Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SPRING SCHOLARSHIP 50 Chase Hounshell 91 Sheldon Day No. Nose Guards 9 Louis Nix III DEPTH CHART — DEFENSE No. Ends 89 Kapron Lewis-Moore 6-4 300 5th/1 19 Aaron Lynch 7 Stephon Tuitt Note: Day worked at end on March 21 while junior Kona Schwenke was at nose guard. 6-6 295 So./3 6-4 265 So./3 6-2 275 Fr./4 96 Kona Schwenke 92 Tyler Stockton 69 Tony Springmann 6-5 280 So./4 Note: Springmann will have limited work this spring while recovering from back surgery. Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-3 326 Jr./3 6-4 285 Jr./2 6-0 302 Sr./2 No. Cat Linebacker/End Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 55 Prince Shembo 11 Ishaq Williams 56 Anthony Rabasa Note: Williams changed from No. 1 to 11. No. Dog Linebacker 13 Danny Spond 30 Ben Councell 5 Manti Te'o Walk-On: Connor Little (93). No. Mike Linebacker 8 Kendall Moore 53 Justin Utupo 59 Jarrett Grace No. Will Linebacker 48 Dan Fox 44 Carlo Calabrese 6-2 250 Jr./2 6-5 255 So./3 6-3 240 So./4 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 242 Jr./2 6-4 230 So./4 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 255 Sr./1 6-1 242 Jr./3 6-1 251 Jr./3 6-2 240 So./4 Walk-On: Joe Schmidt (38). No. Safety Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-3 240 Sr./2 6-1 245 Sr./2 26 Jamoris Slaughter 6-0 198 5th/1 17 Zeke Motta 28 Austin Collinsworth 6-1 200 Jr./2 15 Dan McCarthy 24 Chris Salvi 4 Eilar Hardy Note: Chris Badger will return in June from a two-year Mormon mission and have four years of eligibility. Walk-Ons: Blake Breslau (49) and Connor Cavalaris (40). 41 Matthias Farley 5-10 190 Sr./2 5-11 177 So./4 5-10 194 So./4 No. Cornerback Walk-Ons: Joe Romano (35) and Will Salvi (36) 34 APRIL 2012 43 Josh Atkinson 21 Jalen Brown 33 Cam McDaniel 2 Bennett Jackson 23 Lo Wood Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-0 185 Jr./2 5-10 195 Jr./2 5-11 185 So./3 6-0 198 So./4 5-10 195 So./3 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 215 Sr./1 6-2 205 5th/1 Sophomore defensive end Aaron Lynch will likely receive a lot more snaps after a sterling freshman debut campaign. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Defensive Newcomer of the Year but got lost at times last year at the Dog position, which requires pass cover- age on the flank. Sophomore Ishaq Williams saw ac- tion at the Cat position last year, but could be moved opposite Shembo if need be. That all depends on how junior Danny Spond responds to the opening left by Fleming this spring. Williams, a five-star recruit, came to Notre Dame with just as much hype as Lynch and Tuitt, but wasn't quite as ready to contribute significant minutes. He appeared in 11 games and registered six tackles. Sopho- more Ben Councell redshirted last season and should be in the mix at the Dog spot. The thinnest unit by far is the Irish defensive backfield, so much so SECONDARY CONCERNS that sophomore Cam McDaniel has moved from running back to corner- back this spring after ND lost starters Robert Blanton and Gary Gray, who combined for 59 starts. An already shorthanded group (down to just five scholarship corners) was dealt another blow during spring break when early enrollee and vaunted cor- nerback Tee Shepard left Notre Dame and returned home to Fresno, Calif. "We're certainly short, there's no question," Kelly said. "There's no hiding the fact that we have a num- bers issue there. … But you know our philosophy and style of defense. We think that we can be a championship team with the five guys that we have there." It's the first time since 1998 the Irish enter a season with no career starts at corner. Junior Bennett Jackson was moved BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-6 265 So./3