Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Experience Is Key In The Trenches Dame career in 2008 before sitting out the rest of the season with an injury. He and the rest of his Irish teammates probably didn't realize how lucky they were. Cave's injury preserved a season of eligibility. So, instead of wasting a year of field goal snaps for a 6-6 team, Cave will return for a fifth season in 2012 as the most important member of the Irish offensive line. Cave played in 34 straight games before foot surgery ended his 2011 season in the first week of November. His experience is invaluable for a team that has only one other player that has real experi- ence at center. Mike Golic Jr., who also returns for a fifth season in 2012, held the line together in the final four games of the regular season. But after Golic, there was no clear plan on who would step in if Cave went down. By bringing both players back, the Irish have some security in the middle of the line because Golic can also shift to guard or work as a utility interior lineman as needed. Veterans like safety Jamoris Slaughter and defensive end Kapron Lewis- BRAXSTON CAVE Moore will also be back to set an example for positions filled with young pups. Next to quarterback, though, there is no position more cerebral or where experience is more valuable than the offensive line. A healthy Cave will see no surprises this season. With a new offensive line coach and the potential for a new quarterback, Cave can be a weathered rock on which to lean for a smooth transition. at the NCAA Midwest Regional during the first week of March. Seniors Enzo Castellani and Reggie Bentley took second and third place in the foil competi- tion behind Ohio State's Zain Shaito. Keith Feldman, also a senior, finished third in the sabre. The Buckeyes won first place in all three disciplines (foil, sabre and epee). • Riley Sheahan, a junior center on the Irish hockey team, was named a final- Kelly was invited to give the keynote address at the Bronco Nagurski Awards Banquet next December in Charlotte, N.C. He is also making a stop at his alma mater, Assumption College in Worcester, Mass., to speak at the 2012 gradu- ation ceremony. • The Irish men's fencing team had three swordsmen finish in the top three • Irish football coach Brian Kelly will be a busy orator in the coming year. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ist for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association's Top Defensive Forward of the Year award. Sheahan finished the season with a plus-1 plus/minus to go along with his nine goals and 15 assists. Junior goaltender Mike Johnson represented the Irish as the team's candidate for conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. • Freshman Nick Nemetz placed 12th in the one-meter diving competition at the NCAA Zone C qualifying meet earlier this month. Nemetz — an Ann Arbor, Mich., product — climbed five spots on the final day of competition to cap a successful rookie season at Notre Dame. He won the one-meter and three- meter titles at the Big East Championship in February. • Notre Dame's most impressive recruit this year might be from the women's Braxston Cave snapped for three extra points in the first game of his Notre WHAT FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR WILL HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON NOTRE DAME NEXT SEASON? By Dan Murphy Point ✦ Counterpoint: Slaughter Is Most Significant Returnee end up a second-round or even a possible first-round NFL Draft choice in late April. Notre Dame also must fill a void at Dog linebacker if junior Prince Shembo shifts to the hybrid Cat/end position. Fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter can do both, which isn't ideal but is the reason why I think his return is the most notable heading into the 2012 season. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco will likely keep Slaughter at safety, but the The Irish have to replace captain and safety Harrison Smith, who might By Wes Morgan 6-0, 198-pounder out of Stone Mountain, Ga., certainly will add some insur- ance at outside linebacker. He's also spent some time at cornerback, another position up in the air after the Irish lost Robert Blanton to graduation. Slaughter and senior Zeke Motta switched off next to Smith on the back line last season. Now they're both going to be on the field at the same time for the first team. Though he finished seventh on the team in tackles (40), Motta has sometimes struggled working in space, which means Slaughter will have to anchor that group. The duo combined for 1,136 snaps last fall, with each recording one interception. Slaughter finished with 45 tackles last season. Behind Motta and Slaughter are a lot of inexperienced players, including redshirt sophomore Eilar Hardy and junior Austin Collinsworth, who has mostly appeared on special teams. Notre Dame must develop some depth this spring, as well as keep Slaughter and Motta healthy. Slaughter missed two games in 2010 with an ankle injury, a ding that hampered him for most of the season. When he's at 100 percent, Slaughter is a proven and confident force. His experience at safety in 2012 is critical, especially when it comes to setting an example for the youngsters. His versatility only makes his return to Notre Dame that much more valuable. from a 20-point deficit (39-19) at Villanova to post a 73-67 victory in overtime. The inevitable inquiry was whether Notre Dame had ever rallied On Feb. 18, the Notre Dame's men's basketball program rallied ✦ GIMME FIVE cits in NCAA Tournament action — only to lose both times. The 25-2 Irish in 1974 trailed against Michigan 28-8 in the second round, but took a brief lead in the second half before losing 77-68. In 2007, Notre Dame fell behind 54-34 versus Winthrop in the first round before rallying to take a 63-62 lead with 2:21 left, but was outscored 12-1 to close the game with a 74-64 defeat. However, the Irish did come back from 20 points one other time to post a victory. Here are the five largest rallies to victory that we found. Opponent (Date) 1t. Villanova (Feb. 18, 2012) 1t. Marquette (Jan. 21, 1992) 3. Indiana (Jan. 2, 1963) 4. Idaho (Jan. 25, 1982) golf team. Arizona native Lindsey Weaver hit golf's magic number when she shot a 59 during a PING Junior Interclub match in early March. To put that score in perspective, the only other female to ever officially re- cord a 59 in 18 holes is LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam. Weaver drained four birdies and an eagle on the 18th hole down the stretch to get below 60. She will be heading to Notre Dame next year where she plans to get a business degree in case golfing doesn't work out for her. 14 APRIL 2012 5t. Marquette (Feb. 26, 1978) 5t. UCLA (Jan. 17, 1974) 20 (39-19) 20 (45-25) 19 (45-26) 18 (28-10) 17 (34-17) 17 (35-18) Deficit 73-67 (OT) 69-63 73-70 Victory 50-48 (OT) 65-59 71-70 victory against UCLA snapping the Bruins' NCAA-record 88-game winning streak. Remarkably, on Feb. 1, 1987, No. 1 North Carolina also fell — Dan Murphy Note: The latter two were versus No. 1-ranked teams, with the 60-58 to Notre Dame after the Irish trailed by 16 (32-16), almost the same deficit as the one with Marquette in 1978 and UCLA in 1974. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED from a larger hole to record a victory. We discovered that the Irish twice came back from 20-point defi-