Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly Pre-Spring Press Conference Recap

As Notre Dame prepares to return to the practice field Wednesday for the first of 15 spring practices, head coach Brian Kelly held a pre-spring press conference on Tuesday afternoon, discussing an array of topics from position changes to last week’s sudden departure of freshman cornerback Tee Shepard.

The Irish will practice on a Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule over the coming weeks, primarily in the mornings. Spring break at Notre Dame was this past week, so there will be no break in practices like many schools have that begin earlier in March.

Kelly announced that six players will be returning for a fifth year: center Braxton Cave, center/guard Mike Golic Jr., wide receiver John Goodman, defensive end Kapron-Lewis Moore, safety Dan McCarthy and safety Jamoris Slaughter.

The most significant injury news came with regards to running back Amir Carlisle, whose waiver for immediate eligibility after transferring from USC was granted last week. Carlisle suffered a broken ankle last week and will miss spring practice. He is expected to be ready for summer conditioning in June.

Lewis-Moore (knee), linebacker Anthony Rabasa (shoulder), offensive lineman Tate Nichols (shoulder), and defensive back Eilar Hardy (knee) have all been cleared for practice. Defensive end Chase Hounshell has yet to be medically cleared.

Running back Cam Roberson will be a limited participant in practice after missing the 2011 season. Center Braxton Cave, who missed the final four games, is not 100 percent, but Kelly is hopeful that he’ll play in the spring game.

Kelly also discussed some position changes, including the expected switch of Troy Niklas from outside linebacker to tight end. Kelly “felt comfortable at outside linebacker” and said the move “increases flexibility on offense.”

Mathias Farley will move from wide receiver to safety, which Kelly described as his “natural position.” Sophomore running back Cam McDaniel will work at cornerback this spring.

As for outside linebacker Prince Shembo, Kelly said that he will be looked at both the Cat (rush) and Dog (drop) linebacker positions. He worked primarily from the Dog position last year, but the loss of Darius Fleming on the opposite side could prompt a switch.

The quarterback competition generated a number of questions, but Kelly discussed the battle mostly with coach speak, saying the position has “great depth” and that “anyone of the four guys can run it.” He expects that Andrew Hendrix and Everett Golson will both see “limited opportunities for contact” this spring.

Hendrix, Golson, junior Tommy Rees and freshman Gunner Kiel all are considered candidates to start the team’s season opener against Navy in Ireland on September 1.

Kelly expects great competition at offensive line and cornerback, singling out guard Nick Martin for an “impressive offseason.” Golic Jr. will work at both guard and center, while Christian Lombard, a strong candidate for the right tackle position vacated by Taylor Dever, will practice at both tackle and guard.

The cornerback position became a concern after last week’s loss of Shepard. Kelly admitted that “there’s no hiding the fact that we have a numbers issue there.” The move of McDaniel from running back arose as a result of the depth issue at the position.

Kelly did not elaborate on Shepard’s withdrawal from school, simply saying that there were “specifics that I can’t get into”, and “it’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out.”

No unit was more frustrating for Notre Dame fans last season than the punt returners. Kelly expects Goodman and Theo Riddick to share repetitions leading up to the fall. Goodman replaced Riddick last season after some key turnovers, before Michael Floyd fielded punts in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Spring practice will last exactly one month, culminating with the annual Blue-Gold Game in Notre Dame Stadium on April 21 at 1:30 p.m. As announced last week, the game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network for the second consecutive year.

UND.com will provide a full transcript and video of the press conference.

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