Who to watch.

Whether you like it or not this Bowl game is a part of next season, if not for momentum for insight to the possible future.  With a very large number of players coming back for the 2015 season some have more to show than others.  Here are some of the players Irish fans will want to pay particular attention to on Tuesday afternoon.

Malik Zaire

Malik Zaire.  This is kind of a no-brainer with there be a potential true quarterback competition this spring and heading into the fall.  One half of this is the poor performance, or at least a lack of production from Golson the other is what can Zaire really do?   His high school highlight tape looks good, there were good reports from summer camp and the few times we have seen him play there has been some positive results.  If the future of the Irish even if it's not until 2016 we need to see more of Zaire in real game action.

Nyles Morgan

Nyles Morgan.  Morgan was going to be the future of middle linebackers in South Bend, but after injuries to the linebacker crew the future came sooner than later for Morgan.  The plan was to redshirt but that did not happen and Morgan looked like what he was; super talented but inexperienced at the collegiate level.  I wish he could have saved a year of eligibility, learned the system and combined his talent with what he learned.  I am excited to see what he has learned with the extra bowl practices.

Mike McGlichey

Mike McGlinchey.  Physically he is a perfect specimen for an offensive tackle.  After redshirting last season it was only a matter of time before he saw the field in 2014.  It came later than some thought but he looked pretty damn good in limited action.  With a nagging back injury to Christian Lombard McGlinchey should see a lot of action this Tuesday.  The future of the offensive line looks bright and McGlinchey should be a big piece of it.

Freshman Defensive Linemen.  Coming into the season Andrew Tumbetti looked like he might be the only freshman D-lineman who was going to see action.  The Irish may have been thin along the defensive front and since Kelly has a history of playing freshmen if he feels they are ready I'm not overly surprised to see more freshman see the field especially after players got banged up.  The freshmen defensive lineman who did see action looked good and with the addition of bowl practices we should get a better insight to the future of Notre Dame's defensive line's future.  Jay Hayes, Grant Blakenship, Daniel Cage, Jhonny Williams, Jonathan Bonner and Peter Mokwuah should all get reps with the absence of Jarron Jones and a not 100% Sheldon Day.



Daniel Cage