Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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good to hear. I could have been the guy on the corner, could have ended up dead, shot, anything. "Coming up where I came from, you have to [take that fork in the road]. … So I just keep going." He is one of the reasons why even sans Lynch, the Irish defensive line is considered one of the team's strengths. • Voted Defensive New- comer of the Year in 2010 while recording 4.5 sacks as a fresh- man, Shembo went through an adjustment last spring when he was aligned at Dog linebacker, where his role was more con- fined to pass coverage than pass rush. With the graduation of NFL the powerfully built 6-5, 309-pound Lom- bard easily passes the eye test with his "first guy off the bus in hostile territory" phy- sique. behind graduated right tackle Taylor Dever, Lombard be- gan the spring at right guard, which was vacated by the graduated Trevor Robinson, while fellow junior Tate Nich- ols worked with the first unit at right tackle. As the spring progressed, After apprenticing two years fifth-round draft pick Darius Fleming, Shembo was shifted back to his more natural Cat position this spring. Similar to Fleming, the 6-2 Shembo does not have the prototype 6-5 frame of more touted sophomore Ishaq Williams — whom CBS Sports listed on its 2012 All-Breakthrough team — but Shembo and Williams could well be on the field at the same time as defensive ends in pass- rushing situations. Shembo's progress was hindered this Christian Lombard can play both tackle and guard along the offenisve line and is poised to become a regular starter this season after two years of prepa- ration. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA mier cornerback on the roster, and his area is considered, along with quarterback, the team's top question mark. • A USA Today first-team All-American, linchpin along the line for at least the next two and potentially three years. "The biggest thing is confidence, and I'm fifth-year junior Mike Golic Jr. and sophomore Nick Martin rotated more at right guard while Lombard became en- sconced at right tackle. One way or another, Lombard's versatility will make him a spring when he missed the final three weeks because of turf toe, which required surgery. • There might not be a more crucial figure in the junior class than Jackson (see pages 23-25), the team's Special Teams Player of the Year as a freshman in 2010 who is sched- uled to make his starting debut as a position player in 2012. The six-foot former wideout distinguished himself this spring as the pre- still trying to work on that every day," Lom- bard said this spring. "I know the plays to a tee. It's not a thought about, 'What am I doing on this play?' It's about my technique, concentrate on being more consistent, and playing confidently." A prime mandate for Lombard is to pro- tect the quarterback from the fleet and pow- erful edge rushers, and that is where his greatest adjustment is. "Like most high schools we just ran the ball downhill, not a lot of pass sets," the Il- linois native said. "I really didn't do a lot [of AUGUST 2012 35