Notre Dame Football: the Power Position Battles for Fall Camp

With the first regular season game against the University of South Florida only weeks away, the coaching staff of the Fighting Irish will have some difficult decisions to make in the upcoming weeks regarding starters for the opener.  Due to two very good recruiting cycles, the Irish find themselves with improved depth in all of the power positions.  With greater depth, the competition for open spots along the line has become fierce: returning starters find themselves battling to keep their spot and returning players find themselves battling to secure the second spot on the depth chart.

The returning starters along the offensive line are Zack Martin, Braxton Cave, Trevor Robinson and Taylor Dever. 

Zack Martin will start this season at left tackle and has become one of the most talked-about lineman in the country during preseason.  Martin started every game last season, and was playing his best football at the end of the season when he was voted the outstanding lineman of the Sun Bowl.  As a result of his outstanding season, Martin finds himself on the Outland Trophy watch list going into his junior campaign.  His backup, Tate Nichols, is currently nursing an injury that may rule him out for the opener, but not any longer than that.  In his absence, Nick's brother Zack has been taking reps with the second team but will most likely land third on the depth chart this season.

Braxton Cave should be a lock at the starting center position after making great strides during spring camp and in the summer.  Reports from camp indicate that Cave has improved dramatically in his snap consistency and his ability to get his line in the correct protection schemes.  Cave is currently on the Remington Award preseason watch list and is poised to have an outstanding season.  Mike Golic Jr. has improved a great deal as well and will serve a a capable backup to Cave.  Bruce Heggie finds himself third on the depth chart and poses no real threat to Cave or Golic at this time.

Trevor Robinson will start at right guard and is the undisputed leader of this talented group of players.  Taylor Dever will line up next to Robinson at the right tackle position and will be backed up by Christian Lombard.

The most hotly contested position battle along the offensive line is between Andrew Nuss and Chris Watt at the left guard spot.  Both Nuss and Watt have taken reps with the first team, and the offensive line coach, Ed Warriner, has indicated that it is too close to call regarding who will start in the first game of the season.  Because the staff believes Robinson, Nuss and Watt are all capable of playing championship football, a three-player rotation may be the outcome of this battle—with Robinson the only one designated a starter, but receiving an occasional break from either Nuss or Watt.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore return as starters from last season.  Both are expected to start again this season.  With greater depth along the defensive line, coach Mike Elston believes we will see Johnson and Lewis-Moore become more of a threat to pressure the quarterback.  The improved depth will allow Johnson and Lewis-Moore to play fewer reps and come in rested in third-down situations. 

Kona Schwenke will backup Lewis-Moore, and freshmen Chase Hounshell, Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt are all pushing hard to land the reserve spot behind Johnson.  Aaron Lynch certainly benefited from early enrollment and probably has the early lead to land on the two deep. But both Hounshell and Tuitt have been very impressive in fall camp. It appears as though all three may find their way onto the field this season in some capacity.

Sean Cwynar and Hafis Williams saw plenty of action in the final four games of the season in place of an injured Ian Williams.  Although Cwynar and Williams are veteran players, they are being seriously pushed by rising sophomore Louis Nix.  All reports indicate that Nix has matured as a player: he has come into camp in good physical condition and is ready to challenge to start at the nose guard position.  Coach Elston has indicated that this position is up for grabs and that no decision has been made yet regarding a starter.

Because of the depth that has been achieved through thoughtful recruiting, line play on both sides of the ball should be much improved over last season.  With a veteran offensive line, one should not be surprised to see the run game featured more prominently in the upcoming season.  The defensive line stands to be more of a threat to sack the quarterback with some bona fide playmakers along the line and should be more consistent against the run as well.  All in all, the power positions seem to be in pretty good shape for the Irish going forward.