ND '12 Safeties

[BGIF]

As noted in his Recruit Profile, Chris Badger was granted permission to be back from his mission in August 31 '12 which doesn't give him any time to get in shape for the '12 season. He is now requesting he be alllowed to return to start classes in January '12 so he can participate in Spring Ball then and have 6 months to get back into shape for the season. He's works out on his own at 6 am each moring and has a diet of protein shakes to try and keep his weight up while on mission. Obviously the January date is necessary if he is to be a viable candidate for a '12 Safety.

Keith Arnold, NBCsports.com expands on the Badger story reported earlier by Brian Hamilton of the ChiTrib.

Badger weighing early return from Mormon mission | Inside the Irish

Arnold notes:

2012 Potential Safety Depth Chart
Jamoris Slaughter, 5th year candidate
Dan McCarthy, 5th year candidate
Zeke Motta, Senior
Austin Collinsworth, Junior
Eilar Hardy, Sophomore
Chris Badger, Freshman
Nicky Baratti, Freshman (current recruit)
C.J. Prosise, Freshman (current recruit)
John Turner, Freshman (current recruit)


There’s no guarantee a guy like Dan McCarthy comes back for a fifth year if he doesn’t show he can break into the mix for playing time, battling Slaughter and Motta for time in the nickel. (That said, older brother Kyle McCarthy only started one game before his senior season before ultimately thriving in his fourth and fifth years on campus.) While it’s still a long time away, it’s interesting to see how quickly a position can go from perilously thin to nine-deep.

Baratti, Prosise, and Turner as current recruits won't be on campus until 2012 (providing they sign ND LOI's in Feb or enroll early. ND still has other Safeties (Thompson, Shumate) in play in the current class so there could be changes to the class over the next 6 months.