Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS ron Jones, senior linebacker James On- wualu, senior safety Max Redfield and senior cornerback Cole Luke. Again, that's a best-case scenario. Kizer might not even be the start- ing quarterback next fall, let alone strong enough to leave early for the NFL Draft. Robinson's career seems to be trending in the opposite direc- tion of a combine invite, while Nelson seems unlikely at this point to leave school early, and Redfield's Irish ca- reer would need a quick turnaround to be invited to such an event. Notre Dame now appears to not only be producing top-notch NFL tal- ent, but also quickly replenishing its roster to develop even more. Eleven years ago, Charlie Weis took over the reins of the Irish program. With Super Bowl rings on his fingers, he promised to churn out professional talent while consistently winning in South Bend. After all, the two go hand in hand. However, his final three squads pro- duced 10 NFL Combine invitations, the same number Kelly had this year alone. In all, only Alabama, Florida State, LSU and Florida have sent more players to the NFL Combine the past four years than Notre Dame's 30. Eventually, the sustained on-field success must follow. Notre Dame's 10-3 mark in 2015 served as a good- but-not-great season considering the star power the Irish boasted with re- ceiver Will Fuller, linebacker Jaylon Smith and offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley. Eventually, the wins must follow. Notre Dame of course came close to reaching the College Football Playoff in 2015, but no excuse — including a laundry list of injuries — will be suf- ficient moving forward. "Look, I'm not saying we're ready to win three national championships," head coach Brian Kelly said after the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State. "But stay the course, keep doing what we're doing, keep recruiting, keep bringing in great guys like this and we'll get there." In 2015, Notre Dame proved how deep its roster was by surviving a boat- load of injuries at significant positions, with Malik Zaire, Tarean Folston, C.J. Prosise, Jarron Jones, Durham Smythe and others all missing significant time for the Irish. Now that the depth is in place, transforming into a perennial College Football Playoff power like Ohio State, Alabama or even Stanford is the next stage. To do so, the tight finishes must go Notre Dame's way. They didn't at Clemson and Stanford. To reach that level, Notre Dame's defense must rise from the big-play liability it has been under coordinator Brian VanGorder into one that can be relied on in any situation: when trail- ing, when protecting a late lead, etc. It's been proven that the Irish pro- gram is producing the talent neces- sary to win. Now everything else must follow. ✦ Andrew Owens has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2013. He can be reached at aowens@blueandgold.com