Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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mage and then go in space." Minus Collinsworth, there might be more of a domino effect of what the de- fense can do. Does Slaughter still line up at "Star" against Navy? If he does, then who will be the other safety in place of Slaughter? Is Slaughter still a vi- able option at corner if needed (see pages 23-25), or does he al- ready have enough on his plate and is needed more at safety? The Irish appear to have numerous safe- ties — but not necessarily safety in num- bers when it comes to on-field experience. full years to earn a starting job as the Dog outside linebacker. Now that he's almost there, he'll have to work twice as hard to keep it. Spond's competitors have him sur- Irish junior Danny Spond fought for two A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD "IT TAKES A VERY SPECIAL PLAYER TO STAY ON THE FIELD WHEN YOU'RE IN SPACE AND YOU'RE PLAYING SKILL OUT THERE." IRISH HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY teams. Last season he had a promising start before a hamstring injury against Michigan significantly slowed his pace. "That was tough," Spond said. "But ev- more Ishaq Williams could be flanked on the perimeter, with sophomore Stephon Tuitt and fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis- Moore on the inside. Sophomore Anthony Rabasa also could vie for action at Cat after closing the spring on a strong note. Spond is the lone outside linebacker on the roster that has stayed in the same position since he and Kel ly both arrived in 2010. That year he played in eight games, most ly on special ery game and every season has its adver- sity. I just had to work through it and had to learn as I was injured." The impetus to add an extra defensive rounded. Sophomore Ben Councell is clawing his way up the depth chart with the rangy arms and athleticism that Kelly and his staff scour the country for each year in recruiting. From the other angle, the evolving Notre Dame defense and a faster set of hybrid safeties are threatening to make the Dog position obsolete. Shembo was moved back to his more natural Cat position to replace the gradu- ated Darius Fleming. Whereas the Dog is more a hybrid of safety, the Cat is a defen- sive end/outside linebacker hybrid. In pass-rushing situations with a 4-3 de- fense, Cat linebackers Shembo and sopho- back like Slaughter isn't going away this season, although Spond said dropping into pass coverage is one of his better as- sets. He can read the play well and un- derstands where he needs to be in his zone. But matching up against a speedy 180-pound slot receiver in man-to-man coverage will always give headaches to a bigger linebacker. Spond hopes to be quick enough to stay on the field in passing situations. He'll also have to balance that with staying strong enough at the point of attack to hold off the fast-approaching Councell. Kelly compared that duo to the Will linebacker spot with Carlo Calabrese and Dan Fox, where the coaching staff feels comfortable with either player on the field as their No. 1 option. ✦ AUGUST 2012 55