Man, is the Superdome massive. You walk into the place and its size just shocks you. It's huge and considering what the building has gone through in the past 18 months, looks pretty sharp. Notre Dame practiced for the first time inside the building today:
- Reserve defensive tackle Derrell Hand was in sweats and sophomore fullback Asaph Schwapp was in shorts. Everyone else, it appeared, was in full pads.
- Offensive line coach John Latina was pretty chatty with the players in practice, something we don't always see during stretching.
- Athletic director Kevin White was in the Dome, and sitting in a rolling office chair on the sidelines at the 50-yard line.
- Charlie Weis, Jr. was also there, tossing a football with two other coaches' kids.
- On the end zones, there are posters for some of the Saints individual charitable player foundations. Included among the players: Reggie Bush, Joe Horn, Hollis Thomas, Charles Grant and Deuce McAllister.
- Brandon Erickson remained on the bicycle, his customary spot for the season.
- The team ended their huddle-up saying the word "Win."
- Senior safety Chinedum Ndukwe has a brace on his left knee but looked healthy moving around on the Superdome turf. He even made a one-handed interception during a drill and then was playfully pegged with another football by defensive line coach Jappy Oliver to the howls of the defensive linemen.
Don't forget about the score prediction contest: Send your guesses to mrothstein@jg.net. First one to submit a correct score guess wins a prize.
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette
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