Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/276022
THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI The wild card in the group was Troy Niklas, an outside linebacker/defensive end prospect. The 6-6½, 270-pound Nik- las won't be around in 2014 either after starting 21 games at tight end the past two seasons while becoming one of the nation's best at his position. The upheaval in the 2011 recruiting class has hardly been confined to defen- sive line/outside linebackers: • Running back George Atkinson III, whose two kickoff returns for touch- downs as a freshman instantly linked him with the hallowed name of Raghib "Rocket" Ismail as the lone Irish fresh- men to achieve such a feat, and demar- cated him for instant stardom, also has turned pro after a solid but roller-coaster past two seasons. • Matt Hegarty, the top-rated offen- sive lineman among a group of four, has overcome heart surgery to at least put himself in a "sixth man" role while playing center. Meanwhile, the starting center from this class, Nick Martin, is recovering from MCL surgery last No- vember. • Jarrett Grace, the lone inside line- backer recruit in 2011-12, is coming off a major leg injury that, like Springmann, will require much time before full mo- bility is regained. • Ben Councell, aligned at outside linebacker, is convalescing from ACL surgery after incurring the injury Nov. 2 against Navy. • The lone cornerback, Jalen Brown, was heralded by first-round wide re- ceiver Michael Floyd for the competi- tion he gave him on the scout team in 2011. But Brown was with the No. 3 unit last season and, like Atkinson, suspended for the Pinstripe Bowl. • The passing combination of quar- terback Everett Golson and receiver DaVaris Daniels was projected to be among the most lethal in school history. But Golson sat out 2013 because of an academic issue — just like Daniels is doing this spring. • Safety Matthias Farley, who began his career at receiver, came out of no- where in 2012 to start at safety and had future captain written all over him just by his positive demeanor and leader- ship qualities. Entering his senior year, he will have to battle just to stay in the two-deep — at cornerback now instead of safety. Consequently, with so few players in 2014 in their final season of eligibility, the Irish might be that proverbial "year away" from seriously vying for another championship bid — just like they were in 2012. As we've discovered, though, plans can change, sometimes even for the better. ✦ Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com CORRECTION In the 2014 opponent recap feature in the March 2014 edition, it was stated that Notre Dame will attempt to defeat USC three straight years for the first time since the amazing 11- year streak from 1983-93. The Fighting Irish also defeated USC three straight in 1999 (25-24), 2000 (38-21) and 2001 (27-16).