As Irish fans eagerly await the start of the 2013 season there are plenty of reasons to be excited. There are some areas of concern as well of course, but that goes without saying for any season. Some of those concerns will start to be addressed as the Irish enter into fall practice on August 5th, down at the Shiloh Park Retreat and Conference Center in Marion, In. Until then, here are 20 reasons to be excited for the 2013 season.
1. Change in the Booth
Tom Hammonds is gone, and Dan Hicks is in. Whether you liked what Hammonds brought to the table or not, many felt like Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock just were never a good duo. Hicks should play off of Mayock much better, and hopefully will wear less makeup than his predecessor. Whatever the case may, a large contingency of Irish fans have been longing for the removal of Hammond, and 2013 will see them get their wish.
2. Stable of talented running-backs
Other than George Atkinson and Amir Carlisle, the group is young and raw, but talented and eager. This is a position that should be a strength for years to come, and this is the genesis of it all. If Atkinson falters at all, Amir Carlisle, and newcomers Greg Bryant and Tarean Folston are eager to prove their worth, and let’s not forget that Will Mahone and Cam McDaniel are also in the fold
3. Can Troy Niklas continue the tradition?
It is no secret that that the Irish program has become Tight End University, but when you put the likes of Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, Kyle Rudolph, and Tyler Eifert in the NFL over the course of 10 years, people tend to notice. It will be very interesting to see if Troy Niklas can follow in the steps of his predecessor’s, but measuring in at 6’7” 260Lbs should help him do just that.
4. Will Chris Brown become a consistent threat
With T.J. Jones and Davaris Daniels penciled in at one and two on the depth chart, the Irish would love to have Brown wind up at three. He has the speed to be a consistent deep threat and open up the field, but can he do everything else Brian Kelly requires out of his wide receivers? – we will find out soon enough.
5. The Tommy Rees Saga
When fall practice began in 2012, we are sure that Tommy Rees wasn’t thinking about being a back-up, or better yet “the closer” , but that is exactly what happened. He helped out Everett Golson both on and off the field in 2012 in a back-up role, and never complained once about his situation.. Now he is position to lead the Irish program under center once again, but has he learned from his mistakes?
6. How good can the offensive line be?
It always hurts when you lose someone the quality of Braxston Cave, but that doesn’t mean the cupboard is Bare. Zach Martin will anchor a talented line that has enough experience, and a load of depth. It may take some time for them to gel, but this offensive line has the ability to better than 2012.
7. Health of Amir Carlisle
Talent has never been an issue for the former USC running back, but staying healthy and on the field has been. From a broken ankle to a broken collar bone the injury list for Carlisle is quite lengthy, but that doesn’t diminish his ability to be a perfect fit for this offense. Whether he is coming out of the backfield or lining up in the slot, Carlisle is athletic, elusive, and deceivingly quick, and the Irish are a better team with him in the mix.
8. Kyle Brindza
The Irish kicker seemingly took a lot of slack last year, but in all reality, Brindza did a fine job in 2012. The young man from Canton, MI hit on 23 of 31 attempts last season, and starts the 2013 season on the Groza watch list, the award for the best kicker in the nation. He may not be perfect, but Irish fans have seen much worse.
9. Life after Te’o
The storied career of Manti Te’o is now over in South Bend, but doesn’t mean the Irish are without answers in the linebacking corp. Prince Shembo, Jarrett Grace, Dan Fox, Danny Spond, Ishaq Williams, and Carlo Calabrese make up a group of talented and able defenders, both in the run and pass department.
10. Maturation of the secondary –
So many injuries, so few players available, but yet the Irish secondary of 2012 came together as a group and surprised even the harshest of critic. With Matthias Farley, Lo Wood, and Bennett Jackson returning as the veterans of this group, and the addition of Max Redfield, and Cole Luke – this should be a fun group to watch.
11. Best defensive line in the country?
Kapron Lewis Moore is now in Baltimore, but the Irish have Stephon Tuitt, Louis Nix, Sheldon Day and a handful of talented backups eager to make their mark on the Irish program. Lindy’s, Phil Steele, and Athlon have both Nix and Tuitt as 1st team All Americans, and Tuitt is also on the Sporting News 1st team list. This group has the ability to dominate, and other than injury issues we see no reason why they won’t.
12. Red Zone dominance
The Irish had one of the best defensive units in the country in 2012 , and it was because of their efforts in the Red Zone. The Irish were ranked 8th in the country in red zone scoring percentage(68.4) and only allowed their opponents to cross the goal-line 13 times. Although Motta, Te’o, and Lewis-Moor are gone, the Irish should still be very effective again in the red zone this year. Can they be better than last? Maybe, but only time will tell.
13. The arrival of Jaylon Smith
While the Irish have had issues with other 5-Star recruits, they certainly have had none with the young man out of Fort Wayne. The #1 ranked outside linebacker in the nation has the potential to be very special in South Bend, and it may come sooner, than later. Smith has the rare combination of speed, athleticism, power, and instinct and has the potential to be one of the best defensive players Irish fans have seen in the last 20 years. He may not start in 2013, but he will be given the opportunity to see the field often.
14. Joe Schmidt now on scholarship
In one of the worst off-seasons in recent history for the Irish, there were at least some positive notes. In the proverbial “one door closes, another door opens” department, walk-on Linebacker Joe Schmidt was granted a scholarship after the departure of 5-star recruit Eddie Vanderdoes. He may not see a lot of playing time, but the crowd will erupt when he does hit the field.
15. Will the “special” in special teams return?
All Irish fans know the abysmal effort that was displayed in the kick and punt returns game last year. If there is one facet of the game that can drastically improve, this is it – but will it? It is hard to imagine that the 2013 group could be as bad as the 2012 group, but it will need to improve drastically to be considered an area of strength this year.
16. Another challenging schedule
With the likes of Oklahoma and USC at home, Stanford and Michigan on the road, and a neutral-site game against Arizona State in Cowboys Stadium, the 2013 Notre Dame football schedule has the ability to be as challenging and fun as last years – let’s just hope it’s not as stressful for Irish fans. Most had the Irish schedule in 2012 as the most difficult in pre-season, but would eventually drop between 7th and 9th by the end of the year. This year the schedule is ranked anywhere from 9th to 13th depending on who you ask or publication you read, but there is little doubt that it will be another challenging year on the field for the Irish.
17. Consecutive 10 win seasons
After winning 12 games last season, the Irish have a chance to do something they have not done in 20 years, win 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons. Lou Holtz was the last coach to do it, when he won 10 in 1992, followed up with 11 victories in 1993. In fact, from 1988 to 1993, the Irish had 10 or more wins every year except for 1990(9).
18. Is this the last year for Diaco?
After being recognized as the top assistant in 2012 by winning the Broyles Award, Bob Diaco came dangerously close to leaving the Irish program last year. Losing out of the open head coaching position at Boston College(Steve Addazio) fans have to wonder if the Irish repeat the defensive effort of 2012, will Bob Diaco be leaving the Program for good this time?
19. Sideline serenity?
Brian Kelly did a much better job in 2012 in controlling his emotions on the sideline and in front of the camera. Instead of blowing up, he used mistakes as learning tools of encouragement. He also made it a point to become more involved on personal basis with certain players, in order to understand what their strengths and weakness were on a more intimate level. The Irish players seemed to react and respond much better to the “new” Brian Kelly, but we wonder if coach Kelly can continue to do that in 2013 if things start to falter.
20. It’s Notre Dame Football!
For the first time in awhile Irish fans have legitimate reasons to be excited about entering a season. Will the Irish return to the title game? Who knows, but at worst they seem capable of reaching a BCS bowl game, and that’s not a bad thing. There are few more question marks then what fans had anticipated, but hopefully those get answered early in the season. Whatever the case may be, Irish Nation is ready to see the gold helmets come thundering out of the tunnel of August 31st against Temple.
As always, during the 2013 season there will be areas of concern that the Irish coaching staff will have to address and correct, and there will be some pleasant surprises also. A college football season is all about adaption, correction, and adjustment, and the Irish program is no stranger to these facts. The 2012 team did a very good job of accepting the situation, and making the best of it, and we would assume this year’s team will be no different.
Shaz,
Let me explain the rankings. There will always be 5 SEC teams in the top ten to begin the season. The SEC rarely plays outside the south other than bowl games. Ohio State is #2 because everyone loves Urban Meyer and they play in the horrible Big Ten. I think what should happen in college football is this:
No rankings to start the year. They schedule the following way:
One of your first three games out of conference should be against a BCS school. Like basketball does it with conference challenges. Then towards the end of the year you play another game against a BCS conference. I would love to see LSU come up north in November and play a school in the rain and cold. I would love to see USC or Standford play ND at home in November. That is a true way to rank a team, make them play an 8 game conference schedule with 2 out of conference tough games against top teir BCS talent and 2 cup cakes.
The first rankings would come out after the first three games. After that you could get a good read on who is good and who is not.
I also think that SEC teams should have to come up North and play in the cold, wet and snow. We saw how LSU faired against a PSU team that they would have killed on a good field. Football is not to be played in 80 degree weather but the snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Jack,
I love your innovative thinking! However, the willfully ignorant and extremely bias sports media machine would be in an up roar over your honest conceptual format. Not to mention, the Special Education Community could careless about a level playing field. It’s all about the NFL with them. I’m still steaming over Lou’s 2nd Championship stolen by the dubious sports media. A gift to Bobby Bowden! So hell yes, your idea has excellent merit but, unfornately too many crooked sports politicians! Sound familiar? So the best we can do is go 13-0 and let the cards fall where they will fall. I have zero faith in the polls.
GooooIrish!
Actually thought ND would be around 15 based on Golson being gone.
I can see the reasoning behind having ND #11. If Golson was eligible, I’d see them somewhere between 4-6. But no matter how much Kool-Aid we want to drink, Rees isn’t Golson. Granted, Rees has certain skills Golson doesn’t . . . but I’d take Golson’s athleticism any day of the week.
Stepping back, pre-season rankings (as last year proved) mean zero. Nothing. Just win and the rankings will take care of themselves.
I give you credit for being able to see some type of reasoning, because all I see is bias.
Outside of ND and Stanford, most other teams in the top ten either moved up one spot, down one spot, or stayed the same.
A one loss ND team is dropped 7 spots, and the only reason I can see is because of hate, nothing more.
Kool-aid aside, if Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks went undefeated during the regular season last year, played Alabama for tha national Championship, Lost, and finished the final poll as #4 in the country, does anyone really believe his beloved SEC team would have been pushed back 7 spots to open this year at 11?
I might be able to agree with the Golson theory if the next QB in was some unproven, inexperienced freshmen, but the numbers and stats on Rees say otherwise.
Much like last year, I hope the team uses this as motivation.
Hate???? If Golson was under center they would be Top 5 period end of story. The teams ahead of ND are all loaded and all have returning QB’s.
I realize Rees is not a Freshmen but I think everybody sees what you get with him. Good game manager with some physical limitations.
At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter. Win games and you move up.
OK, maybe “hate” was a little harsh.
But ND is loaded too.
3 top ten recruiting classes out of the last 4 years says so.
Tommy Rees has played in 29 games so far, I would consider him a returning QB as well.
One man’s physical limitations (he can’t run) is another man’s pocket passer.
403 completions out of 634 attemps for 4.413 yardS or a 63.6% completion percentage with 34 TD’s and 24 INT’s are respectable numbers.
So why agian did we drop 7 spots?
Could it be that most of the coaches who voted belong to a conference while ND does not?
You know, I heard those southern boys like to stick together.
Bias.. yes, I should have stuck with bias.
Patrick & Shaz,
I think the both of you are right, a culmination of the Rees factor and bias. Interestingly enough though, hopefully we will see a new and improved Rees to rattle the naysayers….maybe. If Rees does not turnover the ball this year count on another great season!
I don’t put much stock into preseason polls.
Last year is a perfect example why.
At this very same time last year, ND was unranked, and placed outside of the top 25.
Mean while, the mighty USC Trojans were anoited the #1 spot.
And we all know how things ended up.
But I do find the release of today’s first preseason coaches poll interesting in as much as it provides a window as how people in college football actually think.
Look at the final top 15 teams and their final records from last year for comparison:
-Final coaches poll for 2012.
1. Alabama 13-1
2. Oregon 12-1
3. Ohio St 12-0
4. ND 12-1
5. Georgia 12-2
6. Tex A&M 11-2
7. Stanfrd 12-2
8.S.Carolina 11-2
9. Florida 11-2
10. FLA ST 11-2
11. Clemson 11-2
12. Kan St 11-2
13. Louisvl 11-2
14. LSU 10-3
15. Oklahma 10-3
Now compare those final rankings with this years preseason rankings:
-Preseason coaches poll rankings for 2013.
1. Alabama
2. Ohio St
3. Oregon
4. Stanford
5. Georgia
6. Texas A&M
7. S Carolina
8. Clemson
9. Louisville
10.Florida
11.Notre Dame
12.Florida St
13.LSU
14.Oklahoma St
15.Texas
Here are a few things that caught my eye.
Stanford, a team that ND beat, is actually rewarded for that loss by being awarded the same #4 spot at which ND finished last year. Our Spot!
5 out of the top 10 teams are from the SEC.
Only 1 team from the BIG-10 made the top ten and no team from the BIG-12.
And of course Notre Dame, who played a regular season schedule that was ranked in the top 5 last year, went undefeated in that schedule, and who’s only loss came in the BCS national championship game gets Ranked 11th
As Rodney Dangerfield often said.. “I tell ya… we don’t get no respect”
Look at the schedule that Ohio st. and Louiville play. It is absolutely pathetic. I see both those teams running the table easily.
Kansas St went from 11 to unranked. Do people hate the Wildcats???? Bias vs old head coaches????
We are going to miss Golson.
Good article-indeed- plenty to be excited about.
re: #16 (above)- add MSU and BYU (two projected very difficult “D’s”) to the challenging games above;
and neither @ Pitt nor @ Purdue will necessarily be easy. That’s at least 9 dangerous games!
So to repeat consecutive double digit wins this season without EG will be extremely challenging.
If we can pull that off with the schedule we have, any semi-conscious college FB fan ought to be impressed.
Let’s enjoy Coach D’s consistently superb “D” while we have him, and watch the young talent in the backfield
and those other new Frosh develop. Will Grace, Amir, and Davarius emerge as new stars?
Will Jaylon, Redfield, Cole Luke, or guys who have been waiting for their shot shock and awe us all?
I wouldn’t be surprised.
I will not measure this year’s success on how many we win as much as how we compete.
Things fell into place last year- sometimes the breaks go against you.
Re: this year’s team’s evaluation- don’t overreact to inevitable shortcomings and disappointments;
instead, appreciate the many magic moments coming soon to you from this season’s outstanding student-athletes.
Go Irish!
Reason #1. It’s Notre Dame !
cheers
https://soundcloud.com/the-green-children/norwegian-dream
ALMOST a great article. Learn how to edit your prose. It was painful, and it took away from your message. You also forgot one particular stud defensive back who bolstered our secondary ad a freshman last year… Duh!