Thursday Practice Observations 10-5-06

Practice moved inside on "Scouts Day" -- or Thursday, which is the only day NFL scouts are allowed to view one of Notre Dame's practices:

• Speaking of scouts, while Notre Dame was doing high-step drills, Charlie Weis spent time talking with and courting the scouts, some of whom he surely knew from his NFL days. Teams represented included the St. Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, two from the Baltimore Ravens and a familiar face from the Seattle Seahawks -- former Notre Dame wide receiver Lake Dawson. Dawson and Irish staffer Ron Powlus spent much of the media session chatting.
• Brandon Erickson returned to the bike. D.J. Hord, in a separate move, walked around.
• Weis spent the actual stretching portion talking with Brady Quinn and backup quarterback Evan Sharpley. All we caught was that it was about things not affecting the outcome of the game.
• Chris Frome's mother -- Peggy Myers-Frome -- attended practice along with J.J. Jansen's father and girlfriend and a late-arriving Ed Zbikowski.
• Junior cornerback Leo Ferrine took some work with the first unit of defensive backs. Senior cornerback Ambrose Wooden was dressed but didn't appear to be doing much during the drill the media witnessed.
• Safety David Bruton still has a long-looking cast on his left hand, which probably makes it difficult to intercept passes.
• Kevin White also showed up with Philip Purcell -- the man who donated over half of the Joyce Center renovation money -- in tow.
• No Asaph Schwapp at practice, but he is probably recovering from surgery.

Don't forget about our contests, either: ND-Stanford predictions to mrothstein@jg.net. And in searching for the best tailgates at ND, drop an e-mail to mrothstein@jg.net with the word "tailgate" in the subject line. Let's see what you've got Notre Dame fans. Tell me why I should stop by and check out and possibly give pub to your tailgate.

- By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Comments

[Knute Rockne]

"Probably recovering from Surgery?" No way! He was probably doing illegal advertising spots for local TV. You should call the NCAA--right away.