Official Fall Practice Thread

[Stalking_Eagle]

Camp opens today, let's pray to keep our men healthy. Go Irish!!!!!

 

[tgolden]

finally. yes, let's pray they stay healthy and out of trouble.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Any news on today's events? Go Irish!

 

[Stalking_Eagle]

That is what I'm waiting on too, I hope this thread is used to keep a running track of how we are performing. Anyone have any news?

 

[IrishRamMan10]

should be a good thread... will und put up videoes of these practices like in the spring?

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

should be a good thread... will und put up videoes of these practices like in the spring?

Lets hope they do.

 

[Stalking_Eagle]

should be a good thread... will und put up videoes of these practices like in the spring?

That would be great if they do, I really enjoyed that last year.

 

[OCIrish]

Rivals has a nice little piece of practice with the WR's and TE's catching balls. Some of the RB's running bag drills, not much, but enough to get the mouth salivating.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Rivals has a nice little piece of practice with the WR's and TE's catching balls. Some of the RB's running bag drills, not much, but enough to get the mouth salivating.

I wish there was more, but it got me pretty pumped about the season. Go Irish!

 

[IrishAlum1997]

"Jack of all trades, master of none..."

...was what Coach Weis said he did not want as his starting QB in today's presser. This followed his comment regarding Sharpley as "somewhere between" Claussen and Demetrius in QB style.

Perhaps it's reading into nothing, but that would lead me to believe Sharpley is the reliable back-up to whichever style Coach Weis decides on, whether that be Jones or Claussen.

 

[Golden_Domer88]

"Jack of all trades, master of none..."

...was what Coach Weis said he did not want as his starting QB in today's presser. This followed his comment regarding Sharpley as "somewhere between" Claussen and Demetrius in QB style.

Perhaps it's reading into nothing, but that would lead me to believe Sharpley is the reliable back-up to whichever style Coach Weis decides on, whether that be Jones or Claussen.

Im with you on that one. I think Clausen gets the nod. With jones coming in on some tough situations.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

"Jack of all trades, master of none..."

...was what Coach Weis said he did not want as his starting QB in today's presser. This followed his comment regarding Sharpley as "somewhere between" Claussen and Demetrius in QB style.

Perhaps it's reading into nothing, but that would lead me to believe Sharpley is the reliable back-up to whichever style Coach Weis decides on, whether that be Jones or Claussen.

Interesting.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Can I change my thoughts from a previous post and go with JC?

Hold on, it is going to be a terrifying (in a good way) season opener against that Wreck defense.

 

[tgolden]

my favorite quote from the captains' interviews from mo crum jr.

"I laugh at it, I shrug it off, my biggest concern is the 10 other guys who are out there with me, if they're ready to go, I'm ready to go, and that's all i care about. I don't care about the rest of the world, all I care about is Notre Dame football..."

-quote from Crum about all the doubters and haters.

these guys are gonna suprise some people this year.... i have full faith and confidence that these guys are gonna get the job done.



i

 

[johnnd05]

Everyone seems to be reading that quote about Sharpley in a different way (the ESPN guy thought it indicated that he was the front-runner, so I wouldn't put much in it).

Here's some nice stuff on practice from UNHD:

Early Impressions from the First Practice

Take most of these with a grain of salt since they are based on just a few minutes of video, but here’s some early observations.

* Mike Ragone looks like a wide receiver – he is going to have bulk up quite a bit before he is ready for playing time at tight end. Ragone also got a crash course on how to carry the football from Mike Haywood during on the drills.
* James Aldridge looked even more comfortable making cuts than he did in spring
* Chris Stewart looks very quick for a guy his size. I keep thinking Weis would have kept him on defense if he didn’t have a good chance to start on offense.
* I thought Thomas Bemenderfer moved really well laterally for an offensive lineman in the one drill.
* Emeka Nwankwo was practicing with the defensive linemen and got told “Emeka watch everbody else. You’re the last one in line. Pay Attention,” pay d-line coach Jappy Oliver.
* Robert Hughes had the ball in the wrong hand during one of the drills, but he looked as big as the tight ends. Hughes is easily the biggest half back on the team already.
* Konrad Reuland looked very agile making lateral cuts in one drill.
* Armando Allen was told “good feet right there” at one point by Haywood.
* Geroge West and Robby Parris look the smoothest of the wide receivers in the one cone drill – their cuts looked effortless.
* Richard Jackson had a great catch in the same cone drill on a pass thrown behind him. Jackspn showed some suspect hands in the spring game, but he looked good Monday.
* The order of the wide receivers in this drill was Grimes, West, Parris, Gallup, then Jackson – take that for whatever its worth.
* Golden Tate looked like someone getting used to wide receiver in the same cone drill – he looked a bit tentative making his cuts. This much is to be expected though considering he played running back in high school and will have a steep learning curve.
* Duval Kamara looked like the biggest wide receiver and physically looked like he could be the veteran of the group and not a freshman.

And Practice Notes: 8/7

As with my post earlier today about yesterday’s practice, take these points with a grain of salt as they are based on watching all of the free videos between und.com and Irish Illustrated’s free videos.

* Practice was inside the Loftus Center because of overnight rains soaking the fields.
* In an inside linebacker/defensive line drill the order was – Crum, Brockington, Trevor Laws, Dwight Stephenson, Pat Kuntz, Justin Brown, Paddy Mullen, Kallen Wade, Ian Williams, Steve Quinn, Scott Smith. Andrew Nuss, Toryan Smith, and Emeka Nwankwo. Stephenson had a little trouble and tripped up the bag at one point.
* Kallen Wade looks like he’s gotten even bigger since the spring and Toryan Smith looks light on his feet. You can see what Weis was talking about in the spring when he said Wade has the frame to handle more weight – he still looks fairly lean
* Sergio Brown looked to run through one cone drill the smoothest of the defensive backs and John Ryan surprised me with how well he ran through it.
* First group of DB’s in another drill were Zibby, Bruton, Lambert, and Wooden. Lambert came out of his break a little slower than the rest. Second group looked like McNeil, McCarthy, Herring, and Walls. Third group looked like Prince, Brown, Gaines, and Ferrine.
* In 2005 Ferrine was the nickel back. The fact that two years later he is running with the 3rd team defensive backs speaks volumes for the recruiting efforts of Weis. This isn’t a knock on Ferrine just pointing out that in two years the talent has been upgraded so much in the secondary that Ferrine has been passed by a number of under classmen.
* Demetrius Jones who is listed at 6’4” looks to be an inch or two taller than Jimmy Clausen who is listed at 6’5”. Jones also showed his athleticism in some of the
* Ian Williams easily passes the eyeball test at nose tackle – he looks like the biggest defensive lineman on the team.
* At linebacker – both Brian Smith and Kerry Neal pass the eyeball test as well – neither of them looks like a freshman when standing around the other linebackers. Many fell Neal could be a starter from day one.
* Darrin Bragg is back with the team as a quarterback and is wearing Zach Frazer’s old #12.
* Quarterbacks were practicing the play action.

Good stuff.

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

Thanks for the great info.

 

[KamaraPolice]

Hey great post!! A+ plus plus. However, I couldn't help but notice the lack of mention for Maurice Richardson. I know he is an oustide linebacker, and Vernaglia wasn't mentioned either, but these guys need to play huge this year. Any word? And I thought Toryan Smith was starting too?

 

[tgolden]

This is quoted in one of the above quotes, but I can't figure out how to quote it.

"Richard Jackson had a great catch in the same cone drill on a pass thrown behind him. Jackspn showed some suspect hands in the spring game, but he looked good Monday."

about Jackson's suspect hands, a few days after the spring game, he was in a sling, so I really think he was holding off on some surgery until after the game. maybe I'm completely off, but that may have affected his catching ability in the game itself. minus the dropped passes, he was getting open a lot that game.

also, as of the end of spring, Joe Brockington was starting over Toryn Smith.

 

[johnnd05]

From UHND:

Notes from Weis's Presser: 8/8

* Saturday’s practice will be open to the media and Weis said he wouldn’t be holding anything back and that it would be a normal practice. Something tells me what is seen Saturday won’t necessarily be a “normal” practice though.
* On the installation of the defense – “Each day we’re adding another facet. The first day was more of your base defenses – the 3 or 4 main coverages that go in. The second day we went to multiple wide receivers and therefore put in nickel as well.” “Today we’re putting in multiple tight end groupings so therefore your defense is more load up front as you’re trying to stop the run.”
* To recap the installation of the offense – Tuesday was multiple receiver sets, today was multiple tight end groupings, Thursday will be 3rd down offense, and Friday will be red-zone offense.
* Pat Kuntz weighed in at 287 this morning despite being listed at 272 on the official roster.
* Scott Smith is playing inside and outside linebacker positions. “He’s strong enough and physical enough to play on the point on the edge, but he also shows enough awareness in pass coverage where you can play him inside and not get exposed there.”
* “Potentially, we have the chance to do a lot of good things here.”
* On the size of the potential middle linebackers. “At the MIKE linebacker, the one where there almost always is an uncovered guard, you have to be stout. You look at all those teams that play 3-4 defenses in the NFL, and almost all of them have a middle linebacker that is one of those run right through you type of guys. I think we have a few candidates who do that pretty well.”
* On eliminating the big plays in the secondary: “I think the players that we’re playing with now are very, very competitive. There’s a lot of competition to get on the field right now and sometimes inherently that takes care of the problem because if guys get beat, you put someone else in. The problem is when you don’t have another alternative - when you just have a couple guys and you’re living and dying with what they d – but right now we have a lot of competition out there and I think that that sometimes answers that question.”
* On the depth in the secondary: “We have depth at the position where at one time we were very shy.” “We haven’t had it since we’ve been here. We have depth which, it just hasn’t existed.”
* On the improvement of David Brution from the end of last season to the spring and into fall camp: “David’s gotten a lot bigger and has not lost any of his speed and I think that that’s allowed him to play the game even more aggressively.”
* Weis approached Darrin Bragg about coming back to the team for fall camp after he was off of the team for the spring. “I didn’t want him to go into his senior year leaving Notre Dame with a bad taste in his mouth and me with a bad taste in my mouth about what’s happened here. I wanted to give him a chance to be a part of this program.”
* Weis also wanted Bragg back on the team in order to help with the depth at the quarterback position with the departure of Zach Frazer.
* Weis still intends on giving out scholarships to some walk-ons this year despite Notre Dame getting close to the 85 scholarship limit.
* Charlie was on the phone with Brady Quinn when Quinn got the call that a deal had been reached. “We were on the phone when his agent called him up to tell him the deal was done. So he cut me off. Then he called and I didn’t answer so he texted me to tell me it was done and I then called him back.”
* John Sullivan is in charge of making the MIKE calls at the line until further notice to take some of the burden off of the quarterbacks for now.

 

[johnnd05]

And a nice post from HLS (lots of links in original):

What We Know and What We Don’t

O.K. 3 days of summer practices are in the books. So what have we learned? What do we still not know? What new questions have come up because of what we’ve learned?

* What we Know: Corwin Brown is an emotional leader as well as a tactician for the team. It’s pretty clear from the write ups about Corwin as an “intense” and “energetic” guy. You pick it up during the interviews with various defensive players too.
* What we Didn’t Know and Were Surprised to Learn: Corwin Brown was one of Charlie Weis’ first picks for the DC job when Weis first came to Notre Dame. But Corwin wasn’t prepared to leave the Jets at the time. It’s interesting because it’s such a different choice over the eventual hire of Rick Minter, which, at the time, was a hire that made sense because of Minter’s previous ND connections. Charlie really is a gamble first and foremost.
* What we Don’t Know: Will Corwin be in the booth or on the field during games? Emotional leadership, especially on defense, is tremendously important. Will the team be forced to adjust to losing one of their emotional leaders while Corwin is in the booth, trying to get a better view of what’s occurring during a game?
* What we Know: Jimmy Clausen is Practicing. Despite “information” floating around about Jimmy’s elbow, and the ensuing worry it caused throughout ND Nation, he’s been spotted during each “open window” to the press for practices. And he’s doing everything that the other QBs are doing during those observed drills.
* What we Don’t Know: Can Jimmy Clausen throw the ball yet? Can he throw it effectively? For that matter, can any of the QBs on the roster throw the ball effectively? Not a single pass has been thrown by any of the quarterbacks during the period of time available to the press.
* What we Know: The 2007 Notre Dame Football Squad has added a lot of muscle mass. Just ask Mara Weis. According to Charlie, Mara “feels a lot better,” having seen, during a Sunday BBQ, that “these guys are big.” Considering the types of players she’s been around in the past, she’s probably a pretty good judge.
* What we Don’t Know: Will this new size be enough? Against top-flight competition like LSU and Southern Cal, it’s been quite clear that Notre Dame was out-classed in the freak-of-nature-physical-specimen category. Will the apparently large gains by veteran ND players and the already impressive physical specimens in the freshman class be enough to level the playing field here?
* What we Also Don’t Know: Who the heck is going to start? Especially on offense. There’s 2 players I’m sure will have a starting position: Carlson and Young. But that’s it, really. That leaves 9 spots on the offensive side of the ball up in the air. And all open to some pretty good competition. It’s a reason to get excited about the future, really. But it’s also a little worrying coming up on a very effective defense like Georgia Tech.
* What we Know and Love Knowing: Keith Penrod is still showing up to all of the practices. Awesome.
* What we Know because We’re Told To Know It: This is not a rebuilding year.
* What we Know: This may be the most talented group of running backs ND has had since the early 90s. It’s unbelievable really. In the past, we’ve had a number of good backs, but almost no real depth at the position. Usually any “competition” for the starting job came down to 2 players.
* What we Love Not Knowing Yet: How will Charlie utilize all this talent at RB? It’s almost an embarrassment of riches, so how do you spend it? Use Thomas at the “anchor,” since he probably has the best grasp on the complex blocking scheme? Will the other guys get in the game on a game-by-game or down-by-down basis? We’ve got Aldridge, Hughes, and Allen now. Can you get 4 running backs on the field at once? Can’t wait to find out.

We’ll try to update what we know and what we don’t as the Summer Practices move along. What else do we know and not know? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

 

[Sureal]

real quick...

I am assuming the mike calls are the "check with me calls" or the audibles for blocking? I would think he would be doing the audibles for blocking anyway, no?

 

[johnnd05]

From Ben Ford at etruth:

Notre Dame training camp: Day 3, Part 2

And on the fourth day, they threw.

Media members finally got to see the Irish quarterbacks throw the ball for the first time this fall during Thursday's practice, which was moved to the Loftus Center after heavy storms rumbled through the area during the early-morning hours (and woke me up). They weren't really difficult throws — one quarterback stood on the sideline and tossed the ball to another one standing on the yard-line numbers, which is a throw most 12-year-olds could make easily — but hey, it's something. Jimmy Clausen's throws appeared to be a little softer than the other quarterbacks' — I'm not sure if that's cause for concern or not. If he's not throwing hard during Saturday's 2 1/2-hour open practice, then it's time to worry, I'd say.

As if there weren't enough quarterbacks to watch at Notre Dame's practices already, Class of 2008 commit Dayne Crist was also on hand Thursday. He spent quite a bit of time talking to Ron Powlus, who motioned to him to join the team's huddle at the start of practice. Crist was wearing a green Notre Dame T-shirt — maybe he hit the bookstore before coming over to the Loftus.

A couple other special guests in attendance Thursday: Charlie Weis Jr. and Kevin White.

I was focused on the offensive linemen because I was with Jonathan Oosting, who's interning this summer in our "Innovative Media" (that's "Internet," to non-Human Resources people) department. We (mostly Jonathan, really) worked on a couple of video packages that should be up on our Web site in the next couple days, so keep an eye out for those. Matt Romine, the freshman tackle, is an interesting guy. He's big right now, but looks like he could get a bit bigger. Assuming he improves his footwork, he should be a good player. Sophomore Dan Wenger also looked good. His battle with Matt Carufel for the starting right guard spot could go down to the wire.

The wide receivers did a drill Thursday I'd never seen before. The receivers ran up the field, cut left or right and ran through a "gauntlet" of teammates who pounded them with bags and then made a catch from receivers coach Rob Ianello. I'm not sure how to "judge" their efforts, since the drill looked like something they'd put the contenders through on "American Gladiators," but no one was knocked down that I saw, so I'd consider it a success.

I watched an episode of "Seinfeld" during dinner tonight and saw an ad for a new CMT reality show called "Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge," which wouldn't be interesting, except one of the participants is Notre Dame's own "Rocket" Ismail! Here's how the show is described on its Web site: "These celebrities will quickly move from mechanical bull to riding some of the biggest, meanest animals from the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) tour. If the celebrities can conquer their fear, avoid injuries and get a passing grade from Murray, at the end of their training they'll ride in front of a packed auditorium at a PBR event in Nashville. The celebrities will even get a chance to pick their poison, choosing which legendary bull they'll ride in the finale. It's the ultimate man versus beast showdown."

Who are the men besides the "Rocket" willing to take on this ultimate showdown? Rapper Vanilla Ice, actor Stephen Baldwin, actor/musician Leif Garrett, actor Dan "Nitro" Clark, actor Francesco Quinn, Ultimate Fighter Josh Haynes, X-Games motorcycler "Cowboy" Kenny Bartram and Survivor star Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton. Hmm. My money's on the bull. Anyway, the show premieres Friday at 9 p.m. if you're interested.

I'll have a couple more updates tomorrow as camp creeps closer to two-a-days. See you then.

 

[johnnd05]

From Michael Rothstein:

Practice Observations (Sort of), 8/9/07

Couldn't get out to practice today -- needed to work on stuff in the office and the same will go for tomorrow. That's the bad news. Good news is we were still able to glean some stuff from the videos on UND.com, which are more of a general overview of what is going on but can provide fill-in stuff if you are there most days.

* It seems as if the quarterbacks -- gasp -- actually threw passes today. Sure, they were just warming up, but it's good to know they can actually throw the ball. From what we could see on UND.com's video, Evan Sharpley can put some zip on his throws. That, though, doesn't surprise us as it is what we saw all of last season during practice.
* As far as Jimmy Clausen, he looked somewhat tentative throwing. Often after he threw with his right arm, he would shake it out a little making us wonder if he truly felt comfortable yet. Clausen was warming up with quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus, while Sharpley worked with Demetrius Jones.
* Not that it matters, but we're fans of the style. Sharpley donned high socks while the rest of the quarterbacks had low socks on.
* Friday's practice will be the first that Notre Dame is allowed to have in full pads.
* For Saturday's open practice at Notre Dame Stadium, it is also open to the public. Gates open at 8:30 a.m., practice starts around 9 and will end around 11:30 a.m. The concession stands will not be open and as the release from Notre Dame indicated, no alcohol may be brought into the stadium.

-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette

 

[johnnd05]

And from UHND:

Practices Notes: 8/9 - Clausen Throws

Here are a few observations based on the videos from und.com and Irish Illustrated - as always, take them with a grain of salt…

* Quarterbacks were actually throwing today. Jones and Sharpley threw back and forth while Clausen threw with Ron Powlus – read into that what you want.
* Sharpley and Jones looked to be throwing it harder than Clausen who appeared to be lofting it a bit and concentrating more on mechanics. Regardless, the important thing here is that Clausen was throwing despite rumors this summer that he wouldn’t be able to right away.
* Today’s practice was forced inside the Loftus Center because of overnight and early morning rains soaking Cartier Field.
* Today’s practice was also the last practice of the year which the Irish are not permitted to wear full pads – they were in helmets and shoulder pads.
* DJ Hord looks quicker and quicker every time I watch him run through these drills – he looks very smooth in his motion and glides through a lot of these drills.
* Armando Allen is another guy who just looks fluid in these drills – it looks effortless when he’s running.
* James Aldridge’s cuts look better and better each day as his confidence in his knee continues to grow. Travis Thomas has looked very sharp and has all the confidence of a starting running back, but Aldridge is going to make it tough not to play him.
* Duval Kamara is just physically impressive. I know its been said many times already, but the kid just doesn’t look like a freshman. If he can pick up the offense quick enough I don’t think there’s anyway he’ll be kept off the field.
* Speaking of Kamara, he gets compared to Maurice Stovall a lot because of their physical similarities, but I think Kamara just might be quicker than Stovall.
* Mike Ragone looks very similar to Jeff Samardzija in his #83 jersey so far - he’s got a ways to go in terms of adding weight to play tight end on an every down basis, but he’s another guy whose athleticism is going to be hard to keep on the sidelines.
* Jones has a bit of a funky throwing motion, but he certainly looks the part – he might be the most physically put together candidate for the position.
* Clausen easily has the quickest release of the quarterbacks and in terms of throwing mechanics, he throws the nicest ball.
* Brian Smith has been practicing with the outside linebackers, but just by looking at his frame I would guess he will eventually move inside. He’s listed at 230, which could be a bit generous, but it looks like he could easily bulk up and move inside.
* Kerry Neal looked quicker today than he did yesterday.
* Across the board, the linebackers this year look MUCH bigger than last year’s group. The young guys like Neal, Brian Smith, and Morrice Richardson all have good size and some of the upper classmen like Kevan Washington and Scott Smith look considerably bigger. After seeing Notre Dame linebackers get steamrolled last year, having added bulk at the position is certainly a welcomed sign.
* Robert Hughes is another freshman who is just impressive physically - he’s easily the biggest half back already. Haywood has be seen in the All Access videos giving Hughes some one on one instruction a couple of times already which suggests to me that the staff has plans to use him early on.
* David Bruton looked a lot bigger in spring than he did at the end of last season and he looks even bigger now. Bruton could have a very, very nice season this year and will end up being an upgrade over N’Dukwe – especially with the new defense.

 

[johnnd05]

And B&G (note that it seems like Yeatman is definitely a part of the team - so time to put a lid on that rumor):

Thursday Notebook

by JOHN HAYNSWORTH

Fall Practices: Day 4 (8/9)

Charlie Weis certainly hasn't given anything away at the quarterback position regarding the three-way battle for the starting role between Evan Sharpley, Demetrius Jones and Jimmy Clausen. He did, however, throw the media a bone this afternoon and allowed the three competitors to display their mighty arms during the first twenty minutes in ten-yard passing drills headed up by position coach Ron Powlus. After viewing that little treat, it's probably safe to say that the battle for the starting spot is still neck-and-neck and too close to call...at least as far as anyone outside of the program should be concerned.

A lot has been said about Will Yeatman's lacrosse experience and how that should give him an advantage over the younger tight ends as it pertains to footwork. After watching Yeatman perform blocking drills, that sentiment could not be any more accurate, and it's amazing how a man of his size can be so light on his feet. He moves around with grace and should have little trouble keeping small quick defenders in front of him in pass protection. Mike Ragone is also a very intriguing prospect, and Bernie Parmalee seems to be working very hard with the freshman to get him up to speed as quickly as possible following his absence during the summer's workouts.

The linebacking corps will be very deep once the 2008 recruiting class arrives on campus next summer, but Brian Smith, Aaron Nagel, Kerry Neal and Steve Paskorz should go along way toward providing immediate relief to those positions. Paskorz in particular could be a player that exceeds expectations, as he's already a very impressive physical specimen. But he's also very mature with the way he approaches the practices...at least the drills the media can observe in the first twenty minutes. He goes about his business like he's an upperclassmen and it would not be surprising to see him make an impact early in his career, perhaps on special teams.

Dayne Crist was at today's practice and should be in town through the weekend according to reports from Blue and Gold's Ryan O'Leary. Coach Weis hit another home run with the recruitment of Crist, and he already passes the eye test and at least looks the part of a big-time college quarterback. He's physically more imposing than Clausen and Sharpley - with no disrespect to those players - and anyone who's seen his high school film should know that he's fairly mobile. His career will be fun to follow once he gets on campus and begins his full-time regimens with Coach Weis and strength coach Ruben Mendoza.

 

[johnnd05]

From B&G:

August 10, 2007
Friday Notebook

by TODD D. BURLAGE
Assistant Editor

Practice 5: 8/10 (video by John Haynsworth)

The walk-throughs and half-speed drills are finally over and Corwin Brown couldn’t be happier. For the first time since training camp began, the Irish practiced in pads Friday, finally giving the defensive coordinator and the rest of the staff a better gauge of what they have.

“When you get in full pads, you can play football because you have no limitations,” Brown said. “You can fit on blocks, you can fit on tackles, your linebackers can be physical, D-linemen can be physical. You can play.”

The pads will be on again Saturday morning when Charlie Weis holds a Fan Appreciation Day at the stadium. The entire two-and-a-half hour practice will be open to the media and the public and Weis said he will hold nothing back. In fact, the coach said early in camp he hoped to make some decisions about the quarterback race after this practice.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brown said he spent this first week re-familiarizing his players with the new 3-4 scheme and the lessons learned in the spring. More installation and some roster decisions will begin next week.

“Set a tone, get to where we were in the spring as fast as possible, and then move beyond it,” Brown said when asked how he approached Week 1. “That’s what our goal was and that’s where we are.”

Fresh Starter(s)

For linebacker Anthony Vernaglia and defensive lineman Dwight Stephenson Jr., this fall camp is a chance to not only finally find some playing time, but to also put the past behind and finally find some satisfaction.

Neither veteran player has lived up to recruiting expectations, but a new system, a new coach and a new chance have brought new optimism. Both are listed at the top of the depth chart at their positions and both will be in the mix for starting duties and major minutes.

“It’s a fresh start. I never had a start before so anything would be a fresh start for me,” Stephenson said. “The new defense is just what it is, it’s a new defense so it’s a fresh start, new coordinator, new position.”

By his own admission, Vernaglia has played himself from a highly recruited high school player to the “pretty boy from California.” He was recruited by Brown out of high school when Brown was at Virginia and he has been singled out by the new defensive boss on a couple of occasions both in the spring and fall.

“It’s a whole new scheme, a whole new defensive coordinator, a clean slate – you can learn stuff from the beginning with everybody so the learning curve is at zero for everyone,” Vernaglia said. “You get to pick up, make new impressions, you get to start fresh. I love it.

“With the previous defense, once I had made an impression, it kind of stuck with me for the duration. Now, I can kind of shed that and be whoever I want to be to start this next year off.”

Function Over Form

With new defensive players learning new defensive positions, much has been made about certain “body types” that it takes to play positions such as middle linebacker, defensive end and especially nose tackle.

And while a certain amount of bulk and muscle are obviously needed at various positions, Brown said he puts more stock in a player’s performance rather than in his physique.

“When I look at players, I really don’t look at the mold, I just look at how they play. That’s really all that matters. Some people, they get caught in the measurables,” Brown said. “I’ve seen defensive backs that have been really fast but they can’t make plays on the ball. I’ve seen defensive linemen that are huge, but they don’t control their responsibility like you would like. I’ve also seen guys that are so disruptive and they are such a problem, that you can’t take them off the field, and you don’t want to.

“We don’t look at positions and say ‘Okay, we want this body type, we want this mold.’ We look at guys and we say, ‘How many plays is he making, how often does it happen and is it consistent?’”

Practice Observations (from John Haynsworth)

Offense: Robert Hughes appears to be at his finest once the pads go on. He had his best day of practice today, and according to Jason Myers, he absolutely destroyed the gauntlet, earning the praise of running backs' coach and offensive coordinator Mike Haywood.

Defense: Scott Smith worked out with the inside linebackers during today's practice. Judging by the responses from coaches Corwin Brown and Brian Polian, the linebacking corps as a whole performed well during drills. Only Steve Paskorz took some heat during the first 20 minutes when he loafed on a drill and Coach Polian demanded that he run it again and run it right.

Despite an injury that is expected to keep him out for some time, Gary Gray looks good and caught the ball well during drills today. Harrison Smith dropped a ball during the opening part of drills and took some friendly grief from his teammates who teased him with the nickname "brick."

Quoteable:

“We try to get freshmen to be seen and not heard. We show them how we do things and then we just go from there. It’s tough to say what you’re going to do with a freshman, because they’ve only been here for a few days, so it’s really hard. They’re too busy learning how to carry the playbook, making sure they don’t leave it home, make sure they wake up, make sure they are doing all those little things. You got to crawl before you can walk.” – Irish defensive coordinator Corwin Brown on handling the newcomers

 

[johnnd05]

And from the Elkhart Truth:

Notre Dame training camp: Day 4, Part 1
Posted: August 10, 2007 01:58 PM

We're starting the second cycle, if you will, of interviews, which means coaches now have at least a few days' worth of practice to go on when it comes to forming an impression on the team and individual players. At media day there was a lot of "Well, I haven't seen them practice yet, so I couldn't tell you ...", which was true, but not very helpful. (And yes, I realize that the coaches' job isn't to help me, it's to coach the team.) Today, though, defensive coordinator Corwin Brown gave his impressions of the first week of training camp.

"We've gotten off to a good start," Brown said. "We're playing well. The guys are picking up things relatively well. There's always room for improvement, but progress is being made."

The goal of the first week, he said, is to "set a tone" and "get to where we were in the spring as fast as possible and then get beyond that." Once that happens, they can move forward, and that's the goal for the rest of camp.

Maybe the most surprising thing Brown said today was that he hasn't looked at the depth chart yet. I'm not sure whether to believe that — after all, the guy was here during spring practice and had to have some input on the preseason depth chart that came out Monday — but if it's true, it's interesting because it not only highlights how much competition there is out there, but shows that everyone is getting a fair shake.

This revelation came out in a question about John Ryan, who was one of the big surprises during spring practice. Ryan, a sophomore, started at defensive end, but switched to outside linebacker when Notre Dame changed defensive schemes and came out of spring ball as the clear leader at the left outside 'backer position. Ryan is fundamentally sound from what I've seen, but may be better suited to the pass-rushing aspects of the position than the all-around game. Unfortunately, pass rushing is also the strength of Morrice Richardson, Ryan's backup, so I'm not sure how the playing time will shake out there.

Anyway, Brown had this to say about Ryan this morning: "He is a guy that when you ask him to do something, without looking at him, you have a pretty good idea what it's going to look like, based on what you get from the offense. Those are things you would like to be pleased with across the board."

One thing a lot of people (including me) have zeroed in on since the Irish went to the 3-4 is trying to determine whether a player "fits" in a certain spot. Is Pat Kuntz too small to play nose tackle, for instance. Brown doesn't really think in terms of there being a "mold" for every position. You can get farther in this defense, he said, by making plays than you can by simply looking the part.

"It doesn't really matter how big you are, how fast you are," Brown said. "When you're put in position to make plays, can you make them? I've seen defensive backs that are really fast, but can't make plays on the ball, I've seen defensive linemen that are huge, but they don't control their responsibility like you would like. I've also seen guys who were small, but they're so disruptive, such a problem, that you can't take them off the field, and you don't want to. We don't look at positions and say, 'OK, we want this body type, we want this mold.' What we do is look at guys and say, 'How many plays is he making? How often does it happen? And is he consistent? Is he doing it the way we want it done? Is he hitting? Is he running? Is he going after the football and is he relentless? That's what we would like across the board."

Brown uses himself as an example of how making plays is more important than looking good.

"Some people, they get caught up in the measurables," Brown said. "I try not to do that, because if that was done, I probably wouldn't be sitting at this table because of some of the experiences I've had."

The bottom line is this, according to Brown: "One of our calling cards is that we are going to play physical, we are going to play tough. You are not allowed to play on our defense if you don't play tough."

I’ll be back later this afternoon with a report from practice and some comments from Dwight Stephenson Jr., who entered training camp as the starter at right defensive end.


Notre Dame training camp: Day 4, Part 2
Posted: August 10, 2007 04:38 PM

Instead of the 20 minutes of practice they usually give us to watch, today we got 22! (It’s sort of like winning the lottery and finding out the top prize is five bucks.) So there was plenty to see on the day the humidity finally broke in northern Indiana.

Notre Dame is now practicing in full pads after starting the week in protective shells only. When someone asked Corwin Brown this morning what wearing pads meant in the grand scheme of things, he said, simply, “Now you can play football.”

True enough. Here are a few things I noticed during my walk around the practice fields:

• Charlie Weis spent the early part of practice talking to a guy in a Washington Redskins shirt and cap. He’s a scout, and you may remember this last name — Shemy Schembechler. Ever think you’d see a guy with the last name of Schembechler be allowed to watch a Notre Dame football practice?

• Both defensive line coach Jappy Oliver and linebackers/special teams coach Brian Polian were wearing “Crocodile Dundee”-style Notre Dame hats, which were pretty cool, I have to say. Oliver had the sides of his hat tied up, while Polian let his droop.

But if you think it meant that Polian was in a relaxed mood, you’re wrong. He jumped all over freshman linebacker Steve Paskorz for not doing a drill correctly, and later scolded Paskorz’s classmate, Aaron Nagel.

• Receivers coach Rob Ianello wasn’t happy with the pace on a bag drill, saying “We’re not moving fast enough!” The next time Jimmy Clausen came through the bags, his tongue was wagging.

• The defensive backs did a drill that kind of looked like the passing drill in “Hoosiers” where a guy catches a ball, does a chest pass back to someone else and catches another ball from the next guy in line. Except the Notre Dame players did it while running laterally over bags. Let’s see Ollie from “Hoosiers” do that.

• If I was going to give a “Worst Drill” award, it would be a tough contest between one run by the defensive line in which they get on their knees and shuffle along the ground hitting a blocking sled, and the dreaded “gauntlet” drill, where the running backs run through this contraption with little arms on springs designed to slow them down. I can only imagine the bruises that leaves. Anyway, both drills were in effect this afternoon.

• Now for a couple impressions of players that are either new or slightly under the radar. Kallen Wade really stands out among the defensive linemen — because he’s both the tallest and the thinnest. Wade, a sophomore, stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 240 pounds — 15 less than any of the other players at his position. He looks like he can still put some muscle on his frame, though. Freshman defensive end Andrew Nuss — who’s also 6-5, but weighs 285 — is an impressive physical presence. He’s working with the defensive linemen at the moment, but could switch to offense if he’s needed there.

Among the defensive backs, I kept an eye on Munir Prince, who was a running back last year as a freshman. You can tell he’s still trying to perfect his technique — his backpedal and lateral cuts looked a little rough — but he’s certainly an athletic guy and could be a real asset once he gets his new position down. Sergio Brown and Leonard Gordon are Nos. 3 and 4 on the depth chart at strong safety, but they both looked as if they had pretty good footwork to me, and that’s important at defensive back.

I mentioned John Ryan in my last blog as a guy that had a strong spring. Another player who played well in April and is trying to maintain his edge at a position is Dwight Stephenson Jr., the fifth-year senior defensive end. Stephenson stayed at Notre Dame despite only playing 19 minutes in his first four years, and emerged as the starter at right end at the end of spring ball. I think Justin Brown may end up passing him at some point, but Stephenson is still a neat story and a guy who’s going to factor into what Notre Dame does on defense this season, whether or not he starts.

He certainly seemed to welcome the competition as his position.

“I don’t want to go to camp where there’s no competition. It’s not fun,” Stephenson said this morning. “You sit there for three weeks just twiddling your thumbs. It’s made everything more exciting and everybody’s working together, but still, it’s one team and everybody’s competing for a position, but you see a lot of hunger. They didn’t come here to play scout team, they came here to play.”

Stephenson is a guy who really hasn’t had that chance yet, and good for him for coming back to try to get it.

A couple more things to pass on before I pack it in for the day:

• Our video from training camp is now up on the Web site if you're interested and haven't already seen it. Here's the URL:

eTruth.com - The Truth Online Edition

If all goes according to plan, there should be another video up tomorrow to go with my story on offensive linemen Paul Duncan and Mike Turkovich, so be on the lookout for that.

• As a last reminder, Saturday is fan appreciation day at Notre Dame Stadium. Fans can, free of charge, watch the Irish go through their scheduled 2 1/2-hour practice session. Gates open at 8:30 a.m. and practice runs from 9 to 11:30.

You can bring in beverages in plastic containers, but no booze is allowed. Tailgating is also off-limits.

Coach Weis will meet with the media after practice tomorrow, so check back to hear what he has to say.

 

[Irishtat]

Johnnd05 you should start a blog...

GO IRISH

 

[johnnd05]

Johnnd05 you should start a blog...

You mean the kind where I re-post info from other sites? Speaking of which, here's a long post on today's practice from The Rock Report:

Br. Andre

1. Armando Allen is getting lots of reps. I think he is going to play a lot if he continues to progress. He is probably the worst running back in carrying the ball high and tight like the coaches want. He was corrected today by Charlie after a fumble and made to run a lap as a punishment. He also ran a little high and got stood up and absolutely hammered on one run. But I agree that he is very exciting and they are working a lot with him on fundamentals. He will probably make a big difference this year.

2. Nothing stood out in regards to the quarterbacks. I personally think it looks like a race between Sharpley and Jones. Sharpley's arm was better than I expected. Jones performed just like I expected: exciting with his legs, so-so with his arm. Clausen did some nice things and I can't put my finger on it, but it just seemed like Sharpley and Jones were going at it more. I realize that that's a pretty subjective evaluation so take it with a grain of salt.

3. Charlie got pissed and sent the whole defense on a lap around the stadium. He then stared them down when the returned.

4. When the #1 defense lined up, it looked pretty much as expected in the secondary: Zibby, Wooden, Lambert and Bruton.

5. Zibby had a nice punt return for a touchdown.

6. Ian Williams looks huge. He has some baby fat, but does not look like a typical freshman.

7. Darrell Hand was nowhere to be found (unless I missed him).

8. The freshmen sang the alma mater to the crowd after practice. The rest of the team joined them for the Victory March afterwards.

9. We won't suck at wide receiver. We may not be as good as the past few years, but it looks like we've got enough decent players to find a few who will make plays.

10. Good to see Corwin Brown heavily involved in special teams.

JesuitIrish

1. Allen was also the player who impressed and surprised me the most. One 7-on-7 running play had him juking through about three "tacklers".

2. Golden Tate saw the ball a lot. He fumbled a reverse fifteen yards behind the line of scrimmage but then picked it up and went yard the opposite direction. Maybe we should run it that way?

3. The OTHER two QBs (the walk on and Bragg) got lots of reps. I dont understand why.

4. Jones threw some very poor passes, including one deep INT.

5. Clausen did NOT look at all injured or hesitant to me. He was always next to some other blonde kid, talking. Im wondering -- was this Crist? I heard a FB mom on her cell phone saying what sounded like "Yeah, Dayne is down on the field." The mystery kid was in all the QB huddles with Powlus, so I figure he is a QB.

6. We can not put a kick off in the endzone. We can not put a kick off on the 5 yard line. We sometimes get it to the 10.

7. We have at least two FG kickers whose 30 yard kicks wouldnt have been good if the goal posts were twice as wide. #14 was the best kicker, by far. And he looked average.

8. Price punted long, high balls. The second team punter also has hang time. Why cant Price try kick offs? He has a strong leg.

9. Zibby is first team punt return and navigated a TD this morning.

NDIrish1

Armando can definitely get the corner. He is strong enough, and did, run between the tackles.

1. He was the best kick returner IMO. On one particular return the only man between him and the end zone was Coach Polian.

2. Caught the ball well...got the corner on a nice screen play.

3. In scrimmage he ran tough through the line, made linebackers miss, and then typically they would blow it dead. (They had refs there) He just seemed to always have a chance to go the distance.

4. He did fumble once and Charlie had him think about it by taking a long, scenic run around Rocks House.

In summation- He doesn't look like a freshman physically. He is not a scatback- he has some strength, and is bigger than I thought. He is elusive, pretty physical, and blazing.

DD in the shotgun and Allen in the backfield? Speed/speed. WVU.

4. Thomas vs Hughes. Travis has a ton of talent but has just never looked natural or comfortable to me at the position. Hughes looks smooth and like he's been playing RB since he left the cradle. Just more fluid.
Not necessarily better...but not fifth on the depth chart. He looked better than Aldridge and Jabbie today.

I'm no expert, but those were my observations.

From ndwineaux:

I don't know that I'll add a whole lot more, but here goes, as 1 of the maybe 1000 in attendance today:

1. Weis is all over it as a perfectionist. Leadership is his strong suit. He even lit up an on-field security guard near us for not wearing a specific hat, as had apparently been agreed before. He doesn't miss a trick. Constant advice for the QBs and others. He caught the D with only 10 on the field for a play - the D ran a lap.

2. CW has got to be couching Clausen in an open practice. He threw 2 screens and only a couple of other mid-range passes. Even if CW does decide to not start Clausen or redshirt him, I think that Sharpley showed enough tools to be the starter, at least in practice today.

3. I agree with the others that the offense will be better than most think.

4. Armando Allen and Golden Tate will be terrific.

5. Even though he is shorter than some of the others, Gallup looks great to me. He ran all of his drills well and looked good in the scrimmage as well.

6. Either the OL is very good or the DL is not as great as we hoped. Corwin may have his work cut out for him.

7. The frosh singing the Alma Mater at the end was a nice touch.

From LoR:

but reading all of the practice updates (thank you all very much for those) it seems that CW displayed exactly what he wanted the crowd to see.

Running game- let it be known that we will run.

QB- let it also be known that much won't be known until CW diecides. There is most defintely an air of secrecy and game-playing with respect to naming a QB.

Depth- this will be huge for us and not neccessarily because of out talenting other teams. The ability to substitue freely and confidently is quite simply, the biggest improvement we have and will make all year.


Raoul

* All five backs (Allen, Aldridge, Hughes, Jabbie, Thomas) seemed to get alot of reps. Would seem to be a real wide open contest for playing time. Allen is clearly the quickest and most different from the other four backs. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Allen get PT for that reason alone. Only other observation, Hughes looked more agile for his size than I would have expected. I think he was on the punt coverage team - which surprised me a bit, too.

* As someone else pointed out, Ian Williams looked huge - strikingly so. He and Kuntz are now all we have at NT. Thank goodness he isn't 275. Because I suspect he's going to have to play alot as 2nd team guy. Kuntz looked decent. I think he had a nice hit to stuff a run in 11 on 11.

* On the OLB's - Ryan is really big. He looks the size of a Mike Vrabel type OLB (we should be so lucky!) or at the very least, a Frank Stams type. He looked more agile than his size would seem to indicate. Intercepted a sort of bubble screen pass along the line of scrimmage in a drill (not in 11 on 11). Vernaglia (54?) seemed to pull up with a rib issue at one point. Didn't seem too serious.

* The defense lines up a little like the Barry Alvarez 1988 team. Big OLB's close to the line. So it sometimes looks like a 5 man front because the OLB's are right on the line, though standing up.

Watched the WR's a fair amount:

* Duval Kumara has very good hands. I don't recall him dropping a pass. He doesn't come off as being super quick or fast, but he'll catch it if it is close to his big body. I would not be surprised to see him play alot this year.

* Grimes had a nice catch on a deep pass to the corner in drills (and I think he also made a great catch on a nice pass from Jones in the 11 on 11) He is what we know him to be: a very capable and very solid receiver with good hands (except on punt returns - as he fumbled one though got it back).

* West seems to be headed towards becoming a clone of Grimes. I don't see him as a speed burner. Maybe he's really fast/quick - but it doesn't come off that way to me. But he catches the ball. Not hard to see why he's one of the top 3 receivers. Grimes and West both seem size-wise alot like the WR's Charlie had at NE during their glory years.

* Parris has good hands. Not nearly as big overall as Samardja. But seems to effortlessly catch the ball with his hands.

The above four seem to be the top four (unless I am completely blanking on someone). [Edit - Just realized I forget Hord. He played alot on 2nd team. Nothing to make your jaw drop, but capable. Again, seemed like West and Grimes - to me] Though I could see Gallup getting time as well. He's so small. But he caught what was thrown to him. He has some good quickness. He could surprise as a contributor.

As for the others, Jackson had some nice catches but he also dropped some. He seemed a little smaller than Kumara and not as polished in catching with his hands. Tate was probably the nicest surprise of the rest. He's defintely quick (think he did a punt return, too) and he is more polished as a receiver than one would expect from a HS RB. He did a reverse and fumbled it and then made something out of it (I believe that was him, anyway) showing nice moves. I was pretty encouraged on that one.

On Special Teams:

* Price is a stud. We knew that already. He seemed capable of effortlessly booting it 45-50 yards with excellent hang time. Only problem that arose was when he out kicked the coverage on what appeared to be a 55 yarder (the one TZ returned for a TD) Maust is capable. But the ball doesn't explode off his leg like it does with Price. Price has to be a top 5 punter in the nation and one of our best weapons this year. He probably has a shot at making it in the pros.

* On punt returns, I hope TZ does it all the time and Allen does it if he doesn't. TZ returned one all the way. Grimes and West are nice. But TZ and Allen seem to get your blood racing much more.

* For Kickoffs, I realize they were going from the 30, but based on what I saw we will have it tough if it is Whitaker or Walker. For the few kicks they did, Whitaker seems more consistent, Walker with a more live leg, but he gets under it sometimes and only gets it to the 15 or so. I hope he improves enough as having a lefty kick off at least changes the dynamic of the run back slightly. Nevertheless, I'd take the ball everytime we win the toss and then punt with Price, rather than hope for a good kick off.

* I won't discuss the QB's other than to say you couldn't glean a whole lot and Sharpley just seems small out there. I have no opinion on who the coaches think is leading based on what I saw. None of them looks much like Quinn.

* The first team OL of Duncan, Turk, Sullivan, Wenger and Young seemed very set.

* Whoever plays QB, hard to see anyone as the leading receiver other than Carlson. He will probably exceed his catch total from LY. A great safety valve for an inexperienced QB.

* As has been pointed out, Charlie looks very good. He must have lost alot of weight. Good for him and his personal health.

Overall, it was a nice, laid back event. Maybe 2K people - hard to say. First half hour was all stretching - nothing really. Of the next 1/2 hour, the WR drills were probably the most revealing to the casual fan. The defensive drills were of a nature that I doubt the casual fan could see much. They don't let them really crunch people. When they moved to 7 on 7 and then 11 on 11, things then started to be more interesting for a fan. And they ran alot of plays in 11 on 11 - fast pace of actions. So you got alot of football in 20 minutes. I enjoyed that alot.

Not sure I'd go again. (2 hour drive) The campus was pretty empty (Lafortune closed so trying to get lunch was harder than I thought). But it was a nice way to spend a morning with my kids and dad and see some football (and ND).


El Capitan

I see a number of posters have already reported back so I will try to add in things others have not covered:

1. Where is Aldridge? I don't recall him seeing any reps or action. I took pretty good notes, but #34 is completely absent.

2. Gallup got some reps with both return units and could be a viable option.

3. Harrison Smith performed very well with the coverage unit. The kid runs like a gazelle.

4. From what I saw today, Sharpley is the best passer of the group. From what I saw, I expect him to start against Georgia Tech. While Jones does bring a "playmaking" ability, there is a dropoff in passing ability from Sharpley to Jones.

5. It's been said, but Armando Allen looks outstanding. I think he is our most complete back and is probably going to be an upgrade from Walker. I expect him to receive the bulk of the carries. Allen also brings return skills to the table that we have not had in quite a while.

6. I expect several freshman to have significant roles this season and perform well. Allen, Williams, Kamara, and Harrison Smith should play significant time (although I expect Harrison's time to come in the form of special teams). Depending on utilization, Hughes could factor here as well.

7. Our kickers are a disaster. Maybe Holtz gave Weis his kicking curse.

8. There are too many possibilities regarding Clausen not throwing past 15 yards, so it's really worthless to discuss the implications. That said, I do not anticipate him starting this season.

9. The receivers might not be star players, but I wonder if they will not be more consistent than last season. As others said, Grimes caught everything and Hord looked pretty good, too.

10. Laws has a ridiculous goatee. Kuntz has a mohawk.

11. The personnel packages in the scrimmages where "vanilla," (3-4-4) but the defense did use some 3-4, 4-3, and 5-2 looks. Barring key injuries, I believe our defense will be an asset rather than liability this season. When is the last time we could say that?

 

[johnnd05]

And more, this time from eTruth:

Notre Dame training camp: Day 5, Part 1
Posted: August 11, 2007 05:58 PM

I've got a gazillion things to note from Saturday's open practice at the stadium. Some of this will make my story in tomorrow's paper and some of it won't, but since there's no space restrictions on the Internet, I can throw everything I've got here. Enjoy.

OFFENSE

• When I arrived Saturday morning, one of the first things I saw was Jimmy Clausen handing off to Armando Allen, which could be a championship-caliber connection in the years to come. Demetrius Jones was taking snaps from starting center John Sullivan and handing off to the first-team running backs, if that means anything.

On Clausen — Again, he didn't throw anything longer than 15 yards. Charlie Weis said "we'll have to wait until Sept. 1" to find out if he can throw deep. If this is gamesmanship or bluffing, the coaches and players are REALLY committed to it. It kind of reminds me of the "Seinfeld" episode where George told Susan's parents he had a house in the Hamptons and they figured out he was lying but he just wouldn't give in and admit it. I'm not saying Weis is holding Clausen back to create the impression his arm isn't 100 percent, but if he's not, Clausen's arm isn't right. I'm not sure it would be worth all this trouble just to be able to surprise Georgia Tech with a long pass on the first play of the season.

Strictly a guess on my part, but I'd say it's between Jones and Sharpley for the starting job now. Sharpley threw some nice passes and looks very confident. Jones appears like he has a good command in the huddle and also showed how good he is at improvisation and running away from trouble. He makes mistakes, but he has a lot of talent and might be the toughest one to game-plan against, which could go a long way in determining who wins the QB competition.

On Allen — This kid can really run, and as I remarked earlier this week, he's got some really quick feet. Barring injury, you'll see him in the opener. Book it.

• Jones worked with the first-team O-line at the start of practice. Paul Duncan was at left tackle, Mike Turkovich at left guard, John Sullivan at center, Dan Wenger at right guard and Sam Young at right tackle. Wenger's the only surprise here, and it's a pretty mild one at that. Matt Carufel took a good deal of the snaps at RG during the spring, but Wenger was banged up. It now looks like he may have passed Carufel.

Sharpley worked with the second-team OL, which was (from left tackle to right tackle), Matt Romine, Eric Olsen, Thomas Bemenderfer, Matt Carufel and Taylor Dever.

• Weis, as you might expect, was watching the quarterbacks like a hawk. He told Clausen never to end up wider than the guard on his drop. "Be in the center-guard gap," he said.

• Barry Gallup Jr. had some nice grabs on a "square" drill. So did D.J. Hord, who had a a great day, from what I saw. Golden Tate made a nice over-the-shoulder catch on a pass against Raeshon McNeil. Richard Jackson had a juggling grab at the goal line on another deep ball. I saw Jackson drop a few, though, too. David Grimes and George West still seem like first-teamers to me, with Hord and Robby Parris in the second group. But Duval Kamara and Tate also took a couple snaps with the 1s.

• Travis Thomas had some decent runs, and James Aldridge looked decent, too. Robert Hughes, the freshman, is a very interesting player. Big — real big — but also quick.

• Notre Dame ran a couple plays out of a three-tight end formation with John Carlson, Will Yeatman and Mike Ragone.

DEFENSE

• The first team was pretty much how it looked on the depth chart, with the exception of Justin Brown at right end instead of Dwight Stephenson Jr. Trevor Laws (LE) and Pat Kuntz (NT) were the other linemen. Linebackers were John Ryan, Maurice Crum Jr., Joe Brockington and Anthony Vernaglia. Corners were Terrail Lambert and Ambrose Wooden. Safeties were David Bruton and Tom Zbikowski. I think the defensive backfield is pretty well set, unless there are injuries or someone makes a major, major move.

• The second team line was Paddy Mullen (LE), Ian Williams (NT) and Stephenson (RE). Linebackers were Kevin Washington, Scott Smith, Toryan Smith and Brian Smith. (That's the Smith line, if you're a hockey fan.) Darrin Walls and Raeshon McNeil were the corners and Kyle McCarthy and Ray Herring the safeties.

I think the second-team secondary is pretty much set, too. There was some shuffling among the linebackers, but Morrice Richardson worked mostly with the third team, which was such a surprise I had to check with one of the other reporters to see if I was correct. I was, and the guy I checked with was as surprised as me.

• Practice stopped briefly while the defense took a penalty lap around the edge of the field for having only 10 men on the field. ("I prefer 11," Weis deadpanned afterward. Corwin Brown jogged with them for part of the way, glaring and barking. He seems like a guy you don't want mad at you.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Kickoff returners were George West and Armando Allen (first team) and Darrin Walls and Golden Tate (second team). Barry Gallup Jr. also worked with Walls. One surprise was seeing Nick Possley, a walk-on, working on the top kick return unit. The other blockers were Kyle McCarthy, Steve Quinn, Travis Thomas, Sergio Brown, John Ryan, Konrad Reuland, Scott Smith and Asaph Schwapp.

Freshman Harrison Smith made a nice stop of Allen on one kick return.

• The punt returners were Tom Zbikowski, David Grimes, Allen and West. Not much surprise there. Zbikowski took one to the house, delighting the fans.

• Kickoffs were pretty shaky. Nate Whitaker probably had the best day of the three kickers. Brandon Walker struggled to get some air underneath his kicks, though he got better as he went on. Ryan Burkhart didn't kick off.

• The place-kicking ... yeesh. Here's how it went: Whitaker hit an extra point, missed from 30 and and 33 yards, then hit from 35 and 45. Burkhart missed his extra point and field goals of 30, 33 and 35 yards. Yep, that's an 0-fer — and all four were wide left. Walker was good on his PAT and from 30 and 33, but missed from 35 and 45.

Walker, a lefty, has the smoothest kicking motion of the three and maybe the liveliest leg, but he's also a little inconsistent, especially on kickoffs. One was a line drive to the 15, one was a high, coverable kick to the 6. If he can even it out, he may be the guy.

• Sharpley held for the right-footed kickers and punter Geoff Price for the lefty. Price looks great punting the ball, by the way. He can really boom a punt.

GENERAL

• Quarterback commit Dayne Crist was at practice again, taking mental reps in yet another Notre Dame T-shirt. He was the tallest quarterback out there and maybe the sturdiest, and he isn't even in college yet. Demerits for the spiky hairdo. We've seen that one already, Dayne.

• There was a Miami Dolphins scout on hand. I also saw Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey sitting in Row 1 at the 50-yard line. Just kidding about that second one.

• The absolute highlight of the practice was when a little kid shouted out "Hi, Charlie!" and Weis gave him a little half-salute, half-Queen Elizabeth wave back. If there was a Hall of Notre Dame Coaches attraction at Disney World, this is how Weis would appear. He looked like an animatronic (Robot Genius?) version of himself. Just great stuff.

• The practice ended with the freshmen singing the alma mater to the fans that stuck it out until the end. The singing was bad, Weis said, but at least they're getting the words down. That was a problem for some of the players last season.