2007 Statistics

Pitiful. Just pitiful. That’s the only way to describe the Irish offense last year. Consider the numbers – 242 total yards per game and 3.52 yards per play (worst in the nation for both, with no other team under 4.15 per play), 16.42 points per game meant ND tied Temple and Syracuse to finish just above Florida International for team scoring, and the 52 total points scored in the second quarters of last year’s games was the most points for any of their quarter’s aggregate totals. To go on would be cruel to the Irish nation, but you see how scoring the least amount of points since 1963 under the direction of an offensive guru like Coach Weis is both suspect and criminal. A healthy Notre Dame (on this side of the ball) makes the college football world a better place, so this year’s improvements will go a long way toward buoying FBS parity even more.

QUARTERBACK
Ok, so Weis decided to start a freshman last year…it cost him 2007, but that decision now has this offense the better for it. That QB was last year’s No.1 pro-style prospect, Jimmy Clausen. Adding some strength in the off months had Clausen looking better this spring. "He's made more development[s] physically than he has mentally," Weis said. "He already had a lot mentally. His body will help him in a lot of facets. It's not just arm strength and being able to deliver the ball, but it's also being able to shrug off bodies when you have a hand on you. There were way too many times last season when he'd go down too easily, or he'd get knocked off too easily. When you add some girth, he's a lot more solid than he was last year." In 2007, Notre Dame’s QBs - Clausen, backup Evan Sharpley and departed Demitrius Jones - went down a combined 58 times (worst in the nation), which means to say Clausen still completed 56% of his tries and Sharpley 55% speaks of their potential under fire. A year older and with another spring under his belt, Clausen has progressed some, but not as far as a five-star recruit with nine starts under his belt should have. His leadership skills will be scrutinized, but this former prep National Player of the Year (Ball Park’s Hall Trophy, USA Today, Touchdown Club of Columbus, and Parade) has a wide range of results he’s capable of fulfilling…like most, it’s up to Jimmy how his destiny plays out. Sharpley tutored under Brady Quinn when Quinn was a senior and he a frosh. Evan offers stability, but less overall skill. Like at many places, a top prospect like Clausen will be given every chance to develop into the impact player he promises to become; Sharpley will be playing second fiddle until Clausen is either hurt or stinks it up enough that he is replaced. Against Navy, Sharpley started and earned the Irish their most points in regulation (28 was same amount against Duke) of the season, but against USC, he was blanked by the stubborn Trojan D.

RUNNING BACK
If you know of the excessive sacks allowed, then the paltry rushing totals won’t surprise you. The RBs still did rather well as a group considering the penetration seen. Armando Allen is lightning in a bottle, but he’s not a banger. Allen wouldn’t bump outside enough this spring to truly reach his strength as an open-field runner, so when given chances this fall, Allen has to find open space. Both the biggest halfback and the biggest producer this spring (as well as the best last fall if average per carry is important since he led the team at 5.5 per try), big Robert Hughes is pushing for reps. The Chicago native looked good in every opportunity he was given last year, with Hughes gaining 246 yards on 35 carries in the last two games (started once). The combination of Hughes’ power approach and Allen’s quickness is the deemed starter, James Aldridge. The nation’s No.3 RB recruit in 2006, Aldridge has never scored a TD in college and averaged fewer than four per carry last season. How Hughes doesn’t start seems confounding, but that scenario is probable if Aldridges’ seniority keeps him in front of the obviously more consistent producer(s). The fullbacks both are capable workhorses in case injuries affected the tailback unit, and employing them early and often could be a good jumpstart for the ailing running dimension.

RECEIVER / TIGHT END
William Yeatman had a rough spring after a DUI led to his suspension, but this cross-sport (lacrosse) player is back and ready to be a first string, “go to” target Weis loves. Cherry Hill TE product Mike Ragone is the other guy on the outside of the line. Ragone isn’t much of a pushing element, so he’ll telegraph the play call when he comes in (hint: it will probably be a pass). The top tight end prospect of this year’s national class is Kyle Rudolph, a sure-fire production machine who will quickly be incorporated into the offense. The top five WRs are all back. Led by bigger, possession-types Kamara and Parris, this corps is decent, if not full of budding stars. Hoboken’s Duval Kamara isn’t so fast, but he runs his routes nicely and can get open when things look covered. Robby Parris is a step faster but still not a blazer. West, Jr. is found underneath, but offers little game-changing speed. Grimes is even smaller, but again, there is no more team speed coming from his skill package. Speed is the moniker of newbie Deion Walker, but it’s five-star Mike Floyd who is rated by Rivals as being this year’s top incoming deep threat.

OFFENSIVE LINE
Getting back to the front line, they will be the pivot for any improvements since we know the RBs are lined up and capable. Mike Turkovich is one of two senior returning starters around whom the line is being built. Turkovich can bump outside – where he played in 2006 – or he has the mobility to pull. Eric Olsen has even better wheels for doing whatever is needed. Leaned upon during the tough ’07 span that started with BC (four straight losses), Olsen started the last six contests and needs to bring tough lessons to bear if this line is to improve (one player at a time). The biggest improvements have to be seen in center Dan Wenger; this lumbering type has had arm/shoulder trouble and might have been in over his head as a freshman in such a pressure-packed time. Wenger doesn’t have John Sullivan as a mentor anymore after Sullivan was the lone senior on last year’s line. That covers a decent interior, and the tackles look even more promising. But with the bulking up of former No.1 tackle prospect Sam Young exemplifying the tendency toward bigger linemen (in an age when mobility seems key), we question this tactic to improve the overall play up front. Young went from around 300lbs to 330, and even though he seems built to handle the girth and will lose little quickness, the overall impact of making everyone bigger could backfire. Duncan definitely embodies this theory, too, but he isn’t going to be any better with size if his footwork can’t keep up. Romaine is a former No.3 tackle prospect (2007), but he is the lone standout sub amongst a suspect group of second stringers. It’s not impossible for this line to come together and become more than the sum of its parts. The recent step to improve the OL’s cohesion is that they do many things together, even off field, from interviews to wearing the same color/kind of shirts.

Play-calling duties are being relinquished by Weis and handed over to coordinator Mike Haywood. "It means that all the offensive coaches now won't have to worry about the head coach breathing down their neck all the time," Weis said. There’s only one direction this offense can go, and that’s up after one of the worst showings in Irish history.

DEFENSIVE LINE
There will be some areas of concern, but, still, the defense was not the liability last year; it was actually the main reason the team held it together the modicum that they did. The modest amount of hats that left seem tough to replace, none bigger than ends Trevor Laws (team-leading tackle total also the most by any lineman in the nation) and Dwight Stephenson. In the 3-4 usually applied, losing the top two ends is tough, but not an impossible situation with two capable, proven upperclassmen. Justin Brown is a rarely seen two-star prospect, but his ascension into a starting role shows why his fifth year will be his best. Brown was the starter ahead of Stephenson by the end of last season to assure Brown’s not just inheriting something he couldn’t earn by himself. Opposite Brown will be John Ryan, a hybrid linebacker (started eight games at OLB) with a sharp acumen for playing near the line. Richardson is the same kind of combination player (actually recruited as a LB), while Nwankwo used to be on the other side of the ball until arriving here. Losing Kuntz inside will hurt if he cannot return (academic issues), but two-time starter Ian Williams saves the day after his Freshman All-American year assures inside stopping power from the Florida product. Kuntz also could be moved to the outside upon his return. True froshes Sean Cwynar and Brandon Newman can offer instant help like Williams did last year, but expectations placed upon incoming players as they enter the high profile atmosphere here can often backfire like we’ve just seen on offense.

LINEBACKER
Behind the linemen is a mix of experience and budding talent, but they get a new unit coach in blitz-happy John Tenuta. This group may not be ready to fulfill Tenuta’s aggressive approach. That seemed to be the case this spring as blitzing LBs went right by the ball carriers while on their way into the backfield. The two returning starters will surely hold down their side. Look for OLB Kerry Neal to expand on his modest freshman effort. JACK Maurice Crum, Jr. is the most consistent week-in, week-out of anyone in the corps. The son of a Miami Hurricane legend (LB Maurice, Sr. led Canes in tackles from 1988-90), Crum grounds those around him with his leadership and tenacity. The rest of the linebackers seem chosen directly from the plethora of American Smith families. Rome, Georgia’s Toryan is a sizable inside presence especially made for run stuffing, while legacy Brian was a big-time freshman contributor like fellow outside linebacker Neal and will be even better with a year under his belt. Junior Scott Smith plays hard and smart, leading by example as he now earns playing time at both linebacking spots. Harrison Smith is even rumored to be moving up to possibly compose/complete an all-Smith lineup at times. Washington and Quinn each have admirably worked their way up, so they will have to stay sharp to thwart the newcomers. This class has two guys from Chicago, with both being the No.8 linebacking prospects at their respective specialty (ILB Steven Filer and OLB Darius Fleming) and both having turned down Michigan to be here. Too many injuries would affect the corps’ ability to tie the defensive efforts together effectively.

DEFENSIVE BACK
The run stoppers kept the Irish secondary from having to be tested very often; foes threw it only 38.5% of the time, so stats are a bit skewed to make the DBs look pretty good. But second-year coordinator Corwin Brown is in charge of the DBs, so he likely has them even more tuned up as Brown’s systems are second-hand by now. That’s even more probable since three upperclassmen promise this seasoned group will be better. This unit took a big hit when CB Darrin Walls decided not to enroll this fall for personal reasons. He was poised to become a shutdown corner. Fifth-year guy Terrail Lambert has as much raw talent as Walls, but he seems to lack the ability to put forth the same consistent results. That should allow anagrammatic Gary Gray to show off his highly touted skills after shoulder surgery kept his freshman campaign at a standstill. Raeshon McNeil looks solid, too, as a replacement for Walls but the problem is that now depth will have to be provided by incoming freshman. The biggest name to leave was also the biggest reason so little broke through this defense the past four years – Tom Zbikowski’s exit poses the largest void. The good news is Kyle McCarthy bring much of the same approach as his predecessor. Like Zbikowski, McCarthy is an ex-QB with 4.4-speed, but he has little first team experience (started at free safety once). He will likely be the one to move up into a linebacking role on passing downs as extra DBs handle the coverage schemes. David Bruton proved that he might have been the better of the two safeties last year, depending upon whose opinion comes forth. Already on this year’ Nagurski Award watch list, Bruton led the Irish tacklers in solo efforts (55). Brown and Gaines have yet to make anyone turn their heads, so injuries in the deep middle might be costly.

The approach of Tenuta seems to be the direction Weis wants to go, so DC Brown, in his first coordinators job, seems “stuck like/by Chuck” in being forced to adapt to these new, more aggressive ways. That’s not a problem, really, for the players all seem able to turn it up a notch so as to take a few more risks for the rewards that might follow. After only nine INTs and 19 sacks last year, turning it up a notch to produce some big plays is just what the doctor ordered.