to be important in terms
of experience and mature leadership in the middle at linebacker. Grace has to work to continue to knock the
rust off but with him, Schmidt, Morgan and All American Jaylon Smith the
linebacker position seems secure.
The defensive backfield is expected to be a strength of this
Irish team, something it has not been for a number of years. Max Redfield look as comfortable and
confident on the field as I have seen him since he arrived in South Bend. Cole Luke will be a leader and I give him
credit for taking on Ronnie Staley making an open field tackle on the big man
right before the end of the first half.
With no kick offs and only fair catch punt returns one of
Notre Dames biggest problems over the past two years was not addressed during
the scrimmage. Since it really could
only get better and having some athletic talent as his disposal Brian Kelly
should have better results in the kick return game this season.
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| DeShone Kizer |
Giving the holding responsibilities to redshirt freshman
quarterback DeShone Kizer will at least give him something to do while Golson
and Zaire battle it out. With all the
problems the Irish has last year with holding for kicks Kizer looked like a
very good option. ITs not often a player
is applauded for his holding skills in the scrimmage but last year's problems
proved how important that role can be.
Tyler Newsome handled all the kicking responsibilities
during the Blur and Gold, however Kelly has already said incoming freshman
Justin Yoon will take of the place-kicking duties when he arrives on campus
this summer. Newsome did fine with
place-kick however his punts left much to be desired, too short on open kicks
and too long when he needed to drop them in before the end zone.
Overall I would have to consider the Annual Blue Gold Game a
success; no injuries and with the exceptions of a few miscues the players
performed well. No one played incredibly
well, not that anyone usually has a break out performance that carries over to
the regular season anyway.
