Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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an eye-opening 77-yard fumble return for a touchdown last year against Navy. The extra cargo was noticeable during the first week of practice, but Tuitt and Kelly both appeared unconcerned about last season's team leader in sacks potentially losing a step. Tuitt racked up 12 sacks as a sophomore while carrying the added weight gained due to a sports hernia injury through much of the season. In the winter, he had surgery, which included inserting a mesh web in his abdomen. As a result, Tuitt was unable for more than three months to do the core exercises his teammates did. When asked about the extra pounds, he shied away from giving any specific answers about how much he had gained or if he was working to try to get back to the same size he was at the start of last season. "Time will tell. I just go out every day and practice and my body will react the way it does," he said. "… I feel great right now. I feel stronger, faster, quicker and I'm ready for the season to start." Kelly said he expected most of the extra body fat to melt away by the time Tuitt lined up against Temple Aug. 31. "I want to kind of defend the kid a little bit in this instance," the coach said. "He looks different because he put on some body fat that our guys normally don't put on because he couldn't do some of the workouts that our guys do. It wasn't because he decided to eat Cheetos on the couch and not work out." Nix and Tuitt are both projected by many analysts as first-round NFL Draft selections next spring. They will be hard to ignore as long as they are on the field this season in South Bend. The Second Line Finding the players who will take that duo's place when they aren't on the field was a project for Elston and the rest of the Irish staff in August. Senior Kona Schwenke remains Nix's main backup in the middle of the line. He was listed ahead of Nix at the nose guard spot a year ago heading into training camp, but that turned out to be more of a motivational ploy. Schwenke, who is in his final year of eligibility, will likely still take at least 10-15 snaps per game to help keep Nix fresh. At the defensive end positions, a mixture of young players with exceptional size and veterans that haven't cracked the starting lineup will fight for the chance to give Tuitt and sophomore Sheldon Day an occasional rest. Day, a slightly overshadowed figure among the first-string defense, is more likely than his two counterparts to stay on the field for most of the game. "Right now if there is an eightplay drive, he does not come out of the game," Kelly said. "He's the one that does not come out of the game. His work volume, his ability to go, his pass-rush ability, he's an outstanding football player." Behind Day, sophomore Jarron Jones and freshman Isaac Rochell are next in line to see the field. Junior Tony Springmann (11 tackles and one sack in 2012) would have likely been in front of both of them, but he had an apparently serious knee injury in