Blue and Gold Illustrated

UNDER THE DOME ✦ GIMME FIVE During the 62‑27 romp against Mas‑ sachusetts Sept. 26, running back Josh Adams became the sixth Notre Dame freshman, and fifth running back, to score a touchdown on a 70‑yard run or more from scrimmage since the NCAA's rescinding of freshman ineli‑ gibility in 1972. The longest was an 80‑yard tally by quarterback Blair Kiel just before half‑ time at Arizona in 1980 to give the Irish a 14‑3 cushion in Notre Dame's 20‑3 victory. However, that play oc‑ curred on a fake punt, because Kiel also happened to be the starting punter. In a 31‑16 upset of No. 1 Pitt, Al‑ len Pinkett had the longest jaunt by an Irish freshman running back. That fourth‑quarter score upped Notre Dame's lead to 24‑16. Here are the top five (and in this case, six) longest runs by Irish freshmen: Freshman (Year) Opp. Yards 1. Blair Kiel (1980) Arizona 80 2. Allen Pinkett (1982) Pitt 76 3. R. Watters (1987) Alabama 75 4. J.Heavens (1975) Ga. Tech 73 5t. R. Kinder (1993) Navy 70 5t. Josh Adams (2015) UMass 70 TYLER NEWSOME GETS A LEG UP Sophomore punter Tyler Newsome's prodigious punts set a single‑game Notre Dame record with a 52.6‑yard aver‑ age versus Massachusetts (minimum five punts required) Sept. 26. A 52‑yarder that was downed at the 1‑yard line helped turn the game from a 21‑20 Irish lead to the eventual 62‑27 rout. Overshadowed has been Newsome's work on kickoffs. Al ‑ though eight of his 30 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks to the 25, the reason he is the kickoff man is because he doesn't automatically boot it out of the end zone from his 35. His exceptional hang time on kickoffs, combined with directing the ball to either the right or left side of the field, has helped Notre Dame in its field position battle. Of his 30 kickoffs, 28 saw the opponent start from its 25 or inside it because of the coverage team having the time to pin it deep. Eleven Irish kickoffs led to the opponent starting at its 25, nine between the 20‑ and 24‑yard lines, and eight inside the 20‑yard line (with the 8‑yard line the farthest start back). Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the hangtime and placement on kickoffs is more important than distance. New ‑ some averaged 61.8 yards on his first 30 kickoffs, meaning the return man generally fields the ball around his 3 — but with the Irish coverage team already in good position. "We're getting to the point where we would like the ball inside the 25‑yard line [on kickoff returns]," Kelly said. "We believe that we can pin you inside the 20 if we get the appro ‑ priate hang time. If he can give us the appropriate hang time at the goal line and in the right location — we'd prefer that" Redshirted last year because he was raw as a punter and needed to hone his overall kicking skills, Newsome always possessed outstanding leg power. Last year was more about developing consistency, and the "long‑levered" 6‑2½, 205‑pound Georgia native Newsome used it to his advan ‑ tage. "He has got an incredible work ethic," Kelly said of New‑ some. "He's about as hard a worker as we've had, and I mean across all position groups. "If [strength and conditioning] Coach [Paul] Longo was in here today talking about the hardest workers on the football team in the weight room, he would mention Tyler Newsome." MOVING? Let our customer service department know your new address! CALL US 1-800-421-7751

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