BLUE-GOLD, HALFTIME
Notre Dame is beating itself. Unlike last season, when the Irish often beat themselves with turnovers and penalties early in a contest, this is not a bad thing. Because it's the annual intrasquad scrimmage.
In terms of offense, the rushing offense is outpacing the passing game. Notre Dame came out passing on its first possession, with quarterback Jimmy Clausen throwing two incomplete passes and then being sacked by Raeshon McNeill--and there was a false start penalty against left tackle Paul Duncan prior to that sack. In short, Notre Dame's first offensive series looked all too familiar.
On the next series Charlie Weis--or was it offensive coordinator Mike Haywood, who calls the plays this season--was taking no chances. The Irish ran the ball on 15 consecutive plays. Robert Hughes, who looks very much like the first-string tailback, gained most of the 69 yards on Notre Dame's FedEX Ground drive.
Defensively, two players have stood out thus far: McNeil (No. 8), who looks bigger than he did last year. In 2007 McNeil was behind Darrin Walls, a fellow true freshman, on the depth chart at CB. This year I think he'll be a starter. Also, Harrison Smith, No. 22, who just intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the 2nd half.
Earlier this week I noted that Smith, as a true freshman last season, was a physical specimen who never stepped on the field as a backup free safety. This spring he still has that NFL physique, but now he's playing. And there is no sense of uncertainty to his game. On the first play of the game Smith lined up at linebacker, but he's also played lots of free safety. It's easy to categorize him as the next Tom Zbikowski, but he's a bigger, rangier athlete.
Other first-half observations:
1) The wide receivers are unable to get separation.
2) Mike Ragone had the first pass that was thrown to him bounce off his shoulder pads. The P.A. announcer referred to him as "Mike Rogaine", which was adding insult to ineptness. On the very next play Clausen had Rogaine go deep middle, circa John Carlson 2006, and Ragone made a terrific catch in traffic. My buddy Joe Schad of ESPN described it as "Samardzia-like."
3) Golden Tate also had a nice catch, and for the first time in his career, it did not come on a fly pattern.
4) The defensive line badly needs Pat Kuntz back in the lineup. They haven't gotten much "downhill" momentum all half.
5) Walk-on quarterback Nick Lezynski, who is 5-8, completed one of 2 passes for 10 yards.
6) Don't know if James Aldridgge is in Charlie's doghouse or if he's just fallen all the way to 3rd on the depth chart. Regardless, he has the fewest carries of the three tailbacks. Hughes and Allen are getting more carries simply because they're running the ball better in this game.
7) On one play Duval Kamara zigged when Clausen expected him to zag. The pass spiraled harmlessly out of bounds where it was caught...by this writer. And with only his left arm. It was a decent grab, but I need to work on my yards-after-catch.
First half stats:
Jimmy Clausen: 5-11, 99 yards, three completions of plus-23 yards, with the long of 29 to David Grimes.
Robert Hughes: 16 carries, 71 yards
Armando Allen: 7 carries, 33 yards
James Aldridge: 3 carries, 11 yards
David Grimes: 2 catches, 39 yards
CIERRE WOOD
The highly coveted tailback from Oxnard, Calif., is here this afternoon. He has verbally committed to the Irish, choosing Notre Dame over UCLA. If you haven't yet seen Wood in action, here he is.
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NBCSports.com's John Walters goes into the world of college sports and well beyond. From Notre Dame to the latest in pop culture, JDub tackles it all.
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