Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the field of play, victory in hand, the mind had a chance to wander and wonder: What���s to come for this defense? Eight players who started against Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game will be back in pads this month for Notre Dame���s spring practice sessions. Two others, linebacker Carlo Calabrese and nose guard Kona Schwenke, have spent time at the top of their respective position���s depth chart. Perilous youth from a year ago has grown into a healthy balance of experience for assistant head coach/ defensive coordinator Bob Diaco���s unit in 2013. Plugging gaps in the starting 11 isn���t the issue it���s been in past offseasons for Diaco. This spring is about finding a leader. Former All-American linebacker Manti Te���o was both a lightning rod and a loudspeaker for Notre Dame last season. ���I think Manti will be remembered as a great leader on our football team, on an undefeated team at Notre Dame,��� head coach Brian Kelly said in late January. ���He���ll be, in my eyes, one of the very great teammates that I���ve ever had in 22 years of coaching. He was just special to coach.��� On the field, rising junior Jarrett Grace is first in the unenviable line to take his place. Off of it, the pecking order is murkier. Rising fifth-year senior Dan Fox brings the most game experience to the linebacking corps. He���s played in 39 consecutive games since sitting out his freshman season, and his 131 tackles rank second among returning players. Fox shed his WWE-style long hair following the loss to Alabama and may be on deck to take a more business-oriented approach in the locker room. Fellow senior-to-be Danny Spond fits into Fox���s mold as well. He grabbed hold of the Dog outside linebacker spot after overcoming a potentially life-altering injury last August. Spond was temporarily paralyzed by, in layman���s terms, a rare and severe type of migraine headache. His response to the adversity, rooted in his faith, made him a favorite among teammates and a role model for younger players last season. He���s the type of player Kelly usually refers to as ���a guy you want to put out front.��� If Te���o was the face of Notre Dame���s defense, fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore lent his baritone chords to be its voice. A captain and four-year mainstay of the Irish defensive line, he spoke up last fall while Te���o tried to back away from being an unnatural cheerleader. Lewis-Moore leaves the first level of the Irish defense in good shape with returning starters Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix III, both of whom popped up on some All-America lists last December. In terms of leadership, Nix ��� who will wear jersey No.�� 1 this season ��� and his humor have been more of a tension-breaker in his first three years. The soft-spoken Tuitt might not be ideal for the role either. Lewis-Moore���s replacement, sophomoreto-be Sheldon Day, is eager for the chance to mimic his predecessor���s impact away from the field.