Cierre Wood Named to Sporting News All-Spring Team

[Riddickulous]

SN's all-spring football team - Dave Curtis - College Football - Sporting News

Representin'.

Joseph Fauria also on the list. Good to see him making an impact at UCLA.

 

[irishmarine]

Really wish fauria was still with us. Glad to see wood getting some recognition and I think h will have a good season and will get some playingtime. He is behind a couple guys who will get alot of pt but I expect alot out of him in the coming years.

 

[faithfulfan]

He will be #2 on the depth chart by time the season starts and pushing AA for the bulk of the carries.

 

[BGIF]

More Fauria

More Fauria

Five players who helped themselves in spring practice - Matt Hayes - College Football - Sporting News

per Matt Hayes TSN
May 5

4. UCLA TE Joseph Fauria. The Bruins haven't had this type of athletic threat down the seams since Marcedes <NOBR style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: darkgreen; FONT-SIZE: 100%; FONT-WEIGHT: normal" id=itxt_nobr_3_0>Lewis </NOBR>five years ago. Fauria, a Notre Dame transfer, is a matchup nightmare in the secondary—a 6-7, 260-pound target who will run past linebackers.

 

[ryno 24]

cierre has always been one of my favorites i was dissapointed when he was redshirted last year but hey lets see where he goes

 

[Irish.Ca]

His first touchdown in a game at ND stadium may have been in the BlueGold game but he was sure excited about it and those of us in the crowd sure helped him celebrate. He was really hyped up, I guess he figured it would have happened about 8 months prior.

 

[chadder20]

I am all about this guy. There must be something that happens in closed practices though because last year at the open practice he seemed like a stud and I was really looking forward to seeing him get some carries last year, but that didn't happen obviously. I firmly believe this is the guy that breaks off 20 yard plus runs on a regular basis, something ND has been missing for a number of years...Plus the number 20 just brings on excellence...ha!

 

[no.1IrishFan]

I am all about this guy. There must be something that happens in closed practices though because last year at the open practice he seemed like a stud and I was really looking forward to seeing him get some carries last year, but that didn't happen obviously. I firmly believe this is the guy that breaks off 20 yard plus runs on a regular basis, something ND has been missing for a number of years...Plus the number 20 just brings on excellence...ha!

I agree, I don't know why but I have a feeling about him. Once he gets his shot I don't think hes gonna be just another ND running back. He's gonna be good.....real good.

 

[Riddickulous]

I agree, I don't know why but I have a feeling about him. Once he gets his shot I don't think hes gonna be just another ND running back. He's gonna be good.....real good.

True. The Irish haven't had a truly dominant running back since Julius Jones, possibly even going back to the Holtz years depending on the opinion.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

It seems pretty clear to me why Weis Red-shirted Cierre...

He knew Cierre would have a larger impact for a entire ND career than Theo Riddick. He liked Theo for his speed on Kick-offs.

Charlie was just giving Cierre another year, so he could still sit back and learn, plus Cierre's sophomore year will have a need for a RB. If he didn't Red-shirt he wouldn't have been the starter until he was a Junior...

I like this strategy of keeping him of the field, so he gets a lot more carries down his 4 year career.

 

[KPENN]

I don't think people outside the nd program realize what quality runningbacks we have. I'm really excited to see what cierre can do this year

 

[ACamp1900]

in all honesty when BK got hired the player I thought of first when I considered who could really beneft from his hire was Wood... athletes like him are made for this offense out of the backfield

 

[ryno 24]

That is so true he could work in a pro style offense but his speed and burst and sight are perfect for the spread

By the way sorry about the penguins

 

[Praytorian]

I've wanted him to come in and play since last year. I think he and Huges will be a dynamic duo.

I also know there are alot of AA fans that will not like this, but I think AA was a Weis boy (probably a great practice player as well). Weis wanted to prove that his guy could do it, he might have the speed but what good does that do ya when you can't break a tackle? A 22 yard career long? With all of that speed you have got to be kidding me. Yes I know he got his average up to over 5ypc last year, but that doesn't do any good when your sitting on 3rd and 7 and they are not afraid of a draw play.

Bring back thunder and lightning with Wood and Hughes!!

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I've wanted him to come in and play since last year. I think he and Huges will be a dynamic duo.

I also know there are alot of AA fans that will not like this, but I think AA was a Weis boy (probably a great practice player as well). Weis wanted to prove that his guy could do it, he might have the speed but what good does that do ya when you can't break a tackle? A 22 yard career long? With all of that speed you have got to be kidding me. Yes I know he got his average up to over 5ypc last year, but that doesn't do any good when your sitting on 3rd and 7 and they are not afraid of a draw play.

Bring back thunder and lightning with Wood and Hughes!!

I disagree, I think Allen is the best RB on the team.. And Kelly has been on record saying this too.

I'm not saying Wood shouldn't play, I'm just saying AA has way more experience. I'd like to see the carries split like this...

Allen - 45%
Wood - 30%
Hughes - 25%

Obviously I expect there to be changes throughout the season, but one thing is for sure that is Cierre Wood is a stud with a bright future.

 

[Praytorian]

I'm not saying Wood shouldn't play, I'm just saying AA has way more experience.

Yes AA does have more experience, with that I will agree. I do think Cierre is a better back though, not only for this system but all together. AA would still have more experience even if he were not one of Charlie's boys, but Cierre would have had game time experience to show what he could do with the ball.

That is just my opinion, and maybe I'm biased because I never was a CWeis fan.

P.S. I must not have seen it where BK said he was the best on the team, though I did see where he said that AA had clearly secured the #1 spot. My question is that if Cierre had gotten playing time, showing what he could do, would BK think differently?

 

[kmoose]

I do think Cierre is a better back though, not only for this system but all together.

What are you basing this on? I don't think that anyone can say what kind of back Wood is, at the collegiate level, yet.

 

[Praytorian]

What are you basing this on? I don't think that anyone can say what kind of back Wood is, at the collegiate level, yet.

That might be true, but we have had 3 years of seeing what kind of back AA is.
I have to base it off of the spring game to tell you the truth of it, as I said in my last post we didnt get to see Wood play last year so I have to go off of that. AA and CWood were on the same side played against the same defense and who did better?

 

[NDty9]

I disagree, I think Allen is the best RB on the team.. And Kelly has been on record saying this too.

I'm not saying Wood shouldn't play, I'm just saying AA has way more experience. I'd like to see the carries split like this...

Allen - 45%
Wood - 30%
Hughes - 25%

Obviously I expect there to be changes throughout the season, but one thing is for sure that is Cierre Wood is a stud with a bright future.

Anyone here think Jonas might deserve a few carries in there as well??... I know he has his need for imporvment in some areas, but he can be pretty damn good back!

Damn we have some depth !

 

[kmoose]

That might be true, but we have had 3 years of seeing what kind of back AA is.
I have to base it off of the spring game to tell you the truth of it

I'm not saying you are wrong, and I agree that the Spring Game is all we have. But that's pretty thin. Allen is not a great back, but he did make tremendous improvement, from 2008 to 2009. He looked more like a Darius Walker type guy, last year, than any of the greats. But, with the prolific passing game that ND fielded last year, that was enough. Will it be enough this year? There's no way to tell until they play some games for real.

 

[ryno 24]

Armando Allen is going to be the starter and he will be excellent in the system but clearly Cierre is the second best back he has good speed good vision and will find his way on the field more and more

 

[BeatSC]

Whoever makes the most of their carries and breaks a long one will end up getting more carries. I do know that AA has been ood picking up ther blitz and can catch ther ball. Does anyone want to see the wildcat and if yes who do you want to see run it....Goodman?

 

[BillyIrish]

Anyone here think Jonas might deserve a few carries in there as well??... I know he has his need for imporvment in some areas, but he can be pretty damn good back!

Damn we have some depth !

I would love to see Jonas get some carries if he could hold onto the rock!


While backs like Allen and Wood have the potential to make a lot of big plays in this offense, Robert Hughes still has value. He catches the ball well out of the backfield too. He also has one thing that the others don't... size. Armando should get 20 touches a game. But, I think Hughes has earned the right to get 10 touches.

 

[irish4ever]

Anyone here think Jonas might deserve a few carries in there as well??... I know he has his need for imporvment in some areas, but he can be pretty damn good back!

Damn we have some depth !

Yeah, I think that Jonas deserves some carries as well. No doubt, due to experience and all, AA will/should get the highest number of carries. And it would'nt be a surprise at all to see Hughes in there when ND is field position where some "tough" ground yards may be needed. But the remainder of the time I wouldn't be surprised to see Wood and Gray getting a fairly even share of the remaining carry opportunities. That's barring injury to any 1 of the 4 that is.

Agreed .... ND does indeed have good RB depth!

 

[jakerbluegold]

I'd put Jonas in over Hughes any day. I like Hughes, but do you remember the two-point conversion he was crushed on last year? I think Jonas has better vision and quikness especially in short-yardage.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

I, for one, think Cierre is going to be special. A lot of us here in So Cal got to see him in person and he just has "it". I know the jump from high school to D1 is significant, but he just made guys look silly a lot in his HS career and, if he has made improvements since then, he has the potential to be scary. I am not basing this on anything other than my own observations. I think he is going to the back that we haven't had in a long, long time - the kind of back that can break the 20 or 30+ gain every time he touches the ball.

 

[NeuteredDoomer]

A.A. seems to be kamikaze north runner. I'll take him any day over the last few east-west to safety stuff.

 

[NDinL.A.]

The interesting thing is that in a recent interview, I believe the one with the D.C. radio guys, Brian Kelly said the Irish have 3 quality backs (he was talking about the things the current ND roster has better/worse than his Cinci teams). Now, obviously, we have 4 running backs, so I'm wondering if he misspoke or if he really thinks there are only 3 quality backs.

I doubt he misspoke, and he obviously thinks highly of AA, so that leaves, Cierre, Hughes, and Jonas. It's also obvious that he really likes Cierre, considering he moved Theo to WR to make room for Cierre, so that leaves JOnas and Hughes. Considering that Hughes is listed as a fullback as well as a halfback, I'd have to think that Hughes would be the odd man out. And that sucks because I've always been a fan of his, and I'd love to see him tear it up this year, but oh well.

Of course, it could be that this is the off-season and I'm over-thinking this waaaaayyyy too much LOL...

 

[irishandy]

Nice to see this news about Cierre. I was excited to get him in last years class and disappointed to see him redshirt. For anyone that was at the Blue-Gold game, Cierre ran crazy and he was my MVP. I think Allen is our starter at the start of the year, but I don't doubt Cierre taking the #1 spot.

 

[TerryTate]

Nice to see this news about Cierre. I was excited to get him in last years class and disappointed to see him redshirt. For anyone that was at the Blue-Gold game, Cierre ran crazy and he was my MVP. I think Allen is our starter at the start of the year, but I don't doubt Cierre taking the #1 spot.

I'm with you in thinking that Cierre could split time with Allen by the end of the season. At times it looks like a strong gust would knock Armando over last season.