Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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tracurricular pursuits, such as his af- finity for stand-up comedy. But Gray got serious in the spring and decided he wasn't going to let his career be- come the joke. "I'd say the consistency started after the Michigan game," he said before his injury. "One of the big things was Coach Kelly naming me a game day captain [versus Air Force on Oct. 8]. That did a lot for my confidence, and to see the guys rally around me, it was great. I knew I had it in me." 2. DAN FOX — The junior inside line- backer surprised many by supplant- ing returning starter Carlo Calabrese to begin the year. Fox recorded 20 tackles, mainly on special teams, as a sophomore after sitting out his fresh- man season. He had 46 stops in 12 starts this fall. "Dan worked hard and moved his game forward from being a liability, which he was at it relates to the pro- gram," defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said. "He moved himself in a year's time, from August to August, to a position where he's one of the better players on the team from be- ing one of the worst players on the team." 3. CHASE HOUNSHELL — While fresh- man defensive line classmates Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt were in- stant hits from day one and arrived with much more fanfare, the 6-4, 265-pound Hounshell came out of nowhere by mid-season to move ahead of more seasoned players. Hounshell played in six of the last seven games. MOST UNDERRATED 1. CIERRE WOOD — With a lot of the attention on Jonas Gray's growing contribution, Wood, the one every- body expected to shine, had a fine junior campaign when the program had to lean heavily on him after the graduation of Robert Hughes and Armando Allen. Heading into this year, the last Irish back to rush for 1,000 yards was Darius Walker (1,267) in 2006, and Notre Dame had failed to produce a leading rusher that eclipsed 700 yards over the next four years. On top of that, the Irish hadn't had a 100-yard rusher in its previous 17 contests prior to this fall. With new- found patience, vision and more ma- turity, Wood raced to 1,042 yards and nine touchdowns on 199 carries in the regular season, including three 16 FEBRUARY 2012 games of at least 100 yards. His pass protection also saw an appreciable upgrade. 2. ROBERT BLANTON — Few corner- backs have the combination of mak- ing tackles for loss and breaking up passes. The physical senior started all 12 games during the regular sea- son and picked up 69 tackles (eight for loss), a sack, five passes broken up, two interceptions and a fumble recovery. 3. BRAXSTON CAVE — Cue 1980s hair band Cinderella … "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." The senior center was a rock for the offen- sive line 22 consecutive starts dating back to the 2010 season, but fell vic- tim to a foot injury that caused him to miss the final three regular-sea- son contests and the Champs Sports Bowl. Senior Mike Golic Jr. filled in admirably, but the difference at the point of attack was evident. ROLE PLAYER OF THE YEAR 1. JAMORIS SLAUGHTER — It's a reach to say he was a "role" player be- cause the senior safety co-started with Zeke Motta. His versatility at Senior safety Jamoris Slaughter's value was displayed when he also excelled at nickel back and lined up at outside linebacker on occasion. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED