What Next at Notre Dame?: The Good News for Charlie Weis

I’ve been a Notre Dame fan since I was eight years old, and this is the first time I’ve ever been glad to see a season come to an end.

2007 was a complete disaster for the Irish. Notre Dame suffered the most defeats in school history, was shut out 38-0 by both of its biggest rivals, and lost to Navy for the first time since 1963.

Charlie Weis came into the season as one of the nation’s most respected coaches after taking the Irish to two straight BCS Bowls.

By October, he was a laughingstock.

In fairness, it wasn’t totally Weis' fault—Tyrone Willingham’s last two recruiting classes weren't up to the usual Notre Dame standards, and both had been decimated by attrition.

The Irish had just seven fourth-year scholarship seniors—and just three of them started, none on offense. One of them was the scout team quarterback.

But even that was no excuse for how bad the Irish were in 2007.

Weis didn’t have the team tackle to the ground in fall practice for fear of injuries—and it showed. Tashard Choice, Mike Hart, and Jehuu Caulcrick all ran over Notre Dame defenders.

Then there was the Demetrius Jones saga. Weis started the sophomore at quarterback in the season-opener against Georgia Tech, hoping to surprise the Yellow Jackets with a spread option offense.

When the Irish offense faltered, Weis panicked and benched Jones in the second quarter. Two weeks later, Jones transferred—and his departure splintered the team.

But all that's over, and it's time to move on. Though Weis is under more pressure now than ever before, he’s got next season to prove himself.

And next year, he’ll have the team to do it.

Against Stanford on Saturday, the leading passer, rusher, and receiver for Notre Dame were all true freshmen. Ten offensive starters from the game will be back next year.

The only player the Irish lose from the O that played against the Cardinal is tight end John Carlson, who led the team with 37 catches this season. The next 14 players on Notre Dame’s receiving list will all be back in 2008.

The Irish also return their top three rushers from this season. Freshman Robert Hughes ran for over 100 yards against both Duke and Stanford, while sophomore James Aldridge had 100 yard games against Michigan State and Navy.

Freshman Armando Allen also returns after gaining 344 yards on 80 carries.

All five starting O-linemen from the Stanford game will return, bolstering a unit that improved in November after struggling early.

The Irish do lose center John Sullivan, who started 10 games this year—but he'll be replaced by sophomore Dan Wenger, who started the Duke and Stanford games after Sullivan got injured, and also played extensively at guard.

And, of course, freshman Jimmy Clausen returns at quarterback.

Clausen struggled mightily early before getting hurt in midseason, but when he returned for the last three games of the year he looked like a new man.

Against Air Force, Duke, and Stanford, Clausen completed almost 55 percent of his passes for 636 yards with six touchdowns and just one interception. If he can continue to improve during the offseason, the youngster may start living up to his recruiting hype as early as next year.

Defensively, Notre Dame loses more impact players than on offense—but will still return most of its starters.

Along the defensive line, the Irish lose leading tackler Trevor Laws. The fifth-year senior will be a huge loss—probably the biggest graduation loss Notre Dame faces.

But the Irish will return at least two players with starting experience in Corwin Brown’s 3-4 scheme—and possibly a third if defensive end Justin Brown decides to stay for a fifth-year.

For most of the latter half of the season, Notre Dame started freshmen Kerry Neal and Brian Smith at the two outside linebacker spots. Both are already speedy, physical players, but the offseason will really help them.

At inside linebacker, Notre Dame loses fifth-year senior Joe Brockington—but senior Maurice Crum, who led the team in tackles in 2006, has an option for a fifth year. Sophomore Toryan Smith played a lot this year and will step into Brockington’s spot next season.

In the secondary, the Irish only lose safety Tom Zbikowski, who will be replaced by experienced junior Kyle McCarthy.

In addition to all the returning talent, Weis will likely make some staff changes in the offseason—and has Scout.com’s No. 1 recruiting class coming in.

The bottom line, then, is that there's plenty of hope for Notre Dame going forward—but 2007 was such a disaster that Irish fans can’t help but have nagging doubts.

Weis made some serious blunders this season, and he has a lot to recover from. If 2008 doesn’t answer the questions raised by 2007, Notre Dame may be looking for yet another new head coach.