Notre Dame Football: Ranking the Position Groups

Even the greatest of great college football teams are not without a position of weakness. National champion Alabama did not have a downfield threat at receiver. SEC champion LSU struggled at times to simply complete a forward pass (although its quarterbacks all apparently had the chest to lead a program).

For a Notre Dame team that went 8-5 and lost eight of its starters, there are multiple areas of concern heading into the 2012 season. The issues in South Bend are well-documented. Losing recruiting battles, recent player defections and some poor talent evaluation by former coach Charlie Weis and staff have required Notre Dame to get creative at multiple positions this offseason.

As spring practice winds down with Saturday's Blue-Gold Game, here is a countdown, from weakest to strongest, of Notre Dame's 12 position groups.

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No. 12: Cornerback

While Notre Dame's recruiting at cornerback in 2012 turned out to be an epic disaster, this position was not going to become a strength until at least 2013 even if the Irish had landed multiple cornerback prospects in February. Currently, just four players recruited as cornerbacks are on the roster, leaving Notre Dame extremely thin at a crucial position.

Bennett Jackson is built out of the mold that defensive coordinator Bob Diaco likes in his cornerbacks. While he's still raw, Jackson appears to have the boundary (short side) cornerback job won coming out of the spring. Field (wide side) cornerback is a different story, with junior Lo Wood competing with sophomore Josh Atkinson.

Wood is the better prospect but has yet to show he can be an every-down player. Atkinson has somewhat surprisingly thrown his name into the hat for a potential starting role with a strong spring. If this unit can force more turnovers than the senior-laden secondary did a year ago, it could help shadow its apparent shortcomings.

No. 11: Wide Receiver

A player like Michael Floyd doesn't come along very often. He'll be selected in the middle of the first round of next Thursday's NFL draft. To put that in some perspective, the last Notre Dame wide receiver to be drafted in the first round was Tim Brown, some 24 years ago.

With Floyd gone, the burden of the passing game falls on seniors John Goodman and Robby Toma, junior T.J. Jones and sophomore DaVaris Daniels. After redshirting as a freshman, Daniels has the most upside of the group, but still has work to do in the weight room to look like what an elite college receiver should look like.

Toma will be part of a platoon at slot receiver/gadget play specialist, while Goodman and Jones are the two wild cards. Neither did much of anything a year ago, but one or both must become a player the Irish can count on for three to four catches per game. Three true freshmen arrive in June. However, when you're placing stock in true freshmen, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of the position.

No. 10: Quarterback

Ah, yes, the Notre Dame quarterback—the most scrutinized position in college athletics. Head coach Brian Kelly has multiple options, but none are necessarily any better than another. Junior Tommy Rees is the clubhouse leader at the moment, to the chagrin of almost every Irish fan.

Regardless of who wins the job in August, there will be concerns. Rees is by far the most experienced and excels with the system's pre-snap reads, but his decision-making after plays begin has been his downfall. Classmate Andrew Hendrix and sophomore Everett Golson have much higher ceilings, but their lack of playing time also gives them a lower floor.

Ideally, Hendrix or Golson blossoms over the summer and turns the corner in August during preseason camp. If not, Rees will again be the guy, with likely either Hendrix or Golson playing a couple series each game. Note Dame will win a lot of games with Rees, but the fact that multiple quarterbacks with more talent than him will again be sitting on the bench is a problem in and of itself.

No. 9: Outside Linebacker

Notre Dame is in good shape at the Cat (rush) position. Although Prince Shembo is currently shelved for the remainder of the spring with an injury, he and Ishaq Williams give the Irish two quality options at Darius Fleming's vacated position.

The problem lies at the Dog (drop) position. While the Irish have two strong Cat linebackers, the Cat and the Dog positions are about as interchangeable as, well, a cat and a dog. Shembo played at Dog last season, but it proved to not be an ideal fit for his skill set.

Junior Danny Spond and sophomore Ben Councell are competing at the Dog spot. Spond currently has a slight edge based purely on experience, but neither has stepped up and taken control of the job. The Dog position rivals field cornerback for being the weakest on Notre Dame's defense.

No. 8: Guard/Center

Interior line play for the Irish was strong throughout the 2011 season, but it figures to get added boosts this season from new offensive line coach Harry Hiestand and a healthy Braxton Cave at center. Chris Watt returns at left guard, while fifth-year senior Mike Golic Jr. has the inside track for the starting role on the right side.

Cave's season-ending injury against Wake Forest last season left a noticeable void in the middle of the Irish front. While Golic Jr. gained some experience at center late last season, having Cave for a full season is vital. Watt won a battle with Andrew Nuss last fall for the left guard role and went on to have an excellent season, raising expectations for the senior in 2012.

Sophomore Nick Martin will be the primary backup to both Watt and Golic Jr., and fellow sophomore Matt Hegarty will also be in the mix at guard and center. If Golic Jr. can emerge as a competent right guard, this group could become a major strength. An All-American season for Cave is not out of the question.

No. 7: Offensive Tackle

Zack Martin has become an elite left tackle after two quality seasons in South Bend. He'll again anchor the blind side for the Irish offensive line. On the right side, junior Christian Lombard appears to have won a battle with junior Tate Nichols and Florida State transfer Jordan Prestwood.

Lombard can also play guard and was one of the best in the country in the 2010 class, but showed his versatility this spring by seizing the starting tackle job. Notre Dame has great depth at the position, with Nichols almost certain to be a starter in 2013 if Martin doesn't return for a fifth season, but it lacks significant experience.

Incoming freshman Ronnie Stanley is almost certain to redshirt, and the Irish have four verbal commitments from offensive linemen in the 2013 class. This position is on the upswing, but the Irish need Martin to stay healthy for it to be a strength in 2012.

No. 6: Safety

The ranking may seem high given the loss of Harrison Smith, but Jamoris Slaughter and Zeke Motta showed late last season just how much of a factor they can be at the back end of Notre Dame's defense. Both are coming off arguably the best games of their career in the Champs Sports Bowl loss to Florida State.

Slaughter should be a force in the running game as well as he takes over Smith's role as anchor of the secondary. Motta must be more consistent now that he'll be a full-time player. As the last line of defense, any coverage in breakdowns at his position usually lead to big plays from the opposing offense.

Senior Dan McCarthy and junior Austin Collinsworth will be the primary backups, but the Irish could be in trouble if either one is forced to start for a significant period of time. True freshman Elijah Shumate should see the field at some point this year. He'll be asked to contribute heavily in 2013 with Slaughter and Motta set to graduate after the season.

No. 5: Defensive Tackle

Transfer rumors aside, junior Louis Nix is developing into an elite nose tackle, the most critical position in a 3-4 defense. He came to Notre Dame overweight and relatively uninspired, but spend a redshirt year in 2010 changing his body and finding a fire inside of him that led to a productive season a year ago.

Behind Nix sits junior Kona Schwenke, who has rotated between both end and tackle during his time in South Bend. Schwenke is a bit of an overachiever, but can hold his own as a rotational player. Sophomore Tony Springmann is also in the mix.

Early enrollee Sheldon Day is being groomed for the future at the position, but the Irish hope to redshirt him in 2012. The loss of Aaron Lynch last week may require an extra body, so he may be forced into duty this year at end. Day is about 40 pounds lighter than the 326-pound Nix, so a year in the weight room could do wonders for the Indianapolis native.

No. 4: Inside Linebacker

Like Floyd, Manti Te'o is not your average linebacker. Te'o surprised many by returning for his senior season, and appears poised to cap his Notre Dame career with his best season yet. There's no better inside linebacker in the country at defending the run than Te'o.

The battle next to Te'o between Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese has carried over from last season. Fox is stronger against the pass, while Calabrese plays better moving forward against the run. Neither is a star, but they don't necessarily need to be playing alongside Te'o.

Jarrett Grace is a bit of an unknown. The sophomore could be better than both Fox and Calabrese, but the Notre Dame coaches like him better at Te'o's MIKE position as opposed to the WILL. Expect Grace to spell Te'o this season before assuming a starting role in 2013.

No. 3: Defensive End

Oh, what could have been. Notre Dame had stocked one of the best young defensive lines in the country, at least until last Friday. With Lynch now out of the picture, the burden at defensive end falls primarily on fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore and Lynch's former classmate, Stephon Tuitt.

Make no mistake about it, Lewis-Moore is an excellent defensive end. He just is not the physical freak that Lynch is, and is coming off of a knee injury that cost him half of the 2011 season. Tuitt, on the other hand, could be the dominant force that Lynch was expected to be. He worked himself into the rotation last season despite not arriving in South Bend until the summer.

Sophomore Chase Hounshell may be the biggest beneficiary of Lynch's departure, as he'll step into the third spot in the rotation. Schwenke or Day could also move into the mix at end as well. Depth isn't great at the position, but even without Lynch, the two starters are as strong a pair as Notre Dame has had in a long time.

No. 2: Running Back

No position at Notre Dame has made more of a 180 degree turn over the past 12 months than running back. Jonas Gray went from a bust to the feel-good story of the 2011 season, and Cierre Wood topped 1,000 yards despite sharing carries with Gray.

Gray departs, but Wood and Theo Riddick might be an even better duo than the Irish had a year ago. Riddick looked surprisingly comfortable at running back in the Champs Sports Bowl after playing wide receiver for two years, and the offensive coaches have raved about his progress this offseason working with running backs/slot receivers coach Tony Alford.

Behind Wood and Riddick stand promising USC transfer Amir Carlisle and speedy sophomore George Atkinson III. All but Wood were not playing running back at Notre Dame at this time last year. Incoming freshman William Mahone should redshirt, but fellow recruit KeiVarae Russell could be in the picture as a slot receiver and third-down back.

No. 1: Tight End

Tight End U. has produced Mark Bavaro, Derek Brown, Anthony Fasano, John Carlson and Kyle Rudolph over the past 30 years. Tyler Eifert will be the next NFL tight end to hail from Notre Dame, but not before a final (presumably) season in South Bend as they key cog in the Irish offense.

With the loss of Floyd, Eifert will be split out wide more often this season. His 6'6" frame makes him a matchup nightmare for smaller defensive backs. Troy Niklas was moved to tight end this offseason, and may be more physically gifted than Eifert. He'll need some fine tuning, but was recruited by Stanford as a tight end, which had the best group of tight ends in the nation last season.

Junior Alex Welch and sophomore Ben Koyack will also see the field, as the Irish will frequently be in multiple-tight end sets this season. Eifert is a lock to be preseason All-American, and Niklas and Koyack should be an elite duo in both 2013 and 2014.