Blue and Gold Illustrated

August 2013

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

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The Third Power Junior production is vital to Notre Dame's 2013 outcome T By Lou Somogyi he third year of a Notre Dame head coach has always been an accurate indicator of his future trajectory. That bodes well for Brian Kelly after his 12-1 campaign in year three. Likewise, another third year — the junior season — is often the telltale barometer of how good a recruiting class is going to be or what legacy it will create. It is the crossroads point where an athlete is beyond youth and inexperience, primed to excel, but maybe not quite at peak level. Last year's run to the BCS National Championship Game saw numerous juniors elevate their game to impact level, most notably nose guard Louis Nix III, while wideout TJ Jones and linebacker Prince Shembo went from serviceable to more dynamic players. First-time starters such as cornerback Bennett Jackson, linebacker Danny Spond and offensive tackle Christian Lombard also became prime-time contributors as juniors in 2012. This year's junior class, a consensus top-10 haul in February 2011, has even more promising projections overall. Kelly's first full group of recruits — "my guys," as he infamously referred to them in October 2011 — arrived with much more fanfare, higher ratings and was better balanced with top personnel at all positions. Leaders Of The Pack Entering their junior seasons, five players — Stephon Tuitt, Kyle Brindza, Matthias Farley, DaVaris Daniels and Troy Niklas — have distinguished themselves the most by their on-field performance (with 2012 starting quarterback Everett Golson not included among them because he is not enrolled nor eligible to play at Notre Dame in 2013). All that needs to be said about Tuitt is he's the lone sophomore defensive lineman in Notre Dame history to receive first-team All-America notice from more than one outlet (CBSSports. com, Sports Illustrated and ESPN), and the only one to make the Associated Press' first three All-America units (second team) in his sophomore campaign.

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