Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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new position lets Notre Dame keep its budding star on the field in any cir- cumstance. He'll be one constant in a lineup that is expected to feature more players than any other group under Kelly's supervision in South Bend. His freak athleticism allows him to cover the width of the field from his new spot, where he is expected to take on more of a leadership role despite being a sophomore. The challenge for Smith will be mak- ing another leap in production while seeing the game from a brand new perspective. "I've been looking at the game from an outside view my whole life," Smith said at the start of August. "Now it's inside-out and I've adjusted to that over the spring, and putting every- thing together and developing the team as a whole. I feel real comfort- able." 3. NG JARRON JONES Jones, a junior, may not be one of the team's top three players this sea- son. There's a good chance he won't even be the most dominant player in his position group. But his ability to have a consistent positive influence at the point of attack will be crucial on defense. Notre Dame's biggest question mark at the start of the season is its inexperi- enced defensive line. This year's group is void of the star power formerly pro- vided by NFL Draft picks Louis Nix III and Stephon Tuitt. Success in the front seven this year will need to come from a group effort. Jones has the potential to serve as an anchor for the rotating cast of youth around him. He bulked up to 315 pounds during the offseason after showing flashes of promise while standing in for an injured Nix late in the 2013 season. When Notre Dame lost senior Tony Springmann to a back injury in the preseason, Jones became the only player with any significant interior line experience on the roster. 4. TE BEN KOYACK As good as Notre Dame's long his- tory of tight ends has been, it's never been more prolific since the current coaching regime came to South Bend. Former standouts Tyler Eifert and Troy Niklas helped set numerous records at the position during the last two years. Now, it's time for Koyack to take the torch. Kelly said the senior, who emerged with a new pass-catching confidence in the second half of the 2013 season, was the player he expected Irish quar- terbacks to find when they needed a clutch play or a third down conver- sion. Koyack is the mother duck of a tal- ented but ultra green flock of tight ends. With two redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen behind him, he's the lone member of the group who has taken a snap in a college football game. He has embraced the job of trying to get those guys up to speed. The tight end position is a crucial part to Notre Dame's offense operating smoothly, and all of that responsibility falls on Koyack's shoulders, at least to start the season. 5. MLB JOE SCHMIDT Schmidt may be undersized at 6-0,