Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Commentary: 2012 Will Be Okay


There is a common misconception that the 2012 team will not be as good as the 2010 or 2011 team. This is for two reasons: 1) the team is simply not as talented and 2) the schedule will be tough. Both of these reasons are not true or are wildly exaggerated. 2012 will be just fine.

The 2012 Roster

QB
This the biggest question facing the 2012 Irish and Brian Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame to this point. The positives are that Notre Dame has two Quarterbacks with experience. Tommy Rees is unlikely to play because he is limited in what he can do. Andrew Hendrix has the talent to turn Brian Kelly’s offense effectively. Will his talent and his experience give him the job? It is probably the most likely scenario. However, players privately have said that Golson is the top Quarterback in the program. Ultimately, it cannot get much worse. This position will improve next year.

RB
Notre Dame returns three players with significant playing. Cierre Wood ran for 1102 yards on 9 TDs. He will need to carry more of the load this season without Jonas Gray but other players may spell Wood. Theo Riddick ran for 63 yards on 14 carries after returning to the Running Back position in late November. He looked naturally and will probably improve this season. George Atkinson has limited time at Running Back but has shown promise on Kick Returns. In addition to these three options, Notre Dame also has two recruits that could vie for playing time in KeiVarae Russell and Will Mahone.

WR
This is the position that Notre Dame lacks major depth at. T.J. Jones and Robby Toma will most likely be starters next season. John Goodman could be an option to add experience and depth. Kelly would of course need to give Goodman a fifth year. If not, Notre Dame’s options are limited. Daniel Smith and DaVaris Daniels are the most likely options. Both players were four-star recruits. These two probably have the ability to fill in for Floyd. Obviously, there is not a replacement but both can still do good things. Incoming Freshman, Chris Brown, Justin Ferguson and Deontay Greenberry may play a lot next season. Of that group, Deontay is the most ready.

TE
If Tyler Eifert returns, Notre Dame will have one of the top Tight Ends in the country. Eifert can be the “go-to” player in the offense next year. Notre Dame also has Ben Koyack and Alex Welch available to play. Both have experience and were top recruits coming out of high school.
OL
Notre Dame returns three starters from the 2011 team: Braxton Cave, Zach Martin and Chris Watt. It is possible that Mike Golic could return to either back up Cave or move to guard. Even if he does not, Notre Dame has plenty of options to fill the guard and tackle positions. Notre Dame has heavily recruited prospects Matt Hegarty, Christian Lombard, Jordan Prestwood and Nick Martin. All of these prospects have potential to fill the positions and do it very well.

Overall, the offense could return 9 players with lots of playing experience. If Notre Dame can limit turnovers, then the offensive will at least be comparable to the 2011 team. With an influx of speed and a spread Quarterback, the team has potential to be better than last years team by the end of the year.

DE
Notre Dame has a lot of talent returning at Defensive End. Kapron Lewis-Moore, Aaron Lynch, Stephon Tuitt, Chase Hounshell and Kona Schwenke all return for another season. In other words, there are five players vying for two positions. This is an area of strength for Notre Dame. Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt will make a large jump following their successful Freshman campaigns. Lewis-Moore adds a lot of talent and experience. The starters will most likely be Lewis-Moore and one of the Lynch and Tuitt.

DT
This is also an area of strength of the Fighting Irish. Louis Nix and Sean Cwynar will return with plenty of playing time under their belt. Nix has been dominant at times. With improved conditioning, Nix should be outstanding next year. Cwynar will also be better because he will be able to participate in more off-season workouts. He was limited because of injury. In addition to these two players, top recruits Sheldon Day and Jarron Jones will enter the program. They do not need to play but if they can, it will be a big bonus for Notre Dame.

OLB
Following the great recruiting season of 2011, Notre Dame has lots of options at Outside Linebacker. Prince Shembo, Troy Niklas, Ishaq Williams and Danny Spond all have game experience. Ben Councell is another player that could work his way into the mix. It is really unclear who will start at this position. Regardless of who starts, Notre Dame will have players who can play very well at the position.

ILB
The biggest news regarding this position is the return of Manti Te’o. Along with Te’o will be Dan Fox or Carlo Calabrese. Another player to keep an eye on is Kendall Moore. If he moves to the other linebacker position, he could beat out Fox and Calabrese. Regardless, Notre Dame has a lot of talent in the front line at this position.

CB
Notre Dame loses both of its starters. Losing all that experience definitely hurts but Notre Dame has players that can step up to play just as well. Bennett Jackson will probably be the breakout player on defense in 2012. According to many reports, he has all the skills needed to be an elite corner. Jackson has only played one season as a Corner. He will undoubtedly improve this year. Jackson saw lots of the field at the end of the year. The other position could be filled by Lo Wood or one of the Freshman. Lo Wood returned an interception for a touchdown against Maryland but was also burned by Robert Woods for a touchdown against USC (to be fair, most Cornerbacks are burnt by Woods). Notre Dame has commitments from Tee Shepard and Ronald Darby. Both have not been firm with their commitments but Notre Dame will probably hold on to both. Yuri Wright and Brian Poole could be other commitments at this position. Any of these players could start for Notre Dame next year. It is my belief that they will probably do it well. Jalen Brown has an outside shot at playing Cornerback next year.

S
Notre Dame has a few experienced players but little depth at the two safety positions. Motta and Slaughter are most likely to play. But, Austin Collinsworth has played some on Defense and has received a lot of praise from Senior Safety Harrison Smith. Notre Dame may need to play Freshman Nicky Baratti or John Turner. Notre Dame could also add elite Safety Elijah Shumate to this discussion.

Notre Dame’s front seven might be one of the strongest in the country. The secondary will need to step up for this to be great defense but they have the talent to do so.

Overall, Notre Dame has the talent to be extremely competitive in the 2012 season.

Coming Soon…The 2012 Schedule

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