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It became that fragile, that convoluted, that sandlot.
That amusing, little cameo, with senior safety Tom Zbikowski playing quarterback during mop-up time of Notre Dame’s 28-7 squashing of Duke Saturday on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium, wasn’t as off-the-cuff as it looked.
While freshman Jimmy Clausen was still convalescing during Notre Dame’s triple-overtime loss to Navy on Nov. 3, the very real possibility emerged that Zbikowski, a high school option quarterback, would have to go in had something happened to junior Evan Sharpley.
The only other healthy scholarship quarterback on the roster was senior Darrin Bragg, a quarterback-turned-wideout-turned-defector-turned-quarterback who hadn’t logged one second of playing time at any position during his two tours of duty at ND until the final 72 seconds of the Duke game. Walk-on Justin Gillett hadn’t budged from the bench, either.
“Well, put it like this -- Jimmy wasn't ready to play,” Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis said of Navy week, “and actually Darrin and Justin were running two and three in our normal stuff. So what I had to do was if Jimmy wasn't healthy and Evan went down, we needed to have something you could turn to if the regular offense wasn't getting you anything.”
That something was Zibby. And he did practice it.
From an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position last spring to start the post-Brady Quinn era to a safety running the Irish offense in late fall?
”Let me tell you something, he was begging me to throw,” Weis said of the Duke game. “He will actually tell you he's got the best arm on the team. Just ask him. I'm sure he'll tell you that.”
And Weis will still tell you the boldest type on his résumé has to do with developing quarterbacks. Just ask him. But there have been growing pains in doing so at the college level.
Sophomore Zach Frazer’s transfer last June may have been unavoidable, but Demetrius Jones’ in September probably wasn’t. In retrospect, Weis probably wishes he had brought Clausen along a little slower, maybe held him out of action entirely this season.
Weis said Clausen’s most dramatic growth this season came in the two weeks in which he didn’t play in a game. Now the next stage of Clausen’s evolution, Weis said, needs to take place in the weight room.
“When I got Brady (Quinn), he was a junior,” Weis said. “I mean, Brady was a rocked-up unit now. I don't know if he was rocked up coming out of high school, but this is a guy taking the field and everyone thinking he's a middle linebacker. So I think that probably one of the greatest things that Jimmy is going to have to do isn't about throwing the football and execution. I think the offseason strength and conditioning program, and especially size and strength and bulk, are going to be as critical a factor as he could possibly have.
“Going from 195 (pounds) to 210, I think that that's the direction we want to head. He says he wants to get to 215. I said that would take too many In-N-Out Burgers when he's back in California. That's critical, not just to take the hit; it's to be able to shrug off guys. The really good quarterbacks, you'll see they are getting touched a lot. But they don't go down a lot, because if a guy doesn't make a form tackle on him, they will brush off a tackle and be able to break away from somebody. I think you need strength to be able to do that.”
Weis does like the inner strength Clausen has shown, though.
“Here is the first thing that I was looking for (in the Duke game),” Weis said. “It was a little chilly -- 45 degrees, a little drizzle, snow flurries. And here is a kid from California, and you say, ‘OK, is he going to shrivel up? Is he going to be looking for a parka every time he turned around? I mean, there was absolutely no evidence.
“And even when we came off the field, there might have been a dropped ball or something to end the series, and there was no finger-pointing or head down or those things. Those are very, very positive signs for a young quarterback.”
And a less-fragile future at the position.
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Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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The knock at the office door shook Charlie Weis out of his Bon Jovi-laced introspection and into what had all the trappings of another nightmare.
It was 5:30 a.m., which is almost afternoon in the Notre Dame third-year head coach’s world. But for Irish sophomore offensive tackle Sam Young, this was not a typical time for small talk.
“I thought we had another person that was looking to pack his bags and go,” Weis conceded.
That was a safe assumption. Already four of the bigger names in Young’s class had deleted themselves from the Irish roster since spring practice -- three of them in the course of this season (quarterback Demetrius Jones, tight end Konrad Reuland and offensive guard Matt Carufel). Quarterback Zach Frazer was the first out the door. A fifth sophomore, offensive lineman Chris Stewart, spent a weekend in limbo in late September before opting to return.
These weren’t players left over from another regime. These were Weis guys, and celebrated ones at that. There is no spin cycle that can manipulate that exodus into seemingly addition by subtraction. It is what it is -- stains on the future.
This time, the force was with Weis, though.
Young is a 6-foot-8, 310-pound second-year starter and the highest-rated recruit of the Weis Era this side of Jimmy Clausen, and that includes the current 21-man lot that is being assembled and carries the distinction of being the nation’s No. 1 class-in-the-making.
“He said he hadn't slept all night,” Weis said of Young. “And he felt he needed to step up and take on more of a leadership role. He was asking for some advice on how to do that. I mean, that's the type of guys you want on your team, guys that aren't sleeping because they're worrying about how they can step up and take on more of a leadership role. I thought that was a good way to start the week.”
And an even better way to start a renaissance. That’s not to say a revival in 2008 is a sure thing or even a probability. But in a season of so much statistical and perceptual ugliness, Young’s gesture was a referendum of sorts on Weis. Small, but potentially significant.
“I still believe in him,” Young said. “I see things in this team other people don’t see, like the way we’ve stuck together, the way everybody keeps fighting, the steps everyone is willing to take this offseason to be a better team.
“I’m willing to take whatever steps are necessary. That’s what I found out a leader does, but it’s more. You take people with you. Your raise the bar for them too. And if I have to get in somebody’s face, I will. I want to be part of the solution.”
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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Charlie Weis doesn’t have the gift of time when it comes to the reclamation project that is Notre Dame football, even if his contract says he does.
The year it expires, for the record, is 2015. Prodigy Jimmy Clausen will be 28, Charlie Weis Jr. 22, ND athletic director Kevin White 65.
The heavy lifting can’t and won’t take place until after the Irish leave the field at Stanford Stadium on Nov. 24. But the third-year Notre Dame head coach does need to show something in the next two weeks, even if a lot of it is rhetoric.
There are signs beyond the losses, between the ugly statistics, beneath the frustration that a foundation for a turnaround is being laid. That’s not to say it will actually happen, but at least off the field there are more signs of digging out than signs the hole is getting deeper.
The first step is seeing an opportunity to grow in the losing. And Weis has clearly done that, something that wasn’t apparent early in the season.
“I think that, first of all, you have to be able to weather the storm, because no one wants to be part of a program that's losing,” Weis said. “You come in on Sunday, you have to go through that: Here are the stats, how are you going to handle the team. But what it really makes you to do is do a deeper level of thinking than you've done in the past, because in the past you'd just do it a certain way and just do it that way and just stick to that way.
“I really think it causes you or creates you to be not so much forward thinking but more open-minded toward different ways of getting it done better. Whereas in the past you might say, ‘This is the way we're going to do it, this is the way we're going to do it.’ I think more than anything else, it makes you, just as the team changes, forces you to make some changes as well.”
Again, the potentially most meaningful and lasting changes will come in the offseason. But to keep the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class from eroding and to give the returning players confidence those Super Bowl rings haven’t turned into paper weights, here’s what Weis’ to-do list might look like.
Beat Duke. This is foremost a gift to the seniors, and it’s not as easy as it sounds. According to the Sagarin computer, the Blue Devils are not one of the 32 Football Bowl Subdivision teams the Irish can beat (there are 15 Football Championship Subdivision teams rated ahead of them, by the way). The seniors are the people -- maybe the only people -- that 3-9, 2-10 or 1-11 makes a difference to at this point. They never became toxic or divisive when they easily could have. They deserve a chance to go out with some dignity.
Cut Clausen loose. Weis’ reputation as a quarterback guru and his future as a college head coach are both tethered to Clausen’s progress. It wasn’t that way in the beginning, but it certainly has played out that way. Clausen seems to respond better to a thicker playbook than a conservative game plan. If fans, recruits and national media are going to sense a revival, this is the guy they’re zeroing in on.
Get the ball to Golden. Freshman Golden Tate has Rocket Ismail versatility and electricity about him. Weis needs to get him on the field and the ball in his hands, whether it’s via long passes, end-arounds or lining him up in the backfield for a play or two. This is a kid whose development will show observers, including recruits, Weis can develop raw, unbridled talent.
Get a special teams coordinator in mind. Special teams can be fixed faster than either the offense or the defense, but not in its current state of having all nine assistants share the wealth (and the poverty). If there’s one personnel shift Weis needs to make quickly, this is the one.
Reconnect with Ara. There is perhaps no coach that learned more from his own lost season (0-9 at Northwestern in 1957) than Ara Parseghian. There is perhaps no coach alive that has been more innovative, adaptable and able to turn a disaster into a dynasty so quickly. There are few coaches better at moving players around to more suitable college positions. There is no better resource just a phone call away for Weis.
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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Duval Kamara admitted his father has become such a Notre Dame football fan that losing affects him to the point that, well, he yells “suggestions” to the Irish coaches -- through the television.
“I think a lot of fans criticize the coaching when a team loses,” said Kamara, a freshman wide receiver for the Irish. “But I’m cool with the coaches, and that’s what matters.”
And the coaches are “cool” with Kamara, a 6-foot-5, 221-pounder from Hoboken, N.J., who has moved into the starting lineup. He is also one of the key figures in ND coach Charlie Weis’ youth movement.
Here is a six-pack of freshmen to keep an eye on in November, not so much for Notre Dame's chances at picking up some wins as for an eye toward 2008.
These six are not necessarily the brightest stars at this point -- outside linebacker Kerry Neal would top that list. Rather this list is the players whose progress (or lack thereof) would offer some clues to what 2008 might look like, particularly when you factor in personnel losses after this season.
1. Jimmy Clausen, quarterback: I know, I know, the world is round, E=mc2, but Weis’ identity as a molder of QBs is so tied to the Californian, Clausen’s progress is more than perceptual. That doesn’t mean he has to start 2008 as either the savior or the starter. Remember the test for Clausen has always been can he shine when he’s treated like everyone else? How he goes about all that will have a significant effect on team chemistry in ’08.
2. Ian Williams, nose tackle: The defensive line will be the biggest question mark heading into 2008, with the loss of leading tackler Trevor Laws. The Irish have five outstanding d-line prospects in their latest recruiting class, but they will be freshmen. A possibility is sliding starting nose tackle Pat Kuntz over to end and elevating Williams to a starting position. He is the prototype for this 3-4 defense and he is extremely productive in a back-up role.
3. Golden Tate, wide receiver: Don’t be surprised if recently committed five-star wide receiver Michael Floyd of St. Paul, Minn., works his way into next year’s wide receiver rotation, but Tate will still likely be the fastest player on the Irish team. As Tate learns the nuances of coverages and routes, as Weis stretches the playbook to get him the ball in creative ways, the Irish offensive potency will grow proportionally.
4. Matt Romine, offensive tackle: An elbow injury pushed the 6-foot-5, 279-pound prodigy off the fast track. At the time, he was playing some meaningful minutes in a backup role. The Irish return both starting tackles (Sam Young and Paul Duncan) in 2008, but they need more options and competition at this position. Classmates Taylor Dever and Andrew Nuss will be pushing too, as will reclamation project, sophomore Chris Stewart.
5. Duval Kamara, wide receiver: Kamara gives the Irish offense a potentially tall, physical presence a lot like Maurice Stovall or Jeff Samardzija. An extremely intelligent student of the game, Kamara just needs time to grow into the role.
6. Robert Hughes, running back: The responsibilities beyond running over people (i.e. blitz pickup, precise route running) can be a blur for the powerful 5-11, 238-pounder. But once his head stops swimming from information overload, look out.
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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In his first season as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator, Corwin Brown admits he doesn’t have much time to think about the future or the past these days. Just Saturday’s game, and whoever the opponent happens to be.
“I was in this place once as a player, my rookie year with the New England Patriots,” he said. “And what we did is we didn’t point fingers. We just worked. And that’s what I’m doing now. I don’t return phone calls. I don’t return text messages. I’m just working to make us better.”
That Patriot team (1993), by the way, won its final four games after a 1-11 start and made the playoffs the following year.
Here’s a position-by-position peek at what Brown is working toward in 2008:
Defensive line: Brown’s influence in recruiting helped Notre Dame land the first top 100-caliber recruits of the Charlie Weis Era in the defensive front seven, and they landed them in bunches. It won’t be a surprise if all five d-line recruits -- Sean Cwynar (6-3, 285), Hafis Williams (6-3, 275), Brandon Newman (6-1. 300), Omar Hunter (6-1, 300), and especially Ethan Johnson (6-4, 286) -- work their way into the rotation next season. That’s good news because the Irish lose end Trevor Laws, who is leading all Division I-A linemen in tackles per game (8.2) and also leading the Irish in tackles for loss (4.5 total), fumble recoveries (2) and blocked kicks (1).
The Irish are in reasonably good shape at the nose tackle position with Pat Kuntz and Ian Williams both returning, but they may be undersized and definitely inexperienced at end -- especially if senior Justin Brown does not return for a fifth year. Junior-to-be Kallen Wade is extremely athletic, but the 6-5, 257-pounder still needs another year in the weight room. Senior-to-be Derrell Hand and junior-to-be Paddy Mullen will likely be the most-seasoned returnees among the ends. This will be the biggest question mark on the defense, if not the entire team in 2008.
Inside linebacker: Recruit Steve Filer (6-4, 225) will likely be a defensive prodigy and compete for the spot vacated by Joe Brockington. Senior Maurice Crum, a three-year starter, has a fifth-year option. Toryan Smith and Scott Smith fit nicely in the rotation. Current freshmen Steve Paskorz and Aaron Nagel look to move up. Anthony McDonald (6-3, 225) and David Posluszny (6-2, 215, and yes he is former Penn State star Paul Posluszny’s brother) also look to make an impact in the incoming freshman class.
Outside linebacker: Current freshmen Kerry Neal and Brian Smith continue to evolve from situational backups to every-down players. And recruit Darius Fleming (6-3, 230) might have the highest ceiling of any of them. Junior-to-be and starter John Ryan will return, but senior part-time starter Anthony Vernaglia may not exercise his fifth-year option. Junior-to-be Morrice Richardson will also likely be in the core rotation.
Cornerback: If senior Terrail Lambert returns for a fifth year, this is probably ND’s biggest position of strength on the 2008 team. Current sophomores Darrin Walls and Raeshon McNeil are already playing prominent roles. Injured freshman Gary Gray would have cracked the rotation this year if healthy. The only sure loss is fifth-year senior Ambrose Wooden. The Irish are bringing in two more standouts -- Jamoris Slaughter (6-0, 185) and Robert Blanton (6-1, 185).
Safety: It seems like Tom Zbikowski was at Notre Dame before Knute Rockne. He certainly fit the mold the players of Rock’s Era, and the Irish will miss his toughness and savvy. He is the face and the soul of the Weis Era. Fortunately for Weis, free safety David Bruton is a burgeoning star, and the Irish have a wave of safeties who share Zbikowski’s pedigree, if not his toughness -- Kyle McCarthy, Ray Herring, Sergio Brown, Harrison Smith to name a few. McCarthy’s younger brother, Dan (6-2, 196), is good enough to bid for playing time as a freshman in ’08.
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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One thing Notre Dame Charlie Weis has resisted doing during the worst start in Irish football history is spewing the phrase, “Wait ’til next year.”
First, he has to get to next year, with young players still believing, with recruits holding firm to their pledges, with upperclassmen playing with purpose, with an offense that needs to crawl out of the 100s in the national rankings.
Provided those things happen, prospects are looking up in 2008, as the Irish should be stronger in every phase on offense. How much stronger? We’ll get a hint in the second half of this season, but with plenty of returning experience and some top-line recruits, there is the promise of something better.
Here’s a position-by-position peak into the future:
Quarterback: Jimmy Clausen will be a 21-year-old sophomore with now a world of experience on his hard drive. Evan Sharpley will be a senior backup, which will allow Weis to bring his next prodigy, Californian Dayne Crist, along at a nice, smooth pace. The Irish likely will bring in one more quarterback, but not a pure passer. Chris Harper, a 6-3, 230-pounder from Wichita, Kan., can play multiple positions (notably wide receiver) and is a possibility.
Running back: James Aldridge, Armando Allen and Robert Hughes give the Irish a strong stable of running backs with contrasting styles. Weis would like to bring in another back, with 6-2, 200-pound Ryan Williams of Manassas, Va., considered the top target. Fullbacks Asaph Schwapp and Luke Schmidt both return.
Tight end: A position of strength, even with John Carlson moving on to the NFL and sophomore Konrad Reuland transferring. Returnees Will Yeatman and Mike Ragone will be joined by the nation’s top freshman tight end prospect, Kyle Rudolph of Cincinnati, Ohio, (6-6, 229) and 6-8, 250 Joseph Fauria of Encino, Calif. Jonathan Baldwin, a 6-6, 233-pounder with 4.4 speed from Aliquippa, Pa., is also on the radar.
Wide receiver: The good news is, everyone is back. The bad news is, this position still needs an upgrade and it’s the one area Weis hasn’t nailed in what is shaping up to be the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. Michael Floyd (6-3, 195) of St. Paul, Minn., and Deion Walker (6-4, 186) of Christchurch, Va., are two players who could give the Irish an instant deep threat. Current freshmen Duval Kamara and Robert Tate and sophomore Robbie Parris may have the most upside among the current group. John Goodman (6-4, 192) of Fort Wayne gives the Irish a Jeff Samardzija-like presence in next year’s freshman class.
Offensive line: The Irish lose one of the best centers in the country in John Sullivan, but return everyone else. But will being a year older make everyone a year better? Guard Dan Wenger will likely slide over to center for his junior season. There will be more competition for positions if the starters falter. Current freshman Andrew Nuss moved over from defense to challenge at guard this year. Right tackle Matt Romine, currently a freshman, could make a push this year for significant playing time. Lane Clelland, Braxston Cave and Mike Golic Jr., all get thrown into the mix next fall.
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
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The sprinkling of Notre Dame-should-join-the-Big-Ten patter into mainstream sports discussion has predictably been exhumed during the Irish football team’s historic thud to start the season.
Exhumed because this was also suggested in letters to the editor in the South Bend Tribune in 1963, along with open pleas to then-university president Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh to halt his alleged “de-emphasis” of football, and a call to lower the academic bar, etc., etc. -- all of which made reprises during the Gerry Faust Era in the 1980s.
The most interesting twist came recently when Irish coach Charlie Weis’ mentor, Bill Parcells of all people, parlayed some unsolicited advice regarding ND and its numerically challenged neighbor recently on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown show.
\"I think with some of the former independents moving into conferences, that's allowed them to improve their recruiting,\" Parcells said. \"For some reason, blue-chip recruits are very attracted by conference play. And their friends and families get to see them play schools within a relatively close geographic location.\"
Apparently Parcells doesn’t realize Weis has put together two top-10 recruiting classes and, if no one jumps ship, is assembling the No. 1 class in this recruiting cycle.
The Big Ten would be a reasonable, if not prudent, move for almost every Irish sports team but football. Notre Dame’s independent status in football had nothing to do with the mess ND finds itself in on the field this year, nor is it an elixir.
Recruiting couldn’t be better, for the moment, but all the holes will take a full four cycles to address. Athletic director Kevin White, meanwhile, has addressed the terrible rhythm to ND’s schedules by instituting a 7-4-1 model beginning in 2009 (seven home games, four road games and an off-site game that acts and pays like a home game). But there are problems in the program, most of which Weis himself has the scope and power to fix.
The real question is, will he? If so, how soon? Soon enough to keep recruiting momentum going and the school’s trustees patient?
But join the Big Ten? So in an off-year you can go to the Motor City Bowl? It truly is a great conference, and one ND took a couple of serious glances at over the past decade. Yet it will only be considered seriously again if one of two things happen, ND’s access to the BCS becomes limited by a change of rules or the Big East implodes and Notre Dame’s basketball and Olympic sports teams are left homeless.
Weis’ reaction to Parcells, by the way?
“I haven’t been watching a lot of TV lately,” he said with chuckle. “He and I have not had that conversation, but thanks, it’s good to know.”
Click here to continue the discussion.
Eric Hansen writes regularly for MSNBC.com's Notre Dame Central, and covers the Fighting Irish for the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.";
// END editorial data