Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Halfway through this season dur- ing a 6-0 start, Notre Dame's three running backs — the senior McDan- iel and the sophomores Folston and Greg Bryant — already had grabbed 21 passes for 219 yards (a hearty 10.4 yards per catch). The middle screen was particu- larly effective against North Caro- lina when Folston caught five passes for 71 yards, even though he was sometimes the fourth progression in senior quarterback Everett Gol- son's reads. Screens are hardly confined to the running backs. Sophomore wideout Corey Robinson, known primarily for going downfield to snag jump balls, was the main horizontal threat Sept. 27 versus Syracuse when Gol- son completed a school-record 25 consecutive passes, mostly screens, and sophomore Will Fuller has de- veloped as the top yards-after-catch (YAC) target in recent weeks, includ- ing a 35-yard score against the Tar Heels. During Kelly's first four seasons at Notre Dame, his primary bread-and-butter play was the stretch run to the left side behind Zack Martin and Chris Watt. This year, it's been the screen. "It was something that we recommitted to in the spring," Kelly said. "We really spent a lot of time get- ting it going. I think it's given us four touchdowns at this point." Part of the re-emphasis was because of the return of Golson at quarterback after he had sat out the 2013 season. In a spread offense where four and even five wideouts can be lined up and running backs are a vital cog as pass catchers, it's important that in an empty backfield the defense has to be at least wary of the quarterback being a running threat up the middle with a draw. That helps open up the flanks a little more. "Just the ability to have that dual threat [at quarterback] opens up the door for a lot of different things," McDaniel said. "It allows us to be less predictable in some ways." Meanwhile, executing the screen is not as easy as it might look. "The quarterback has to have a comfort level with it, somebody with the ability to release it at differ- ent arm angles," Kelly said. "Everett's really good at it. It requires that, so that has something to do with it as well." UNDER THE DOME Sophomore running back Tarean Folston caught five passes for 71 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown, versus North Carolina Oct. 11. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA