Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Twelve To In 2012 Watch important to Notre Dame's success this season BY DAN MURPHY The dozen players who will be most T player on each side of the ball that could have been earning a salary on the football field if they chose to leave school a year early. Linebacker Manti Te'o and tight he very top of the heap on Notre Dame's 85-man roster this season is easy to distin- guish. The Irish will have one end Tyler Eifert, both preseason All- Americans, will be the cornerstones for their respective units. The Irish know what to expect from that pair. The next tier of impact players, still much more brick than mortar, are more likely to determine how Notre Dame stacks up against its tough schedule in 2012. Determining their pecking order takes more of a vetting process. Notre Dame's top 12 players head- duce at an elite level for his position? Can he produce when and where it really counts — with big plays that lead to big wins? And finally, it never hurts to be at the center of attention. The players who find themselves in the middle of the season's main sto- rylines get a boost on our list. With those variables in mind, here are the 12 players with their hands most firmly on the fate of the 2012 football season. young Manti Te'o take the field as a freshman against Nevada in 2009 to start his career and thinking, 'Boy, this kid is going to be a good one when he's older'? He's older now, and he's living up to the promise. Te'o might have been a first-round 1. LB MANTI TE'O Can you remember watching a production loss of Michael Floyd," Kelly said following the team's an- nual spring game. "To do that we've got to be able to get him into some favorable positions. He's not going to lock down just at the tight end position. He's a guy that can play as a wide receiver. Heck, he could play running back if we needed him to. He's an incredible athlete. He's a versatile player, and we're going to take advantage of that skill." Eifert caught 63 passes, mostly pick in the NFL Draft in April had he left Notre Dame. Instead, he returned to South Bend and rededicated him- self to improving. "I understand there's no second chance," he said. "I'm going to take advantage of every day I have here just getting better for myself and for my team. That's the main difference [from a year ago]." Te'o arrived at Notre Dame's me- from the tight end spot, a year ago. During the spring game, he lined up as wide receiver for both of his catches — a 25-yard touchdown and a 30-yard deep ball. With a crew of mostly inexperienced wide receivers around him, Eifert is the one offen- sive player Notre Dame can least af- ford to be without in 2012. He keeps defenses guessing with his versatility and should attract enough attention to open holes for his teammates. Replacing the 100 catches Floyd pulled in a season ago might prove to be impossible for Eifert, but his im- dia day 15 pounds lighter than a year ago and "twice as strong" by his own standards. He said he ate better, trained harder and cared more this offseason than the player who was already on pace to become one of the top three tacklers in Notre Dame history after making 324 stops in his first three seasons. "Not only is he going to be one of the very best linebackers that ever played here, if not the best," defen- sive coordinator Bob Diaco said, "he's one of the very best linebackers to ever play college football." Te'o is irreplaceable on and off the ing into the season are ranked based on three criteria. First and foremost, he must be a player the Irish can't afford to lose. If his absence would seriously change the outlook of head coach Brian Kelly's third year in of- fice, then he is climbing our list. Next is about the numbers. Can he pro- Senior inside linebacker Manti Te'o possibly would have been selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, but he felt he had unfinished business at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA www.BLUEANDGOLD.com field for the Irish this season. Physi- cal prowess has always been only one-half of the equation with Te'o. His ability to pull the best out of the rest of Notre Dame's defense might be his biggest asset as a senior. didate to be the best player at his position in the country. Although, calling the 6-6, 260-pound target a tight end is a misnomer for this year's offense. "He's a guy that has to replace the 2. TE TYLER EIFERT Like Te'o, Eifert is a preseason can- receiver Michael Floyd to graduation. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA Senior tight end Tyler Eifert, one of the most ath- letic players on the roster, will be a focal point of the Irish offense after the team lost prolific wide PRESEASON 2012 31