Irish Insights

Spring Practice Observations -- Saturday 3/31/07

The sniffles have returned, as have the freezing hands, the denim of our jeans sticking to our calves and shivering even though practice ended a while ago.

Notre Dame had its open practice Saturday and decided to head outside to Cartier Field.

Bad idea.

Midway through the practice, it began to rain extremely hard, forcing the notebook to be put away and to seek shelter under the kind umbrella Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune had fetched from his car. Even Charlie Weis didn't seem too pleased with the rain, blaming director of football operations Chad Klunder, who had eyed the forecast. Note to Chad and to self: NEVER TRUST WEATHERMEN. So if anyone could send chicken noodle soup, we're betting an illness might be coming along. Or at least an ear infection.

Anyway, here's what we saw -- and some of what Weis told us in his post-practice news conference -- before the rains steadily came.

• Nose tackle Chris Stewart is dinged up a little bit. He spent a good portion of the practice riding the stationary bike, which became more miserable once the rains came. He looked like the saddest man in South Bend for the final hour, even having a blue towel over his head. It didn't help.
• Each week, Weis is letting a different quarterback act as the starter. He wouldn't say who this week's starter was, but the order of the first set of quarterback drills went Demetrius Jones, Zach Frazer, Evan Sharpley and Jimmy Clausen.
• George West is beginning to separate himself as the No. 2 receiver alongside David Grimes. What that means is that the Irish could have a miniature receiving group to start the season with West at 5-foot-8 and Grimes at 5-foot-10. We also noticed again how fast West's feet are during drills.
• During a quarterback/running back drill these were the pairings: Armando Allen/Jimmy Clausen; Travis Thomas/Evan Sharpley; James Aldridge/Demetrius Jones. Zach Frazer, at the time, was throwing to the wide receivers with walk-on Justin Gillett.
• When the defensive backs and wide receivers broke into 1-on-1 drills, defensive backs coach Bill Lewis had to yell for a quarterback to come over and throw. His yelling ended up in Clausen being sent over with Sharpley following later.
• Wide receiver D.J. Hord made a nice catch on a pass from Clausen -- whose arm looks fine, by the way -- in traffic over the middle.
• The best catch of the day goes to walk-on wide receiver David Costanzo, who beat cornerback Darrin Walls for a long touchdown pass from Sharpley. After the play, Lewis said Walls "lost him at the line of scrimmage because you didn't move feet."
• Hord beat running back-turned-cornerback Munir Prince on a catch over the middle. Prince came up limping, looking like he might have dinged up his right leg, although it didn't appear to be too bad.
• Fort Wayne native Jake Richardville made a nice cutback and catch on a pass from Clausen.
• Cornerback Terrail Lambert made a nice recovery hit on West after West beat him on a slant route inside.
• Sharpley was the first quarterback up in 7-on-7 with Frazer second, Jones third and Clausen fourth.
• At right guard, Matt Carufel slid in with the first team. Weis said during his post-practice interview that Dan Wenger is a little bit injured.
• The parents of offensive lineman Bartley Webb and wide receiver Barry Gallup Jr. were in attendance.
• Around this time the rains started coming and things became more difficult to track much of anything.
• That said, it appears Nate Whitaker may have passed Ryan Burkhart at kicker. Whitaker took more attempts than Burkhart during the kicking session and was the man who had to take the pressure "team runs or not" kick at the end of practice. He hit the 40-yarder, which sent Notre Dame's players into a frenzy rushing the field. Darrin Bragg took off his helmet and started doing a dance and Jones gave a fist pump in the air. The players, it seemed, wanted out of the rain as much as the media did.
• After practice, Weis said Whitaker had kicked well Friday in practice, so he earned the Saturday attempts. And after making the run-stopping kick, "he's the most popular guy in the clubhouse," Weis said.

We'll have a mailbag Sunday. Get your questions in to [email protected]. Enjoy the Final Four games tonight.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

He Loves Cartoons, Too

The answer stunned reporters. When someone asked linebacker Morrice Richardson who he watched growing up, if there were linebackers he studied back then, he laughed.

Richardson didn't watch football growing up, at least not after he'd come home from practice. Instead, he went for the lighter side of life -- cartoons.

"My dad tried to get me to watch games and I was like 'Dad, I just got done playing it. I don't feel like watching it,'" Richardson said.

It wasn't even like Richardson watched ProStars cartoons or The Jetsons -- although both are likely choices. He went after the Disney stuff and Warner Bros. stuff, with or without Warners stalwarts Wakko, Yakko and Dot.

"I watched Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, anything that came on," Richardson said. "Even now, I'll sit here and watch Powerpuff Girls, it doesn't matter to me."

How big does the obsession go? Richardson owns the Care Bears Movie and can rattle off different types of Care Bears.

"The bear with the heart," Richardson said. "The bear with the boat."

He laughs now when he talks about it, flashing a smile as he describes the cartoon-watching days of past and present. After all, cartoons make for happy kids -- happy football players, too.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

The Super Bowl Son

We saw Brian Polian in an official capacity for the first time since his father's Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl last month.

And before any questions were asked, he immediately went to work reminding everyone.

"Who saw the Super Bowl," a joking Polian said.

Then, smiling, he said "Bears fans."

Talk about a kid proud of his dad.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Spring Practice Observations -- Friday 3/30/07

Despite the gorgeous weather outside, Notre Dame practiced inside the Loftus Center on Friday, in part because of an Irish women's lacrosse game slated to start later on Friday evening. Apparently, they didn't want any distractions.

• Actual officials showed up to practice today because Notre Dame was having a scrimmage. Not surprisingly, the media wasn't allowed to stick around for it. We're also going to wager the quarterbacks were not allowed to be hit, touched or otherwise jostled.
• The parents of wide receiver Barry Gallup Jr. were in attendance.
• Right before Notre Dame's players begin their stretching session, they make a rolling type of noise. Most players have their hands in the air. George West, he doesn't seem about that. He just bobs his head.
• Linebackers/special teams coach Brian Polian spoke with kickers Nate Whitaker and Ryan Burkhart for a few moments during stretching.
• Class of 2007 running back signee Robert Hughes was at practice. During the media portion, he was a busy character, talking with both running backs coach Michael Haywood and head coach Charlie Weis.
• Tight end Will Yeatman wasn't at practice because he is traveling with men's lacrosse to Providence, R.I.
• Former Notre Dame running back and current Irish student Darius Walker showed up for practice, watching the running backs and taking time to talk with Hughes and Weis.
• Defensive end Justin Brown returned to practice after missing Monday and Wednesday.
• Freshman running back Armando Allen doesn't look like a kid who should be a high school senior. He appears, both in running style and his body, to look more like a college sophomore. In a moment of youth, though, the running backs coaches chided Allen about not buckling his chinstrap during a drill.
• Most likely because of the scrimmage, Notre Dame ran mostly in position groups instead of as an offensive and defensive unit. Still we caught who lined up where on the defensive line and secondary.
• The first D-line group on the sled was Dwight Stephenson Jr.; Pat Kuntz; Derrell Hand; Trevor Laws and Paddy Mullen. The second group had Justin Brown; Kallen Wade; Chris Stewart and Neil Kennedy.
• In the secondary, the first line was Terrail Lambert; Ambrose Wooden; Tom Zbikowski and Darrin Walls. Walls moved up a unit for the second straight practice. the second group was Leo Ferrine; David Bruton; Raeshon McNeil and Leonard Gordon. The third group had Kyle McCarthy; Mike Anello; Ray Herring and Sergio Brown. Among those in the last group were Munir Prince. Don't read too much into this, though, because on the first unit Lambert, Wooden and Walls are all cornerbacks.

Don't forget the Sunday mailbag. Send your questions to [email protected] or drop a comment below. We can't promise to answer all the questions every week, but we'll get to them.

One other side note: Listen to Sirius Satellite Radio (the NFL Radio channel, we believe) with Dan Leberfeld and Vic Carucci on Saturday in the final hour. We're slated to be one of the show's guests.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Spring Practice Observations -- Wednesday 3/28/07

The warm and fun weather is gone, replaced by the all-too-typical rain in Indiana. So Notre Dame returned inside to the Loftus Center for the fourth time this spring to resume its spring practices.

• Rising sophomore quarterback Demetrius Jones continued his elaborate high-five dance with the kickers, punters and long-snapper J.J. Jansen. Freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen also got into the act, with a much more subdued high-five. But he's trying.
• Speaking of Jansen, we're not sure how it came up but we overheard Jansen say "I miss Wolke." We're guessing it is in reference to former Notre Dame quarterback David Wolke, who is competing for the starting job at Division I-AA (Playoff Subdivision, if you listen to the NCAA) Western Kentucky.
• Wide receivers coach Rob Ianello is a helper. While receiver George West was stretching, he came from behind and tugged down his No. 19 jersey over the back of his pads. It always helps to look nice.
• Looking at the defense, we didn't see defensive end Justin Brown for the second consecutive practice. Also among the missing was tight end Will Yeatman, but he could be at lacrosse practice because the Irish travel to Brown on Saturday.
• The first-team defense lined up the same: Dwight Stephenson Jr., Pat Kuntz and Trevor Laws on the line; Anthony Vernaglia and John Ryan at outside linebacker; Maurice Crum Jr. and Joe Brockington at inside linebacker and Terrail Lambert, Tom Zbikowski, David Bruton and Ambrose Wooden in the defensive backfield.
• The second team had some changes. Derrell Hand, Chris Stewart and Kallen Wade were on the defensive line; Morrice Richardson, Toryan Smith, Steve Quinn and Scott Smith were at linebacker and Raeshon McNeil, Ray Herring, Kyle McCarthy and Darrin Walls were in the defensive backfield. The notable switches there are Walls for cornerback Leo Ferrine and Scott Smith for Kevin Washington at outside linebacker.
• Ferrine lined up in the third-team secondary with Leonard Gordon, Sergio Brown and Jashaad Gaines. The secondary is the only place on the defense where the Irish can go three full lines -- and that isn't including convert Munir Prince, who was at practice but we didn't see participate.
• Freshman cornerback Gary Gray, who broke his arm last week, wasn't at practice.
• Not that this is an indication of separation, but David Grimes was joined on the first wide receiver line by George West and Darrin Bragg.
• As far as the Homer Bowl,  Notre Dame is reporting 9,200 general admission tickets sold as of Wednesday morning on top of the sold out reserved seats.

Don't forget to send your questions for Sunday's mailbag at [email protected] or drop a comment below -- and let us know if there is anyone in particular you want us to look out for during Saturday's open practice. We do know Yeatman will be missing as he'll be in Providence, R.I. with the men's lacrosse team.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Playoffs?!?

If you've been a follower of Insights at all this year, you know that we are a proponent of a playoff system for college football. And after the way this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament -- Division II included here -- turned out, how could you not like it unless you are John Junker or Paul Hoolahan.

What the structure should be, we're not sure, but we're convinced it would be a gold mine for schools as far as money, much more exciting for fans and players and even the TV networks could get behind it.

And it looks like the conferences could be warming to the idea as well. Dennis Dodd from CBS Sportsline is reporting coaches are starting to be in favor of a potential four-team playoff.

While we believe the possibility of this is still far off -- the BCS and FOX have a television contract to broadcast all the games except for the Rose Bowl through 2010 -- it is a step in the right direction.

And for Notre Dame fans, it would mean the potential end to that pesky bowl losing streak, if it is still around in the new decade.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Rudolph Commits

Notre Dame picked up its fifth verbal commitment for the Class of 2008 on Monday when tight end Kyle Rudolph chose the Irish over Boston College, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Michigan and Ohio State, among others, according to IrishIllustrated.com.

"It's pretty refreshing to be a regular student again," Rudolph told IrishIllustrated.com. "I can sit back and relax and not worry about having to pick a school."

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Rudolph is the fifth player to make a non-binding commitment to Notre Dame, joining offensive linemen Braxston Cave and Mike Golic Jr., defensive tackle Sean Cwynar and wide receiver John Goodman, who is from Bishop Dwenger.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is forbidden from commenting on prospects until National Signing Day in February, 2008.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Notre Dame at the Final Four -- sort of

With the Final Four taking place in Atlanta this week -- for the record, we like Georgetown over Florida in the finals and like ESPN's Pat Forde, had all of the Final Four correct -- Notre Dame will still have some representation.

We ran into former Notre Dame guard Colin Falls, who told us he would be heading to Atlanta this week to take part in the college three-point shootout, which will be shown on ESPN on Thursday night from 9-11 p.m. Not only that, but he also said Russell Carter will be participating in the slam dunk contest that night.

So don't forget to set your TiVo. On a side note, last year's three-point shootout, featuring former Notre Dame guard Chris Quinn losing to Marquette's Steve Novak in the finals, will be on television Wednesday night.

And just food for thought -- Internet gambling site Bodog.com has Notre Dame coach Mike Brey at 6-to-1 odds to take the Kentucky job, better than Billy Donovan (10-to-1), Bruce Pearl (10-to-1) and John Calipari (11-to-1). The favorite, though, is the field at 2-to-1. We first got wind of this on NDNation.com. Should be an interesting process.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

Spring Practice Observations -- Monday 3/26/07

It was completely gorgeous in South Bend -- and, for that matter, in Fort Wayne -- on Monday so Notre Dame had its first practice of the spring outside of the Loftus Center.

Before we get to the observations, also note that Homer Bowl tickets went on sale today and Notre Dame sent a note saying that only general admission tickets remain at this point.

On to what we saw, including a first look at a potential defensive depth chart:

• Tight end Will Yeatman was at his third consecutive practice, working behind starter John Carlson and Konrad Reuland. Yeatman, though, is a big man and must be a beast on the lacrosse field.
• This is something we've noticed over time: Defensive backs coach Bill Lewis is constantly coaching, whether it is in stretching or in a drill, he's always teaching something to someone. That's the mark of a good position coach.
• The defense lined up in a 3-4 formation for the first time we've seen during media sessions this spring.
• The first unit, at least during the media session, consisted of defensive ends Dwight Stephenson Jr. and Trevor Laws and nose tackle Pat Kuntz on the defensive line. The linebackers were Maurice Crum Jr. and Joe Brockington on the inside with John Ryan and Anthony Vernaglia on the outside. The defensive backs had Terrail Lambert and Ambrose Wooden at the corners and Tom Zbikowski and David Bruton at safety.
• The second unit had Kallen Wade and Derrell Hand at defensive end with Chris Stewart at defensive tackle. The linebackers were Toryan Smith and Steve Quinn on the inside with Morrice Richardson and Kevin Washington on the outside. The defensive backfield had Raeshon McNeil and Leo Ferrine at the corners with Kyle McCarthy and Ray Herring at safety.
• After that it was a jumble but one thing we did notice was the lack of Munir Prince on any of the first three units. He's probably still learning the intricacies of the position, so it shouldn't be a surprise.
• This is now the second straight spring Vernaglia has entered practice as a legitimate contender for a starting spot. It'll be interesting to see what he does with it this time.
• The quarterbacks appeared to switch up throwing partners, with Evan Sharpley and Jimmy Clausen tossing together. Demetrius Jones and Zach Frazer were the other tossing partners. Neither, though, threw a pass longer than eight yards so it was tough to gauge anything.
• That said, Frazer is by far the biggest of the quarterbacks. He stands taller than all of them and has more muscle definition, at least from 10 yards away.

Remember to send questions to [email protected] for potential use in a future Sunday mailbag. Or, you can comment them below. Please include your name and hometown in the question. Thanks.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

It's a Mailbag 3/25/07

As we've discussed often, we're planning on being your eyes and ears at spring practice with Notre Dame. And thanks to the readers who have sent questions, giving us enough to have our first mailbag of the spring.

Keep the questions coming, either in the comment box or in an e-mail to [email protected]. We'll try to have at least one mailbag a week, so keep it pumping.

Try to get creative with them, too, and any questions regarding Chipotle or Caesar salads at Martin's will also gladly be accepted. Questions about other sports will also be gladly taken and answered.

With that said, on to the Letters:

Last year's kickoffs, field goals, etc. were not good. Is there any indication that Burkhart from Indiana will be any better than this year? Why can't we find a kid that can consistently kick it in the end zone on kickoffs? Even Navy does that well. How can the kickers at ND never get better than that?
-Chris Thilman
Indiana

Chris --
Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis was asked about kicking during his opening press conference. His answer is the best clue you might get about the Irish's frustrations with the kicking game. He said Ryan Burkhart better win the job out of spring practice, otherwise he'll be coming in at a disadvantage with incoming freshman Brandon Walker. We haven't seen any kicking yet -- we expect to get our best glimpse at it Saturday during the open-to-the-media practice and at the Blue-Gold game. But Weis said Saturday that Burkhart kicked field goals OK the one time the team did it this year.

Could you please touch on your guess on the first team linebackers and maybe second team linebackers?
Thanks.
-Jack Mix
Wallingford, Pa.

Who are the players gathering during practice that could be perceived as the first string linebackers?
Thanks again.
-Pete McLoughlin
Memphis, Tenn.

Jack and Pete --
The linebackers haven't lined up in groupings much yet and Weis is hesitant to give depth chart prognosis, but here's our best guess early on. Joe Brockington and Maurice Crum will likely start in the middle. Actually, we'd be surprised if they don't. On the outside, maybe look for John Ryan, Toryan Smith or Morrice Richardson. We'll get a better idea of how it could shake out Saturday. But we're betting the coaching staff isn't sure either.

Any word on how Konrad Reuland might be doing this year?
-Pat

Pat --
Here's what we can tell you early on. Reuland has been lining up with the second-team offense during running drills, with Will Yeatman behind him. Part of that might be because Yeatman is turning into a standout lacrosse player early on at Notre Dame. But we'd be surprised if Reuland isn't on the field in some capacity behind John Carlson in the fall.

Why do you think the coaches would keep Sam Young at right tackle and not  move him over to the left?
-Patrick Mayer

Patrick --
We're not sure. We had thought since Ryan Harris had graduated that Young would shift from right to left. This is why we're not coaches. As of now, it looks like Young will stay on the right side, but it could change in the future. As for why, Weis said he was happy with Young's play last year, a potential reason to keep him there.

How does James Aldridge look? Is he bigger, faster, stronger? Do you have any photos of him?
-Aaron Shumaker

Aaron --
Sorry, no pictures of Aldridge. As for your adjectives, he looks across-the-board better than last year, in part because he had even more time to become even healthier. Travis Thomas appears to be the No. 1 guy for now, but the position switch of Munir Prince from halfback to cornerback could signal Aldridge's command on the No. 2 running back slot.

Was wondering if you have heard anything about there being a brunch or something with the team the morning of the Blue-Gold game? I have been searching for info and have come up empty.
-Jeff Stanner

Jeff --
We haven't heard anything about it, but considering the star wattage at the Homer Bowl (see our previous post), we're sure you can find some sort of food and libations in the parking lots before the game. Might be more fun there, too.

Interesting that Demetrius Jones and (Jimmy) Clausen are stretching partners. When will they show off their arms?
-Ryan Carmody

Ryan --
As the media, we'll likely see it twice -- at the open practice Saturday and with the rest of the folks at the Homer Bowl on April 21. What we can tell you is this: it'll be very interesting.

Thanks for the questions and remember, if you have a future comment or question for the Insights Mailbag, e-mail it to [email protected] or drop it in the comments section below a post. Oh, and in the E-mail, please include your name and hometown. We like to track these things and will probably start a running tally on where readers are from during mailbags and randomly throughout the year.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette