Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The Irish graduated both starting corners last season and are starting fresh with a group that has next to no experience on Saturdays. Junior Bennett Jackson was a bright spot for Cooks throughout the camp. He locked down a starting spot as the boundary corner, the more ag- gressive of the two spots, within the first two weeks of practice. Junior Lo Wood and sophomore Josh Atkinson will likely continue to battle through- out the season for playing time at the field corner spot. Speed is Atkinson's best asset. Next to his brother and maybe one or two others, he has one of the best 40- yard dash times on the team. Wood trumps him in the technical depart- ment, but for now lacks the kind of playmaking ability the coaches want to see. "He should be competitive for the ball when it's in the air, fundamen- tally come up break up the ball, dis- rupt, make a tackle, and it's incon- sistent," Cooks said. "Whereas you watch Bennett on the other side and he's pretty consistent — not always No. End 89 Kapron Lewis-Moore 6-4 306 5th/1 92 Tyler Stockton 50 Chase Hounshell No. Nose Guard 96 Kona Schwenke 9 Louis Nix III 7 Stephon Tuitt 91 Sheldon Day 69 Tony Springmann 6-6 290 So./4 No. End 6-4 286 Jr./2 6-3 326 Jr./3 Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-0 285 Sr./2 6-4 265 So./3 Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. Notes: Hounshell and Springmann were side- lined while recovering from offseason shoulder and back surgeries, respectively … With the de- parture of Aaron Lynch (pages 17-19), Stockton moved from nose guard to end. Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-6 295 So./3 6-2 286 Fr./4 No. Cat OLB 55 Prince Shembo 11 Ishaq Williams 56 Anthony Rabasa No. Dog OLB Notes: Shembo missed the last three weeks of practice while battling turf toe. He had surgery on it in April and was expected to return for summer workouts … In pass-rushing situations, a 4-3 look could have Shembo and Williams as the ends … Dog is often the wild card position because against spread or option teams, that is where safety Jamoris Slaughter aligns to provide speed and coverage skills along the flanks. 13 Danny Spond 30 Ben Councell Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-2 248 Jr./2 6-5 240 So./4 30 MAY 2012 Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-2 250 Jr./2 6-5 255 So./3 6-3 240 So./4 Spring Scholarship Depth Chart: Defense Fifth-year senior safety Jamoris Slaughter (No. 26) has the versatility to play on the flanks either at out- side linebacker or cornerback, but his greatest value is in the middle of the field. No. Mike ILB 5 Manti Te'o No. Will ILB 48 Dan Fox 59 Jarrett Grace 8 Kendall Moore Notes: Fox and Calabrese, both of whom are eli- gible for a fifth season in 2013, likely will remain a tag-team duo. 44 Carlo Calabrese 53 Justin Utupo No. Safety No. Safety Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-3 240 Sr./2 6-1 245 Sr./2 6-1 258 Jr./3 26 Jamoris Slaughter 6-0 200 5th/1 15 Dan McCarthy 4 Eilar Hardy 17 Zeke Motta 28 Austin Collinsworth 6-1 202 Jr./2 41 Matthias Farley 24 Chris Salvi 6-2 215 Sr./1 5-11 200 So./4 Notes: The Irish coaching staff is adamant that Slaughter must remain at safety to help set the unit, but he did work at field cornerback this spring as a contingency option in case of an emergency. "I would say it would be hard for us to put Jamoris out at corner just because of what he does for us in the middle of our defense," cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks said. 5-10 190 Sr./2 No. Boundary Corner Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 2 Bennett Jackson 21 Jalen Brown 6-0 185 Jr./2 6-0 198 So.4 5-11 185 So./4 Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-2 205 5th/1 Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-2 255 Sr./1 6-3 240 So./4 6-1 242 Jr./3 No. Field Corner 23 Lo Wood Notes: The least experienced position on the team requires all hands on deck. "I'm telling you right now, there's going to be guys rolling in and out at corner," defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said. "Whether we like it or not, they all need to play." … Brown has been mentioned as a potential top nickel candidate by safeties coach Bob Elliott. 43 Josh Atkinson 33 Cam McDaniel Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 5-10 195 Jr./2 5-11 185 So./3 5-10 195 So./3 No. Specialists 40 Nick Tausch 35 Ben Turk 27 Kyle Brindza 60 Jordan Cowart Notes: Tausch won the placekicking duties and has converted 15 of his 18 field goal attempts, while Turk begins a fourth season as the punter with Cowart long snapping … Brindza is the top backup at kicker and punter, and will also handle most kickoffs. Ht. Wt. Yr./Elig. 6-0 201 Sr./2 5-11 186 Sr./1 6-1 225 So./3 6-2 230 Sr./1 PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND The class year represents the fall semester of 2012, while eligibility indicates how many more years a player is eligible, entering the 2012 season. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED