Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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kle), freshman line- backer Nyles Morgan showed improvement. He led Notre Dame with 10 tackles, includ- ing one for a loss, yet he still showed signs of his inexperience with a 15-yard personal foul penalty. "He probably played a little bit better today then he did in the first week," Kelly said. "It's a process, in terms of him. I thought he was a little bit more com- fortable out there to- day, no question." Sophomore line- backer Jaylon Smith has seen the change from Schmidt to Morgan in an up-close fashion, lining up next to the Mike line- backer on each snap. A week ago, Morgan may have appeared o v e r w h e l m e d a t times by the Arizona State rushing attack. While Northwestern did gain 263 yards on the ground and 547 overall, Smith said he noticed vast improve- ment in Morgan's game. "He was way more confident," said Smith, who also finished with 10 takedowns. "He played a lot faster. "There's still a lot to go. The thing for him and for all of us being so young, we have to learn from all of these experi- ences." OFFENSE QB: EVERETT GOLSON RB: TAREAN FOLSTON, Cam McDan- iel, Greg Bryant WR: CHRIS BROWN, Corey Robinson WR: C.J. PROSISE, Amir Carlisle WR: WILL FULLER, Torii Hunter TE: BEN KOYACK, Durham Smythe LT: RONNIE STANLEY LG: NICK MARTIN C: MATT HEGARTY RG: STEVE ELMER RT: CHRISTIAN LOMBARD DEFENSE DE: ROMEO OKWARA, Andrew Trumbetti DT: JARRON JONES, Daniel Cage DT: SHELDON DAY, Jacob Matuska DE: ISAAC ROCHELL, Justin Utupo, Grant Blankenship Will: JAYLON SMITH MLB: NYLES MORGAN, Greer Mar - tini Sam: JAMES ONWUALU CB: DEVIN BUTLER, Matthias Farley (nickel) S: ELIJAH SHUMATE S: DRUE TRANQUILL, Max Redfield CB: COLE LUKE SPECIAL TEAMS Kick Return: Amir Carlisle, Cam Mc- Daniel, Tyler Luatua, Ben Councell, Justin Utupo, Justin Brent, John Turner, James Onwualu, Greer Mar- tini, Torii Hunter, Eilar Hardy Kickoff Coverage: Kyle Brindza, Cam McDaniel, Nick Watkins, Connor Cav- alaris, C.J. Prosise, John Turner, Eilar Hardy, Doug Randolph, Max Redifeld, Greer Martini, James Onwualu Punt Returner: Greg Bryant Punter: Kyle Brindza Placekicker: Kyle Brindza Holder: Malik Zaire Long Snapper: Scott Daly Short Snapper: Scott Daly Others: Conor Hanratty, Mike Mc - Glinchey PARTICIPATION CHART In his second career start, freshman linebacker Nyles Morgan tied for the team lead with 10 tackles (one for loss) against Northwestern. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA