Notre Dame Football: Intriguing Position Battles Entering Spring Practice

The start of spring practices in South Bend is just around the corner, and that signals the start of a few interesting position battles. 

While nothing may be set in stone by the time the Blue-Gold game rolls around, the back and forth is intriguing, nonetheless.

So without further ado, we present the most intriguing position battles during Notre Dame's spring practices.

Cornerback

The cornerback play that Notre Dame fans around the country saw on a weekly basis was mediocre at best during the 2011 season.

Gary Gray and Robert "R.J." Blanton have each played their final snaps in a Notre Dame uniform, leaving empty shoes at both cornerback spots.

The cornerback with the most experience currently on the roster is junior-to-be Lo Wood, who has played sparingly during his time at Notre Dame.

Wood is expected to compete for starting duties with Bennett Jackson, Josh Atkinson, Jalen Brown and incoming freshman Tee Shepard.

Brown redshirted the 2011 season, while Jackson and Atkinson didn't play meaningful minutes.

That should be worrisome to Irish fans, as Gray and Blanton each struggled as upperclassmen. How the cornerback position will fare in 2012 remains to be seen.

The jury is still out on this group.

Wide Receiver

With Michael Floyd moving on to the NFL, the Irish coaching staff is charged with finding a suitable replacement.

That replacement is likely to come in the form of multiple players, most notably John Goodman, Daniel Smith and DaVaris Daniels.

Goodman boasts the most experience of the trio yet has failed to live up to the expectations placed on him upon arriving in South Bend for the 2008 season.

It's Goodman's size (6'3", 207) that makes him a candidate to step into Floyd's vacant starting position.

The most realistic scenario is seeing Goodman, Daniels and Smith split playing time evenly.

Inside Linebacker

At the moment, the only surefire starter at linebacker is Manti Te'o, obviously. The other three spots will, once again, be open for competition.

Perhaps the most intriguing will be the inside spot opposite Te'o. Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese battled it out last spring and summer, with Fox claiming starting duties. This spring and summer should feature an equal amount of competition at the spot.

Both Fox and Calabrese have received loads of criticism for being poor in pass coverage, so it will be interesting to see if either one has made strides in that facet of the game.

Outside Linebacker

Another player who has been criticized harshly is Prince Shembo. He came on strong at the end of his freshman campaign in 2010 but seemingly regressed in 2011.

Biting at his heels is the much-hyped Ishaq Williams, a jewel of the 2011 recruiting class. Williams played defensive end in high school, making his freshman season one of transition.

Now that Williams has experience within the system, expect to see him push Shembo for playing time, if not supplant him as the starter.

Free Safety

The Irish will miss former safety Harrison Smith, and replacing him won't be a small task.

Early indications are that Zeke Motta will slide over from strong safety, but nothing is for certain at this point.

Could Austin Collinsworth and Eilar Hardy each make strong cases for earning starting duties at free safety? Nobody knows at this point, but it would be a welcome change, as Motta has struggled to reach his potential.

At strong safety, Jamoris Slaughter has all but locked up starting duties and will be an integral piece in defending the Navy's triple-option attack on September 1st in Dublin.

Quarterback

Quarterback is, without a doubt, the single most compelling position battle on the roster. Heck, it's even receiving national attention, especially after the Irish reeled in heralded recruit Gunner Kiel.

Brian Kelly has four capable quarterbacks at his disposal in Tommy Rees, Andrew Hendrix, Everett Golson and Kiel.

As I've stated in past articles, Tommy Rees simply is not the answer at quarterback. That leaves me to believe that Hendrix and Golson will battle it out for starting duties, with Kiel serving a redshirt year.

Either way, it should make for one intense battle.