Duval Kamara: WR #60?

Wait, what's that?  Why the hell is Duval Kamara, possibly the lengthiest wideout in recent Notre Dame history wearing an offensive lineman's number?  Thats because "Tubby" came into camp weighing a whopping 220+ pounds, up a wholefive pounds or so from what the goal for his body weight was set at after spring practice.

"That's heartless" or something along those lines is being said by several Charlie Weis nay-sayers over this.  Is it even an issue?  Not whatsoever.  Its a motivating tool used by Charlie.  Do you think Duval likes wearing the OL number?  Without a doubt, no.  Perhaps weight has been an issue with Kamara for longer than just this offseason and this is Charlie's way of letting him know that he is not joking around.

What difference does five or six pounds make?  To the non-observant football fan, a pound here and a pound there means absolutely nothing.  All it takes though is a look at two recent Notre Dame stars who both gained and lost weight during their playing days, and where that put them.

We remember Tom Zbikowski for not only returning a punt against USC for a touchdown in '05 or for being one of the better safties we have seen in recent years, but we also remember him for boxing a in a pair of professional matches before graduating from the University of Notre Dame.  What happened to Zibby after putting on all the muscle while prepping for his first professional fight?

Unfortunately he got too strong.  Yes, there is such thing for a football player, Zibby was too big to play safety.  By adding the weight we saw Zbikowski return to the field in great shape, however he did not have the same quick first step we saw during much of 2005.  Because of that his results on the field suffered.  Grant it he did have a shoulder injury later in the year, but its safe to say that Zibby was not in his best football type shape entering 2006 and it showed.

A sign for the better comes from a former Notre Dame wide-out and current Tampa Bay Buccanneer, Maurice Stovall.  Remember his career?  The one that started off promising his freshman campaign but seemed to just never come around until his senior year.  Most diehard fans remember that one of the first things Charlie Weis did when he arrived on campus was demand that Stovall lost fifteen pounds before the season started.

The result?  Stovall turned out his best season at Notre Dame during the fall of 2005 and wound up a second round draft pick by the Bucs the following April. 

I am aware these are two cases of weight and not a ton of it being a major issue. 

Duval Kamara reminds many of a young Maurice Stovall by his body size.  Not terribly built but a tall wide out who can go up and get the jump ball.  If Kamara can shed this weight expect him to have a breakout season.

We saw signs of what Kamara is capable of last season, emerging as the go to receiver down the stretch.  Will that hold up with him? 

He has all the tools to be something special and a favorite target of Jimmy Clausen's for several years to come.  Lets just hope this weight issue goes away and we are able to see what Kamara is capable of doing when in his top shape.