Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome Welch, the nephew of fourth all-time leading Irish tackler Steve Heimkreiter (1975-78), has played in 21 games during his career, catching one pass. He was credited with three tackles on special teams this season. Both plan to play in this month's bowl game. Taking The Fifth With Wood and Welch both planning to finish their fifth seasons at other schools, eight current seniors remained eligible for a fifth season in 2014. Alphabetically, they are safety Austin Collinsworth, offensive lineman Bruce Heggie, quarterback Andrew H e n d r i x , o ff e n s i v e guard Christian Lombard, wide receiver/ holder Luke Massa, inside linebacker Kendall Moore, nose guard Louis Nix III and defensive end Justin Utupo. • In a fully expected move, Nix has signed with an agent for next spring's NFL Draft. He is scheduled to receive his degree this month and is projected as a first-round pick. • The two most likely we see returning, based on past playing time, are Lombard and Collinsworth. Lombard started all 13 games at right tackle in 2012 and the first seven in 2013 at right guard before getting sidelined by back surgery. Collinsworth, who had a medical redshirt in 2012, has played in all 12 games this season (starting nine). He is 10th on the team in tackles (39) and tied for most interceptions (two). • Third in our "most likely or needed to return" line would be Moore, a special teams mainstay who has never started on defense. However, Moore is at a position of immense need. The two current starters, Carlo Calabrese and Dan Fox, are out of eligibility after 2013, and junior Jarrett Grace might not be available this spring while rehabilitating from major leg surgery this October. That leaves former preferred walk-on Joe Schmidt and current freshman Michael Deeb. Who lines up with the second unit this spring? Maybe freshman Doug Randolph, who was an outside linebacker recruit but sat out this season because of shoulder surgery, could shift to the inside, but the dearth of experience might necessitate Moore's return. Scholarship Numbers Including the 19 current verbal commitments for 2014, the expected re-admission of quarterback Everett Golson (officially Dec. 13) and the possible return ATTENTION IRISH FANS Packages are available for all Notre Dame home games during the 2014 season 2014 Opponents Aug. 30 Sept. 6 Oct. 4 Rice Michigan Stanford Future Dates announced soon Packages Include: * Game Ticket * Hotel Please visit Diamondtravel.com 602-870-9197 26 years in business