Notre Dame Football: 10 Things to Work on over the Summer

In 2012, the Notre Dame football team will try to improve on two consecutive 8-5 seasons.

The Fighting Irish return seven starters on both sides of the ball and have a few things to be positive about heading into the season. Questions in the secondary and no concrete answer at the quarterback position are two issues that this team face heading into fall camp.

Notre Dame recently wrapped up spring practice, but not every question gets answered in such limited time. That's why the fall is just as important as teams begin preparing for the regular season.

With the summer in full effect for each college football team, here are 10 things the Notre Dame Fighting Irish needs to work on.

True-Freshmen

The Irish return a lot of key players from a year ago, but they also have a loaded recruiting class that will arrive in the fall. Just how many players will compete from day one?

Gunner Kiel is expected to get a look at the quarterback position. With Aaron Lynch transferring, will Sheldon Day become a starter on the line?

Lot of questions that need answers, that's what fall camp, is for.

Find Game Changers on Offense

It seems like all of the top teams in college football have that game-changer on the offensive side of the ball, somebody who is a threat to take it the distance every time they touch the football. The Irish are lacking in that department and need to find somebody who can create big plays.

Notre Dame has solid receivers to get by, but no true No. 1 option. That's why the difference maker will likely come from the running back position. The offensive line should be one of the better units in the country, so Cierre Wood, Theo Riddick and George Atkinson need to step up.

If somebody on this team can emerge as a playmaker, this season could turn out better than expected.

Wide Receivers Step Up

Speaking of playmakers, Notre Dame needs some wide receivers to step up this season with the loss of Michael Floyd.

Tight end Tyler Eifert is going to be the top target for whoever becomes quarterback. Junior receiver TJ Jones and senior Theo Riddick will be the starters heading into the season, but that third slot remains open.

There are several players on the roster currently that could step up, but players like Robert Toma, Davaris Daniels, Chris Brown and new recruit Justin Ferguson will remain the favorites to contribute in a big way. 

Somebody has to step up and help this Notre Dame offense improve.

Secondary

Players like Robert Blanton, Harrison Smith and Gary Grayare no longer on the team since they ran out of eligibility.

Senior safety Jamoris Slaughter should help fill one of the holes, as he finished his junior year with 45 tackles and had two sacks and 10 tackles in the bowl game against Florida State. Senior Zeke Motta is also expected to start at safety, as he has a lot of experience in the secondary and finished his junior year with 40 tackles and one interception. 

As far as cornerback is concerned, there isn't much experience, and the positions look to be much more wide open than safety. Juniors Lo Wood and Bennett Jackson are the favorites heading into fall, but don't count out the youngsters in Josh Atkinson, Jalen Brown and true-freshman Tee Shepard.

None of those three have any game experience, but they have great speed and are great coverage corners. The defensive backfield will be a very fun area to watch and see young players fulfill their potential.

Turnovers

We know the statistics and that Notre Dame has been a turnover machine the last two seasons under head coach Brian Kelly. In the last two seasons, they've turned the ball over a total of 53 times. That's the biggest reason this program hasn't taken that next step towards reaching a BCS bowl.

It's quite simple, when you don't give the ball away, your chances to win the game increase dramatically. In the eight victories last year, the Irish only turned the ball over 10 times, in the five losses, it was 19 turnovers.

Something has to be done to fix these issues.

Replacing Aaron Lynch

It was bad enough Notre Dame lost several key players to its defense during the offseason, but they also lost last year's sack leader in Aaron Lynch. He transferred to South Florida and has left this Irish team searching for answers. This team struggled to rush the quarterback last season as it was; now losing a force like Lynch only makes things worse.

Kapron Lewis-Moore started seven games last season before tearing his MCL, he's expected to play a much bigger role now. Also, don't be surprised if true-freshman Sheldon Day gets a serious look in fall camp as well. He's a former 5-star recruit, who has the ability to play inside or outside and has a great combination of quickness and strength.

Coaching Changes

After two sub-par seasons, head coach Brian Kelly tremendous amount of coaching changes to his staff throughout the offseason. And to put it simply, there is not one coach on the offensive side of the ball that has the same title this season.

There are a bunch of new faces, like Bob Elliott becoming the safeties coach, and old faces that just moved to a different position, such as Tony Alford moving from wide receivers coach to taking on the running backs.

With new players and a new coaching staff, this is something that both sides will have to continue working on to get on the same page.

Starting QB

This is always the main question for a team as big as Notre Dame is; the problem is that nobody is quite sure who the starter is going to be. Last year's starter Tommy Rees was recently arrested and his status with the team is still up in the air.

That now leaves things likely up to Andrew Hendrix, Everett Golson and true-freshman Gunner Kiel. Golson is likely the favorite due to his dual-threat ability and performance throughout the spring, but this is a battle that will continue leading up to the regular season.

Punt Returner

With Michael Floyd now in a new uniform, the Irish have to discover who is going to return their punts. Theo Riddick returned three last year, but it wasn't exactly a successful experience. Running back George Atkinson could be a great candidate and has already volunteered to take over the position. (Via The Chicago Tribune)

"Last year, I don't know what our net punt average was," Atkinson III said, "but it wasn't good at all."

The bottom line is that the Irish averaged less than four yards a return, which was ranked 112th in the country. Atkinson was the top return man for the Irish on kickoffs last year and could provide this team with a spark in punt return coverage as well.

Preparing for a Tough Schedule

While the Irish may have several issues they have to address, they also have a difficult schedule that won't do them any favors. Playing teams like Michigan, Stanford, Oklahoma, Michigan State and USC this season has created mixed feelings about the upcoming season.

This fall is important that Notre Dame answers as many questions as possible as there won't be much time to improve once the season starts. Week 3 Notre Dame has to travel to East Lansing, MI to take on the Spartans.