Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the one-handed reception for a gain of 50 yards. "He's had a terrific spring," Kelly said of Hunter. "His player load has been as high as anybody on our team ... as high as any receiver that we've had here in a couple years. In other words, the work volume that he's put in while he's going to school, while he's playing baseball, has been an in- credible commitment." Zaire added a dazzling 13-yard touchdown run that featured a cut that can rarely be simulated in prac- tice, non-contact situations. The move, however, was one Zaire was accus- tomed to making prior to fracturing his ankle at Virginia Sept. 12. "I think it puts him over the hurdle mentally," Kelly said. "He felt really good coming back; that he got that run in and through traffic. And again, be- ing live in that situation, obviously it puts him now in a position where that injury now is in the rear-view mirror. "He can move forward and now continue to grow and develop." Junior punter Tyler Newsome earned the game ball with an impres- sive 53.7-yard average on seven com- bined kicks for the two squads. His long went 64 yards, and he had an- other that soared 58 yards. "I guess that's a good thing in the spring game; your punter won the MVP of the game. That says a lot about a spring game," Kelly quipped. The exhibition provided a chance for sophomore running back Dexter Williams to showcase his abilities, par- ticularly with senior Tarean Folston limited in a green non-contact jersey while he returns from a torn ACL. Sophomore cornerback Shaun Craw- ford and true freshman safety Spencer Perry also donned the green non-con- tact uniform. Williams rushed 13 times for a game-high 43 yards, highlighted by a 16-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in the first quarter. "A number of kids stand out for me. I thought Dexter ran extremely hard," Kelly said. "I was pleased with [run- ning back] Justin Brent. "I don't know that we have a player on our team in [true freshman re- ceiver] KJ Stepherson that can catch the ball at full speed as he cuts across the field; a very unique trait of his. Junior punter Tyler Newsome was tabbed as the Blue-Gold Game MVP after averaging 53.7 yards on seven combined attempts for the two squads. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS