Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Kyle Brindza By Andrew Owens With Notre Dame celebrating senior day against Louisville, it 's time to start thinking about the 2015 roster and which current player will be missed the most next season. To be clear, this debate does not include seniors that have a fifth year of eligibility and are locks to return to South Bend next fall, such as quar- terback Everett Golson and injured linebacker Joe Schmidt. Notre Dame has carried an underclassman- heavy roster this season after losing three juniors to the NFL Draft last winter. With a solid but not great season from tight end Ben Koyack (though it should be noted there is not a clear replacement waiting in the wings) and with cornerback KeiVarae Russell expected to return to help fill the void left by fifth-year se- nior Cody Riggs, kicker and punter Kyle Brindza seems to be the easy selection here. Brindza is the special teams jack-of-all-trades, serving as the kicker, punter and kickoff special- ist the past two seasons. This year, he passed John Carney for the most made field goals in program history. Freshman kicker/punter Tyler Newsome and incoming freshman kicker Justin Yoon are tal- ented players who should help quell the loss of Brindza, but don't expect a quick fix. The next time they step on the field for collegiate action will be the first time. Everything could fall in place for the Irish next season as they eye a berth in the College Foot- ball Playoff, but all it takes is one botched spe- cial teams play to derail those dreams. Cody Riggs By Douglas Farmer Tight end Ben Koyack may leave the biggest tal- ent gap in his absence, and Notre Dame may lose the best special teams weapon it has had in years when kicker and punter Kyle Brindza graduates, but both losses are survivable. The Irish have reloaded at tight end for nearly a decade now. There is no reason to assume that will not continue. As for Brindza, his contribu- tions vary on a game-by-game basis. However, no college coach would regret having too many shutdown corners, especially not in an era of high-octane, aerial offenses. Thus, Notre Dame will miss fifth-year senior defensive back Cody Riggs the most next season. Current sophomore Cole Luke is wrapping up an excellent campaign. In the fall, Luke was expected to fill in as the third cornerback on defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder's aggres- sive unit. Instead, due to junior KeiVarae Russell missing this semester following the academic dishonesty investigation, Luke has been a sea- son-long starter. Russell has said he plans to return in 2015. With a Russell return and another solid year from Luke, VanGorder will still miss Riggs. The abil- ity to shut down three opposing receivers with three stalwart cornerbacks would have allowed VanGorder to unleash even more exotic blitzes than he has this season without worrying about the defense's back end. Without Riggs, the Irish will need to stick to a bit more conventional of a defensive plan. The Florida transfer has been irreplaceable this year. Next year, Notre Dame will realize just how true that is. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH CURRENT SENIOR WILL THE IRISH MISS THE MOST IN 2015? Listen to the discussion in this digital exclusive