Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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backs George Atkinson III, Amir Carlisle and Cam McDaniel; linebacker Ishaq Williams; defensive lineman Tony Springman; and offensive lineman Conor Hanratty. At least one of Atkinson III, Carlisle and McDaniel must develop into a relatively consistent mainstay in the backfield, but none currently possesses the combined running, receiving and blocking aptitude of the graduated Theo Riddick. It's similar to the quarterback situation at the end of the 2012 season with Golson, Rees and Andrew Hendrix. Each had different skill sets and could help Notre Dame win in their way. Similarly, Martin said about this running back trio, "All three of them have established themselves as guys that can help us win football games." Speedster Atkinson III is like the cleanup man in baseball who can hit 35 homers in a season but must improve his .225 batting average. In blowouts of Navy and Miami, he rushed for 222 yards and 11.6 yards per carry. The rest of the year he totaled 139 yards and 4.3 yards per attempt. Can he develop the balance, footwork, low running base and pass-receiving acumen to be a reliable every-down back in crunch time? Carlisle most resembles Riddick's versatility, with better speed but far less blocking experience. Unfortunately, he has been besieged by injuries throughout his time at Notre Dame. "We might still not know exactly all the things he's good at until we play a couple of games," Martin said. McDaniel, who worked at cornerback in the spring of 2012, might have the best north-south running skills on the team and is adept at picking up the zone blocking schemes. Williams arrived with Tuitt and 2011 Freshman All-American Aaron Lynch (now at South Florida) with similar five-star fanfare, but he has yet to start a game. That might still be the case in 2013 while working with Shembo at Cat linebacker/defensive end, but his versatility at both positions likely will give him "starter snaps" in volume. It would not be a surprise if he becomes a top breakout player for the 2013 Fighting Irish. He closed the spring strong with a team-high eight tackles (three for lost yardage, including two sacks) in the Blue-Gold Game. "Ishaq is too good a player to have him stand on the sidelines," Elston said. "We're trying to get him on the field, trying to get him prepared for that situation. Whether it's at outside linebacker or end, he's going to be one of the better guys." The stat sheet showed Springmann with only 11 tackles (two for loss, with a sack) last year, but he and freshman Sheldon Day provided a lot of quality minutes in relief to offer the starters a breather. With Day now starting, junior Chase Hounshell sidelined a second consecutive year because of shoulder surgery and freshman Eddie Vanderdoes bolting to UCLA after signing with Notre Dame this February, Springmann might be this year's No. 1 option off the bench at any of the front-line positions. In all 15 practices this spring, Hanratty lined up as the No. 1 right guard while succeeding the graduated Mike Golic Jr. Still, he could be challenged by sophomore tackle Ronnie