2013 Spring Practice Thread

rtrn2glory

rtrn2glory

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amir is looking outstanding early on....man i hope we get him the ball a bunch
 
Old Man Mike

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A few interesting "Way-Too-Early" hints in this for me:

1). Sounds like the RB position could be Carlisle's. Kelly was inordinately pleased when he said "He's everything that we thought he was".

2). Sounded like NMart has the upper hand at earning the starting center position. The "other guys" were brought into the discussion as other guys, even though he said that everyone was making progress snapping. If NMart is "in", then we might easily see Lombard go to RG. We should watch for where he lines up in the coming practices; and where Stanley lines up. We already saw Elmer at RT.

3). Kelly hinted that in order to run the up tempo offense [which he said would definitely be in place by the end of Spring] it would probably be true that either a guard or Everett would be taking some of the pre-snap burden off him. That remark ALSO might apply more to NMart than Hegarty or Harrell who worked as centers all last year.

4). This is the most interesting to me if the words meant what they said: Kelly admitted that he wanted his punting units [plural, both kicking and returning therefore] to be "playmakers", and that those units had not been playmakers thus far. That was clear talk. Then came the interesting phrase. He said that HE was concentrating on making these units into playmakers, AND that he wanted to improve both punt defense {coverage, that has to mean} and "punt block". Punt BLOCK.

I THINK and PRAY that he meant exactly what that word means, and he didn't just clip off the "ing" and meant maybe blocking for our own punter. The parallelism of his whole comment { defending against their returners vs trying to block punts and give our returners some poor punts to work with } would make this have some sense. Perhaps he'll turn our speed loose on the edges [BJax and Russell or Farley, or Josh?, Jaylon Smith? etc are seemingly made for the edge rusher tasks].
 
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Bogtrotter07

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Old Man Mike said:
A few interesting "Way-Too-Early" hints in this for me:

1). Sounds like the RB position could be Carlisle's. Kelly was inordinately pleased when he said "He's everything that we thought he was".

I am thinking this year is going to feature a two back set, much more often. And Carlisle is going to play the "hybrid" position with GAIII, or Cam, or pick from a cast of thousands playing the other back. And with them talking about D Smith playing slot for his blocking ability, it sounds a lot like an old I formation offense. This could be a trend this year, because he has Neal to follow Carlisle. No tired legs. This is one place where I see subs, fast and furious.

2). Sounded like NMart has the upper hand at earning the starting center position. The "other guys" were brought into the discussion as other guys, even though he said that everyone was making progress snapping. If NMart is "in", then we might easily see Lombard go to RG. We should watch for where he lines up in the coming practices; and where Stanley lines up. We already saw Elmer at RT.

I got that too, but I don't know if what he said was qualified by starting with guys with some experience and then letting things sort themselves out later. That is my impression. Can you remember back to like the first position battle when Kelly took over? Wasn't it Wenger, Cave, and Golic at center? I think the three will have a chance to prove themselves this summer. And I am thinking having two functioning lines, which has been a stated goal in the past is going to be back up there. I think that before Kelly tabled the fast paced offense he had in mind, way back in the old days, two and a half years ago, he considered having the 'legs' of two complete units to be important.

3). Kelly hinted that in order to run the up tempo offense [which he said would definitely be in place by the end of Spring] it would probably be true that either a guard or Everett would be taking some of the pre-snap burden off him. That remark ALSO might apply more to NMart than Hegarty or Harrell who worked as centers all last year.

I understand that logic, but I think that it took Braxton quite a while to learn what he needed. With a new quarterback, I think that would apply to all the center candidates, because Harrell snapped for the scout squad, and Hegarty lost basically from early November on.

4). This is the most interesting to me if the words meant what they said: Kelly admitted that he wanted his punting units [plural, both kicking and returning therefore] to be "playmakers", and that those units had not been playmakers thus far. That was clear talk. Then came the interesting phrase. He said that HE was concentrating on making these units into playmakers, AND that he wanted to improve both punt defense {coverage, that has to mean} and "punt block". Punt BLOCK.

Please, punt BLOCK. That is a perfect example of something that would so skew the tendencies of this team that it may make a game winning difference once this season.

I THINK and PRAY that he meant exactly what that word means, and he didn't just clip off the "ing" and meant maybe blocking for our own punter. The parallelism of his whole comment { defending against their returners vs trying to block punts and give our returners some poor punts to work with } would make this have some sense. Perhaps he'll turn our speed loose on the edges [BJax and Russell or Farley, or Josh?, Jaylon Smith? etc are seemingly made for the edge rusher tasks].
Click to expand...

I hope so to. I added my thoughts in the text of your quote, to maintain some continuity. Excelent points as usual. Each could be a thread!
 
phgreek

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UmphreakDomer said:
please--all comments welcome! i said bogs because A. i was originally responding to his post. and B. i enjoy his opinion/knowledge.

i understand your take. an attacking d is going to bring it from any and all sides--my stance is, could our offense function at even mid level form by having everything mirrored if EG comes off the field. at this point, i think we'd be asking a lot of this offense that really only had flash in the pan brilliance last year, to not only take a potential step back with a truer freshman than EG was last year AND flip the field as to having a left hander.

too much to put him at 2. Maybe he gets to 3, and yet my question again: can we put hendrix to run scout if coach puts MZ at 3? are we basically signing a transfer for Hendrix if he gets hopped/bumped?

i think regardless MZ has to sit this year and run scout. based on depth chart management, experience/time in program, and strength of o-line really being the left side.
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If I had to make a wish...I'd wish for it to play out as you say...
 
phgreek

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Bogtrotter07 said:
Lots of questions if we make left-handedness significant: Do we want a lefty running a scout team?
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I really don't want to...:)

As you can tell from my earlier post, I think competitiviely its a wash...the one area I think it could be an issue is indeed trying to mimic another team to prepare a defense. Even then, I think the coaches will work it out. MZ can give right handed looks w/o throwing it etc.


I want things to generally work out that MZ is a scout guy because I believe Oline and QB players should be scout players in year 1 if at all possible. Gotta have depth to do that...looks like we have some.
 
K

koonja

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ISD freebie on Amir:

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Ask Brian Kelly about Amir Carlisle. The first mention of the sophomore running back brings one word to the Notre Dame head coach's lips - "burst". That burst helped Carlisle score 56 rushing touchdowns in his last two high school seasons and it has the Notre Dame coaching staff's attention now.

"He's got a gear," Kelly said after watching Carlisle at practice this week. "He's got a high level where he's really gonna be able to help us."

A personal season of frustration for Carlisle followed him to South Bend when he transferred from USC just over a year ago. He was nagged by injuries during his lone season with the Trojans and suffered a broken ankle prior to last year's spring practice. Nerve damage followed and Carlisle was forced to be a spectator during Notre Dame's run to the BCS Championship Game.

"It was disappointing," Carlisle said of watching his team's 12-0 regular season from the sideline. "I transferred and got the waiver. I was ecstatic and I couldn't wait to get out on the field, but to have my dreams kind of put on pause was disappointing. But to see the season the team had was wonderful to be a part of even though I wasn't out on the field.

"It was a dream-type season and to be there each and every step of the way was a dream. To actually be on the sideline in the national championship game and to take part in it even though I wasn't playing was a great experience."

Carlisle played in eight games for Southern Cal as a true freshman in 2011. He totaled 19 carries for 118 yards (6.2) along with seven receptions for 41 yards. He showed a glimpse of his burst in a Trojan uniform and is beginning to rediscover that form wearing blue and gold for the Irish.

"It's back," Carlisle promised of his burst. "Now it's just a matter of getting the pads on and going out there and playing football like it's supposed to be played."

"I just have to get used to cutting how I used to," he said of getting back on the field. "My ankle is not limiting me in any way, so I feel one hundred percent."

Despite the previous ailments, Carlisle says he is all the way back to "100-percent" physically now. He has worked hard with his teammate since winter conditioning began two months ago. Being out of the game for a season allowed Carlisle to recover physically, but it did allow its share of rust to set in. The "rhythm and tempo" are coming back to him now as he gets back into live action. He says he first began to feel like he was back to his old self about a month ago.

"I just got a chance to really start running routes again and start doing speed training," said Carlisle of getting back to form. "I really think the winter workouts really helped me get my conditioning back up and get my running rhythm back."

Fighting Irish running backs coach Tony Alford recruited Carlisle out of Kings Academy High School in Northern California. Alford is now finally seeing the burst Carlisle displayed while rushing for more than 4,100 yards in 2009 and 2010.

"This is the burst I'm finally seeing that he had when he first got here before his injury," Alford said of Carlisle. "It's good to have him back, but I never saw this after the injury."

"Just the initial burst and being able to start and stop and being able to accelerate," Alford continued. "(He does it) from a standstill position and then turns and makes a burst off of a cut."

The type cast for the 5'10,185 pound Carlisle would be to put him in the Theo Riddick "hybrid" role as both runner and pass catcher. Riddick ran for 917 yards and had 36 receptions for 370 more yards last year. Carlisle's stature is close to Riddick's 5'11, 200 pound frame, and Alford likes the sophomore's pas catching ability.

"He's got really good hands," Alford complimented of Carlisle. "He catches the ball very softly in his hands."

"I think he's got the ability to make some guys miss in space," Alford continued. "When he was at USC and even when we were recruiting him he had the ability to do that, so I'm going to assume he still has that ability. He's not the biggest guy in the world, we know that, but he's still going to be able to make plays in space."

Kelly says Carlisle's ability as a receiver makes him an option to be on the field at the same time as another running back, and that may very well happen this spring and next season. Alford agrees, but he will still continue to push Carlisle to be the best all-around back he can be - which is the coach's goal for every back on the team.

"If a guy's not we'll tailor things for him that lend to his skill set," said Alford. "You want all your players to be as complete guys as they can possibly be. To say the guy's small and be an inside the tackles runner - that's asinine."

Carlisle is marching in step with Alford's goal for him this spring, saying he wants to work on everything.

"Coach Alford really stresses being a complete back," Carlisle commented. "Being able to block, being able to run between the tackles, being able to run outside, (and) being able to catch the ball. Each and every day is a learning opportunity and it's an opportunity to get better at all facets of the game."

With Riddick and Cierre Wood both gone, George Atkinson is now the most experienced back on the Irish roster. The junior to be has a mere 388 career rushing yards to his credit, leaving the door for Carlisle's future role on the team.

"To be honest I don't know," Carlisle said honestly of what he thinks his role might be next fall. "I pride myself on being versatile and trying to do as many things as possible. I'm going to leave the decision up to the coaches where they put me, but I'm going to make sure to give the coaches as many options to put me on the field as they can."

Alford already knows what kind of receiver Carlisle is, but he has something else he is looking for this spring that may go a long way toward determining just how extensive Carlisle's role is next season.

"I'm anxious to see how physical he's going to be in close quarters," Alford said. "Is he gonna take on a linebacker when he gets to the sideline instead of running out of bounds? (Will he) turn north and south and go put his hat on somebody and get a couple extra yards on the sideline?"

Alford used Theo Riddick's tough running up the middle last season as an example of a player without large girth who broke the mold running between the tackles.

"It's a great opportunity," Carlisle said of the chance he has this spring. "Last year, with Theo and Cierre, even though I wasn't out there playing, they really brought me under their wing and taught me a lot. I was able to watch them and how they conducted themselves each and every day as professionals - how they watched film and worked hard in practice and how it carried over to the game. That was a learning opportunity for me and it's something I'll carry over to this season."

Carlisle had Notre Dame on his radar during his high school recruitment, but ultimately chose USC to stay close to his family. His father, Duane Carlisle, was hired as Purdue's director of sports performance two years ago, and the younger Carlisle decided Notre Dame made more sense because of the new proximity to his dad.

"When my family moved out here to Indiana it just seemed right," Carlisle said. "It was a family decision. I put a lot of prayer into it and it's been a great decision."
 
Luckylucci

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II, reporting that Amir may have broken his collarbone. Specifically they said he has a upper body injury that appears to be his collarbone. No report that it is broken but not being a doctor, I don't know what else u could do to your collarbone that would include missing time
 
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koonja

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From WebMD:

After surgery, you will use a sling for up to 6 weeks. Your doctor or physical therapist will teach you gentle exercises to keep your shoulder moving for about 6 weeks, until you can start exercises to get your strength back. Most people have returned to all their activities by 3 months after surgery.

How does he break his collar bone at spring practice? Anyways, if he's going to break it it's at a pretty good time. He shouldn't miss any practice in the fall.
 
B

Buster Bluth

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Luckylucci said:
II, reporting that Amir may have broken his collarbone. Specifically they said he has a upper body injury that appears to be his collarbone. No report that it is broken but not being a doctor, I don't know what else u could do to your collarbone that would include missing time
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NOLAIrish

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Luckylucci said:
II, reporting that Amir may have broken his collarbone. Specifically they said he has a upper body injury that appears to be his collarbone. No report that it is broken but not being a doctor, I don't know what else u could do to your collarbone that would include missing time
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There are a few others. Could be a simple contusion, obviously. Or an AC separation, although that's just as likely to be reported as a shoulder injury. There's also SC separation, but that's extremely unusual. Most AC separations are a 4-6 week recovery with no need for surgery.
 
GoIrish41

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NOLAIrish said:
There are a few others. Could be a simple contusion, obviously. Or an AC separation, although that's just as likely to be reported as a shoulder injury. There's also SC separation, but that's extremely unusual. Most AC separations are a 4-6 week recovery with no need for surgery.
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I broke my collarbone as a sophmore in HS and missed 6 weeks. I was playing again by the end of the season.

If it isn't a compound fracture he'll probably be back before the season.
 
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koonja

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What are the conflicting reports? I've only heard broken collarbone.
 
TerryTate

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Utupo looked really good coming off the edge. Glad to see him making a push finally
 
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