Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1017623
46 PRESEASON 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI N ever has Notre Dame had such uniqueness at punter and kicker like it will in 2018 with Tyler Newsome and Jus- tin Yoon. Both will be fourth-year starters individually, and each has already either achieved a unique distinction or is on the cusp of setting one. For the punter Newsome, it's about having become the first football cap- tain at Notre Dame as just a special- ist. His combination of leadership, selflessness and production earned him such an honor from teammates. For the kicker Yoon, he is only 46 points away from becoming the all- time scoring leader at the school, eclipsing the standard of 320 set by running back Allen Pinkett (1982-85) with his 53 touchdowns and a two- point conversion. Equally significant to second-year special teams coordinator Brian Po- lian is the duo made the difference in last year's 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory versus LSU that enabled Notre Dame to finish 10-3 and No. 11 in the Asso- ciated Press poll for the second time in three years. While the dramatic Ian Book-to- Miles Boykin 55-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 remaining earned all the highlight reels, the work of Yoon and Newsome enabled the victory to be possible. In wet, windy and slippery condi- tions, LSU missed on 37- and 23-yard field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Yoon drilled both of his attempts (from 49 and 46 yards no less) that helped the Fighting Irish tread water — liter- ally and figuratively — and trail only 14-6 entering the fourth quarter. As for Newsome, he had what Po- lian called "the best day of his career" with not so much a 46.0 average, but with hang time and coverage that bottled up LSU in its territory. Tigers return man DJ Chark Jr. — a second- round pick in the NFL Draft who ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the scouting combine and returned two punts for scores in SEC play — fumbled two of Newsome's dizzying punts (LSU recovered both) and caught a third at his 1-yard line, putting the Tigers in bad field position. To put the cherry on top, after Notre Dame's go-ahead score, then freshman kickoff man Jonathan Do- erer placed the ball well into a gust- BOOT CAMP Justin Yoon and Tyler Newsome will be leaned on to make a difference Yoon needs only 46 points during his senior campaign to become the all-time scoring leader at Notre Dame (running back Allen Pinkett finished his career in 1985 with 320). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA