Young Guns

Blogging from Switzerland is difficult, especially when working hard during the week. On the weekends its tougher, like when the Pope is visiting places such as the peak of the Jungbrau Mountain in the Swiss Alps, taken from 11,333 feet:

Now back to blogging, hopefully as consistently as I promised over the next few weeks.

Notre Dame plays San Diego State on September 6th, 13 days from now. This is game 1 for the Irish, week 2 for everyone else, who start on August 30th, this coming weekend. What to watch for based on the various camp reports I read daily from Irish Illustrated, Irish Eyes, ND Nation, etc.

• Sophomore Tight End Mike Ragone out for the year with an ACL tear. Its not a full tear, but surgery has done him in for this season. Unfortunately he was our starter at Tight End this fall, a guy that has worked hard to increase his weight this offseason. Ragone was easily the fastest tight end on the roster last season, which included 2nd round pick John Carlson (likely starter in Seattle this year). Given the talent that ND is recruiting and producing at Tight End (at least 1 top 5 Tight End signed every year under Weis, last two TE starters for ND both became 2nd round picks), this is not the worst position to have a loss like this. We are going to count on Lacrosse player Will Yeatman (returning from suspension, missing the spring), as well as #1 TE in the country as a high school senior, freshman Kyle Rudolph, to pull some serious slack.


• The Freshman look great so far - as of right now, the following freshman will likely be on the field before the end of the first quarter in game 1 (not on special teams, but on offense and defense) - Ethan Johnson (DE out of Oregon, Rivals.com #34 final ranking in country), Robert Blanton (top 10 corner back from North Carolina), Michael Floyd (#3 WR in country, 2 time gatorade player of the year in Minnesota), and Kyle Rudolph (aforementioned, out of Cinncinnati). Many many others are making great first impressions, but at positions where they may not be immediately needed [Steve Filer (LB), Jonas Gray (RB), Trevor Robinson (OG), and Kapron Lewis Moore (DE) to name a few].


• Sophomore Rules - 3 starters on offense (would have been 4 without Ragone out as noted above), 4 on defense, and likely 3 more that have a chance to play significant starter minutes, prove the sophomore class to be harbinger of elite talent at ND for (hopefully) years to come. Most of these sophomores played as freshman, getting valuable albeit difficult experience. Weis is calling these guys "second year players", not sophomores, as he expects their 2007 experience to pay dividends this season. The most intriguing potential impact Sophomore didnt even play as a freshman - the new Hybrid Linebacker/Safety position features Tennessee native Harrison Smith (think Zbikowski, but a tad bit faster and 2 inches/10 pounds bigger). Defensive blitzing guru Jon Tenuta wants more speed on the field, and the Irish will have it. Harrison was Blue Gold game defensive MVP, wowing everyone in the spring and this fall.

I know what you're thinking - blah blah blah, Freshman this, Sophomore that. These kids have done nothing yet, and so most of you tune out the specifics I mention about young players. Why should you care? Because impact players don't appear overnight. Talent shows up in practice, and word gets around. Irish camp is buzzing with the impact of true freshman and sophomores beating out seniors, dropping jaws in practice. The tide is turning, the guards are changing, insert your favorite change cliche here.

Will this translate to the field? Here is how - In 2008, talent will be much more evident. But consistency will not. The Irish will beat or match a few opponents no one expects them to - but they will lose 2 close games to teams they should not. Big plays, excitement, and players learning how to win is how we will describe this season for the history books. I think people will remember this season like Lou Holtz's 1986 team, who despite going 6-6, fought hard against a very difficult schedule, losing extremely close games in Holtz's first year. 6-6 can mean many things, but it was clear that the 1986 season something was different, change was near. The next 8 years the best Notre Dame has seen in the last 30.

My prediction for the season is now set. I know ND's record, which bowl game we'll attend (yes we will win at least 6 games), and who are bowl opponent will be. Here is another tidbit for ya - the bowl game opponent will be a fun one, a more former short lived rival of the Irish. The buzz and excitement surrounding this bowl matchup to end the 2008 season will prompt ND to sign a home and home contract with their opponent. But thats another post, another day.