2014 Spring Practice Thread

[Wild Bill]

Ishaq looks big. Urban would be proud of his ass.

 

[#1rish]

I thought of Jaylon's move as more of a "sweep/cleaning up the garbage" thing

Justin Tucker did the Terio (the kid)

 

[greyhammer90]

Being reminded of the whiteness of ND's fanbase right now

 

[NDPhilly]

That's what his celebration was. He'd 'bowl' a strike after a big play.

On Malik: I'm done questioning the speed of his release. Both him and Golson looked filthy in those reps.

Mother of God

 

[woolybug25]

balls.... underhand, mind.

 

[Luckylucci]

FYI, Dan Murphy of BGI staff believes we are now a 4-3 base.

Few thoughts on video.
- I think Rochelle looks great. Big, strong, and moves well.
- Hopefully Carlisle is ready to play. He always seems to make plays in these videos, lets see it on the field.
- The expected Everett rust on a few of those plays.
- Zaire did look good on a few of those runs. Even going back to his HS film, he's a great open field runner. I hope we have a few blowouts that we can see him shine in.

 

[clashmore_mike]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>“Remember how lousy we were on screens? (Elmer) is worse.” Kelly in describing Elmer’s learning curve at guard.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@NDatRivals) <a href="https://twitter.com/NDatRivals/statuses/446290216685297664">March 19, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'm not sure I understand this one. Is he saying Elmer was awful at pulling?

haha

I could be mistaken but I think the question came from Sean Mele from ISD and BK's reply was "remember how bad you were at screens? Elmer's worse." Mele played on the o line at grand valley for BK.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

FYI, Dan Murphy of BGI staff believes we are now a 4-3 base.

Few thoughts on video.
- I think Rochelle looks great. Big, strong, and moves well.
- Hopefully Carlisle is ready to play. He always seems to make plays in these videos, lets see it on the field.
- The expected Everett rust on a few of those plays.
- Zaire did look good on a few of those runs. Even going back to his HS film, he's a great open field runner. I hope we have a few blowouts that we can see him shine in.

I'll go a step further. I hope he's good enough that he earns reps during meaningful minutes. Even if it's a drive or two every half. Bobby Petrino was a master of this in his first stint at Louisville and Urban was pretty good at juggling QBs as well when he first arrived at Florida.

I'd really like him to begin the seasoning, since we are one big hit away from having him as our starter.

 

[arrowryan]

We're gonna be watching one hell of a QB competition this summer. The best one yet IMO

 

[TheRealLynch51]

We're gonna be watching one hell of a QB competition this summer. The best one yet IMO

You really think Zaire has a shot to start?

 

[GBdomer]

Mother of God

Koon blazes bowls

 

[GBdomer]

You really think Zaire has a shot to start?

I am with you. Remember when Crist and Clausen were in a QB battle?

 

[arrowryan]

You really think Zaire has a shot to start?

I didn't give him much of a shot once we all knew Golson was for sure coming back.After watching the practice videos (I know they're only 2-3 minutes long), he just seems hungry for the starting spot. Not only has he been looking good in the snaps that we get to see, but you can see him taking mental reps when Golson is in. Golson definitely seems to be the favorite, but I think the gap between Golson and Zaire is slowly closing.

 

[Luckylucci]

Lets not get carried away here.

 

[woolybug25]

You really think Zaire has a shot to start?

My personal opinion is that he has very little chance to roll out as day 1 starter without an injury to Golson. That being said, QB's get shots in all kind of weird ways...

Remember when Crist was the next coming and rolled out as the clear day 1 starter... then came Rees.

Remember when Zach Collaros was an undersized backup that barely played his freshman year as THE FIFTH QB to take the reins for BK's Bearcats in '08? Pike came into '09 as the surefire starter and no one even remembered the frosh that went 1-4 for 2 yards. Then Pike went down and Collaros scamperred for a 75 yard TD on his third play. The rest was history.

Remember when the Pats were paying big bucks to Drew Bledsoe and he started bleeding internally after a big hit? They had to go to their 6th round pick with a doughboy body that went to some crappy school with poor morals... he did ok.



The point to this is that if you are a QB, you can't get caught up in getting the starting nod, you eventually get a shot if you play yourself to the backup position. The key is taking advantage of that opportunity when it arises. With everything we are seeing from Malik, in not only his play, but his demeanor... I am willing to bet that he wont take his opportunity lightly. I want and believe Golson will succeed... but I cannot lie... I'm looking forward to seeing Malik's eventual opportunity.

 

[GBdomer]

I didn't give him much of a shot once we all knew Golson was for sure coming back.After watching the practice videos (I know they're only 2-3 minutes long), he just seems hungry for the starting spot. Not only has he been looking good in the snaps that we get to see, but you can see him taking mental reps when Golson is in. Golson definitely seems to be the favorite, but I think the gap between Golson and Zaire is slowly closing.

 

[Damion704]

+1

 

[gkIrish]

Barring injury or some other unique issue there is absolutely no way Zaire starts next season. I'll bet any amount of vbucks. I won't post a single word on this site for the entire month of September (would make some of you happy), etc. etc. 0% chance.

 

[PANDFAN]

Defense 2-deep
At today's practice

Def. End
Ishaq Williams
Isaac Rochell
Def. Tackle
Jarron Jones
Jacob Matuska
Def. Tackle
Sheldon Day
Justin Utupo
Rush End
Romeo Okwara
Anthony Rabasa
Mike
Joe Schmidt
Doug Randolph
Will
Kendall Moore
Michael Deeb
Sam
Jaylon Smith
John Turner
Cornerback
KeiVarae Russell
Josh Atkinson
Safety
Austin Collinsworth
Elijah Shumate
Safety
Max Redfield
Eilar Hardy
Cornerback
Cole Luke
Jalen Brown

 

[Irish#1]

Lets not get carried away here.

Too late.

 

[koonja]

Barring injury or some other unique issue there is absolutely no way Zaire starts next season. I'll bet any amount of vbucks. I won't post a single word on this site for the entire month of September (would make some of you happy), etc. etc. 0% chance.

One month? You're a wuss. I once bet my entire existence on this site that ND would finish the year ranked!


But no, that wouldn't make me happy.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I didn't give him much of a shot once we all knew Golson was for sure coming back.After watching the practice videos (I know they're only 2-3 minutes long), he just seems hungry for the starting spot. Not only has he been looking good in the snaps that we get to see, but you can see him taking mental reps when Golson is in. Golson definitely seems to be the favorite, but I think the gap between Golson and Zaire is slowly closing.

Per everyone that I've read who was at the practice, the gap is definitely not closing. I just finished texting with a reporter at the practice and that was his take as well. Golson is the starter and it's not even close.

That's not to say that Zaire hasn't improved...he absolutely has (great reviews so far). But so has Golson, and he is throwing better than he ever has, with more zip and more accuracy. Taking mental reps and looking good in a 3 minute highlight reel does not a starter make.

 

[arrowryan]

Per everyone that I've read who was at the practice, the gap is definitely not closing. I just finished texting with a reporter at the practice and that was his take as well. Golson is the starter and it's not even close.

That's not to say that Zaire hasn't improved...he absolutely has (great reviews so far). But so has Golson, and he is throwing better than he ever has, with more zip and more accuracy. Taking mental reps and looking good in a 3 minute highlight reel does not a starter make.

I agree with everyone, I think Golson will be the starter too and he should be. I wasn't trying to make it seem like I thought Zaire had a strong chance that he gets to start against Rice.

Did the reporter that you were texting say anything about the defense?

 

[Bluto]

I've never seen that before. If that's what he's doing, he's skipping half of the celebration, lol. You're probably right, bowling is pretty lame so IDK why he'd be doing that.

Screw that. Bowling is awesome!

 

[NDinL.A.]

I agree with everyone, I think Golson will be the starter too and he should be. I wasn't trying to make it seem like I thought Zaire had a strong chance that he gets to start against Rice.

Did the reporter that you were texting say anything about the defense?

Yeah, he was in charge of watching the defense. But since they were going 11 on 11 he watched the offense as well and noticed the incredible zip Golson had on the ball, and how he was putting it in tight spaces at times.

But they only got to see their 3rd down, nickle defense, so it wasn't the whole package. He hardly saw Rudolph, for example. He likes the defense, but he's a really positive guy lol. Pretty much everything you guys have already read (J Smith in the middle, Baratti getting some reps, Onwualu getting some reps, Redfield with the one's the entire time, etc etc etc). He LOVES the way BVG was getting after it...very loud enthusiastic coach.

My wife is due with our 2nd child in May, so I'm trying to bank as many sick days as possible so I can be there for the baby's first couple weeks, but I might take Friday off to see the practice, esp to see Bryant, Golson, and BVG...

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Man the shit some of you say!

 

[aubeirish]

Golson will start. We have to feel good about that. Zaire is the backup. We have to feel good about that too. They both have the same kind of toolsets, which is nice for a change.

 

[JD Irish]

That defensive depth chart is downright scary. Look at those linebackers. This might be a rough year for the D. The offense has to carry the team, but that might be possible for most games.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Last year was a bad year for linebackers. Far worse than this year will be.

 

[IrishLax]

That defensive depth chart is downright scary. Look at those linebackers. This might be a rough year for the D. The offense has to carry the team, but that might be possible for most games.

DL scares me a lot. I like our top 4, but we are paper thin beyond that. At LB I really think we'll be OK. Jaylon has all the makings of a stud and I'm relatively confident we can get some solid play out of some of the remaining guys.