Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "He said there's no comparison. He said, 'I'm PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI better looking, I speak better,' which he does — speaks good. He said he's more humble, which sounded odd when he was listing all the things that he was better than me. He said he sings bet- ter, said he dances better. He said the only thing I have better is my hair because it's thick and wavy. It was pretty funny;w he took some cheap shots." Mike Golic Sr. on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning talking about his son, Mike Jr., comparing himself to his father "There are people that tackle and there are people that hit. It's a big difference. … It's all your mindset. It's all do you want to hit the guy. There are guys that are 300 pounds that when you hit them you think it's a pillow fight. It's all in your mentality. It's all do you want to hit the guy. If you don't want to hit him, you're not going to hit him." — Irish junior linebacker Manti Te'o "Watching Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o this weekend I came away impressed with the one aspect of his game that gets overlooked the most, his play versus the pass game. Te'o isn't an overly rangy guy. How- ever, he's got a good feel in space, keeps his feet under him when looking to redirect and sits low in his drop. … To me he's as NFL ready as any linebacker in all of college football and looks capable of starting from day one and maturing into one of the better inside backers in the NFL." — Wes Bunting, National Football Post "Where'd the gambler go? Remember the Tulsa game last season? With the outcome in the balance, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly chose to try to pass for the touchdown rather than settle for what would have been a relatively short game-winning field goal. The pass was intercepted. The Irish lost. Yet, Kelly defiantly vowed, 'Get used to it.' The gambler's chutzpah milk-toasted a bit in Saturday's 16-14 survival of Boston College. When he had an opportunity to roll the dice, Kelly cashed out and played it safe." — Al Lesar, South Bend Tribune "It's not only a big blow to the Irish, but it's a sad chapter to end Gray's career at Notre Dame as well. Gray was finally having the year the Irish expected from him in his final season at the school, rushing for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, so to have that come to an end on his Senior Day is a cruel twist of fate." — Tom Fornelli, CBSSports.com "Notre Dame is clearly in rebuilding mode and would be in a world of hurt if not for the presence of [se- nior Tim] Abromaitis, who will contend for All-Big East honors. Notre Dame's biggest weakness was on the perimeter, where Missouri made it tough for them to penetrate or pass inside. Freshman Pat Connaughton and sophomores Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant need to grow up in a hurry if Notre Dame has hopes of finishing in the top half of the Big East. — Jason King, ESPN.com Plugging In A Nickel The nature of spread offenses in college football means defenses are forced to put more and more defensive backs on the field in order to keep up. For 245-pound sophomore outside linebacker Prince Shembo, that has meant less and less time on the field. Shembo plays drop linebacker (or "Dog") and has been replaced by the nickel back — senior Jamoris Slaughter — when offenses put three or four wide receivers on the field. Irish head coach Brian Kelly said Shembo's role might have to evolve if teams continue to spread the field. That might mean playing more along the line of scrimmage with his hand on the ground against spread offenses, a role Shembo has shown he is comfortable with in the past. "The games played right now are 53 and one-third yards — the field is spread," Kelly said of the distance from sideline to sideline. "If they want to play three, four wide receivers, you have to make more situational substitu- tions and play more nickel. 10 DECEMBER 2011 "We can't play a 245-pound guy [Shembo] out on a skilled wide receiver every down. We have to make those situational substitutions. I don't think his role changes, but maybe he adds to what his role is." With Darius Fleming and Steve Filer out of eligibility at the "Cat" position in 2012, it might seem logical to shift Shembo to that position where he can also be a hybrid defensive end, but Kelly is not so sure. "I don't think so," Kelly said. "We feel pretty good about where we are right now. That's something we'll evaluate in the offseason. In terms of Prince Shembo in particular, he's got a pretty good future." Against power running teams such as Michigan State and Boston College, the drop position still has value. "We just have to be flexible with it and realize we're not going to have four deep there," Kelly said. "We're going to have some guys who have the ability to be hybrids." — Lou Somogyi BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Ken MacAfee owns the record for most catches by an Irish tight end in a ✦ GIMME FIVE Next to the late Jim Seymour's single-game record of 276 yards receiving versus Purdue in 1966, the longest standing pass-catching mark at Notre Dame has been Ken MacAfee's 54 receptions by a tight end during the 1977 national title campaign. MacAfee won the Walter Camp Award and finished third in the Heis- man Trophy ballot- ing that season. Enter ing the season with 54. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Nov. 26 Stanford game, Irish ju- nior tight end and Mackey Award fi- nalist Tyler Eifert was on the cusp of eclipsing MacAfee's 34-year standard — although some might argue there should be an asterisk. MacAfee achieved his standard in 11 regular- season games, as did Eifert. The Stanford game is the 12th regular-season game this year, and the bowl game will also be included in the total stats. Back in MacAfee's time, bowl game data were not recognized in individual or team stats. Had they been, MacAfee's four catches in the 1978 Cotton Bowl in the 38-10 victory versus No. 1 Texas would have raised his total to 58. Nevertheless, here are the top five receiving seasons at Notre Dame prior to the Nov. 26 Stanford game. Player (Year) 1. Ken MacAfee (1977) 2. Tyler Eifert (2011) 3t. John Carlson (2006) No. Yds. TD 54 797 53 634 47 634 3t. Anthony Fasano (2005) 47 576 5. Tony Hunter (1982) 42 507 6 5 4 2 0