Notre Dame Football: Week 1 Spring Practice Stock Report
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame football is still in the preliminary stages of spring ball, with Monday marking the fourth practice session.
Last week, we outlined what to expect from the Irish at the start of the spring season. After watching the first 30 minutes of Wednesday’s opening practice and hearing from Irish head coach Brian Kelly as well as select players afterward, we have a glimpse into Notre Dame’s progress from its first week.
Quarterbacks
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No beating around the bush here. Let’s talk quarterbacks.
When the doors opened and the media flowed into Notre Dame’s indoor practice facility on Wednesday morning, there were No. 5 and No. 8 in red jerseys, standing out from the rest of the Irish.
Everett Golson and Malik Zaire will command plenty of attention in the coming weeks and months, but there’s nothing too noteworthy to report just yet.
Golson, for what it’s worth, did take the first snap of the spring during tempo drills. But that probably means little. Working with a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Mike Sanford, we’ll see how much Golson and Zaire develop throughout the spring.
Both Kelly and Sanford have made it clear the new coach’s first priority is coaching quarterbacks.
“I want to see a consistency and attention to detail more than anything else and eradicate any of the gray area as it relates to the fundamentals of the quarterback position,” Kelly said of his expectations for Sanford’s work at the position.
“It’s exactly what I was hoping for on the first day. There’s no misunderstanding about what’s being taught, how it’s being taught and what’s expected.”
Stay tuned.
Position Changes
After LSU freshman sensation Leonard Fournette sprinted 89 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter of the Music City Bowl, Notre Dame countered with a long rush of its own. But it wasn’t Tarean Folston, Greg Bryant or even Zaire ripping off a long scamper.
Slot receiver C.J. Prosise counterpunched for the Irish, scurrying 50 yards for a game-tying touchdown. In total, Prosise tallied 75 rushing yards on three carries in the win over the Tigers.
This spring, Prosise is cross-training with Notre Dame’s running backs and in the meeting room with Folston, Bryant and new running backs coach Autry Denson.
“I think during the year we saw that potential,” Kelly said of the 220-pound senior.
“We had always kinda talked about it during the year in terms of we always liked getting the ball in his hands because he was outstanding with his run after the catch. ... He gets the ball in his hands, he’s got a chance to go. Certainly his speed when he has the ball in his arm is pretty clear even against SEC talent.”
Kelly said pad level will be the biggest adjustment for Prosise as he shifts into another position.
Fifth-year senior Nick Martin returns to center, where he started in 2013 and the first few games of 2014, from left guard.
“I really think it’s my natural position,” Martin said.
Kelly praised Martin’s football intelligence and said Martin is “ideally fitted” to play center and also called it his “natural position.”
Notre Dame shuffled its offensive line early last season in order to add more size at the guard positions without burning the redshirts on blue-chip true freshmen like Quenton Nelson and Alex Bars.
Depth Chart Tea Leaves
Reading into Notre Dame’s early depth charts from a 30-minute window of one practice certainly isn’t conclusive, but it can be instructive.
Redshirt sophomore Durham Smythe was the top tight end, and the offensive line—from left to right—featured Ronnie Stanley, Nelson, Martin, Steve Elmer and Mike McGlinchey. Nelson and Bars will compete for the starting left guard spot.
On the defensive line, senior Romeo Okwara and junior Isaac Rochell patrolled the perimeter, while senior Sheldon Day and redshirt sophomore Jacob Matuska (in for the injured Jarron Jones) handled the interior.
Andrew Trumbetti, Jay Hayes, Daniel Cage and Grant Blankenship comprised the second unit, while Jhonny Williams, Micah Dew-Treadway, Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bonner rounded out the third group.
There weren’t too many surprises here.
Hurry-Up Notebook
As Notre Dame stretched on Wednesday morning, Kelly stood chatting with Jeff Quinn, a former Kelly assistant and most recently the head coach at Buffalo (2010-14).
After practice, Kelly confirmed Quinn has been hired as an offensive analyst for the Irish in an off-the-field capacity. Quinn will handle different offensive projects, Kelly said, and his role will vary.
“Just more brainpower in the room is what we’re looking for and a lot of experience,” Kelly said.
Asked Wednesday what he’s seen from wide receivers Justin Brent and Corey Holmes, both entering their second seasons in South Bend, Kelly challenged Brent, who was an early enrollee last spring and did not play as a freshman.
“He’s got a lot of physical tools,” Kelly said. “He’s got the athletic ability to compete at a high level. What I see from him is inconsistency with somebody with the kind of tools that he has. So we’re demanding more from him. And he’s gotta bring it. This is his second spring. And I’m not gonna wait around for him for the light to go on, because there’s too many good players. And I really like him as a football player in terms of his skill set. But he’s gotta practice better and he’s gotta be more consistent.”
Strong words from the head coach toward the former 4-star recruit.
It seems like yesterday when Jaylon Smith arrived as the much-hyped freshman linebacker. Now, Smith is entering his third season with the Irish, and he has a year of familiarity both within defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder’s system and with his position as the “Will” linebacker.
“He’s really trying to break out from just worrying about his own position and taking care of that to really bringing other guys along,” said Kelly, who added Smith has been a great mentor to early enrollee linebacker Tevon Coney.
“He’s really just been outstanding in terms of reaching out and doing more than just worrying about himself. He’s really thinking about others now and so that’s one of the real great signs of being a leader. I think he’s much more comfortable with his own position where he can now start to influence others.”
Smith aims to build on a sophomore season in which he earned second-team AP All-American honors.
New Irish defensive line coach Keith Gilmore took an interesting angle upon joining the Notre Dame coaching staff.
Rochell said Gilmore came to the defensive linemen and asked them what they wanted to work on and where they needed to improve—not the other way around. Rochell said the linemen have done similar D-line drills with an added emphasis on hand work.
Notre Dame has increased its depth at the linebacker position, but just how sturdy that depth is depends on health.
Linebacker Jarrett Grace is back fully from the leg injury that forced him to miss the entire 2014 season and the last half of the 2013 campaign. At Wednesday’s practice, Grace moved smoothly around the field—a stark contrast from when we last saw him lumbering around in August with an uneven running style.
Fellow veteran linebacker Joe Schmidt isn’t as far along in his recovery from the ankle injury suffered against Navy last season—Schmidt practiced without a helmet—but Notre Dame’s 2014 defensive MVP appeared to move freely.
Notre Dame is slated for three more practices this week (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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