Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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cal Diaco said. "… It's a new thing every single year as we put the unit back together." Notre Dame will likely have a threefor-two rotation at the two inside linebacker positions, with Grace and fifth-year seniors Dan Fox and Carlo Calabrese. Fox and Calabrese — two of the 75 players on this year's Butkus Award watch list — were co-starters at the Will slot opposite Te'o the past two seasons, and last year they combined for 112 tackles (63 by Fox and 49 by Calabrese) — one short of Te'o's teamhigh 113. This year, Fox could be at Mike on occasion while Calabrese is at Will, or Grace could be the regular at Mike while the veterans again alternate at Will. Either way, Grace is in a positive position as a first-time starter because 1) the rest of the inside and outside linebacker corps has more than 100 games under its collective belt and 2) the defensive line is ranked among the elite in the nation and helps take some of the pressure, and blockers, off the inside linebackers. As a 2011 freshman, Grace didn't see the field at all, and it gave him a chance to grow physically and learn about Diaco's defense. Last year, he became a little more acclimated to the speed of the college game on special teams, where he made the majority of his 12 career tackles. With three years of eligibility remaining, Grace has concentrated mainly on incremental steps in his game. After all, even Te'o had zero interceptions prior to his senior year while trying to improve in other areas. "My expectations weren't anything grand," Grace said of his approach this spring. "I just wanted to get better, I wanted to feel comfortable out there. I wouldn't say that I mastered everything, but as far as getting better and improving, and feeling more comfortable, I got that done. "Coach Diaco pounds the fundamentals. You have to be fundamentally sound before you can really make plays. The biggest thing for me definitely is just the confidence on the field — knowing what I have to do, being able to communicate to everyone. I think I got that done. I feel like I can be out on the field, get the guys in the right spots and also do my job and know everything that is going on. "It felt like how it used to be in high school, getting recruited, being out there and flying around." Diaco would concur that Grace achieved the vital rudiments of his position this spring to be an assertive presence. "He's a demonstrative communicator and he's very bright," Diaco said. "It's in his DNA, and it has been developed. ...Grace is a high-effort player. He's a tough guy. He plays defensive football like you would like to see it played." The 6-3, 248-pound Cincinnati native also maintained contact with Te'o throughout the spring. "He's always dropping little things on me," Grace said. "I feel like he sees more in myself than I see in myself sometimes. One thing he says is just be confident. When you show confidence, people are going to follow that, they're going to hold on to that. Even