Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME good football IQ, have helped him a lot." His raw talent has also enabled him to contrib‑ ute immediately with an average of 7.6 yards per carry. "I just thank God for the road I've been on with injuries or whatever it might be," Adams said. "I have a great team be‑ hind me. Once again, our offensive line is just in‑ credible. They're making it easy on me, and I have to go in there and do my job because they're fight‑ ing in the trenches for me. "I have to do the best I can, and with all the running backs they're a big part of our success. We've got to congratu‑ late the offensive line for working so hard for us. We just have to do our job as a unit." Irish junior linebacker and possible top‑10 NFL Draft pick Jaylon Smith has a nickname for Ad‑ ams. "I call him Eric Dick‑ erson," said Smith, com‑ paring him to the former SMU running back and Pro Football Hall of Fame entrant. "He's very elu‑ sive, and it's going to be even scarier next year when he adds strength to it. The sky's the limit." It's quite a start for a player that looked to be Notre Dame's No. 4 op‑ tion at the position just a few months ago. ✦ DESHONE KIZER MOVING UP TO STAGE THREE Head coach Brian Kelly divides an individual player's progress into three stages. The first is developmental where he is not ready yet to help you win. Stage two is reaching a point where he can help the team win, but not le‑ gitimately vie for a title. The final stage is reaching a point where he can win a championship. Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer was in stage one as a freshman last year. He quickly reached stage two at Virginia Sept. 12, when he rallied the Irish to a fourth‑quarter victory while replacing the injured Malik Zaire. Kelly, however, was uncertain that Kizer was capable of leading a championship run. Entering the home finale against Wake Forest Nov. 14, the coach was begin‑ ning to have a change of heart after grading him out "very, very high" in the 42‑30 victory at Pitt Nov. 7, highlighted by pocket presence. "He's gaining so much more confidence and seeing some things that he feels really comfortable with that has allowed him to now elevate his game to the level that it is right now," Kelly said. That could possibly even mean attaining level three. "You can envision him being your quarterback in the national champion‑ ship game, provided all the other pieces," Kelly said. "We have to have a very good running game. Our offensive line has to do their job, and everybody else on defense. "… But there is no reason why he can't be on the field in the national championship game as your quarterback and say this group's got a fighting chance."