Blue and Gold Illustrated

FAN FORUM ACCOMPLISHING THE MISSION A college football coach's most important duty, especially at Notre Dame, is to take a collection of strong individuals and guide them into a genuine community reflecting the uni- versity's mission. When I first read Coach Kelly's mantra, "Next man in," it conjured thoughts of an assembly line of dis- posable young men — an impersonal collectivity, not a community. However, recent events, including the loss of Tarean Folston and Malik Zaire, their teammates' genuine con- cern and love for both players, along with the encouragement shown for their substitutes, demonstrate that Coach Kelly and staff have, indeed, created a caring community. The 2015 Irish football team has earned those "Fr. Ted" stickers on their helmets. "Our words are buttressed by our deeds, and our deeds are inspired by our convictions." — Father Ted Matt Hart Trenton, Mich. PUSHING UP THE LIMITS We attended the Notre Dame-UMass game with my granddaughter. This is her third year going (she is now 7) and one of the things she loves to do FROM THE WEBSITE A prime topic on BlueandGold.com during Clemson week was whether 2015 would be Notre Dame's best shot to make the College Football Playoff, or if 2016 might be more promising. Will the Irish have to rebuild, or can they now reload? Dozens of thoughts were submit- ted. Among them: PortND: Will depend a lot on who may turn pro. We could have to replace 7 or 8 starters on defense if Jaylon Smith and Cole Luke declare for the draft. NewJerseyIrish11: Not sure about complete reload, but certainly won't be rebuilding. Offensively, we will still have a top 10 offensive line, all the quarterbacks return, Tarean Folston should return, the tight ends have one more year of experience. Can't replace Will Fuller (if he decides to go), but I trust a corps of wideouts led by Corey Robinson and Torii Hunter. Defense will be a weaker unit due to losses of Sheldon Day, Jaylon Smith, KeiVarae Russell … A line of Jarron Jones, Jerry Tillery, Isaac Rochell, and Andrew Trumbetti is pretty formidable. NDFanInMadTown: At this point, the only guys with remaining eligibility who should even consider turn- ing pro are Jaylon Smith, Ronnie Stanley, C.J. Prosise and KeiVarae Russell. Will Fuller, and even Russell, is iffy now. Cole Luke and Max Redfield absolutely should both come back and refine their skills. Ajallsafe: The only area that concerns me is the WR corps. Without Fuller, who's going to step up and be a game-breaking threat? We need a guy with elite speed on the outside to stretch the field, and I'm not sure we have that. Franchise 551: Notre Dame is definitely in the reload stage — but I think this recruiting year (unless we get some real impact players) will create a soft spot down the road. Spaddy: If Prosise, Fuller, Smith and Luke come back, ND will be preseason #1 next year — as long as it finishes with 10 wins this year.

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