Players to Watch Saturday
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
September 4, 2001

Notre Dame, Ind - (UHND.com) - Here is a list of a few players who will be fun to watch this Saturday.  Now there are more players who will be interesting to watch this week, but I couldn't sleep and felt like writing an article so here goes nothing.

1. Matt LoVecchio - After eight games experience he will no longer be wearing the shield of a freshman and if he falters he will be very susceptible to criticism from all over, something he did not have to face much as a freshman.  How Matt responds to this will be interesting to watch.  Based on everything we have seen from Matt as being unflappable, I don't think this will be all that big a deal to him.  For some reason the kid doesn't get rattled very easily.  Let's hope he stays true to form and doesn't blink when he walks onto the field and sees an even bigger "Sea of Red" than he did last year from the sidelines in South Bend.  It will also be interesting to see how he performs after a full spring and fall practice season.

2. Grant Irons - Will the real Grant Irons please stand up?  We have seen flashes of his talent in the past four years, but never saw him play to his full potential.  After missing all of last season with an injury and not getting to play all of the Nebraska game, it will be fun to see how he performs.  Grant is a great competitor and I will be very surprised if we don't see Grant's A game.  I think Grant will be in on more than a few big plays in the game.

3. Darrell Campbell - Last preseason we all heard of the great things Darrell Campbell was going to accomplish.  Then he lost the starting spot to Andy Wisne.  This season though he is the starter and is in line to finally make the impact Irish fans have been waiting for.  He is going to team up with Cedric Hilliard to give Notre Dame a very promising pair of defensive tackles.  Can Campbell come up with a sack or two or a tackle for loss or two on the option?

4. Arnaz Battle - After nine months or so of speculating the wonderful things Arnaz could do at wide receiver we are finally going to see what he can do.  Arnaz gave Nebraska fits last year on scrambles and I expect him to make more than one Nebraska defender miss enroute to a very impressive debut at wide receiver.  Look for him to make pass downfield to another wide out at some point on a trick point because Rogers would be almost stupid not to use that dimension of Battle's game.

5. Courtney Watson - Watson is replacing the heart and sole of the Irish defense in Anthony Denman.  I remember seeing Watson in limted action last year and being very impressed with the former running back and expect Watson to have a very nice debut for the Irish this Saturday.  He has got great speed and should be a force.  How well he and the linebackers do in containing Eric Crouch will go a long way in determining the outcome of the game.

6. Julius Jones - After missing all of spring practice for disciplinary reasons and having a very average 2000 season I think Julius will be out to prove something and what better stage than in Lincoln this Saturday.  I will be surprised if Julius, as long as he is 100% healthy,  is not involved in some big play whether it be a running play or something in the return game (should be return any kicks since he has been banged up).  Julius is a game-breaker on offense and if Notre Dame is going to follow up its BCS run last year, he is going to have make some big plays along the road and that road starts this Saturday.

7. Jason Beckstrom - While it is still not 100% official, it is believed that Beckstrom will win the starting corner back spot opposite of Shane Walton.  Beckstrom has great speed and showed signs of promise in brief appearances (see '99 USC game) throughout his career but injuries have slowed down his development.  He is now healthy and appears ready to step in and take over for Brock Williams.  Beckstrom has great cover skills and should make it possible for Notre Dame to do more blitzing while he and Walton play man to man coverage on the receivers.

8. Donald Dykes/Glen Earl - Which ever starts on Saturday will have some big shoes to fill.  Tony Driver was one of the leaders of last year's defense and either Dykes or Earl will have to take over.  Driver was a hard hitter who made people fall whenever he hit them.  If he made contact you went down.  The safeties are going to play a big role since Nebraska will be using a lot of option.  The safeties are going to have to contain Crouch and not let him get loose for long TD runs like he did last year in the first half.  Dykes is listed as #1 on the depth chart but I think a healthy Glen Earl would have passed him this fall.