Blue and Gold Illustrated

August 2013

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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Replacing 'Mike': Part II Junior Jarrett Grace is primed to move to the next phase of his career O By Lou Somogyi ne year ago, a popular inquiry about Notre Dame's 2012 prospectus was, "How do you replace Mike?" — as in Floyd, the school's all-time leader in receptions (271), receiving yardage (3,686) and touchdown catches (37), and a first-round selection in the NFL Draft. The response from Irish offensive coordinator Chuck Martin was simple. No one can replace Floyd, but the team overall can still be much better than 8-5 if it can limit mistakes. No member of the 2012 Fighting Irish caught more than 50 passes — exactly half of Floyd's total of 100 in 2011 — but the collective unit was a little more efficient during a 12‑1 campaign, notably cutting turnovers from 29 in 2011 to 15 in 2012. Now in 2013, it's about replacing a different "Mike" — as in 2012 consensus All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te'o at Mike linebacker. Once again, the answer is elemen- tary. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Bob Diaco already said Te'o is "irreplaceable," and the heir apparent to the Mike position, junior Jarrett Grace, echoes his position coach's sentiment. "Those are big shoes to fill, but it's not one guy that has to fill those shoes," Grace said after tying fellow junior linebacker Ishaq Williams for the team lead in tackles (eight) in this year's Blue-Gold Game. "A defense is 11 guys out on the field, and it takes every guy doing his job." As an example, Grace will not be asked to replace the seven interceptions Te'o recorded last year, a singleseason record among Irish linebackers. Maybe this year, though, the outside linebackers or safeties (who totaled a combined three interceptions in 2012) can make those picks in the various alignments employed by Diaco. "One interjection of one new person creates a totally different dynamic that, if you don't pay attention, then you're going to lose sight, you're not going to have a chance to define who you are," the often deeply philosophi-

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