Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/114977
to do with the gridiron, but his absence from the Notre Dame lineup will remain a pivotal topic in the months to come. Te���o could become only the second linebacker in Notre Dame annals to be a first-round pick, joining the school���s all-time leading tackler Bob Crable in 1982. Until Te���o, Notre Dame has had a conspicuous absence of star power at inside linebacker for about a decade, if not more. Since the 2002 season, the lone Irish inside linebacker to get drafted by the NFL was Courtney Watson in 2004. There have been numerous others who had productive college careers ��� Brandon Hoyte, Corey Mays, Mike Goolsby, Joe Brockington, Brian Smith, et al ��� but were never drafted. It was often pointed out that whereas Notre Dame recruits ���solid��� college inside linebackers, the SEC or other powers in the last decade, a la USC, land and mold the elite talent, hence the chasm between the SEC (especially Alabama) and the rest of college football, particularly the ���slower��� schools based in the Midwest or Northeast. So when the Fighting Irish signed National Defensive Player of the Year Te���o in 2009, that was one glaring gap that was appreciably narrowed. Now that Te���o is gone, who compensates for the slack? Grace Period The answer is no one can single-handedly replace Te���o, just like no single Irish player in 2012 was going to fill the shoes and production of first-round wide receiver Michael Floyd. It had to be a collective effort in 2012 sans Floyd, and it was. The running game improved enough to put less of a burden on new quarterback Everett Golson, tight end Tyler Eifert was split wide to help open up more opportunities for wideouts TJ Jones, DaVaris Daniels and Robby Toma, and the defense was dominant enough where it could come out on top in slugfests. The heir apparent for Te���o���s Mike slot is 6-3, 240-pound sophomore Jarrett Grace, who arrived with minimal fan- fare in 2011 as a threestar prospect. He was withheld from action as a 2011 freshman to preserve a year of eligibility, but was a regular on the traveling team because of the way he impressed the staff on the scout team. Last year, Grace was listed ahead of the older Kendall Moore as the top backup for Te���o and joined Moore as a special teams regular, recording 12 tackles (Moore had 10). Grace emphasized that each of the past two years he was trying to improve his game piecemeal ��� similar to Te���o ��� and can only continue the process this season. As a freshman, Te���o was merely ���guessing��� on the field, according to head coach Brian Kelly, but had enough talent to make some plays on his own. As a sophomore, Te���o became more cerebral, and as a junior he was more consistent against the run. Finally as a senior, after not recording a single interception his first three years, he picked off seven passes ��� a school record by a linebacker and tied for second most