Crimson streak;622080 wrote:Is anyone else kind of excited Harrison smith can apply for a 5 th year? The way he has played the second half of the season has been huge for nd

Crimson streak;622348 wrote:I'll admit I used to absolutely despise Harrison smith, but now I think it was the coaching from weis' staff that made him suck so bad lol

Moving towards next season, there will be position battles that dictate whether Notre Dame continues to play the same brand of physical football. I place the following players on notice as they need to step up.

No. 1 on the list is Chris Watt, the big offensive guard from Illinois. Notre Dame needs to be even more effective with its interior rushing attack next season, especially from a consistency standpoint. Watt provides the type of talent and sheer strength to provide a better interior rushing attack for twelve full games.

Next up, Wood needs to be a complete back. Stop fumbling, be more consistent with pass protection, and keep bringing the big plays to the offense. Wood possesses NFL talent. He will be the featured running back next season if he steps up to the challenge. It's up to him.

The most difficult player to gauge going into next season hails from Nebraska. Trevor Robinson dominates for short stretches, and then he plays very average. For Notre Dame to continue to pound the ball between the tackles, Robinson must be much more consistent than he was this season. One cannot teach his size and strength, but he needs to be conistent. Time will tell.

Finally for the offense, as ironic as it may sound, Notre Dame needs a signal caller to step up and be a big-time player for the rushing attack to be consistent. If teams can place seven or even eight defenders in the box over and over, the running game will suffer. Hard to say which Notre Dame quarterback will earn the starting position next season, but it will be important just like every other season. The passing attack will need to be a big play offense, but it must also get away from the interceptions that hurt the Irish this year. The defense will see similar situations unfold.

It all begins up front with the nose guard position. Will Louis Nix be the "space eater" along the interior? The 335-pound redshirt freshman will be in a battle with other Irish defensive linemen for the starting job. Of note, Sean CwynarHafis Williams will be competing for the starting nose guard position. If the Irish can continue to control the "A" gaps on both sides of the opposing center, Notre Dame's rush defense will be in good shape next year. It's not an easy task, but a main reason for Notre Dame's defense being excellent the last four games of this season stemmed from stopping teams from running directly at the Notre Dame nose guard. and possibly

Helping the interior rush defense will be two very experienced defensive ends in Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson. Both players played their roles well during the latter half of the 2010 season. They are both very strong players at the point of attack, and they help to set a tone for the rest of the defense. It will be good to see both players back in an Irish uniform next year.

Speaking of good to be back, Manti Te'o will be the bell cow for the Irish defense in 2011 just like he was during the 2010 season. Without question, Te'o's big hits and timely third down stops fire up the Irish across the board. He's a very special player that defines physical football. Notre Dame fans will enjoy another season of Te'o roaming the gridiron and hammering ball carriers in 2011. Te'o's side kick, Carlo Calabrese, also brings a physical nature to the game. He's not the most athletic guy on the field, but he's instinctive and really hits hard.

The outside linebackers are on notice. The unit improved as the 2010 season went along, but outside linebacker proved to be the weakest link of the Irish defense when graded over the entire season. Darius Fleming and Prince Shembo played well against Miami, and that trend needs to continue. An influx of talent from the freshman class should push the returning starters.

Moving to the secondary, the light appears to have went on for Harrison Smith. Assuming he comes back for his fifth-year of eligibility, Smith's big hits (and interceptions) will be critical for intimidating opposing wide receivers and quarterbacks. It's been quite a while since a Notre Dame safety earned respect from opposing offenses, and Smith earned respect at the end of the 2010 season with consistent play. Congratulations to Smith for elevating his play beyond anything I believed he could accomplish just two months ago.

The final piece to the puzzle will come from the cornerbacks. The improvement in tackling from the Irish cornerbacks from the 2009 season through the 2010 season cannot be denied. It was incredible. Gary Gray and Robert Blanton will be back, and the two players played physical all season long.

Overall, Notre Dame turned into a physical football team by the end of the 2010 season. It was an amazing turnaround, because during specific 2010 games Notre Dame was far from a physical team. All the people in the Notre Dame program deserve credit for the transformation.

I, for one, look forward to witnessing the continued development of Notre Dame being one of the toughest and meanest football teams in the land come 2011. It's going to be fun to watch.

EL PASO, Texas — Next year is already here for Notre Dame.

As snow fell in the afterglow of the 33-17 victory over Miami (Fla.) in the Sun Bowl on Friday, thoughts quickly turned to 2011. Unburdened by the baby-step progress of a transition to a new coaching staff and offensive and defensive schemes, the Irish are eager to parlay the four-game winning streak that ended the 2010 season into something much bigger than 8-5 and the Sun Bowl.

The unspoken goal is a BCS bowl and a return to national prominence.

‘‘This just kind of kicks off next year,’’ said senior safety Harrison Smith, who expects to return as a fifth-year senior. ‘‘The bowl game was like a ’tweener game. It’s almost like the first game of next season for us.’’

Notre Dame’s players are off until the second semester begins Jan. 17. That’s when preparations for 2011 kick off, starting in the weight room, then spring practice. The Irish open against South Florida at home Sept. 3.

‘‘The break’s going to be nice,’’ said sophomore offensive tackle Zack Martin, who was named the outstanding lineman in the Sun Bowl, ‘‘but everybody’s excited to get back in the weight room and start training for next year and into spring ball and take the next big step next year.’’

The impact of the transition from Charlie Weis to Brian Kelly on the 2010 season can’t be overstated. Notre Dame started 1-3 and dropped to 4-5 with back-to-back losses to Navy (35-17) and Tulsa (27-26).

‘‘This offseason will be a lot easier,’’ Martin said. ‘‘At this time last year, we were sitting on the couch at home. We knew coach Kelly was the [head] coach, but we didn’t know who our position coach was going to be.

‘‘We’ve had a whole year with them. We’ve had a whole year with the system and how they like to run things. It should get even better [this offseason].’’

In the second year of Kelly’s program, the Irish can expect to upgrade at every position, including the seven seniors who just played their last college game. The possible exception is at receiver, where junior Michael Floyd, the Sun Bowl MVP with six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, is expected to leave for the NFL.

And even there, the progress of the offense can mitigate the statistical loss of Floyd. Mardy Gilyard became a star in the second year of Kelly’s offense at Cincinnati — from 536 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 2007 to 1,276 yards and 11 TDs in ’08. The Irish have several candidates for that kind of breakout season.

Kelly acknowledged there could be changes, even at established positions, as players who spent most of this season in part-time roles or didn’t play at all progress in his system.

But the focus will be on the quarterback. Junior Dayne Crist started the first nine games before a season-ending knee injury. Tommy Rees was 4-0 as a starter in his place. Freshmen Andrew Hendrix and Luke Massa will compete for the starting job. Incoming freshman Everett Golson, who’s expected to enroll in January and participate in spring football, is a long shot who can’t be discounted.

No matter who it is — Crist, Rees and Hendrix are considered 1a-1b-3 heading into the spring — the winner of that derby is expected to be a significant upgrade over the Crist/Rees combination of 2010. If not, it’s unlikely there will be as much anticipation at Notre Dame as there is today.

karen lotz;623369 wrote:Te'o is going to be a tank, he had already gotten huge during the season.

One recruiting note: Shaun Williams, the father of Ishaq Williams was once again sporting a Notre Dame hat. I told him he looked good in the green and gold and he just looked at me with a big huge smile.