Upgrade/Downgrade : ND position groups in 2012

[Axl Rose]

QB-Upgrade, with Tommy ND was severely limited. There was no running threat and Tommy's weak arm made it impossible to threaten teams deep. Golson and Hendrix have much stronger arms and the athleticism to hurt teams with their legs. I fully expect the complete ND playbook to be at the QB's disposable. I think Golson eventually wins the spot because of how shifty he is and also he was known to be a very accurate QB.

RB-Slight downgrade with out a big bruising back like Jonas. Roberson could fit the bill but who knows how he'll look coming back from Knee surgery. Mahone could fit the bill as well but he will be a freshman, it will take time. Wood and Riddick should be better their senior year. And Atkinson with all his athleticism is a future star IMO. Russell and McDaniel are young with lots of talent, they should also be getting plenty of reps.

WR-Big downgrade, losing Floyd really hurts. He was so dynamic and such a threat that he opened everything else up. Every year since 2005 we've had a receiver step up, whether it was Stovall, Shark, Tate, or Floyd. But this year I don't know if we have that big time receiver to carry the work load. The best bet is Davaris Daniels or Deontay if he stays committed. TJ Jones seems to disappear a lot, but many cases its because the QB was to focused on Floyd and ignored him. I thought Toma would be a great slot but the last two games hes also disappeared.

TE-I think Eifert returns to raise his NFL stock, along with Ragone because of his blocking ability. Add Koyack/Welch and ND easily upgrades this group over last years. Its easily the best TE core in the country.

OL-I think we'll see an upgrade here as well with the three best lineman on the team Martin, Watt and Cave all returning. Lombard will be in his third year and has really impressed the coaching staff, he is likely to win the starting right tackle spot. I think the left guard spot will likely go to Nick Martin, hearing he is very technical, athletic, and has a mean streak. There will be some good depth with Jordan Prestwood, Matt Hegarty, Tate Nichols, Conor Hanratty, and the 3 linemen commits from this years class.

DL-Big upgrade from this year. Young studs like Nix, Lynch, Tuitt will now have experience and an extra year in the weight room. Lewis-Moore and Cwynar will be back as fifth year seniors. Schwenke and Hounshell will provide solid depth. And the team will add highly regarded recruits Sheldon Day and Jarron Jones.

ILB-All four in the ILB two deep return, Teo, Fox, Moore,and Calabrese. Should be slightly better core as everyone is a year older.

OLB-Big disappointment this year, all the talk of Fleming in the summer and he all but disappeared for most of the year. Prince Shembo returns but he seemed MIA most of the year as well. I think Ishaq wins the starting OLB spot and brings more size and athleticism than Fleming did. Add in solid depth with Spond, Niklas, and Councell. I see a slight upgrade here.

CB-This will be a downgrade with both corners leaving and being replaced by Jackson and Wood who are both fairly experienced. Both are smaller than Blanton and Gray, but are more athletic. Atkinson and Jalen Brown will provide depth. Hopefully Darby and Shepard sign on the dotted line and give ND two dynamic corners for the future.

S-Downgrade here as well, losing Smith hurts. On the bright side Slaughter is playing better than ever and Motta has tons of experience. Also seems to be lots of depth with Collinsworth, Hardy, Badger is coming back, and this years recruits.

Special teams- I see this as a big upgrade, the kick return team was the best ND's had in years. Atkinson and Collinsworth are major threats every time they touch the ball. Also for the first time in a long time we had a kicker who could kick it to the end zone, I see Brindza getting lots more touchbacks this year as he gets bigger and stronger. And obviously the punt team has nowhere to go but up.

 

[stlnd01]

QB: better. Has to be.
RB: About the same. Hopefully Wood keeps growing. Someone has to step up as the big back. Atkinson becomes a weapon.
WR: Worse, but more diverse. Without Floyd, more guys are going to have to step up. But also a more versatile QB makes it easier to spread the ball around. I wouldn't quit on Toma.
TE: Better, assuming Eifert comes back. He and Koyack can be a nasty pair of receiving TEs.
DL: Better. Best in a long time.
LB: Better, but we need more athleticism beyond Teo. Get Moore on the field, and turn Ishaq loose.
CB: Worse early. Same by season's end. Will miss Blanton's physicality. But the young guys have more talent (especially if we hang on to Shepherd and land Yuri Wright).
S: Down. Motta's no Harrison Smith, and while I like Slaughter a lot, there's not much else in the way of experience.
Special teams: Better. We'll find a punt returner. Brindza's a boomer. And Atkinson will remain a threat to score on every kick return.

 

[NDinL.A.]

1. Ragone isn't coming back next year.

2. Fleming had a bad first 2 games, and then played really solidly the rest of the year, from what I saw and from what people who know these things have written. The problem was that Kelly said he'd basically be a super star, which he wasn't. But he was solid and far better than you give him credit for. He'll be missed, but hopefully Shembo or Ishaq can come in there and be a major difference-maker/playmaker at that spot. We can't afford a drop-off there.

3. Nice post.

 

[notredomer23]

QB- Huge upgrade. People don't understand how important it is to have a QB who can also run in this offense(Golson) and not just run(Hendrix) or not move at all(Rees)

RB-About the same, very slight downgrade. Wood is a stud, and will be even better next year. Atkinson is a beast. A year in the weightroom is gonna help a lot and he will be a back similar to Percy Harvin or Chris Johnson(Not saying as good). Not sure whats going on with Riddick, so I will also list him at the WR position.

WR- Downgrade, but not a huge downgrade. Toma is a beast and will start. His size will always hinder him though from being our go to guy. TJ Jones had an up n down sophomore season after a breakout freshman year. Hopefully it was just a sophomore slump ,and he goes beast mode junior year because we need him. I truly believe either Daniels or Greenberry will step in as our go to guy. Riddick if he can catch the ball will be uncoverable if he is at WR.

TE- Upgrade. Eifert is going to return. With him, a 5 star TE in Koyack, and a very good TE in Welch, we may have one of the best TE groups in the country. It may be hard to keep Koyack off the field. Eifert will be our go to guy in the passing attack for Golson.

Offensive Line- Sizable upgrade. I know we lose two starters, but return a stud in Braxton Cave. Chris Watt and Zach Martin our going to be good. I think Lombard will step in somewhere with probably Hegarty or Hanratty taking the other guard spot. And for the first time since I can ever remember following the team as closely as I do, we have a 3 deep of scholarship players on the offensive line.

Defensive line- HUGE upgrade. KLM returns, but he might not even start with Lynch Tuitt and Nix. If I am Diaco, and thank God I am not because I would suck at his job, I would send 5 every play of Lynch, Tuitt, Nix, KLM, and Ishaq. That combination would be unstoppable to block.

Linebackers- Upgrade. Te'o can't get much better, but he will be healthy hopefully. I sincerely hope Grace takes over the other MLB because I dislike Fox and I don't think Calabrese is good enough in pass in coverage. OLB should be Ishaq and probably Shembo. Shembo was shakey this year, but he has high hopes.

Corner- Oh my this could be bad. Downgrade. Lo Wood will be a junior, and Bennett Jackson will be as well and will probably be the starters. Apparently Jalen Brown is a stud so we will see. Expect Tee and Darby to get some significant PT.

Safety- about the same. Motta will improve enough to be serviceable. Slaughter should improve even more and at times I think he was our best defender behind Te'o. I think it will be better than expected.

K- About the same, slight downgrade. You can never replace Ruffer, but Brindza sure seems to have a good shot at it. Huge leg, now we just need to see about the accuracy.

P- upgrade? Pretty sure he has another year.

 

[Anchorman]

QB- About the same. Assuming we replace Rees, you're getting a very very green QB in his first season. Its going to be bumpy. We'd all like to think Golson is our messiah but he has yet to play a down. He's going to make mistakes. As for Hendrix, there's a reason Rees played over him this year. And for those claiming we need a mobile QB, Tony Pike was slow as $%#^. And the staff has been recruiting pro-style QBs as well.

RB- About the same. Cierre has another year, but don't have a power back on the level of Jonas. Riddick could help spell Cierre, but is similar, not a complement.

WR- Downgrade. Bottom line- we lost Floyd. TJ or Toma are not Floyd, nor are a bunch of guys who have yet to play a down (Greenberry, Daniels).

TE- Upgrade if Eifert comes back, downgrade if he doesn't.

OL- Lose two, seem to have depth. Same, trending to small upgrade.

DL- Big upgrade. Return Cwynar/KLM, meaning we have 5/6 back from the two deep. Give the freshman another year in weightroom.

LBs- Upgrade. Most return, including the principles minus Fleming.

CBs- Downgrade. Could be very rough here. People are expecting Shepard and Darby to slide right in, but that's simply not realistic. Even if they do, they won't be playing at a Gray/Blanton level. As much as we lament Gray and Blanton, they are solid corners. A bunch of freshman are not going to be at their level.

Safety- Depends on Motta and Slaughter's development. Going to miss Harrison. I'll give a same here.

 

[NDFANnSouthWest]

WR is going to be interesting, yes we lose Floyd however, what I observed is the other WRs getting lazy this year and depending on Floyd- example is TJ, he would give up on his route at times. Without Floyd all the WRs are going to have to step up giving our QB more options. Really looking for a TJ, Toma, or one of our RS Frosh (Daniel's) to step up and lead the WRs.

Corner's- IMO next years group will be faster- not as experienced however, more athletic. The secondary as a whole will benefit from a better D-line (more pressure on the opposing QB).

 

[IrishRugger2013]

I think we need to be less conservative on defense next year. This year, we had an experienced and solid secondary this season, so we could effectively play the 'bend but don't break defense.' The front 7 will be our clear strength next year, so I believe we ought to aim to get alot of pressure on the QB, be more opportunistic, and force more turnovers.

 

[irishtrain]

They need a QB and with the schedule next year I see them 7-5 at best. Its a sad deal because across the board this team is potent and poised to take a giant leap into real good football. I dont see it happening with the present QB sitiation-because in Kelly's sysytem so much is put on the Qb's shoulders. If they can catch lightning in a bottle and get a triggermen to run the show the could be a 10 win team and propel to a BCS game. For me that is too big of an if-they need a QB. We can speculate and pontificate till the cows come home but in the end this program is at the mercy of finding a QB. I saw enough against FSU to know they are the equal of many teams in talent/desire and football athleticism. The must find a QB.

 

[Rocky2820]

#1 priority has to be finding QB of the future. With competition hopefully between a sophomore and freshman eligibility wise, I hope coach has enough patience to find the right guy and let him develop, even if it means a loss or two in the meantime. Above all else, we have to know at the end of next season that we have our QB identified for at least 2013 and 2014. And if we do, that presumably means we'll also win our share of games in 2012.