Charlie Weis released the latest Notre Dame depth chart on Tuesday prior to meeting with the media. The full depth chart can be viewed here, but here are some notes on the changes you will notice.
- Matt Romine and Paul Duncan have the “OR” label on them at left tackle. Weis said that Duncan will start, but that Romine will play in the first half as well. This is a very good sign that Romine is progressing now that he is healthy.
- Jonas Gray is listed as the #2 running back behind Armando Allen. Weis said that Robert Hughes being suspended for the first of the Nevada game (because of his fight in the USC game) made this decision easy, but in reality it appears as though Gray has passed Hughes. Again this is a good sign considering we know that Hughes is a capable back.
- Brian Smith is listed as the #1 WILL and #2 MIKE while Manti Te’o is listed as the #2 WILL. Smith is going to play the WILL on run downs but will but one of the nickel linebackers with Te’o on passing downs.
- Sean Cywnar has passed Brandon Newman as the #2 NT behind Ian Williams. Newman had a very good spring game, but not much has been said about him this summer. Cwynar, meanwhile, has gotten very positive reviews from Weis the past couple weeks.
- Raeshon McNeil took advantage of the time Darrin Walls missed and is listed as the starting corner opposite Robert Blanton. Weis said not to read too much into this since both will play a lot, but it’s still surprising that Walls is not listed as the starter.
- Theo Riddick is the starting kick-returner and will be line up with James Aldridge. Aldridge will be primarily the lead blocker for Riddick which makes sense considering Aldridge is now the start full back. What’s really interesting is that Shaquelle Evans is listed as a KR and Cierre Wood isn’t.
- Speaking of Evans, he is not listed on the two deep at receiver. Senior Robbie Parris and junior Duval Kamara are listed as the backups though. Something tells me that Evans won’t be behind Parris long and could see end up playing quite a bit this weekend.
- Bobby Burger, a growing cult hero on the forums, is the backup full back behind Aldridge over junior Steve Paskorz.
- Dan Wenger is listed as the backup at center behind Eric Olsen and as a OR at left guard with Chris Stewart. Weis said that Wenger and Stewart will both play at left guard in the first half just as Romine and Duncan will both play at left tackle. It’s nice to see Wenger battling after losing his starting spot at the start of fall camp.
“Nevada” can be pronounced with either a flat “a” or the way Weis said it. Hope that helps.
I would like to see Te’o get some valuable time in. He is going to be the long run starter this year and he could use the reps early
There is one single standout item here. Competent depth at most positions. Now, if you have a game like the Pitt game or the Syracuse game where some guys start letting down, they get replaced, not by a Rudy type of player, but by one who now has the chance to get and keep a top spot. That there is competition in practice means they can push each other. That the coaches don’t have to baby players in practice and can push without fear of one or two guys getting hurt is a plus. And during the game, the ability to switch players in and out to keep them fresh. Huge against the tougher opponenets. Go back the the 1988 season and watch how many times, especially on defense, players were swapped in and out. That could mean a lot in the 4th quarter against USC. If we had 2 deep in our seoondary in 2005, Leinert might not have gotten to the 3 yard line to begin with. The last long ball might have been a pick……with a fresh corner. We’ll see.
Hey tell your A-hole coach that Nevada is pronounced Nevada with the first A pronounced like the A in Hat. Not too sharp is he. Fast Eddie
dont get all butthurt when like 90% fans spell weis’ name wrong probably including your fans, how is that not being sharp?
Hey “Fast Eddie”, why don’t yuz and your crew go wack somebody at the casino? College football isn’t for Wiseguys and GoodFellas. BaDa Bing!