Notre Dame Football Skill Position Battles for Fall Camp

The Fighting Irish fans enter this season very hopeful that their football team will establish themselves once again as a relevant program. 

To the casual observer, all the pieces appear to be in place for a very successful season.  The offensive and defensive lines—the power positions—appear to be a strength this season. 

The big skill positions—tight end, safety and linebacker—appear to be very solid, and the skill positions have some talented individuals who may break out this season.  Many of the skill-position players, though, are unproven and have not demonstrated on a consistent basis that they are among the top players in their positions.  

Let's begin with the quarterback position.

We know that a decision is forthcoming as to the starter for this season.  This announcement is expected to be made on Tuesday, and this decision may be the most important coaching decision of the season for the Irish staff. 

The quarterback race is definitely a two-person battle between Dayne Crist and Tommy Rees. 

Statistically, there is little that separates the two.  Coach Kelly has indicated that there is such a thin margin separating the two players that they will have to base the decision on inside information about the strengths and weaknesses of each player. 

We know that Notre Dame can win with either player behind center, but can they win consistently?  

Both Crist and Rees have had their moments, but neither has established himself as a first-rate college quarterback. That's a concern for the Irish going into the season.  

Andrew Hendrix and Everett Golson are competing for the change-of-pace quarterback. 

Both are capable of flashes of brilliance, but from the reports coming out of South Bend, neither is capable of leading the offense this season. 

There is little information about who is winning this position battle, because of all the attention being paid to the battle for the starting position.  It will be interesting to see if either Hendrix or Golson makes a field appearance this season.   

At the flanker position, Michael Floyd will start. 

With his troubled past seemingly behind him, Floyd appears to be on the brink of an outstanding season.  Sophomore Daniel Smith appears to have separated from Deion Walker as the backup to Floyd. 

The slot receiver will be Theo Riddick. 

Great things are expected of Riddick this season, and Irish fans got only a glimpse last season of what Riddick is capable of doing.  This is supposed to be a breakout season for Riddick, providing he can stay healthy. 

Riddick is a very versatile player, so there needs to be a capable backup behind him.

Robby Toma appears to have solidified his position at slot as second on the depth chart. 

Toma is receiving high praise from his position coach Tony Alford and from his teammates.  He has slowly developed his game and may be a key contributor this season, dispelling the belief of many that he was not worthy of a scholarship and was simply a throw-in player to help land his best friend Manti Te'o.

The starter at split end will be sophomore T.J. Jones.  

While many were expecting a spirited battle at this position, it appears as though Jones separated himself from his competitors long ago. 

Senior John Goodman will serve as Jones' backup and is a very capable receiver.

Although the Irish are solid at the wide receiver positions, some consider this an area of weakness. 

Coach Kelly has indicated that freshman DaVaris Daniels will have to play this year all over the field to give the Irish an additional pass-catching threat.  Daniels appears to be a legitimate deep threat with great speed and great hands. 

He is also seemingly unstoppable in his fade routes in fall camp, making him a weapon that Coach Kelly cannot ignore.  Expect to see him in a limited role this season, but it appears certain that he will play this year.

Cierre Wood is another skill player who has had some success but has not demonstrated yet that he is ready to be a top back.  Wood is expected to play at a high level this season. 

Gray will be serving in the role of power back, similar to Robert Hughes' role last season.  Both backs will see plenty of action, but Wood appears to be the clear-cut starter.  

The most competitive position battle at running back is for the third back in this group.  

Freshman Cam McDaniel and George Atkinson, Jr. will continue to vie for this position throughout the season.  Both are college-ready players, both are very talented and both will play this year in some capacity—running back and special teams.

The corners on defense will be manned by Gary Gray and Robert Blanton. 

Both are very good, and both are outstanding tacklers. 

The cornerback position, though, is rather thin in terms of depth with experience. 

Gray will be backed up by Bennett Jackson and Blanton by a rapidly-improving Lo Wood. Jackson was in the receiving corps last season and is slowly making the transition to a new position. 

Special teams have a number of returning, veteran players. 

David Ruffer returns as a scholarship player and will handle the place-kicking duties for the Irish.  He was one of the top kickers in the country last year and is expected to have another good season this year. 

Ruffer is on the Groza Award preseason watch list and has a good chance to win this award this year. He will be backed up by Nick Tausch. 

Ben Turk has become more and more consistent through the spring, summer and now the fall camp and has solidified his position as the starting punter. 

He will be backed up by Kyle Brindza.  Brindza may be handling the kickoff duties, because reports out of camp indicate that Brindza may have the strongest leg of all the kickers. 

Finally, Theo Riddick will be returning punts and kicks for the Irish this season.  

Jackson Bennett will handle kickoff duty along with Riddick.  Riddick will be counted on to provide a much-needed spark to the return game.   

There are obviously a number of unproven players who need to step up in the skill-position group if the Irish are to have a successful season this year. 

The quarterback position seems to be the biggest question mark, and a winner of that position battle is expected to be announced on Tuesday. 

With two weeks to go before the season opener, the 2011 team appears to be taking shape.  

There is a great deal of uncertainty regarding the skill-position players and what they can bring to the team this year.  If they can deliver in a big way, the Irish may find themselves BCS bound.