10 Players Who Need to Emerge in 2001
UHND.com - John
Romanelli, ’91
April 22, 2001
With recruiting long over and no Shaun Cody or Charles Rush perhaps dooming the class towards its worst under Bob Davie and spring practice nearing its end, I wonder where the Irish stand for next year. If only these 10 players could emerge, we could have an exciting year.
Of course, some of these players I thought would emerge this year,
and they did not. Also, much of this is
related to depth, because when the senior class graduates, the cupboard will be very bare,
my friends. So read on…
Arnaz Battle – one of the things that was obvious in the Fiasco Bowl is that ND needs an exciting, change-the-game-at-any-time, playmaker. Battle could be that guy. Certainly, we have seen some amazing scrambles from him. If they could execute screens to him, Arnaz could totally change the flavor of the offense. We need to him to produce. Plus, after David Givens and Javin Hunter graduate, we are very thin at receiver, which leads me to…
Ronnie Rodamer – after hearing wonderful things about him last year, let’s see it. He has four years of eligibility, so we should see him for a long time (he’s basically like another new recruit!). After Battle, Givens, and Hunter, who is the fourth receiver? Right now, there is Rodamer, Omar Jenkins, and Lorenzo Crawford. Jerome Collins moved to LB, and Jovan Witherspoon and Jamaar Taylor have transferred. We have Matt Shelton, Cory Jones, and Carlos Campbell coming, but one of these players has to emerge as the fourth option at receiver. Rodamer may be that guy.
Gary Godsey – unfortunately, Jabari Holloway and Dan
O’Leary have graduated. Someone has to
emerge as the stud TE – not that we ever use them for more than blockers, but having
a good TE helps! I don’t think John
(“I play offense, uh, defense, uh, offense…”) Owens is the answer. Perhaps Billy Palmer or Matt Root will develop
sooner, but I see Godsey as the starter. We
need him.
Mike McNair – I know, I know, I said this last year. And with the number of incoming recruits
probably only reaching 18 (Dwight Ellick and Shaun Cody – I hope), there may be extra
scholarships for 5th years like Jason Murray.
But we have not had a force at fullback since Ray Zellars. McNair, remember, ran for 2,628 yards – yet
we have not seen him carry the ball one time at ND.
Why? Maybe he can be productive! He has two years of eligibility, so in 2002 he
should be the man with Lopienski gone. My
betting is that McNair wins the job this season.
Ryan Scarola/JW Jordan – we need a backup center
– Jeff Faine, who played wonderfully and may be ND’s next All-American lineman,
needs a backup. Scarola has dabbled at
center, and as I previously stated, there may be a BJ Scoot-type scholarship left for
Jordan. Also, we need a long snapper –
Dan O’Leary graduated, and Gerald Morgan will no longer play football. Jordan could fill that role.
Greg Pauly – Lance Legree is gone, and we need a new
DL. It could be Cedric Hilliard or Darrell
Campbell, both of whom excelled when given the chance to play. But I am waiting for Greg Pauly – who will
probably play end. Frankly, it may be 2002
before we see significant playing time, but there is no time like the present for me. Anthony Weaver graduates this year, so we need to
see his replacement. Will it be Pauly? And is his knee totally healed?
Carlos Pierre-Antoine – another one for whom I have
predicted success each of the last two years, yet I remain baffled as to what has
happened. Regardless, Anthony Denman has
graduated, and I don’t see a ton of candidates to replace him. I understand that Tyreo Harrison and CPA play
the same position – but why not move Tyreo to replace Denman, and have CPA step in
for Tyreo? What are the other options? Courtney Watson?
Jerome Collins? Or my next
player…
Mike Goolsby – another player that I have been waiting
to hear from. I know he was only a freshman
this year, I am not crazy. But great teams
have depth, and Irish need to develop it. For
the first time in many years, we were able to shrug off devastating injuries because of
depth. We need that to remain the case. I would love to see Mike Goolsby step up and be
the playmaker that Denman was this year.
Gerome Sapp – he has played well in spurts, and he
hits like Ronnie Nicks used to. With Tony
Driver gone, we need that stud in the safety position.
With all due respect to Ron Israel, Sapp is the guy.
Watch for a big year from #20 next year if he can stay healthy.
Jason Beckstrom – Brock Williams is gone, and that hurts badly. Clifford Jefferson is the proverbial “little engine who could”, but can he? He still gets consistently burned, and for all of the speed that we were promised coming out of HS, where is it? He is undersized, and not quick on his feet. So, Shane Walton will need help, and Beckstrom is next in line. He also has played well in spurts, but watch for him to emerge as a starter next season. We are very thin at CB – Vontez Duff (another player who may need to emerge), Preston Jackson, perhaps Ryan Grant, Dwight Ellick, and Marcus Wilson (who may move to safety)… A persistent weakness for the Irish, we need corners who can cover big, fast receivers. That was made blatantly obvious in the Fiasco Bowl. Can Beckstrom be the guy.
Those are my thoughts as spring practice winds down, and we look toward next year. Another great season could be in the cards, if certain things happen. Coach Davie has yet to string two consecutive good season together, so this will be a stern test. Let’s see if he passes.