Blue and Gold Illustrated

UNDER THE DOME the coverage over the top of him, which puts you at a potential disad- vantage in the running game, where you can be short [a defender]. Or you can play cover two [using the safeties in deep zone pass coverage and the cornerbacks for short routes] and double zone him. And against a spread, you can be really thin down the middle of the field. "Because of where h e ' s p o s i t i o n e d y o u really have some de- cisions to make. You c a n d o u b l e h i m u p , but you're opening up other opportunities." By "other opportuni- ties," Kelly means the other playmakers the Irish possess on offense, even with the loss of ju- nior tight end Durham Smythe and junior run- ning back Tarean Folston to season-ending inju- ries. Senior Chris Brown has on many occasions displayed his speed — one of two or three play- ers on the Irish roster that could argue they're as fast as Fuller — and junior Corey Robinson is a dependable possession receiver. That doesn't even include the slot re- ceivers, with fifth-year senior Amir Carlisle and junior Torii Hunter Jr., not to mention the pros- pect of receiver turned running back C.J. Pro- sise making plays out of the backfield. "I have a better grasp of a lot of routes this season, knowing when to break and things of that nature," Fuller said. "It comes with a feel for the defense, especially digs." That he might still be improving is an alarm- ing prospect for Notre Dame's remaining op- ponents, but there's al- ways one person to keep Fuller in check. "Every time I do some- thing wrong, the words [assistant] Coach [Mike] Denbrock tells me stick in my head," Fuller said. "I'm just getting after it and making sure I'm not staying complacent with where I'm at, and trying to get better." ✦ JACK LLOYD REMEMBERED Longtime Notre Dame sports announcer John "Jack" Lloyd died Sept. 17 at age 79 after a short illness. Since the latter part of the 1960s, Lloyd served as public address announcer for Irish men's basketball games for 36 years at the Fieldhouse and the Joyce Center, and became known for his colorful introductions of favorite players — from Austin Carr to Kelly Tripucka, Orlando Woolridge, John Paxson and LaPhonso Ellis — or engaging the crowd to participate in rituals such as before a Notre Dame free throw he'd say, "Tim Kempton is shooting one and …" "The bonus," the audience would reply in unison. Lloyd also handled announcing duties in the Notre Dame Stadium press box for nearly a half-century. A 1958 Notre Dame graduate, Lloyd received an honorary monogram from the Notre Dame Monogram Club in 1997 and worked as an announcer as re- cently as 2013.

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