Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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from receiver to corner last spring to help minimize veteran exits, but served only on special teams in game situations last year. "From an athletic standpoint — X-Factors size, speed, the ability to play the ball, physicality — he's got all those tools," cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks said of Jackson. "He needs more reps, not just in practice, but in games." Fellow junior Lo Wood has lined up a handful of times at corner, mostly focusing on special teams. The back line of the Irish defense is now Zeke Motta's and Jamoris Slaughter's world after losing safety and captain Harrison Smith to the National Football League. Motta and Slaughter split time opposite Smith in 2011, and the trio combined for 185 tackles. Slaughter was slowed my multiple injuries in 2010, but shined last fall as a versatile playmaker that could thrive at safety and in nickel pack- ages. Motta is looking for more con- sistency, especially in open space, in his final go-around. Thesafety tandem that will be bolstered this summer by incoming freshmen Nick Baratti, C.J. Prosise, Elijah Shumate and John Turner, as well as Chris Badger, who will return from a two- year Mormon mission in Ecuador. Unlike Cooks, new safeties coach Bob Elliott should have more than enough bodies to make things work. ✦ Tackles CAREER STATISTICS ENTERING 2012 Austin Collinsworth Dan McCarthy Danny Spond Chris Salvi Bennett Jackson Troy Niklas Prince Shembo Louis Nix III Aaron Lynch Stephon Tuitt Jamoris Slaughter 2 Zeke Motta Lo Wood Interceptions 2 1 Carlo Calabrese Jamoris Slaughter Dan Fox Manti Te'o Zeke Motta Kapron Lewis-Moore 140 102 97 90 68 46 45 33 30 28 20 18 16 14 12 28.5 13.5 2 6 4 0.5 0 2.5 8.5 4.5 7 3 0 0 0 0 Total For Loss Sacks 324 6.5 0.5 5.5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 57 0 0 1 5 4 0 0.5 3.5 2 1 7 6 Sophomore Ishaq Williams can help either outside linebacker position, especially with the gradua- tion of Darius Fleming. No. Yds. TD PBU 26 0 www.BLUEANDGOLD.com at the Cat outside linebacker position, it remains to be seen just who will step up and push him this spring. The sophomore Williams is a prime candidate and came in last year with just as much fanfare as Lynch and Tuitt. It would take a lot to unseat Shembo, but Williams could at the very least provide quite a punch off the bench or at the position opposite Shembo. 5. Danny Spond — The junior is the frontrunner at the Dog outside linebacker position opposite Shembo. Head coach Brian Kelly has said he'd like to see Williams cross train at both the Cat and Dog spots, which means Spond can focus on a singular assignment. With questions at corner, Spond's ability to cover the flank well is imperative. 4. Ishaq Williams — With Prince Shembo likely to settle into outgoing senior Darius Fleming's spot backs Gary Gray and Robert Blanton, safety and captain Harrison Smith, and defensive end Ethan Johnson. Here are five X-factors for this year's defense: 1. Cornerbacks, please stand up — This group is as thin as Phyllo dough. The loss of Blanton and Gray The 2012 Notre Dame defense returns 10 players with starting experience but lost starting corner- to graduation means the Irish have no returning cornerback with any starting experience. Juniors Ben- nett Jackson and Lo Wood have taken the first-team reps early on this spring, but the pair is untested. Sophomores Josh Atkinson, Jalen Brown and Cam McDaniel, a converted running back, round out the scholarship unit. For a defense that is expected to continue an upward swing, this is the greatest posi- tion in need of answers immediately. 2. Zeke Motta — The 6-2, 215-pounder from Vero Beach, Fla., came to Notre Dame as a touted prospect that shunned the SEC. He has appeared in 38 games for the Irish and split time with Jamoris Slaughter opposite Harrison Smith last season. The four-star recruit turned down Florida, Florida State and Clemson to come to South Bend. Motta served as a bandage when the 2010 secondary suffered a number of injuries. Much more was expected of him in 2011, and Motta — known more for hard hits than his pass coverage — produced mixed results. A 29-yard fumble return for a touchdown against FSU in the Champs Sports Bowl is a reminder of his upside. The Irish need to see more of that side in 2012 now that he'll likely be starting with Slaughter on a full-time basis. 3. Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt — Following up a successful freshman campaign isn't always easy, just ask the band Hootie and the Blowfish, which stormed the pop charts in 1994 with a debut album that went on to sell 16 million copies. Their second effort sold three million. The sophomore defensive ends arrived last year about as hyped a tandem as Notre Dame has ever experienced, and for the most part they delivered. Now expectations are through the roof for the "freaks" on the front line. Managing those expectations, while continuing to mature, is paramount for the defensive line. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND — Wes Morgan APRIL 2012 35