Spring Practice Thread 2012

[Rhode Irish]

Just curious, who is stating that he behaved like a black cloud. I have read a lot of speculation but I have not heard any player say or coach say that he behaved like a black cloud. He was apparently unhappy but that doesn't mean he was some type of cancer to the team.

What I watch last year in games and in practice was a dedicated passionate player. Unless you know something that you could divulge, I think it is best to just say that the young man made a decision and we should respect it. His presence will be missed but we will move on. No need to claim that in some way we are better off, unless again you are privy to some concrete knowledge. Transfers happen. He is one talented young man but he isn't the team. We should just wish him well and hope another player takes advantage of an opportunity to play.

I hate to jump in here, considering I don't have additional info to add and I'm with you as far as wanting to move on and wishing the kid the best of luck, BUT I think it is a little unrealistic to expect everything that happens inside of the program to be reported somewhere at some point. Especially if it would make a teenager look bad - which ultimately reflects poorly on the program because it looks like character assassination.

If you read between the lines or take all the little things that have been shared and cobble them together, I think it is pretty clear there was an issue and that the best result for Aaron and the team was for Aaron to move on. In a vacuum, it definitely sucks to lose a player of that caliber, but I believe it was best for the program based on everything I have gleaned.

 

[greyhammer90]

I'm glad they're all going to be live. Nothing brings out a QB's true colors like the real threat of contact. I'm excited for this Saturday, I hope we get to see Niklas with the ball in his hands.

 

[RDU Irish]

^
This!

Lots of competition up and down the depth chart should mean more of a "game" than we are used to seeing. Any word on how they are splitting up the sides? My over/under for defensive scores is 2.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

^Im with ya here, Im confused! LOL I said get to the QB not collapse the pocket at force him out, I meant GET and throw his a$$ in the dirt.

And stomp on his face?

 

[Bogtrotter07]

It's everywhere. First of all, Pete Sampson from II has said it, and he and Prister have contacts inside the program. It's been talked about on ISD from people in the program. I was just in South Bend, and whenthis whole thing was going down, I talked to 2 guys I completely trust and they said that it's been that way the entire spring. And I've talked to a member of this board who knows players on the team and they told him directly that it was the case.

Look, I know it's your thing to be contradictory, and you keep trying to call me out as if I'm making sh!t up (seriously, you're like the only person alive that doesn't believe me when I say that everyone who has seen a practice says that Rees has looked better than Golson and Hendrix), but just know I don't make sh!t up. I'm no insider, but I just pay attention. If you paid closer attention, you wouldn't have to doubt everything everyone says. You only end up looking bad. The info is out there, you just have to put a tiny bit of effort and look for it...

I will take it this far. A certain person was seen screaming at his captain and throwing a hissy-fit, (yes I used sissy words), more than once. On the football field. Screaming at the squad or team captain is absolutely inappropriate no matter what. The second time this happend to a player of mine, he was gone. My players were much younger too!

Is this enough or do we need to go into more detail?

 

[Patulski]

We do have a player that could mitigate the loss of Lynch. He has all the physical tools to be unstoppable. Ishaq could and should dominate, but I just haven't seen it in practice field nor in a game. I don't know what he is waiting for or what the issue is. Maybe as he gets more playing time, he will play with an intensity that currently is lacking. Again the physical tools are there for him to be as dominate as Lynch was..

Ishaq plays way too much standing up to be compared to Lynch. He has to be fast enough to make sure he's not beat on the perimeter as an OLB, and be fast enough to make plays pursuing down the line as an OLB. In addition, he's got to learn his drop zones. Finally, he'll have his hand down in 4-man alignments. So, he's got a lot on his plate in what is probably the most difficult position for this defense. It will take time for him to start being able to intuitively sense plays in the making, and then make them. Hopefully, he'll put it all together.

 

[Patulski]

AL was notorious for taking whatever shortcut required to get to the quarterback. Also, they don't count it against freshman all Americans, but it does count against best defensive line in America; penalty yards.

Is'nt that the point...to get to the QB in the shortest time possible?

No, expecially if he can run around you. Against a good qb, and a good offense, with a 3-4 gap discipline is the most important thing going. If the d-line misses on their gap assignments it screws the linebackers up, hey wait a minute . . .

It is amazing the lengths people are going to minimize Lynch's impact. As a true freshman, he led the defensive line in sacks (5.5), tackles for loss (7) and was second below Nix for total tackles at (44), though he beat Nix in unassisted tackles by 7.

He's a big loss, but he didn't want to be at ND. So be it.

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

I am far from a Rees fan, but the fact still remains that if Golson and Hendrix could show an ability to execute the offense's basics consistently, they would move to the next level. That they can't handle the basics is not good--Golson can't hold onto the football and when he does seems to have problems throwing consistently and Hendrix has problems with the latter.

I don't care what someone's HS highlight tape looks like. I don't even care what the current Spring practice highlight tape looks like. Those are highlights--I sure as hell hope they look good on those films. Carlyle Holiday's highlight tape would have made you think he was going to be Michael Vick 2.0. I think we can all agree, he was not.

I don't care if a guy can do something amazing if he can't handle the routine. By almost all reports, Hendrix and Golson cannot handle the routine. Rees does moreso than they do. That's why he's gotten the pt and they haven't.

I hope that changes, but the more the reports come out, the less hopeful I am.

I think the spring game will clue us in with regards to the "basics".

 

[FLDomer]

It is amazing the lengths people are going to minimize Lynch's impact. As a true freshman, he led the defensive line in sacks (5.5), tackles for loss (7) and was second below Nix for total tackles at (44), though he beat Nix in unassisted tackles by 7.

He's a big loss, but he didn't want to be at ND. So be it.

Why did you quote me??? I just said the point was to get to the QB as quick as possible, I never said he wasnt good or a impact on our D.

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Ishaq plays way too much standing up to be compared to Lynch. He has to be fast enough to make sure he's not beat on the perimeter as an OLB, and be fast enough to make plays pursuing down the line as an OLB. In addition, he's got to learn his drop zones. Finally, he'll have his hand down in 4-man alignments. So, he's got a lot on his plate in what is probably the most difficult position for this defense. It will take time for him to start being able to intuitively sense plays in the making, and then make them. Hopefully, he'll put it all together.

You are right. I kinda was thinking about the impact he could make on a game would be similiar to Lynch. Teams would have to account for him every snap. He is a project...a very talented project.

 

[Fbolt]

Can we edit John Belushi in Animal House to say "TOMA! TOMA!" instead of Toga? Put that on the Jumbotron and smoke it!

This would be great!

 

[Ironman8]

Some final spring BK presser notes:

Players:
- Davaris has been elevated to the "will help us win games group". Really stepped up this week
- Daniel Smith has taken a step forward in toughness, fighting through injuries
- Alex Welch is "really coming on" this spring
- BK very pleased with the 3 man rotation at safety. "We can go play right now and feel really good at that"
- Still a battle between Lo and Josh at CB
- Great depth on the DL
- Ishaq has really impressed BK with his sense of urgency this spring. "He has been a guy that's really caught my eye (GREAT NEWS IMO)
- BK likes the effort of Grace and sees him getting reps at ILB. States he could play Will, but will stick behind Manti for now.
- Slaughter needs to be ready at corner if necessary
- Replied "I don't worry about Lou" when asked if Nix is all in at ND. "I see a guy who is upbeat, and he's funny". Doesn't get a sense that he is homesick. "I'd probably like him to stay away from social media, but that's his own doing". "If he is going through anything, it's just a matter of life at Notre Dame".
- Dog linebacker job still up for grabs. Councell and Spond battling.
- "Really, really pleased" with Braxton Cave's recovery. Could play him but they don't need to.

Misc:
- ND is headed for a "1 strike" policy for players saying the wrong thing on social media
- Calls it "Ridiculous" for fans to attack Aaron Lynch online. "I just don't understand that.
- All of ND's walkons will travel with the team to Ireland. (Love this)

QBs:
- Feels really good about where the QBs are after the spring, especially turnover wise.
- States Rees is a "better athlete than people give him credit for"
- Golson has worked hard on little things this spring
- Hendrix needs to take command of the offense
- Voluntary workouts will be a big factor in who starts at QB
- Decision won't come until August, needs summer practices to make final choice
- No special packages for QBs. All 4 are running the same offense.

Spring Game:
- Spring game will be Offense v. Defense, not so much Blue team v. Gold team
- Defense will earn points with stops and turnovers
- No live special teams
- QBs will all be live
- Justin Tuck will be the honored guest and be present for the coin flip
- Tommy will be the 1st QB on the field. "We will roll them out by seniority".
- All 4 QBs will play with and against all units.

 

[FLDomer]

I like the Blue Gold game format!

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

I hate to jump in here, considering I don't have additional info to add and I'm with you as far as wanting to move on and wishing the kid the best of luck, BUT I think it is a little unrealistic to expect everything that happens inside of the program to be reported somewhere at some point. Especially if it would make a teenager look bad - which ultimately reflects poorly on the program because it looks like character assassination.

If you read between the lines or take all the little things that have been shared and cobble them together, I think it is pretty clear there was an issue and that the best result for Aaron and the team was for Aaron to move on. In a vacuum, it definitely sucks to lose a player of that caliber, but I believe it was best for the program based on everything I have gleaned.

Good points. I would just add that there is no longer a reason to read between the lines because Lynch is no longer on the team. The reasons of why he left are no secret. So all this rather negative speculation of Lynch amounts to nothing more than a petty defensive reaction; a "woman scorned" reaction.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

Some final spring BK presser notes:

Players:
- Davaris has been elevated to the "will help us win games group". Really stepped up this week
- Daniel Smith has taken a step forward in toughness, fighting through injuries
- Alex Welch is "really coming on" this spring
- BK very pleased with the 3 man rotation at safety. "We can go play right now and feel really good at that"
- Still a battle between Lo and Josh at CB
- Great depth on the DL
- Ishaq has really impressed BK with his sense of urgency this spring. "He has been a guy that's really caught my eye (GREAT NEWS IMO)
- BK likes the effort of Grace and sees him getting reps at ILB
- Slaughter needs to be ready at corner if necessary
- Replied "I don't worry about Lou" when asked if Nix is all in at ND. "I see a guy who is upbeat, and he's funny". Doesn't get a sense that he is homesick. "I'd probably like him to stay away from social media, but that's his own doing". "If he is going through anything, it's just a matter of life at Notre Dame".

Misc:
- ND is headed for a "1 strike" policy for players saying the wrong thing on social media
- Calls it "Ridiculous" for fans to attack Aaron Lynch online.

QBs:
- Feels really good about where the QBs are after the spring, especially turnover wise.
- States Rees is a "better athlete than people give him credit for"
- Golson has worked hard on little things this spring
- Hendrix needs to take command of the offense
- Voluntary workouts will be a big factor in who starts at QB
- Decision won't come until August, needs summer practices to make final choice
- No special packages for QBs. All 4 are running the same offense.

Spring Game:
- Spring game will be Offense v. Defense, not so much Blue team v. Gold team
- Defense will earn points with stops and turnovers
- No live special teams
- QBs will all be live
- Justin Tuck will be the honored guest and be present for the coin flip

So, 1st team VS 1st team?

Sounds like fun to me! I'm interested to see how Kelly rotates the bench in though.

Also,
Did Kelly mention how he would be splitting up the reps for the QBs?

 

[greyhammer90]

I like the Blue Gold game format!

Me too! Offensive top players against defensive top players. Will be much more interesting to watch.

 

[FLDomer]

1s vs 1s, better way to get a read on our team!

 

[clashmore_mike]

Saw that Tuck will talk to the team Friday. awesome person to have address the team IMO.

 

[Irishman77]

Is there a link to the presser?

 

[Ironman8]

So, 1st team VS 1st team?

Sounds like fun to me! I'm interested to see how Kelly rotates the bench in though.

Also,
Did Kelly mention how he would be splitting up the reps for the QBs?

It is in my post now. They will start out playing by seniority, but all 4 QBs will play with and against all units.

 

[clashmore_mike]

"@NDatRivals: Kelly says Jarrett Grace could play will linebacker, but he'll stay behind Manti Te'o for now."

LOL

Rees Rees will get first plays based on seniority. All qbs will play with all units.

 

[aubeirish]

It seems like everyone who has seen practice thinks Tommy is the more consistent and the most ready of all the QBs. You better believe it. Either way. Tommy Rees can't be as bad as he was last year. Not saying I am a Tommy fan, just that if he is the best option so be it.
What is very encouraging is the way the Irish have been running the football. They say almost 10 yards a carry in practice against a very good front 7. This OL could be special. The aggressiveness of the guys on the field is standing out as well. There are encouraging signs.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

"@NDatRivals: Kelly says Jarrett Grace could play will linebacker, but he'll stay behind Manti Te'o for now."

LOL

Rees Rees will get first plays based on seniority. All qbs will play with all units.

The fact Grace is being compared to Te'o alone blows my mind.
Excited to see we have a great back up, that will do a good job stepping in Manti's shoes come 2013

 

[greyhammer90]

I thought Moore was the understood Te'o protege? Or did he get passed over?

 

[rtrn2glory]

I thought Moore was the understood Te'o protege? Or did he get passed over?

doesn't surprise me...grace is a heady guy that knows the game well and arrives at the ball angry.

i have really high expectations for grace...think he can be a very good player for us and one we'll need, especially with no man'ti next year. hope i'm not hyping him too much.

if he was a little quicker, he'd be starting next to man'ti imo.

 

[N_D_Fighting_Irish]

Some final spring BK presser notes:

Players:
- Davaris has been elevated to the "will help us win games group". Really stepped up this week
- Daniel Smith has taken a step forward in toughness, fighting through injuries
- Alex Welch is "really coming on" this spring
- BK very pleased with the 3 man rotation at safety. "We can go play right now and feel really good at that"
- Still a battle between Lo and Josh at CB
- Great depth on the DL
- Ishaq has really impressed BK with his sense of urgency this spring. "He has been a guy that's really caught my eye (GREAT NEWS IMO)
- BK likes the effort of Grace and sees him getting reps at ILB. States he could play Will, but will stick behind Manti for now.
- Slaughter needs to be ready at corner if necessary
- Replied "I don't worry about Lou" when asked if Nix is all in at ND. "I see a guy who is upbeat, and he's funny". Doesn't get a sense that he is homesick. "I'd probably like him to stay away from social media, but that's his own doing". "If he is going through anything, it's just a matter of life at Notre Dame".
- Dog linebacker job still up for grabs. Councell and Spond battling.
- "Really, really pleased" with Braxton Cave's recovery. Could play him but they don't need to.

Misc:
- ND is headed for a "1 strike" policy for players saying the wrong thing on social media
- Calls it "Ridiculous" for fans to attack Aaron Lynch online. "I just don't understand that.
- All of ND's walkons will travel with the team to Ireland. (Love this)

QBs:
- Feels really good about where the QBs are after the spring, especially turnover wise.
- States Rees is a "better athlete than people give him credit for"
- Golson has worked hard on little things this spring
- Hendrix needs to take command of the offense
- Voluntary workouts will be a big factor in who starts at QB
- Decision won't come until August, needs summer practices to make final choice
- No special packages for QBs. All 4 are running the same offense.

Spring Game:
- Spring game will be Offense v. Defense, not so much Blue team v. Gold team
- Defense will earn points with stops and turnovers
- No live special teams
- QBs will all be live
- Justin Tuck will be the honored guest and be present for the coin flip
- Tommy will be the 1st QB on the field. "We will roll them out by seniority".
- All 4 QBs will play with and against all units.

Offensively, looking for an aggressively called game for all the QBs. I want to see some down field passing against man coverage.


Defensively, I want to see how the linebackers play in space...how they handling crossing routes.

Disappointed that there is no live special teams...punt returning?

 

[rtrn2glory]

Offensively, looking for an aggressively called game for all the QBs. I want to see some down field passing against man coverage.


Defensively, I want to see how the linebackers play in space...how they handling crossing routes.

Disappointed that there is no live special teams...punt returning?[/QUOTE]

think they're probably just protecting against injuries...this is how a lot of schools do it.

 

[Irishman77]

It seems like everyone who has seen practice thinks Tommy is the more consistent and the most ready of all the QBs. You better believe it. Either way. Tommy Rees can't be as bad as he was last year. Not saying I am a Tommy fan, just that if he is the best option so be it.
What is very encouraging is the way the Irish have been running the football. They say almost 10 yards a carry in practice against a very good front 7. This OL could be special. The aggressiveness of the guys on the field is standing out as well. There are encouraging signs.

I respectively disagree with rees. SOS with pressure. Last year we ran over everybody with the run but never committed to it. This yr our line will be one of the best in the country. I think this will be great for golson to ease into leading this team past navy.

 

[irishog77]

Offensively, looking for an aggressively called game for all the QBs. I want to see some down field passing against man coverage.


Defensively, I want to see how the linebackers play in space...how they handling crossing routes.

Disappointed that there is no live special teams...punt returning?

Instead of staying warm on the sidelines by riding a stationary bike, Turk will be doing bench reps instead.

No info.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I'm most interested to see Brindza when it comes to special teams. So, im assuming he'll be splitting field goals with Tausch?