Top Impact freshman in 09

[z_iRISH_z]

WHo do you think will have the biggest impact as a freshmen? The popular pick is probably Manti T'eo but I think Cierre Wood is going to be huge.

 

[IrishInFl]

Jordan Cowart. He will start at long snapper for his entire college career. As far as whowill help us a few games into the season, I would have to say Manti.

 

[sportallyr]

I think Manti Teo will have the biggest impact, but I also think that Zeke (baby Hercules) Motta will also log a lot of meaningful minutes and will be very productive.

 

[Riddickulous]

I think Manti Teo will have the biggest impact, but I also think that Zeke (baby Hercules) Motta will also log a lot of meaningful minutes and will be very productive.

What he said.

 

[coachjohnson]

zeke motta.

 

[Rocket's Rocket Fan]

I would like it to be Teo, but I really feel it will be Zeke.

 

[WabashFalcon]

Zeke T'eo.

 

[NDsuperfan09]

Tyler Stockton

 

[mooneytostle]

This question should really be: Which freshman other than Teo will make the biggest impact?

Obvioisly Motta will get on the field at LB a little and will probably be a monster on special teams. I wouldn't be surprised if Riddick gets a chance to return kicks at some point.

 

[Junkhead]

Teo will play, Stockton should play, Motta possibly. Taush maybe. I really don't see Cierre getting any RB game reps, maybe special teams. I hope Manti is as good as advertised, he doesn't have to prove anything this year, but expectations are high!

 

[Irishlew]

Cierre will be the return man we've been missing.

 

[The Chosen One]

i want to see shaq so badly but hes not gonna get playing time behind our wr crop.

 

[kmoose]

Cierre will be the return man we've been missing.

I hope he can be. But I don't necessarily want a 190-ish true freshman out there, returning kicks. He's going to get hit harder, by magnitudes, than he probably ever did in High School. Coughing the ball up inside your own 20 or 30 is not a good way to bring a freshman along, if you ask me. If he's tougher than "190", then he might just be that spark we need. If he's not, then the downside far outweighs any upside.

 

[NDFan537]

Look Charlie didn't spend all off season in Hawaii on vacation. He knows how good Manti is and he will be an impact player.

As for Wood, I just wonder how he is going to leap frog Allen, Hughes, and Gray. I see him wearing a t-shirt and hanging out with chicks all season, but maybe, maybe he is soooooooooo good he comes in and takes everyone's job. I hope that is the case because if it is then we are gonna be unreal next year.

 

[chyrspchuck]

Baby Hercules.....Hercules, Hercules

 

[Mattmags]

Teo will play, Stockton should play, Motta possibly. Taush maybe. I really don't see Cierre getting any RB game reps, maybe special teams. I hope Manti is as good as advertised, he doesn't have to prove anything this year, but expectations are high!

Stockton has a lot of potential but recent reports from Spring practices say he still has a long way to go. From what I've heard/read, Stockton might not get as much playing time as us irish fans all hyped him up to get when he committed. just my opinion

 

[ACamp1900]

no mention of Shaq at all... interesting...

 

[IrishRamMan10]

Zeke.

 

[chyrspchuck]

I think it's going to be tough for Shaq to get in with the Receivers we have.

 

[fightinirish68]

I hope he can be. But I don't necessarily want a 190-ish true freshman out there, returning kicks. He's going to get hit harder, by magnitudes, than he probably ever did in High School. Coughing the ball up inside your own 20 or 30 is not a good way to bring a freshman along, if you ask me. If he's tougher than "190", then he might just be that spark we need. If he's not, then the downside far outweighs any upside.

thats what armando was when he came out as a fr

 

[NDFan537]

thats what armando was when he came out as a fr

You are right, a tiny return man/running back. That is what AA was and it didn't quite work out too well. He never even scored a rushing TD until last season in the Mich. game I think. That is the last thing we need another back that can't get past a tackler. If he is the same as AA we need to put him on weight gainers and let him watch for a while. Bring him along slow.

 

[IrishAddiction]

Maust? or damn whats the new kickers name again? anyways, i think if he can boot it, and actually give us a good kickoff man, my vote goes to him. i do think walker will keep his placekicking duties though.

 

[mjbirish]

I hope that carlo calabrese gets a chance to show what he can do the man is a beast.

 

[fightinirish68]

You are right, a tiny return man/running back. That is what AA was and it didn't quite work out too well. He never even scored a rushing TD until last season in the Mich. game I think. That is the last thing we need another back that can't get past a tackler. If he is the same as AA we need to put him on weight gainers and let him watch for a while. Bring him along slow.

thats because we sucked balls that year haha. we scored like 5 rushing tds that year man. hughes and aldridge, the big 230 plus guys would normally be the go to picks there

 

[jonesman]

Folks,
I think you are going to see a limited amount of freshmen playing this year. We have finally reached that point where we have both depth and talent at most positions. The less we have to use, the more experienced talent we have demonstrated. Other than LB, I do not really see any position that would benefit from freshmen playing. I think Cierre might get some special teams play, but that is about it.
Let's take a quick look at all positions.
QB - no freshman
RB - None is gonna supplant Hughes, Allen and Gray.
FB - no freshman
OL - We are almost two deep across the board. None will play at all.
TE - Rudolph, Fauria, Ragone, Burger. no freshman see the field
WR - Floyd, Tate, Kamara, Goodman, Walker, Parris. Shaq will get a year to mature like Walker and Goodman.
DL - KLM, Ethan, Hafis, Ian. We have several back-ups in Cwynar, Emeka, Newman and more. Stockton gets a year to grow and mature.
LB - 3 Smith's have the starting positions now. Fleming and Filer are studs. Teo is a stud, so he will see the field. Calabrese may even get some time since he is so beastly.
Safety - No freshman
CB - Banks will be redshirted because of knee. We have 3 future NFL CB's on the roster already.
K/P - One of the freshmen might get into the mix here.

 

[irishandy]

Teo will be a huge impact on defense. I hope to see Motta get some playing time. I still am not impressed w/ the tail back of trio's from last year. I say if Cierre comes in and beats them out then play him. I'd also like to see Shaq get some playing time.

 

[IrishAddiction]

Folks,
I think you are going to see a limited amount of freshmen playing this year. We have finally reached that point where we have both depth and talent at most positions. The less we have to use, the more experienced talent we have demonstrated. Other than LB, I do not really see any position that would benefit from freshmen playing. I think Cierre might get some special teams play, but that is about it.
Let's take a quick look at all positions.
QB - no freshman
RB - None is gonna supplant Hughes, Allen and Gray.
FB - no freshman
OL - We are almost two deep across the board. None will play at all.
TE - Rudolph, Fauria, Ragone, Burger. no freshman see the field
WR - Floyd, Tate, Kamara, Goodman, Walker, Parris. Shaq will get a year to mature like Walker and Goodman.
DL - KLM, Ethan, Hafis, Ian. We have several back-ups in Cwynar, Emeka, Newman and more. Stockton gets a year to grow and mature.
LB - 3 Smith's have the starting positions now. Fleming and Filer are studs. Teo is a stud, so he will see the field. Calabrese may even get some time since he is so beastly.
Safety - No freshman
CB - Banks will be redshirted because of knee. We have 3 future NFL CB's on the roster already.
K/P - One of the freshmen might get into the mix here.

agreed, for the most part. dont know how things are gonna work out for cierre wood at RB, because none of the RBs thus far have really proven anything IMO. Teo will not start, may see time though. Minus that not many freshman will play. Cowart, Turk, and i forget the kickers name, but i do believe they will all see significant PT on special teams. (kickoff for the kicker, not Place Kicking)

it is great to see the talent starting to finally pile up though...... actually i personally dont like to see freshman on the field much with the game on the line, it makes me nervous. i like experienced been there done that gonna just kick ass type of guys.

 

[jonesman]

Irishandy,
You are smoking something if you think that Cierre is gonna leap our RB logjam. He will see little, maybe NO time at RB this fall. You have not been impressed with our RB's because our runninng scheme was DOA with our poor OL play. Can't run with no daylight. As for Manti, he is great, but we have some really talented kids at LB already. He will play, but don't expect him to start and dominate. People like Filer and Fleming will have something to say about that.
Don't expect Shaq to get much time this year. He may even get a year to mature. He will have to really impress to supplant the other guys fighting for the third spot. Parris, Walker, Goodman are all impressing this spring. Finally, Motta has not been heard from all spring. He will get some ST play and that is about it.
You people need to realize that the days of seeing 6-7 freshmen playing significant minutes are behind us. CW has filled the cupboards in most positions which means we will only see spot duty in most cases. Go look at the depth chart. The kids that got to play in the past took a spot where we had no scholarship player or we had some 2 star kid who should not have been at ND in the first place. Those situations don't exist anymore.

 

[Riddickulous]

Even if they do make an impact in summer ball, none of them will see the field.

Think 2007. Golden Tate was the only true playmaker on the roster. Playing time? Not much.

 

[notredomer23]

Even if they do make an impact in summer ball, none of them will see the field.

Think 2007. Golden Tate was the only true playmaker on the roster. Playing time? Not much.

Duval Kamara come to head? He only set every single freshman receiving record at ND