Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING In the future, there will be a par- ticular emphasis to attract budding standouts from junior and sophomore classes in high school. "We also want to use the Irish Inva- sion as something that's a step on a year to two years out — the future stars for Notre Dame," Kelly said. "It's not just the immediate stars that are coming on campus, but I think Irish Invasion is, 'Look what's going to be coming in the future, as well.' So it's your futures game." Junior Day this past Jan. 23 also was the earliest it's ever been, mainly because of establishing earlier rela- Notre Dame Scholarship Count Slightly Over The Limit Despite Recent Attrition A college football roster is fluid even during the so-called offseason. This proved true again this winter when Notre Dame sophomore tight end Tyler Luatua decided to transfer to Brigham Young. A few days later, Blue & Gold Illustrated learned that junior offensive guard Steve Elmer, who started all 26 games the past two seasons, will graduate early this May and possibly opt to move on to a professional life that won't include football. As of Feb. 9, Elmer and Notre Dame had not announced such plans. If Elmer were to not return in 2016, that would leave Notre Dame with an unofficial scholarship count of 88 entering spring practice, which begins March 16 and concludes with the Blue-Gold Game April 16. The Fighting Irish coaching staff still hopes to add Georgia five-star wide receiver Demetris Robertson to the roster later this month, which would push the total to 89 — or 90 if Elmer does come back. The NCAA permits only 85 scholarship players on a football roster, but that number doesn't have to be met until the season commences. Last year at this time Notre Dame had more than 90, but by August the number dwindled to the point where the staff was able to grant a scholarship to walk-on running back Josh Anderson for his senior year and welcome back converted defensive lineman Chase Hounshell for a fifth season to help at tight end. Attrition through the spring and fall (or with Luauta this winter) is inevitable at any program, and there is also no guarantee that those with a fifth or sixth season of eligibility will return. In other news prior to the start of spring practice: • Head coach Brian Kelly has indicated that the staff is planning to redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Wimbush while senior Malik Zaire and junior DeShone Kizer vie for the starting role. Wimbush used up a year of eligibility last season while playing sparingly as a freshman behind Zaire, who suffered a season ending injury at Virginia on Sept. 12, thus requiring Wimbush to be No. 2. • Redshirting sophomores is not typical, but the Irish did so last season with defensive lineman Jay Hayes, wide receiver Corey Holmes and running back Justin Brent, who was a wide receiver as a fresh- man. Brent remains an enigma on where to use him. Running back and receiver are crowded, and safety is intriguing, but then that would be three positions in three years. "He's the only guy right now that we're still searching for a spot," Kelly told the local WSBT SportsBeat show Feb. 3. • Also on SportsBeat, Kelly indicated that the two least likely full-go participants this spring will be junior linebacker Greer Martini and sophomore linebacker Te'von Coney, both of whom underwent surgery in January. — Lou Somogyi