Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/145833
No, not even Alan Page (1964‑66), Ross Browner (1973, 1975-77) or Chris Zorich (1987-90) achieved that feat. A unanimous 2013 preseason firstteam All-American, Tuitt was slowed in the second half of last season with a sports hernia that required offseason surgery, limited some of his work this spring for a while and led to his weight ballooning up to 322 (he played at 303 last year). That made last year's achievements even more remarkable. "He's the kind of guy that wants to change the game, and physically he was unable to change the game [after his injury]," Notre Dame defensive line coach Mike Elston said. "But he fought through it and did a great job." Tuitt's 13 tackles for loss last year (12 sacks) were the third most by a Notre Dame sophomore, behind the 16 and 14 accrued by Browner and Willie Fry, respectively, in 1975. Can Tuitt approach the school-record 28 tackles for loss Browner had the following year as a junior? Less likely, but reaching at least 20 wouldn't be a surprise. The primary concern with Tuitt for now is he will likely depart after his junior year for the NFL Draft, where he already is projected as a first-round pick. The good news on Brindza is he kicked a school-record 23 field goals last year, including clutch situations versus Purdue, Stanford and Pitt. At Oklahoma, he drilled a 46-yarder with 3:22 left to provide a crucial two-score cushion at 23-13. At USC in the regular-season finale, his 52-yarder to end the first half was a huge boost, and his five field goals provided the difference in the 22-13 triumph. The bad news is he had to kick 23 field goals, meaning Notre Dame left too many touchdowns on the field, especially near the red zone. Brindza added punting to his kickoff and placekicking duties this spring, but that is a work in progress. It would be a bit of surprise, if not disappointing, if he had to wear all three hats in the kicking game. Yet he has demonstrated an ability to perform when most needed. Next to 2012 Freshman All-American cornerback KeiVarae Russell, there wasn't a better "where did that guy come from?" story in 2012 than Farley. He started 11 games at safety (replacing an injured Jamoris Slaughter) after apprenticing as a scout team wide receiver his freshman year. It's not easy to find college-aged individuals with the maturity and professionalism of Farley. "It was important to him to not be the reason we would lose," said Notre Dame safeties coach Bob Elliott regarding Farley's work ethic and constant involvement in film study. "… He's a good athlete and a quick learner, but he just made himself into a player." Minus linebacker Manti Te'o and safety Zeke Motta — last year's top two tacklers with 113 and 77, respectively — the 5-11, 204-pound Farley might need to stick his nose into the running game more frequently and finish with many more tackles than his 49 last year. At the same time, he will have to be more responsible for traffic control in the secondary sans Motta. That's a lot to have on one's plate's with three years of eligibility