Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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• With Hunter and graduate student Amir Carlisle the main figures at slot, freshman CJ Sanders' snaps there might be limited. But his sprinter's speed and maneuverability in traffic could make him a factor as a return man in special teams or on some specially designed plays on offense. The Aug. 15 practice in which Sand- ers returned a punt for a 90-yard score and had a sensational 18-yard run in which he made four would-be tacklers miss revealed much to the staff. "It's nice when you don't have to block anybody and you still gain 15 or 16 yards," Denbrock smiled. "We haven't had that in a long time around here." • After being slowed for about a week with a neck injury, Jones put on a clinic in the final training camp prac- tice (Aug. 21) with his route running, hands and speed. "Right now, you can use Aliz'e Jones as a wide receiver," Kelly said. "He's got that kind of elite speed, and you can line him up and you can put two tight ends in the game in a spread for- mation with Durham [Smythe] and Aliz'e … we can really do some things with those tight ends to keep teams unbalanced." Unlike last year when the gradu- ated Ben Koyack averaged about 80 snaps per game, five different tight ends could be used for specific roles, and Jones' has been clearly defined. "I don't think you'll see Aliz'e do- ing a lot of dirty work," Kelly said. "We're going to see him running down the field. I think we've established in terms of what their strengths are and then we'll kind of move into the game that way." With so many different options, Fuller might be the lone receiving tar- get who will see at least 50 snaps per game consistently. "Will's a hard guy to take off the field," Denbrock said. "I really like the fact that we have a number of guys we can roll in there just because I like the way we're trying to play offense, to speed up and play at a higher tempo than we've played at before. "We're going to need some more bodies — and Will might not even be able to play his 50 or 60 snaps, quite frankly, if we're playing the way we want. "Corey Robinson as opposed to Chris Brown, Torii Hunter as op- posed to Amir Carlisle, as opposed to CJ Sanders — all those guys kind of bring a little different element to what we're doing. I love the diversity each brings, and I think it's a strength if we use it the right way." ✦ "I REALLY LIKE THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF GUYS WE CAN ROLL IN THERE JUST BECAUSE I LIKE THE WAY WE'RE TRYING TO PLAY OFFENSE, TO SPEED UP AND PLAY AT A HIGHER TEMPO THAN WE'VE PLAYED AT BEFORE. … ALL THOSE GUYS KIND OF BRING A LITTLE DIFFERENT ELEMENT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING. I LOVE THE DIVERSITY EACH BRINGS, AND I THINK IT'S A STRENGTH IF WE USE IT THE RIGHT WAY." ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH/WIDE RECEIVERS COACH MIKE DENBROCK ON THE DEPTH AT WIDEOUT