Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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on the west end of Notre Dame's campus to begin training camp at the start of August. The fifth-year senior, who turned 23 years old two weeks earlier, expected to be sharing a room with se- nior tight end Tyler Eifert or another veteran during his last month of dorm life. In- stead, the bunk across from his was filled by 18-year-old Chris Brown — a new wide receiver fresh out of high school. J ohn Goodman got a little bit of a surprise when he moved into the dorm's eral upperclassmen paired with rookies during the team bonding experience of living together on campus. Senior safety Zeke Motta roomed with his backup, freshman Nicky Baratti. Slot receiver Robby Toma stayed with the guy trying to take his job, freshman Davonté Neal. So did quarterback Tommy Rees, who walked sophomore Everett Golson through the playbook at night in their dorm room. This camp was the first time dur- Goodman was one of sev- A Culture Of Coaching MURPHY'S LAW DAN MURPHY confident group of upper- classmen. The 5-9 Toma spent a good chunk of his fall camp giving the dynamic blue- chipper Neal all the mental lessons the latter would need to take the former's job. Part of that is Toma's character. Part is the sign of a player who believes his own ability is strong enough that he'll find his way on to the field this season no matter who else is on the roster. The older crop of players doesn't walk away from the exchange empty-handed either. More than just de- veloping a capable backup, the seniors are finding that teaching is elevating their own understanding of their position. The best way to learn something is to teach it. "It's definitely helped me Young and old came together not only on the practice field during fall camp, but when it came time to bunk down for the night. ing Brian Kelly's tenure in South Bend that summer room assignments consistently bridged such a large age gap, and it wasn't a mistake. Kelly and his staff have gone out of their way during the past six months to try to develop a new culture at Notre Dame — one that encourages accountability among teammates and leans heavily on its veterans to nur- ture their newest teammates. "We've definitely worked to fa- cilitate an environment like that," assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco said. "We've got some guys that are really sure of themselves." Fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis- freshmen cornerbacks aside to work on their form throughout fall camp. Senior linebacker Manti Te'o report- edly got a lot less shy about hold- ing his younger teammates up to his own standards of work ethic. This isn't a novel idea. Every col- PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND lege football team in history claims they are breaking camp as the 105 best friends that anybody could have, all pulling in the same direc- tion and trying to make one another better. But this year's Notre Dame team said its attitude is more than just lip service, and there are at least splashes of evidence that they might be right. "It's happening more so than I've player while trying to prepare an inexperienced secondary. Coaches have long touted Slaughter's com- prehensive knowledge of the Irish defense, but this summer took him to another level. "You think you understand some- out a lot," said fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter, who has perhaps done more coaching than any other thing and then while you're coaching you're like, 'Oh, that's why,'" he said. "I think it's really helped me to fully understand a lot of what the coaches want. I'm definitely learning a lot more that I thought I knew." A new attitude doesn't mean a new Moore, who temporarily lost his start- ing spot this spring, had no qualms about showing fellow defensive end Sheldon Day how to shimmy away from an offensive lineman during a mid-August practice. Junior Ben- nett Jackson made a habit of pulling 6 PRESEASON 2012 ever seen, than I've really blatantly just noticed," said cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks, who has been coach- ing college football for the past eight years. "When you have that going on, you know that there's not selfish- ness on the team. You've got a senior or junior helping out a freshman or sophomore to get that guy on the field, and it could be at the same po- sition. That's awesome." It's also the sign of a mature and team. It doesn't mean the Irish are now destined for double digit wins this season. In a year when wins will be tough to stockpile, this might be more important. It took more than two years, but Notre Dame's players are genuinely buying into what the coaching staff is preaching. You can't teach what you don't be- lieve. And now they're passing those beliefs down the line. ✦ Dan Murphy has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2011. He can be reached at dmurphy@blueandgold.com BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED