Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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I get there I'm going to work even harder and try to learn everything as quickly as possible so I can get myself the best chance to get a position. "It's definitely huge being able to go in there with someone you're pretty good friends with. It's exciting. Mor- gan is a pretty good player. I look for- ward to being able to play alongside him." Sykes received a "Pot of Gold" from Notre Dame in December, a recruiting tactic that included hundreds of pieces of mail from the Irish meant to attract elite high school talent to sign with the program. "It was exciting," Sykes said. "I didn't find out about what it was un- til I was on my official visit and they explained it to me. I thought it was pretty cool that they did that. It's a fun thing they do with some fun facts. "I felt sorry for the mailman carry- ing that thing around." ✦ FILM ANALYSIS Strengths Sykes is a complete football player … He displays good form when tackling and looks smooth when dropping into coverage … He has very good pass-rushing skills and could comfortably put his hand in the dirt at defensive end if necessary … He has a tremendous motor and plays to the whistle. Areas To Improve He played primarily defensive end in high school, and the transition to strictly playing linebacker will take some time … He's somewhat of a "tweener" and needs to add bulk to play inside linebacker or continue adding speed to play on the outside … While his aggressive nature is a bonus, it can still be an area for improvement … At times he runs himself out of plays by being too aggressive in his pursuit.