Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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safety slots. Sometimes it's been difficult to assemble U BY LOU SOMOGYI AND WES MORGAN ntil this season, Blue & Gold Illus- trated had never in its 32-year his- tory seen 12 scholarship players on the Notre Dame roster at the two three full units (see cornerback) at one po- sition, never mind six. However, there is a caveat. Yes, the Irish will still have 12 safe- dergoing knee surgery last August. • Collinsworth also was a receiver as a freshman, like cornerback Bennett Jackson, before shifting to defense as a sophomore. • Four safety prospects were signed this February to prepare for the departure of three veterans — fifth-year seniors Jamoris Slaughter and Dan McCarthy and senior Zeke Motta — when they exhaust their eligibility after this season. ties on scholarship when practice begins Aug. 4. However, on June 13, Notre Dame announced that junior safety Austin Col- linsworth will miss most, if not all, of the 2012 campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery. Collinsworth incurred a torn labrum in his left shoulder during the Blue-Gold Game April 21. The hope was that with some rest, surgery would not be necessary. However, he eventually had to undergo surgery in mid-June and is projected to have a four- to six-month recovery period, meaning he could take a medical redshirt in 2012. How do the Irish suddenly have so many safeties? • Walk-on Chris Salvi was put on schol- arship this spring after serving as a main- stay on special teams. • Chris Badger, an early enrollee in the spring of 2010, returned to Notre Dame this summer after a two-year Mormon mis- sion (see pages 26-27) and will have four years of eligibility. • One current sophomore, Matthias Far- linsworth's injury would not appear on the surface to be a significant setback. The Special Teams Player of the Year in 2011 was primarily a dime back on defense and was credited with 78 snaps (about 6.5 per game). However, with the graduation of NFL Because of the volume at safety, Col- DOMINO EFFECT first-round pick Harrison Smith, Collin- sworth had begun to establish himself this spring in a three-man safety rotation that Smith, Slaughter and Motta had last year. Their presence in 2011 provided the coaching staff the luxury of downshift- ing Slaughter to the Dog linebacker posi- tion occupied in 2011 by Prince Shembo. Against option or spread teams, Slaughter was a better matchup in space or cover- age against running backs or slot receiv- ers than the 250-pound Shembo, and the hybrid position was referred to as "Star." "It takes a very special player to stay on ley, was moved back to defense after work- ing on offense last year and another, Eilar Hardy, missed the 2011 campaign after un- the field when you're in space and you're playing skill out there," Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of the unique challenges at Dog linebacker. "We put a lot more pressure on that position. "You really have to be a combination of a guy that can win on the line of scrim- AUGUST 2012 54