Practice Observations, 10/16/07

Notre Dame went inside the Loftus Center on Tuesday for a rare day of indoor special teams practice for USC (watch out for caroming footballs):

• Wide receiver David Grimes is back at practice.
• Linebacker Maurice Crum Jr., who barely played Saturday due to injury, looked noticeably slower than his teammates while going through running before stretching.
• We didn't see running back James Aldridge, who Charlie Weis listed as doubtful for Saturday.
• Running backs coach Michael Haywood had a fairly long conversation during stretching with Darrin Bragg. Couldn't hear the conversation, though. Wide receivers coach Rob Ianello chatted with George West and Brandon Erickson, talking something about lockers.
• New starting quarterback Evan Sharpley joked around with punter Geoff Price.
• Brandon Walker attempted all the field goals Tuesday: Good from extra point; Good from 32 yards; Good from 35 yards; Wide right from 37 yards; Good from 37 yards; Wide left from 39 yards; Wide left from 39 yards; Wide left from 43 yards; Good from 43 yards.
• Freshman offensive guard Matt Romine had a slightly less bulky brace on his right elbow. You could actually see skin there this time.
• First-team kick return unit -- working in a diamond-shaped blocking scheme -- Golden Tate and Junior Jabbie as the returners. Other unit members: Eric Olsen, Dan Wenger, Asaph Schwapp, Luke Schmidt, Kyle McCarthy, Steve Quinn, Travis Thomas, Anthony Vernaglia and Mike Ragone.
• The one problem with kickoff coverage and returning inside the Loftus Center -- balls being caught in the rafters. Not the easiest way to simulate things.
• When he would return, though, Tate looked fast.

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-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette