The hard knocks from 2007 and an offseason of conditioning brings experience to the 2008 team.   To give you an idea of last year’s youth, here’s 2008s’ returning players and the minutes played in 2007 by position:

    QB – returnees played 90% of time in 2007

    RB – 83%

    OL – 80% (John Sullivan left for the NFL)

    WR – 99%

    TE – 28% (John Carlson left for the NFL)

    DL (3) – 50% (Trevor Laws left for the NFL)

    LB (4) – 72%

    S – 53% (Tom Zbikowski left for the NFL)

   CB – 77%

Expect some more talented freshmen to vie for playing time this year even with all the talent returning.

Most of all, parents and recruits are impressed with Notre Dame’s graduation record, including black football players’ grad rates.  Weis recently was pleased to accept the American Football Coaches Association trophy for his team’s graduation rate, sharing top honors with Northwestern.  He is proud of his team’s academic accomplishments.  Weis makes sure he does everything he can so his players graduate, to be successful in life as well as optimizing their opportunities to be successful in football at Notre Dame and in the NFL.   

Looking back on three years.

Students are excited about football.  Alumni ticket requests are at their highest.  Traditional recruiting pipelines have been reestablished and top prospects are coming to Notre Dame from all over the country.  The coaching clinics have record attendances.  ND football camps are attracting high numbers of prospects.  The Golden Dome is shining whether Sports Networks recognize it yet or not.

Rockne:   “We count on winning. If we lose, don’t beef.  The best way to prevent beefing—don’t lose.”

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