First off, I apologize for the lack of updates the last week. That inconvenient day job of mine got in the way of my updates last week, but hopefully I’ll be back with multiple daily updates from now till the end of the spring.
Now that that’s out of the way, here’s a few players who are impressing so far this spring.
- Kapron Lewis-Moore (DE) – Ivan Maisel’s recent report on Notre Dame’s spring practice this year revealed that Weis thinks the sophomore DE is projecting to be the best defensive linemen on the team this year. That is some pretty high praise with Ethan Johnson and returning starter Ian Williams lining up along the defensive line this fall. if Lewis-Moore is really the best defensive lineman this fall, the d-line will be one of the best we’ve had in a while since Johnson is primed for a breakout season and Williams has plenty of experience and talent himself.
- Toryan Smith (LB) – Smith is impressing as he enters his final year of eligibility. Smith’s size in the middle would be a great asset when Notre Dame faces teams that are going to want to run the football like Michigan State and Pitt. His lack of speed might make him a liability against pass happy or spread offenses, but so far this spring he’s gotten plenty of praise from Weis. Smith being able to be an every down player would give the Notre Dame linebacking corps much more versatility.
- Hafis Williams (DT) – Williams has been pushing for playing time along the defensive line and like Smith, his ability to be an every down player would give the Irish defensive line a lot of versatility. Williams is a big body DT would be would a very good compliment to Ian Williams in the middle against run oriented teams.
- Robert Blanton (CB) – So far it appears as though Blanton has been able to keep his hold on the starting cornerback position even with Darrin Walls back with the team and playing well.
- Dan McCarthy (S) – On Monday, Weis said that he decided against giving McCarthy a look at quarterback in the #3 spot because he has been in the mix at safety. This was the first I really heard Weis make mention of McCarthy during his press conferences, but hopefully McCarthy can continue to play well and get in the mix.
That’s all for now. Tomorrow I’ll post about some players on offense making noise this spring.
I love that we are having arguments about who is the better player in the secondary as opposed to who we need to replace. i do have a problem with everyone assuming T’eo is gonna come in on day one and be a superstar. just look at jimmy and see how that worked out. lots of potential and talent but lets be serious. hopefully something will click in filers head and he can blossom into a player this year.
Frankie…nickel packages or not, McCarthy seemed to get burned a lot more in man coverage than Sergio Brown last year…but I agree…I’d like to see Walls on the field as much as possible. He was one of the few bright spots in 2007 and seems to have that special ‘shut down’ quality.
Toryan Smith is just keeping the Mike LB position warm until Te’o arrives this summer. At least he could turn into a quality back-up.
McNeil played pretty well as a starting CB all last year though. I just hope that we see more of the 3rd CB in nickel situations this year since Sergio Brown got burned a lot in man coverage playing that nickel role.
It’s hard to image that Walls and Blanton won’t be the starting cornerbacks.
Huh, it embedded automatically. Disregard my last.
I don’t think Toryan’s speed would be a problem. If his Scout and Rivals times are accurate, he’s faster than Cushing and Maualuga (according to the NFL draft times).
http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers
Don’t feel like embedding. Just drag and drop, you lazy arseholes.