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.