Brian Kelly and the 2013 version of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football team are ready to put 2012 behind them and move forward to create a new identity while continuing to do what Notre Dame Football is supposed to do… win.
“You’ll see a team that has a different personality than last year.”
“Last year we had some bold personalities."
"This is a group that comes to work every single day with a consistency. I think that’s what I see more than anything else. I know what I’m going to get from them every single day. It’s a deeper group in the sense that there’s not just one personality.”
Notre Dame certainly lost a lot of production on both sides of the ball, but they return enough talent to put the pieces back together for another possible BCS run.
It all starts with leadership…
I'm honored to announce your 2013 @NDFootball Captains – #70 Zack Martin, #2 Bennett Jackson, and #7 TJ Jones. #GoIrish
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) August 22, 2013
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Zack Martin is only the 18th player in Notre Dame history to return as a captain for a second season. Brian Kelly stated that Jackson and Jones were "workmanlike" in their approach to fall camp and they have been leading by example.
Last year saw the Irish with 4 captains and this year there are only 3. What about Tommy Rees? Brian Kelly said that Rees had "enough on his plate" as the quarterback. Regardless, we all know that a well loved senior quarterback will provide plenty of leadership on and off the field.
The captains and the starting quarterback are in place. What's next? Well, a depth chart of some sort. Although Notre Dame has not released an official depth chart as of yet, there was a lot to take away from media day and its open practice session.
On Offense…
Notre Dame has been doing a lot of mixing and matching with personnel. Some of this is package based and some of it is just due to injury. Here are some of the highlights / surprises:
* Freshman Steve Elmer is bringing his "A" game. As of right now, Elmer looks to be like the first guy off the bench at either guard or tackle.
* Yesterday's practice showed Chris Brown running with the first team as the slot. This isn't as surprising as it is what a lot of us had hoped for.
* George Atkinson continues to get most of the reps as the starting running back and is backed up primarily by Amir Carlisle. Kelly said that he has never had as good of depth at running back in his entire career. Greg Bryant was shown to get some carries, but the pecking order looks solid.
* Troy Niklas may be the starter at tight end, but Ben Koyack and Alex Welch will all be used.
* Notre Dame has been practicing the "pistol" all camp, and despite us not knowing exactly how much of the pistol offense will be used in 2013, we can be sure that it will be a part of the gameplan.
On Defense…
The defensive line, like the offensive line, is running a bit thin because of injuries- but the defensive line injuries are much more permanent. Hounshell was already lost for the season at DE and now Springman is gone for the year too.
* With Day, Tuitt, and Nix as the starting base, Notre Dame will look to young players such as freshman Isaac Rochell and sophomore Jarron Jones to play a major role coming off the bench. Veteran Kona Schwenke is in that second group too. ND has the ability to move Tuitt in and out along the line as well as use multiple fronts, so the exact subbing order isn't quite defined right now. Ishaq Williams playing defensive end adds another dimension of flexibility here too.
* Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese are the starting inside linebackers with Jarrett Grace being used as a part of a 3 man rotation. This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, as Grace was hailed to be the heir to Te'o, but Fox's injury in the spring exaggerated this.
* Prince Shembo will likely never leave the field at CAT whether standing up or with his hand on the ground. Like ever.
* Freshman Jaylon Smith is seeing the majority of reps at the DOG and by all accounts has been as advertised and perhaps even better than that. Ben Councell will back him up and see his share of snaps, but Smith has all but won that job.
* Bennett Jackson, KeiVarae Russell, and Mathias Farley are entrenched as starters in the secondary. Austin Collinsworth took the first team reps yesterday at the other safety spot where we have seen Elijah Shumate. It isn't clear which of Shumate and Collinsworth will see the most time.
Special Teams…
* GA3 will return the kicks and TJ Jones will takeover returning punts.
* As of right now, Kelly said that they will use all their kickers. All of them
Brian Kelly says he will use Nick Tausch, Kyle Brindza and Alex Wulfeck against Temple. "At what time and what place, I'm not sure yet."
— Rachel Terlep (@eTruth_Irish) August 22, 2013
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Other stuff…
Kelly said that Notre Dame will need and use a lot of players this year. That means a lot of guys that didn't play last year and a chunk of the freshmen will see significant playing time. Freshmen such as Cole Luke, Corey Robinson, James Onwualu, and Greg Bryant (along with names already mentioned in this article) should all see playing time while the game still matters. Although this is very exciting, it is also a little scary because despite all of that potential, we still don't know exactly how they will perform on gameday.
The bottom line is that this is indeed a much different team than last year, with much bigger expectations than at this time in 2012. The Irish must get off to a good start and be efficient with these roster moves. There is evidence to support that this team can and should be a really good football team in 2013 just as it was in 2012, but it will be done a lot differently.
Brian Kelly and Notre Dame are moving forward in year four of this regime. How they respond could dictate what this team does for the next four years. Are you ready?
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