2015 Spring Practice Thread

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

That makes me sad for poor Heuerman. Just a complete non-factor, it sounds like.

The good news is that we have massive depth. My heart goes out to the young man as well, he had aspirations like all young men playing football but it doesn't look like it's in the cards.

At least we have a full house in hand. Smythe, Luatua, Weishar, Hounshell and the ace up our sleeve, Alize.

Could be a really productive four years from the TE position.

Question: Given how loaded we are, is Alize good enough to earn TE minutes or do we preserve the redshirt and unleash the Kraken next year?

 

[GoIrish41]

The good news is that we have massive depth. My heart goes out to the young man as well, he had aspirations like all young men playing football but it doesn't look like it's in the cards.

At least we have a full house in hand. Smythe, Luatua, Weishar, Hounshell and the ace up our sleeve, Alize.

Could be a really productive four years from the TE position.

Question: Given how loaded we are, is Alize good enough to earn TE minutes or do we preserve the redshirt and unleash the Kraken next year?

I think Jones is a special talent. It will be hard to keep him off the field.

 

[IrishLion]

Question: Given how loaded we are, is Alize good enough to earn TE minutes or do we preserve the redshirt and unleash the Kraken next year?

I think this might be one of those "he's not staying for 5 years anyway, why not use him when you can during his first year?" situations.

Also, TE appears "loaded," but we haven't actually seen production from any of these guys. It's good to hear that they seem to be coming along in the Spring, but Jones will have an easier road to catch up to these guys than is usually the case.

 

[Irishman77]

Since Eifert left we have been all hat and no cattle!

Hopefully this year will change and we get back to having great PRODUCTION at the TE position

 

[Luckylucci]

Since Eifert left we have been all hat and no cattle!

Hopefully this year will change and we get back to having great PRODUCTION at the TE position

I wouldn't say that. Below is Niklas stats from UND.com

Started all 13 games, one of just four Notre Dame players to start every game ... caught 32 passes for 498 yards and five touchdowns, ranking third on the Irish in all three categories ... the five touchdown catches were one shy of the seasonal Notre Dame tight end record of six set by Ken MacAfee in 1977 ... registered eight receptions of at least 20 yards ... averaged 15.6 yards per reception, which is the highest per catch average over at least 10 grabs since Jabari Holloway in 1999 (12 for 189, 15.8 ypc) ...

Below are Eiferts senior season stats

Started all 13 games ... tied for the team-lead in receptions (50) and led in receiving yards (685) ... tied for the team-lead with four touchdown receptions ...


I am by no means saying that Niklas was on the same level as Eifert but he was a productive college TE. Year in and year out, Niklas above stats would put him in the top 15 for college TE production.

 

[Irishman77]

I loved Niklas and he would have had an amazing season last year had he not made the terrible decision to go pro..

 

[Luckylucci]

I loved Niklas and he would have had an amazing season last year had he not made the terrible decision to go pro..

I'm confused, are you saying that his junior season wasn't productive?

 

[PANDFAN]

Since Eifert left we have been all hat and no cattle!

Hopefully this year will change and we get back to having great PRODUCTION at the TE position

I'm confused, are you saying that his junior season wasn't productive?

i think he just means he could have been on another level had he stayed last year

 

[IrishLax]

I actually don't think TE is loaded at all and would be very surprised if Alize Jones doesn't play immediately.

-Luatua has great potential as blocker but it remains to be seen how much of an offensive weapon he can be. He's going to play a lot, but in a different role than Jones would play.
-Smythe has had some durability concerns and it still remains to be seen how much of a complete player he can be, or if he can stay on the field.
-Weishar hasn't packed on enough weight/gotten strong enough yet.
-Heurman is a bust. Too small and hasn't developed on a number of levels.

So for Jones to play he basically just has to be a better WR than Smythe while being just good enough at blocking.

 

[yankeeND]

I'm confused, are you saying that his junior season wasn't productive?

I may be wrong, but I don't think he meant it like that. I think he meant that he could have had an all-time great type of season is all.

 

[Luckylucci]

Since Eifert left we have been all hat and no cattle!

Hopefully this year will change and we get back to having great PRODUCTION at the TE position

Well this statement says to me that since Eifert left we haven't had productive TE play, which I drastically disagree with considering the above stats I posted for Niklas.

 

[yankeeND]

I actually don't think TE is loaded at all and would be very surprised if Alize Jones doesn't play immediately.

-Luatua has great potential as blocker but it remains to be seen how much of an offensive weapon he can be. He's going to play a lot, but in a different role than Jones would play.
-Smythe has had some durability concerns and it still remains to be seen how much of a complete player he can be, or if he can stay on the field.
-Weishar hasn't packed on enough weight/gotten strong enough yet.
-Heurman is a bust. Too small and hasn't developed on a number of levels.

So for Jones to play he basically just has to be a better WR than Smythe while being just good enough at blocking.

I agree with all of this, but I think the potential is there with Smythe. Still there is a lot to be desired and with a guy like Jones sitting there they better step their games up. Love Luatua in the H-Back role, and if he can become a threat in the passing game, we could have another nice Weopon on check downs and in the Red Zone.

 

[ulukinatme]

I'm still under the belief that any real success we've had at the TE position the last 10 years has been the result of Bernie Parmalee's teaching from '05-2010. The guys that were recruited after he left haven't measured up to Fasano, Carlson, Rudolph, and Eifert yet. Until one of Scott Booker's proteges stands out I'm going to stick by that.

 

[Irishman77]

Well this statement says to me that since Eifert left we haven't had productive TE play, which I drastically disagree with considering the above stats I posted for Niklas.

What i meant is we are "TE U" but it will be awhile before we have a our TE be drafted in the first round....

Many will disagree, but Koyack never developed and Niklas left too early. This left a void and we now have a complete unknown.

We are "Tight End U" and we don't know who our TE(s) is ?

We got tons of talent and feel we are just fine, but in a perfect world:

1.Niklas stays and blocks like he is in a mosh pit his sr year. We run more and win 3 more games last year...

2. Koyack is not needed to block which was awful at times. Koyack just splits out and causes a safety to move out of the box which improves our run game even more...

We would still have an unknown this year in that situation but Niklas would likely be the #1 TE in this years weak TE draft class...

anyway no bit deal...just disappointed in how things are vs how things could have been...yikes thats a whaste of time in the first place...sorry for the rant...

 

[Luckylucci]

I'm still under the belief that any real success we've had at the TE position the last 10 years has been the result of Bernie Parmalee's teaching from '05-2010. The guys that were recruited after he left haven't measured up to Fasano, Carlson, Rudolph, and Eifert yet. Until one of Scott Booker's proteges stands out I'm going to stick by that.

I will say that overall Parmalee has a much better track record than Booker (TE's isn't Booker's specialty) but, how can we give him credit for Eifert's success? Eifert was sophomore that had very little production during that 2010 season. Eifert's production was really in 2011 and 2012 when he became the all-time leader rec and rec. yards for TE's.

 

[Rocket89]

What i meant is we are "TE U" but it will be awhile before we have a our TE be drafted in the first round....

Well to be fair that "TE U" moniker was earned in recent times from several high draft picks that didn't quite make the first round of the Draft.

Tyler Eifert
Irv Smith
Derek Brown
Tony Hunter
Ken MacAfee

Those are the only 1st round picks, so we're averaging one every 8 years or so with Eifert being the first in 20 years. Lots of second round picks in there, which is awesome too, but guys like Smythe and Alize can get there in a few years.

But yeah, we're young and inexperienced right now.

 

[ulukinatme]

I will say that overall Parmalee has a much better track record than Booker (TE's isn't Booker's specialty) but, how can we give him credit for Eifert's success? Eifert was sophomore that had very little production during that 2010 season. Eifert's production was really in 2011 and 2012 when he became the all-time leader rec and rec. yards for TE's.

Honestly, I've felt like Parmalee did a lot more with a lot less talent during his time here, while Booker has had arguably more talent and hasn't produced as much aside from Eifert. That lead me to question if Eifert didn't develop more under his year with Parmalee. It's just a theory really, and I may be biased as I generally question Booker as often as I can given the fact Special Teams has been lackluster in his time at ND as well. As far as Eifert's numbers in 2010, he was backup to Rudolph at the time and took over halfway through the season. He was also coming off back surgery if I recall, so he may not have been in top form like he was in the subsequent years.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Out here watching <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ND?src=hash">#ND</a> practice &#55356;&#57152; <a href="http://t.co/NZIxISXFxO">pic.twitter.com/NZIxISXFxO</a></p>— Julian Okwara (@704jo) <a href="https://twitter.com/704jo/status/581425281639923712">March 27, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Hey Res,

Could you post this information on the first post? It'd be nice to reference media viewings and when we can expect content to be released.

1) Wednesday, March 18: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Media Viewing: 7:30 to 8:00
*Kelly & Player Interviews

2) Friday, March 20: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

3) Saturday, March 21: 10:55 a.m. - 12:55 p.m.

4) Monday, March 23: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Media Viewing: 7:30 to 8:00
*Kelly Interview

5) Wednesday, March 25: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Defensive Coaches Interviews

6) Friday, March 27: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Media Viewing: 7:30 to 8:00
*Player Interviews

7) Saturday, March 28: 10:55 a.m. - 12:55 p.m.
*Media Viewing: Entire Practice
*Kelly Interview

8) Monday, March 30: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

9) Wednesday, April 1: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Offensive Coaches Interviews

(EASTER BREAK)

10) Wednesday, April 8: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Media Viewing: 7:30 to 8:00
*Kelly Interview

11) Friday, April 10: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m
*Player Interviews

12) Saturday, April 11: 10:55 a.m. - 12:55 p.m.
*Media Viewing: Entire Practice
*Kelly Interview

13) Monday, April 13: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Select Assistant Coaches Interviews

14) Wednesday, April 15: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
*Media Viewing: 7:30 to 8:00
*Kelly Interview

15) Saturday, April 18: Blue-Gold Game

 

[ResLife Hero]

Hey Res,

Could you post this information on the first post? It'd be nice to reference media viewings and when we can expect content to be released.

Updated the OP.

 

[dublinirish]

media in for entire practice tomorrow so there should be lots of content

 

[clashmore_mike]

https://youtu.be/lqFrFvMZv88

 

[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jerry Tillery continues to impress, amazing how low he gets as a pass rusher. Quenton Nelson did demolish him on one rep. Flat on his back.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/581871646665007104">March 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[Ironman8]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Notre Dame freshman defensive tackle Jerry Tillery took every snap with the first team defense today. At least from what I saw.</p>— Andrew Ivins (@BGI_aivins) <a href="https://twitter.com/BGI_aivins/status/581871745335951361">March 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[JD Irish]

https://youtu.be/lqFrFvMZv88

This was my favorite practice video WatchND has done to date. Very entertaining.

 

[dublinirish]

anyone else think sanford has a little lane kiffin about him style wise? i mean that in a good way btw. seems like he can relate to the players really well

 

[quarterback1010]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Jerry Tillery continues to impress, amazing how low he gets as a pass rusher. Quenton Nelson did demolish him on one rep. Flat on his back.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/581871646665007104">March 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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I love that Tillery is killing it out there. He's basically the same size Tuitt was in his first two years at ND. That's exciting. I also like that Nelson is out there flattening guys. I'm super pumped about all these young guys getting at it.

 

[dublinirish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kelly complementary of Todd Lyght’s ability to communicate player by player based on their styles of play.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/581877047829635072">March 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[dublinirish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Kelly said Jonathan Bonner is starting to emerge. Can give defense a potential pass rusher.</p>— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) <a href="https://twitter.com/ISDUpdate/status/581877362024947712">March 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[dublinirish]

Video Roundup from Spring Practice | Inside the Irish