2009 Eligibility

With the season over and Irish fans waiting anxiously for spring practice, some of us may be wondering what the roster will look like next year. I took the time to put the scholarship players and spreadsheet their asses. This particular one is based off of the free chart at Irish Illustrated as there is a similar one at Irish Eyes.

The reason I am basically copying this stuff, is so that I can use it as a resource for future posts whether they be about new recruits, depth chart, transfers- whatever. So get used to seeing this thing as I will embed it with a lot of roster-type posts.

The future of a program can be foretold by objectively looking at the depth chart and identifying strengths and weaknesses.

A few notes from The Subway Domer:

• Gary Gray is still on the eligibility chart. Until further notice from the university, I will count Gary as a roster member.
• No official word has come from the University about the players that may return for a fifth year. We have all heard that 5 players were for certain (Anello, Herring, Duncan, McCarthy, and S. Smith) would be invited back for a fifth year. This chart has two others that still have a year left and after the recruiting class is signed, they may be back next year (Bemenderfer & Schwaap.).
• Harrison Smith is still considered a linebacker until he practices with the safeties. As much as Weis may want to move him, it may not happen.
• The black boxes on the chart represents the fact that no players are designated for that eligibility year. The two that are the most significant are the Junior eligibility for offensive tackles and the Senior eligibility for the defensive tackles.
• Darrin Walls is listed as the word has been spread about his return this month.
• The defense that ND is running is kind of like Optimus Prime. It transforms. I’m not sure you can label this unit. 3-4? 4-3? Well, the Irish ran most of the year with an even front and I would venture that next year will be similar. The hybrids and other linebackers could get moved around.
• Ethan Johnson is known as a defensive end, but he played more defensive tackle this year than anything else.

There is a lot of discussion available as far as the depth charts and positioning goes, and I will be discussing these more and more as we roll into the spring.