Notre Dame 2012 Spring Football Schedule: Pre-Spring Depth Chart Battles

Is this the year that Notre Dame finally turns things around? That's the question we ask ourselves every year it seems like, as the Irish continue to struggle over the years.

But if this year is going to be the season when the Irish finally rise to the occasion, it all starts with the spring football practices as many players fight to earn a starting spot.

The majority of the team from last year is returning, but there are many questions on both sides of the ball and many talented players trying to earn the backup position.

As we get closer to the first spring practice—which takes place March 21 for the Irish—it's time to look over some of the key position battles.

Backup Running Back

Notre Dame loses a key running back in Jonas Gray, and there's little question that Cierre Woods will remain the starter heading into next year.

But who will be the backup running back now?

Many believe that it will be George Atkinson, as he rushed for two touchdowns on only nine carries a season ago.

But you can't count out speedster Cam McDaniel on earning quality playing time, or even new recruits William Mahone and Keivarae Russell.

Cierre Wood is an extremely talented runner and will look to get the majority of the carries like he did last season, but the backup position should be an under-the-radar battle to keep an eye on.

Wide Receiver

The biggest player in recent memory for Notre Dame to leave the program is without question wide receiver Michael Floyd.

He was one of the best receivers in all of college football during his four seasons, and now the university will be stuck trying to replace over 3,600 yards and 37 touchdowns.

Upperclassmen TJ Jones and Theo Riddick will be the starters heading into the season, but that third slot remains vacant on this offense.

With one of the top tight ends in Tyler Eifert and running backs who are more than capable of catching the football, a third option isn't really a desperate need, but it wouldn't hurt.

Expect players like Robert Toma and new recruit Justin Ferguson, among others, to compete for playing time.

Return Man

Having a great or even decent return man can really make a difference on your football team.

Last year, the Irish didn't have that, as only eight teams in the country had a worse average than their 3.69 yards per punt return.

The top return man was actually Michael Floyd, as he returned two punts for an average of 22 yards.

Now the Irish must find somebody who's capable of flipping the field in their favor. Could George Atkinson step up, considering he's done a solid job on kick returns? What about Theo Riddick?

Notre Dame did just pick up a speedster in Davonte Neal, who is more than capable of breaking out a few big plays on the special team's side of things.

Whoever earns the spot as punt returner must do a better job than what was done last season. 

Cornerback

There was no unit that was hit harder than the secondary of Notre Dame, as they lost a total of three starters from a year ago.

There isn't a lot of experience to help fill these holes in the secondary, but the Irish aren't short of talent.

Players like Bennett Jackson, new recruit Tee Shepard, Jalen Brown, Josh Atkinson and Lo Wood will compete this spring for playing time.

Every one of those players has seen limited playing time or hasn't even touched the field at the collegiate level. So this position is something to really watch out for this spring.

Notre Dame's defense really stepped up last year and the secondary only allowed 205 passing yards, which was good for 38th in the country.

This group of players will have to grow up fast to try to replace several key players on last year's defense.

Quarterback

There were a lot of reasons the Irish finished with a subpar 8-5 record last season, and the poor play from the quarterback position is one of them.

There were 21 touchdown passes last season, but the 17 combined interceptions are simply not going to get it done.

Dayne Crist is now reunited with Charlie Weis down in Kansas, and I think it was made pretty clear last year that Tommy Rees is not the future of this program.

That means that the quarterback battle likely is between Andrew Hendrix and Everett Golson.

Neither quarterback has much experience, but they both have great traits to lead this team.

Hendrix is a big guy at 6'2", 220 pounds and has an extremely strong arm, while Golson was made perfectly for Brian Kelly and this offense, as he's a dual-threat quarterback who can kill you so many different ways.

You also can't count out new recruit Gunner Kiel, but it is likely a two-man race as of right now. It's also the most important and is going to be the most talked about leading up to Week 1.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].