Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the 2010 recruiting class from seeing action on offense or defense. Inside linebacker Justin Utupo did make 12 appearances on special teams last year (no tackles). With Shembo sidelined this spring, Utupo also received some work as a rush end. Wide receiver Daniel Smith played 117 snaps on special teams as a 2010 freshman, but in 2011 he missed all of spring with injuries and played in only two games. His 6-4, 215-pound frame is impressive, and his challenge this year will be two-fold. One is moving ahead of Goodman at the W posi- tion, and second is holding off the challenge of incoming freshmen such as Davonte Neal, Justin Ferguson and Chris Brown. At 6-8, 320 pounds, Tate Nichols is the major knee injury in the spring of 2011 and a glut of running back prospects has him fighting an uphill battle. "He's working as hard as he can," Kelly six tackles in the 2010 Blue-Gold Game as an early enrollee, will be back in action this August after a two-year Mormon mission (see pages 26-27). most massive figure on the roster, but leg and shoulder injuries last year prevented him from seeing action for the first time in his collegiate career. The staff would have been relatively comfortable playing Lom- bard as the "third tackle" last year. Nichols' first job is to possibly develop into that role. Former quarterback Luke Massa, who appeared in eight games on special teams last year, also has been competing at wide recevier. Like Smith, he boasts a strong 6-4, 225-pound frame, but ACL surgery this April set back his progress and might side- line him in 2012. Former defensive lineman Bruce Heggie after Matt James' death, only four were clas- sified by every major recruiting service as a four-star prospect: Jones, Lombard, Nix and Welch. None was deemed a five-star talent. Along with the 1991, 1994, 2001, 2004 and Of the 22 Notre Dame recruits from 2010 CLASS SUMMARY said this spring. "It's been slow, slow prog- ress. It was as difficult as an injury as you're going to get. We feel so bad for the young man because he loves Notre Dame, he loves football, it's just been a hard road for him." Finally, safety Chris Badger, who recorded 2005 hauls, the current junior class on paper might be considered one of the six weak- est recruiting classes at Notre Dame since Sports Illustrated first made recruiting rank- ings more mainstream in 1978 with Joe Ter- ranova's list. Fair or unfair, that's the perception, which arrived with no fanfare, but he has thrived in the weight room while adjusting to the offensive line. With the graduation of top two centers Braxston Cave and Mike Golic Jr. after the 2012 campaign, he will have a good opportunity to be in the two deep. Running back Cam Roberson was the 2010 Scout Team Player of the Year, but a is why Notre Dame is still considered to be in a reconstruction phase in Kelly's third year. Neither the current senior nor junior classes were considered top-10 hauls by the Irish (maybe not even top 15), and that generally is the minimum recruiting bar at Notre Dame. The only way to disprove such ratings is on the field. With a Notre Dame record- tying five straight seasons with at least five losses and no top-25 finishes, that has not yet been achieved. ✦ AUGUST 2012 37