Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/187176
Upon Further Review todd D. burlage A A Snapshot In Character And Perseverance s this Notre Dame football season we knew they weren't coming back. rolls into its second half against This team's biggest leadership loss USC Oct. 19, the missing identity came during training camp when seand leadership from this group con- vere and chronic headaches forced the tinue to be the main discussion topics. early retirement of senior linebacker Here we are, six Danny Spond. games in, with the "He has one of the players and coaches strongest personalistill playing a weekly ties I have ever been game of preparation around," fifth-year Whac-A-Mole. Each linebacker Dan Fox time one problem said of the deeply rearea shows some imligious Spond in the provement — running preseason. "We will game, special teams really miss him as a — more unexpected player and a leader." concerns pop up — How prophetic. pass rush, turnovers. This story is not a Irish head coach knock on any of the Brian Kelly attributes current Irish players, the on-field issues this all of whom are workseason to a "razoring hard to find the thin" margin for error Severe and chronic headaches forced missing leadership, and a lack of doing the early retirement of senior linebacker chemistry and consisthe "ordinary things" Danny Spond, but he is still doing every- tency. well. To me, the prob- thing he can to help the team. This story is more photo by joe raymond about what a signifilems stem from a lack of leadership. The strong voices on a cant — and oftentimes unrecognized team help to ensure that the ordinary — piece Spond was to a team that has things — a.k.a. everyday details — are fallen short of preseason expectations taken care of. Leaders hold teammates and has yet to find its footing. accountable and make certain that Spond's absence at starting outside mistakes don't reoccur. linebacker has been evident on the We can all lament over the leader- field in missed opportunities and tackship void with the graduation of se- les, but more noticeable is the lack of niors Kapron Lewis-Moore, Manti Te'o his voice and presence. and Zeke Motta from last season. But Spond never became a household