Get Me To August

What the hell just happened? Here I sit and the month of April is almost over. This year, I took a very different approach to spring football. If you have read the site at all over the past two springs, you are probably well aware of my disdain for much of what is talked about, reported about, and speculated about during the course of the spring practice sessions and the subsequent spring game. So, I won’t go into all the details about why I most willingly chose to experiment with not writing a damn thing.

I feel good about it.

Still, let me not walk away from the spring blooms before you have read a few thoughts about what just went down and what we may expect come fall camp (even if they are just talking points and not entirely the fact of the matter).

I’ll be brief.

Quarterback Dance Off Pants Off

For anyone thinking that something other than what happened at the quarterback position was going to happen… please return your brain to science. You are a lonely person and think too highly of predestination.

The common theme is that if either quarterback had an edge coming out of spring ball it was Everett Golson. It makes perfect sense in that Golson is the more polished passer, and in a spring (and even fall camp) setting, he should do, at least, a wee bit better than Malik Zaire. Still, Zaire did enough to prove to Kelly that he too can run the offense.

So what do you know; the competition is ongoing. Completely shocked over here. I mean, I totally thought Kelly was going to name one guy as a clear starter and then by doing so, completely alienate the other person. I was for sure there was going to be a transfer…
C’mon guys. Even this fall we are going to see both quarterbacks a lot. Many of you, like me, welcome the use of both of these quarterbacks. Kelly has this multiple quarterback thing down pretty well, and I would argue that some of his best seasons as a coach had multiple quarterbacks, so I’m down with BK and his awesome quarterback bigamy.

Offensive Line On Point

One of the strengths, or possible strengths, of this team lays across the 5 spots in front of the quarterback. Five spots and realistically, 8 guys. This years version of the O line seems much more physical and vicious than in the recent past. Is that my imagination running wild? No, but it could be the Irish running game if ND decides to properly execute a running game plan.

Everyone stayed fairly healthy throughout spring and Ronnie Stanley made a bid to run the fullback dump with his number being called. With Hegarty heading elsewhere, I am still a little uncomfortable about anyone backing Martin up at center.
My main question is if these guys are going to be able to play like escaped convicts looking for a Taco Bell. Meaning, will they play hungry and mean for the full four every game, or will Kelly’s gameplanning around defenses, have them more up and down. It’s a small point, but an important one in that their play will most likely define the game and the season.

Defensive Numbers

Because of this legit “brief” concept, I’m going to lump the entire defense in this little spot. The Irish defense certainly has better “numbers” in terms of depth from the front end to the back end. Yes, the safety numbers are a little short right now- but with the addition of Sebastion and a possible move for Butler, they are sitting in a healthy place.

A few notes:

• Until Jerry Tillery plays some meaningful minutes on the defensive line in a real game, I refuse to buy into much of anything said this spring. It’s a defense mechanism.Getting Jarron Jones healthy and getting Jarron Jones back to form are two different things. One is attainable by fall camp, while the other may not happen at all this year. The lack of real, licensed and bonded pass rushers is a huge concern.
• Figuring out this linebacker lineup is going to be rough. I also smell a “too many generals” kind of a thing brewing as well. Would a lineup of Jaylon Smith, Nyles Morgan, and Joe Schmidt be the best scenario? What about Onwualu instead of Schmidt? Will Schmidt fully recover from his injury? How much does Jarrett Grace figure into this puzzle? For real- because despite all of what has been said this spring, I’m quite uncertain about any actual depth chart or rotation that will be viable come September.
• I’m in love with our cornerbacks and yes, it is a love triangle. Cole Luke, Nick Watkins, and the returning KeiVarae Russell should be a great corner rotation. The Redfield/Shumate combo this spring has been encouraging as they seem to have remembered something called “communication,” and I’m doing fist pumps about Mathias Farley coming back because I think Farley is the shit and I will defend him until I die (welcome to Jimmy Clausen territory Mathias).

We can talk about players until we’re blue in the face, but it all really comes down to how BVG lines this defense up, and how aggressive he plans on being in 2015. The addition of Todd Lyght as the defensive backs coach looks as if it should work out quite well and some of the breakdowns in 2014 will be a thing of the past.

Running Wild

After the bowl game, the roar from the fanbase for Kelly to utilize the run game only got louder. The Irish ran the ball quite well and that was against the best defense in the SEC (SEC SEC SEC SEC SEC). The common thought was that this spring, Folston and Bryant would just straight up own spring ball (whatever that means). While Folston had a steady spring, the focus on Greg Bryant became less and less clear, and another candidate emerged in CJ Procise. Procise looks to be the real deal and despite a weird use of language by Kelly, CJ is a natural runner. The emergence of Procise at running back not only solidifies the depth at the position even before the arrival of Josh Adams and Dexter Williams, it also breathes another year of life into Amir Carlilse at the slot- as well as gives Kelly another series of schemes with Procise’s talents both running the ball and catching the ball.

And We Move On

That wraps up spring ball for me, in a nutshell, and with minimal effort. The team remained healthy, developed strong depth across the roster, and the new coaches (whom I’ve barely mentioned) got their feet wet in their new homes.

Get me to August.