Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/621849
CHALK TALK BRYAN DRISKELL P osition changes are nothing new at Notre Dame. Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith moved to inside linebacker after his freshman season and went on to earn back-to-back All-America honors. Se- nior C.J. Prosise began his career at safety before catch- ing 29 passes for 516 yards as a slot receiver in 2014. He moved to running back last spring, a n d r e s p o n d e d with 1,032 rushing yards and 11 touch- downs. Position changes will happen this winter, while the Irish prepare for s p r i n g p r a c t i c e . S ome w ill h av e little impact, while others could be quite significant. Here is a look at possible position changes and the po- tential impact each could have on the 2016 team: Junior Mike McGlinchey, right tackle to left tackle — Two seasons ago, Notre Dame was tasked with replacing first-round NFL Draft pick Zack Martin at left tackle, and the Irish decided to move cur- rent senior Ronnie Stanley from right tackle. Stanley went on to develop into a consensus All-American this past season and is poised to become a first- round pick himself. Notre Dame is again in a position where the best move to replace a dom- inating left tackle is to simply slide over its current starter at right tackle. By the end of the 2015 season, Mc- Glinchey was argu- ably Notre Dame's best lineman. The junior's pass block- ing skills would play well on soph- omore quarterback DeShone Kizer 's blindside. The question the Fighting Irish staff must ask is do they want to break up the double-team c o m b i n a t i o n o f McGlinchey and junior right guard Steve Elmer, which was potent this fall. W h o r e p l a c e s McGlinchey is another element of the potential move. Does Notre Dame move sophomore right guard Quen- ton Nelson to right tackle, or do junior backup left tackle Hunter Bivin and sophomore backup right guard Alex Bars compete to replace McGlinchey? Junior Devin Butler, cornerback to safety — This move would necessitate another small move: current starting free safety junior Max Redfield moving to strong Potential 2016 Position Changes Moving freshman nose guard Jerry Tillery (above) out to defensive tackle could help ease the loss of captain and All-American Sheldon Day, who is headed to the NFL. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA