Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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back the past two years with Taylor Mitchell (Davidson College) on back- to-back state title teams at Buford (Ga.) and will serve as a scout team quarter- back this season. The 6-6, 305-pound Bars has not been able to do contact work this Au- gust while recovering from hand sur- gery but he has taken reps in skeletal drills at guard. Consequently, the 6-4, 295-pound Byrne was lining up at left tackle (behind Ronnie Stanley and Mc- Glinchey) for scrimmage purposes. His future will be at guard and Bars' at tackle. Right guard Mustipher suffered a mid-foot injury the first week that required surgery and a walking boot early in his rehab. From 2007-13, 22 of the 24 offensive linemen recruited at Notre Dame red- shirted as freshmen. It's not a reflec- tion of skill, but rather the difficulty for a rookie to play there, especially with how well the Irish have recruited there the past two years. We foresee the same with 6-4 tight end Weishar, a fluid, natural receiver who has the earmarks of recent pre- mier Notre Dame tight ends such as second-round picks Anthony Fasano and John Carlson and first-round se- lection Tyler Eifert — all of whom red- shirted as freshmen. At 237 pounds, Weishar is not yet as physically pre- pared for an attached, blocking role like Luatua. Among the defensive linemen, Mok- wuah joins Cage and Nelson in the 325-pound freshman club but is in need of more polishing. According to Kelly, he is ahead of where Nix or Jar- ron Jones were as freshman in stamina or how many reps he is able to handle. With Williams and Hill designated more as the pass-rush specialists at this stage of their career, Hayes (6-3, 265) probably can bide his time. He has a strong skill set, especially as a bull rusher, to burst onto the scene in year two, but doesn't have a niche right now that makes him a factor to forfeit a redshirt year. ✦ Offensive guard Sam Mustipher suffered a mid-foot injury the first week of fall practice that required surgery and put him in a walking boot for a couple of weeks, lessening the chances he'll see the field in 2014. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND