Depth chart for 2013

[Bogtrotter07]

Disagree. Jaylon doesnt need to rushed into anything. ND doesnt have to play him unless he is that good, and to beat out a starter last year, and probably the most improved LB on the squad isnt going to be easy. ND isnt where they were 2 years ago, much less 5 years ago, where freshman have to play. There isnt a need to rush anyone on the field. If Jayon can beat them out thats a GREAT thing, but at the sametime if he cant, its not a bad thing at all. It means Diaco is doing his job and developing talent.

Id say GB/Folston/Redfield/Fuller/Elmer/Deeb will have a chance to see the field (not counting sp teams) . I am intrigued about Butler/Luke. If Baratti/Hardy/Redfield are good enough to play Safety, will they move Shumate down to Nickel, or play Luke/Butler if they are ready to get experience. Randolph could also sneak in there, but Id love to see him take a year and move inside. The player that possibly intrigues me the most though, is Kinlaw. With the way the CBs have come along, could he be the answer ND is looking for at the slot? Kid has serious talent but he needs to keep that injury bug away. I highly doubt EV sees the field this year, and Rochell could use a year to develop physically. Your starting punter could be a freshman walkon, heard nothing but GREAT things about Antognoli.


As far as the returning guys....I dont see any freshman starting day game 1 UNLESS its at RB just bc they are that good, but thats a tall tall task. So it all depends on guys getting work in this summer. WRs are pretty much set. TJ/Davaris/Prosise/Smith/Chris Brown. QB is set. Oline is pretty much set. Id have to believe itd take someone getting hurt to not have starting line we saw in the spring. Elmer moving to LT and Stanley to RT does show that Stanley is progressing so he will be able to push Lombard, and if Hanratty struggles, Lombard to RG and Stanley to RT1 is a possibility and you still save Elmers year. Stanley showed his flexibility by stepping in at LG in the spring game as well. The LBs should be very solid. Starting Dline i doubt theres a better unit in the country with Day, Nix, and Tuitt. Safety will need to answer some questions but there is plenty of talent to be able to cater to situational play at a min.

ND is in great shape going into the summer. Competition will be everywhere, but the experience of the team is at positions you need it to be. The freshman just need to need to put their time in and prepare for 2014 bc there will be openings at a lot of positions.

I had to quote this because I wanted to see it together. TP, it ain't the inside info, bro. It is the fact that you have a clear analytical way of looking at things and expressing them, and that you are an Irish fan from Ohio! I would like to hear a little on your take on the WR's.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Bog,

Interesting thought that we may move to a 4-3. I think this makes sense. Pure NT are rare and we seem to have trouble getting the monster ILBs we need. I wonder if it just makes more sense to trend that direction.

Disagree. Jaylon doesnt need to rushed into anything.

I don't think he is going to be rushed. This isn't the flavor of the day replacing a starter, he is a Top 5 player. He is more athletic than all of our LBs, he's just not particularly big right now.

Id say GB/Folston/Redfield/Fuller/Elmer/Deeb will have a chance to see the field (not counting sp teams) . I am intrigued about Butler/Luke. If Baratti/Hardy/Redfield are good enough to play Safety, will they move Shumate down to Nickel, or play Luke/Butler if they are ready to get experience.

They will want Shumate on the field as much as possible, so he'll stay at safety, IMO.

Randolph could also sneak in there, but Id love to see him take a year and move inside.

100% agree.

The player that possibly intrigues me the most though, is Kinlaw. With the way the CBs have come along, could he be the answer ND is looking for at the slot? Kid has serious talent but he needs to keep that injury bug away.

I'd like to keep him at CB for depth, but I agree he is a better athlete than most think and could make a difference on offense eventually.

I highly doubt EV sees the field this year, and Rochell could use a year to develop physically. Your starting punter could be a freshman walkon, heard nothing but GREAT things about Antognoli.

Completely disagree. I would guess there is a 95% chance he plays significant minutes barring an injury.

ND is in great shape going into the summer. Competition will be everywhere, but the experience of the team is at positions you need it to be. The freshman just need to need to put their time in and prepare for 2014 bc there will be openings at a lot of positions.

I generally agree, but some of them are top-flight talent and can improve the team now. EV and JS are not going to stick around for 5 years. Play them where they can help now.

 

[ulukinatme]

I don't see us moving to 4-3 at this time. I think we're deeper at LB than DL, even though we've got monsters in EV, Tuitt, and Nix there right now. Moving to 3-4 has improved our defense and even if we missed out on Anzalone I think we'll be just fine at ILB. Grace looked really good imo at the Spring Game, and we've got Carlo/Fox for this year at least while Grace grows. We may get into situations where we go 4-3 in a game or a OLB puts his hand in the dirt, but not every down I think.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

I had to quote this because I wanted to see it together. TP, it ain't the inside info, bro. It is the fact that you have a clear analytical way of looking at things and expressing them, and that you are an Irish fan from Ohio! I would like to hear a little on your take on the WR's.

WRs - I mean its going to be hard to un-seat Davaris/TJ from their starting roles. I think Amir and Prosise are stars waiting to be unleashed. Prosise just needs to consistently catch the ball and he will have a fine year. He can use his speed/size/athletic ability to make up for his lack of route running. Amir is probably the most explosive player on the team, and is a legit threat to take it to the house each time he gets the ball, he is just smooth. Chris Brown has worked hard on his breaks in and out of routes and its paying off, but he has Davaris infront of him. He will get plenty of PT, but he just needs to improve his routes, blocking, and developing consistency everyday. Smith, I dont think is going to have a breakout receiving, but he is more than capable of catching a few balls and providing experience in the run game. The young kids are going to play. I would be shocked if Onwualu didnt see the field as well as Robinson. Robinson is just nasty outside the numbers. Fuller is a guy that will hopefully use the year to get bigger, but at the sametime I wouldnt be surprised to see him get some PT. Hunter is the one I fully expect to see take the year off. I think he will benefit in the long run by taking his time getting fully healed and less contact the better.

The great thing is that the younger guys will be able to provide great looks on scout team. There is a lot of speed, athleticism, and talent there and it will only help our secondary get quality reps during the season during the week. Its just a wonderful thing being able to shelf quality talent and develop it.

 

[Domina Nostra]

I have the same read as TP on the WR situation.

The only thing I wonder about is whether Robinson is going to end up playing more than we expect? If he is able to get a layer of armor this summer, I think he just may. The NFL is full of "late bloomers" from lower-tier programs that were not already monsters their Jr. year in high school. Usually the big boys pass those kids over for a more sure thing. I think we may have landed one in Corey in the sense that he really only started getting comfortable in his body last year.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

WRs - I mean its going to be hard to un-seat Davaris/TJ from their starting roles. I think Amir and Prosise are stars waiting to be unleashed. Prosise just needs to consistently catch the ball and he will have a fine year. He can use his speed/size/athletic ability to make up for his lack of route running. Amir is probably the most explosive player on the team, and is a legit threat to take it to the house each time he gets the ball, he is just smooth. Chris Brown has worked hard on his breaks in and out of routes and its paying off, but he has Davaris infront of him. He will get plenty of PT, but he just needs to improve his routes, blocking, and developing consistency everyday. Smith, I dont think is going to have a breakout receiving, but he is more than capable of catching a few balls and providing experience in the run game. The young kids are going to play. I would be shocked if Onwualu didnt see the field as well as Robinson. Robinson is just nasty outside the numbers. Fuller is a guy that will hopefully use the year to get bigger, but at the sametime I wouldnt be surprised to see him get some PT. Hunter is the one I fully expect to see take the year off. I think he will benefit in the long run by taking his time getting fully healed and less contact the better.

The great thing is that the younger guys will be able to provide great looks on scout team. There is a lot of speed, athleticism, and talent there and it will only help our secondary get quality reps during the season during the week. Its just a wonderful thing being able to shelf quality talent and develop it.

THX TP,

I was wondering, so you think there is a synergy in development between opposing positions groups like WR and DB? Maybe that is what has been a problem for our post-Floyd WR's, the db house not quite being in order? Obviously CBreezy and DD are deep threats, are you including CoreyRob? He and JamesO had the spring of a one year experienced WR, correct? Are you saying CJ is kind of like an underclassmen version of Golden Tate, only a little bigger?

Dommina, Do you see JamesO on the inside or outside? And with your point about CoreyRob, do you see a regular rotation with the outside guys?

 

[TheTurningPoint]

THX TP,

I was wondering, so you think there is a synergy in development between opposing positions groups like WR and DB? Maybe that is what has been a problem for our post-Floyd WR's, the db house not quite being in order? Obviously CBreezy and DD are deep threats, are you including CoreyRob? He and JamesO had the spring of a one year experienced WR, correct? Are you saying CJ is kind of like an underclassmen version of Golden Tate, only a little bigger?

Dommina, Do you see JamesO on the inside or outside? And with your point about CoreyRob, do you see a regular rotation with the outside guys?

If CJ can consistently catch the ball he sky is the limit. Robinson is a RedZone threat. I doubt he will be a deep threat. I cant see him getting on the field in situations where he has a chance to make a deep play.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Both good pieces to know.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Disagree. Jaylon doesnt need to rushed into anything. ND doesnt have to play him unless he is that good, and to beat out a starter last year, and probably the most improved LB on the squad isnt going to be easy. ND isnt where they were 2 years ago, much less 5 years ago, where freshman have to play. There isnt a need to rush anyone on the field. If Jayon can beat them out thats a GREAT thing, but at the sametime if he cant, its not a bad thing at all. It means Diaco is doing his job and developing talent.

Id say GB/Folston/Redfield/Fuller/Elmer/Deeb will have a chance to see the field (not counting sp teams) . I am intrigued about Butler/Luke. If Baratti/Hardy/Redfield are good enough to play Safety, will they move Shumate down to Nickel, or play Luke/Butler if they are ready to get experience. Randolph could also sneak in there, but Id love to see him take a year and move inside. The player that possibly intrigues me the most though, is Kinlaw. With the way the CBs have come along, could he be the answer ND is looking for at the slot? Kid has serious talent but he needs to keep that injury bug away. I highly doubt EV sees the field this year, and Rochell could use a year to develop physically. Your starting punter could be a freshman walkon, heard nothing but GREAT things about Antognoli.


As far as the returning guys....I dont see any freshman starting day game 1 UNLESS its at RB just bc they are that good, but thats a tall tall task. So it all depends on guys getting work in this summer. WRs are pretty much set. TJ/Davaris/Prosise/Smith/Chris Brown. QB is set. Oline is pretty much set. Id have to believe itd take someone getting hurt to not have starting line we saw in the spring. Elmer moving to LT and Stanley to RT does show that Stanley is progressing so he will be able to push Lombard, and if Hanratty struggles, Lombard to RG and Stanley to RT1 is a possibility and you still save Elmers year. Stanley showed his flexibility by stepping in at LG in the spring game as well. The LBs should be very solid. Starting Dline i doubt theres a better unit in the country with Day, Nix, and Tuitt. Safety will need to answer some questions but there is plenty of talent to be able to cater to situational play at a min.

ND is in great shape going into the summer. Competition will be everywhere, but the experience of the team is at positions you need it to be. The freshman just need to need to put their time in and prepare for 2014 bc there will be openings at a lot of positions.

Oh TP you are getting me excited. I love the elite athleticism Kinlaw brings. I'm also thinking with the depth at CB, he will be an explosive down the field WR.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

Oh TP you are getting me excited. I love the elite athleticism Kinlaw brings. I'm also thinking with the depth at CB, he will be an explosive down the field WR.

Its the truth. He just gotta stay healthy.

 

[TheChosen1]

Disagree. Jaylon doesnt need to rushed into anything. ND doesnt have to play him unless he is that good, and to beat out a starter last year, and probably the most improved LB on the squad isnt going to be easy. ND isnt where they were 2 years ago, much less 5 years ago, where freshman have to play. There isnt a need to rush anyone on the field. If Jayon can beat them out thats a GREAT thing, but at the sametime if he cant, its not a bad thing at all. It means Diaco is doing his job and developing talent.

Id say GB/Folston/Redfield/Fuller/Elmer/Deeb will have a chance to see the field (not counting sp teams) . I am intrigued about Butler/Luke. If Baratti/Hardy/Redfield are good enough to play Safety, will they move Shumate down to Nickel, or play Luke/Butler if they are ready to get experience. Randolph could also sneak in there, but Id love to see him take a year and move inside. The player that possibly intrigues me the most though, is Kinlaw. With the way the CBs have come along, could he be the answer ND is looking for at the slot? Kid has serious talent but he needs to keep that injury bug away. I highly doubt EV sees the field this year, and Rochell could use a year to develop physically. Your starting punter could be a freshman walkon, heard nothing but GREAT things about Antognoli.


As far as the returning guys....I dont see any freshman starting day game 1 UNLESS its at RB just bc they are that good, but thats a tall tall task. So it all depends on guys getting work in this summer. WRs are pretty much set. TJ/Davaris/Prosise/Smith/Chris Brown. QB is set. Oline is pretty much set. Id have to believe itd take someone getting hurt to not have starting line we saw in the spring. Elmer moving to LT and Stanley to RT does show that Stanley is progressing so he will be able to push Lombard, and if Hanratty struggles, Lombard to RG and Stanley to RT1 is a possibility and you still save Elmers year. Stanley showed his flexibility by stepping in at LG in the spring game as well. The LBs should be very solid. Starting Dline i doubt theres a better unit in the country with Day, Nix, and Tuitt. Safety will need to answer some questions but there is plenty of talent to be able to cater to situational play at a min.

ND is in great shape going into the summer. Competition will be everywhere, but the experience of the team is at positions you need it to be. The freshman just need to need to put their time in and prepare for 2014 bc there will be openings at a lot of positions.

I was shocked to hear this coming from TP. Did he know......