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on the two-deep as soon as he walked on to the campus. During the spring, Kelly said he had to "tap the brakes" on saying much about Trumbetti be- cause the competition was minimal and Okwara was adjusting from out- side linebacker. Now, Kelly almost regards him more as a sophomore. "He's almost separated himself from this freshman class," Kelly said. "He's got a huge upside for us in so many areas that sometimes I don't talk about him enough. Great motor, physical, smart, he does all the things we want him to do." Trumbetti's challenge will be going against the power attacks such as Stan- ford, but there is enough flexibility in the Irish scheme with four- and three- man lines where he doesn't necessarily have to be on the field 40 to 50 snaps per game, or at least should be able to rotate with Okwara. On offense, Luatua is not going to play ahead of senior Ben Koyack or maybe even sophomore Durham Smythe, both high-quality pass catch- ers. A missing element at tight end was a physical presence to help compensate for the early exit to the NFL of second- round pick Troy "Hercules" Niklas. At 6-2, 260 pounds (Kelly estimates more like 270), Luatua can't offer the same physique as Niklas, but he carved a niche for himself immedi- ately as a blocker. Kelly sees him as an H-back on running plays and even jumbo packages. Koyack could be in the backfield and Luatua attached to the line, or vice-versa. "We're going to feature some back- field sets that will allow him to really use his size," Kelly said. "He's a load. We haven't had that kind of downhill physicality that changes the pace. "We can still play fast and play downhill. It gives us some flexibility with a fullback/H-back. It gives us some versatility that we would like to have, especially blue zone [inside the opponent's 10-yard line] going in, black zone [backed up inside their own 10] going out, short-yardage situ- ations. He can help us." POTENTIAL DEFENSIVE/SPECIAL TEAMS AID THIS SEASON NOSE GUARD DANIEL CAGE, ENDS JHONNY WIL- LIAMS AND GRANT BLANKENSHIP, LINEBACKERS GREER MARTINI, KOLIN HILL AND NYLES MOR- GAN, CORNERBACK NICK WATKINS AND SAFETY DRUE TRANQUILL. Williams and Hill are projected to be situational players this season in first- year defensive coordinator Brian Van- Gorder 's multiple and special pack- ages attack. A dozen snaps against pass-happy teams might be possible, whereas no action versus Navy's triple option also is likely. On National Signing Day last Feb- ruary, the 6-4 Williams was listed at 230 pounds — but after a summer se- mester at Notre Dame and in a college strength and conditioning program, he reported to camp at 252. Per Kelly, he might be the lone "speed rusher" on the current roster. Williams was a bas- ketball and track star in high school, including a 6-4 high jump. The 6-1½, 230-pound Hill also has some natural ability in that specialty. Their skill sets and roles will be de- fined by providing fresh legs in pass-