Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Kicker Kyle Brindza should be in the mix for field goal duties as a sophomore in 2012 now that Lou Groza Award finalist David Ruffer has exhausted his eligibil- ity. He'll battle Nick Tausch, who connected on 14 consecutive field goals as a freshman in 2009 and looks to regain his role after being overtaken by Ruffer. S BY DAN MURPHY some life into his special teams by handing the reins of the team's most troubled unit to its youngest assistant. Notre Dame's special teams were cott Booker's first challenge as a Notre Dame coach won't be an easy one. Irish head coach Brian Kelly decided to try to breathe inconsistent at their best last season and nonexistent at their worst. The punt return struggles were well doc- SPECIAL TEAMS SPRING FOOTBALL umented. Placekicker David Ruffer took a step backward. And even the sometimes-electric kick return unit went through dry spells. On the plus side, Notre Dame has a list of dy- namic players — new and old — that have the potential to change games. Booker, ready to prove himself on the 38 APRIL 2012 NEW LEADER turning around the special teams Irish assistant Scott Booker has been tasked with on special teams while playing safety at Kent State in the early 2000s. He's never coached them before in his eight-year career, but he should have help. Kelly said Booker's job will be to make sure "the trains run on time" while the rest of Notre Dame's 10- man staff focuses on a specific facet of special teams that relate to their position group. "Special teams is the only group big stage, might be the right guy to help them live up to it. Booker was a four-year standout that brings the offense and defense together," Booker said. "Like coach said, it's going to be a group effort on the coaching staff's part — all nine of us, and then also as the head coach, he's going to be very involved." It's the same system Notre Dame PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND used last year. Booker replaces for- mer coordinator Mike Elston, who is now free to focus on nurturing the abundance of raw talent he has along the defensive line. The hope is that Booker, who has only four tight ends to coach on offense, can dedicate more BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED