Notre Dame Football: the Big Skill Position Battles for Fall Camp

The first Notre Dame football game of the season is now roughly two weeks away.  With the South Florida game just around the corner, it is becoming increasingly important for the Irish coaching staff to start making decisions about starters for the opening game of the 2011 Notre Dame football season.  

In the big skill positions, tight end, linebacker, safety there are some intriguing battles that still have not been resolved. 

Beginning next week, the Irish need to solidify the starting lineup for all positions and start preparing for South Florida. 

At tight end Tyler Eifert returns poised to have an outstanding season.  He will certainly start the year as the top tight end on the depth chart.  His play last year in the second half of the season was good enough to land him on the Mackey Award preseason watch list this season.  Eifert has, in a very short time, established himself as one of the top tight ends in the country and he will continue to be a very difficult match up for defenses this season. 

5th year senior Mike Ragone should back up Eifert and play a considerable amount in their two tight end sets.  Ragone is currently nursing an injured quad, so Alex Welch has stepped in to take reps with the second team, pushing for time on the field this season, and thoroughly impressing his position coach Mike Denbrock and Coach Kelly.  Welch is athletic, has good speed for the position, blocks well and has very good hands. 

Ben Koyak came out of high school ranked as one of the top ranked tight ends in the country.  In fact, Scout.com listed him last recruiting cycle as the No. 1 tight end in the country.  He is noted specifically for his ability to run with the ball after the catch and should be an outstanding player for the Irish in the future.  Currently though, he finds himself buried behind a wealth of talent.

At the linebacker position the Irish find themselves with outstanding depth and a number of veteran players returning.  In the fall camp the starters at cat and dog have already been established.  Darius Fleming will start at the cat position and Prince Shembo separated himself early in fall camp as the prospective starter at the dog position. 

Fleming will be backed up by the very talented Steven Filer and Shembo will be backed up by Danny Spond.  Freshman Troy Niklas and Ishaq Williams have been impressive in camp but will most likely contribute this season on special teams. 

Manti Te'o will certainly be the undisputed leader of the defense at middle linebacker but who will line up next to him has become one of the most intriguing position battles of the fall camp. 

Early on Carlo Calabrese appeared to have secured the other inside linebacker position, but late in camp Dan Fox has closed the gap and shown that he can start on Saturdays.  At this point in time Coach Diaco and Coach Kelly have indicated this race is too close to call and both will play significant amounts this season. 

Anthony McDonald will back up Manti Te'o and Kendall Moore, although impressive in camp, will have to settle for being Te'o's heir apparent.

Harrison Smith will head into this season as statistically one of the all time best safeties in Notre Dame history.  He, along with Te'o, will lead the Irish defense this year as they try to establish the unit as one of the best in the country. 

Smith will be backed up by Dan McCarthy who appears to finally be healthy and is ready to contribute.  At the other safety spot Zeke Motta and Jamoris Slaughter are so close in their ability that they will most likely share time. Both are very capable and in the nickel packages both will find themselves on the field together. 

Austin Collinsworth has adjusted to safety and is starting to find his comfort zone in that position.  He is a welcomed addition to a unit that was woefully thin last season. 

Coach Kelly and his staff in two years time have recruited heavily in the big skill positions.  As one considers the big skill players one can't help but marvel at the wealth of talent there. 

What is most obvious about the big skill position players is their length, speed and athleticism.  There has definitely been an upgrade since the Weis years.  Now Irish fans have to simply trust the staff to  continue to develop this very talented group of young men.