Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Jalen Brown are next on the depth chart. It's extremely fluid in the second- ary, especially with junior safety Austin Collinsworth, expected to be part of a three-man rotation at safety similar to last year with first-round pick Harrison Smith, sidelined until at least late October after undergoing summer shoulder surgery. Sophomore safety Matthias Far- hunt for his share of time at safety, and even sophomore Cam McDaniel has been cross training on offense and defense. Assembling the No. 1 defensive backfield was relatively easy. Beyond that, it could be a crap shoot on how it will shake out. ley, a receiver last year, has made a push for action, as has freshman cor- nerback KeiVarae Russell, originally projected as a running back. Sophomore Jalen Brown also is making a surge, freshman safety Eli- jah Shumate was shifted to corner, former walk-on Chris Salvi, who earned a scholarship for his special teams prowess, has kept him in the that requires greater versatility than drop outside linebacker ('Dog" at Notre Dame) that must be part cor- ner, part linebacker and part lineman. He must be quick and agile enough to cover a slot or backfield man in pass coverage, yet at the same time match up with tight ends or even deal with offensive tackles in pass- rush situations. Blue & Gold Illustrated's depth chart of the scholarship players on defense. It includes the number of years eligible, including 2012. 2012 Defense Scholarship Depth Chart Based on the limited practice access and coversations with the Notre Dame coaching staff, here is No. End 89 Kapron Lewis-Moore 6-4 306 5th/1 91 Sheldon Day 53 Justin Utupo 96 Kona Schwenke 6-4 286 Jr./2 or 9 Louis Nix III 69 Tony Springmann 6-6 300 So./4 92 Tyler Stockton 6-3 326 Jr./3 6-0 285 Sr./2 Note: A crack of the bone in his fourth knuckle has Schwenke working with a large cast on his right hand in practices, but head coach Brian Kelly said it will be " a very workable, small cast for the game." No. End 50 Chase Hounshell 6-4 275 So./3 94 Jarron Jones 7 Stephon Tuitt No. Cat OLB 55 Prince Shembo 6-2 250 Jr./2 11 Ishaq Williams 30 Ben Councell 45 Romeo Okwara 34 C.J. Prosise 13 Danny Spond Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-6 303 So./3 6-5 299 Fr./4 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 56 Anthony Rabasa 6-3 240 So./4 No. Dog OLB 6-5 240 So./4 6-4 239 Fr./4 6-2 208 Fr./4 6-2 248 Jr./2 6-5 255 So./3 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. Note: Former linebacker Utupo is now aiding the line. No. Nose Guard 6-1 258 Jr./3 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 286 Fr./4 No. Will ILB 48 Dan Fox 8 Kendall Moore 44 Carlo Calabrese Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-3 240 Sr./2 6-1 242 Jr./3 6-1 245 Sr./2 Note: With Calabrese serving a one-game suspen- sion in the Sept. 1 opener, there is cross-training going on between the two inside positions, which are basically interchangeable. Grace and Moore have been on the field at the same time in their work with the second unit, and preferred walk-on Joe Schmidt also has been factoring into the mix. No. Boundary Safety Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 26 Jamoris Slaughter 6-0 200 5th/1 41 Matthias Farley 5-11 200 So./4 or 15 Dan McCarthy 16 Chris Badger 31 John Turner 6-2 205 5th/1 6-0 193 Fr./4 6-2 207 Fr./4 No. Field Safety 17 Zeke Motta 24 Chris Salvi or 29 Nick Baratti 4 Eilar Hardy 28 Austin Collinsworth 6-1 202 Jr./2 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 215 Sr./1 5-10 190 Sr./2 6-1 206 Fr./4 5-11 185 So./4 No. Boundary Corner Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 2 Bennett Jackson 6-0 185 Jr./2 6 KeiVarae Russell 5-11 182 Fr./4 22 Elijah Shumate Note: Spond has been examined by top specialists for his migrane problems and undergone a battery of tests. He has been cleared to practice, but there is no timetable on when he'll be allowed to take contact work. No. Mike ILB 5 Manti Te'o 59 Jarrett Grace www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-2 255 Sr./1 6-3 240 So./4 No. Field Corner 21 Jalen Brown or 43 Josh Atkinson No. Specialists 40 Nick Tausch 35 Ben Turk 27 Kyle Brindza 60 Jordan Cowart 61 Scott Daly 6-1 199 So.4 5-11 185 So./3 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6-0 201 Sr./2 5-11 186 Sr./1 6-1 225 So./3 6-2 230 Sr./1 6-2 245 Fr./4 2. DOG-EAT-DOG COMPETITION There isn't a position on defense spread teams, safety Jamoris Slaugh- ter downshifts there, with another safety replacing him at his spot. Last year's starting Dog, junior That is why against option or Prince Shembo shifted to the hybrid Cat/defensive end, where he was more of a natural to replace the grad- uated Darius Fleming. That left junior Danny Spond and sophomore Ben Councell as basi- cally the co-starters there this spring. However, on Aug. 8, Spond had to leave the practice with what was described as a severe migraine that required hospitalization, and he hadn't been cleared yet to practice as of Aug. 20. The injury hastened the move of C.J.Prosise from safety to Dog, join- ing classmate Romero Okwara. An- other contingency option is Shembo. Kelly said he's been "pleased" with Spond's progress. "All three of those guys have done really well for us," Kelly said. "… Romeo is long, does a great job in coverage, and C.J. is a very athletic kid, very smart." sive centerpiece after the graduation of Manti Te'o? A good bet would be sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who displayed remarkable strength and versatility in 2011, fin- ishing with three quarterback hur- ries and a sack in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State. "Really tough to block," Kelly re- 3. OUT FROM THE SHADOWS Who will be Notre Dame's defen- plied when asked about his thoughts on Tuitt's progress so far. "Tough physically, continued to grow and mature as a young man, had a great summer academically. "As a football player, that was 6-0 198 Fr./4 Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. never going to be our concern. It's great to watch a kid really become fully committed to Notre Dame and what we're about — as well as wreak havoc on the football field." Tuitt is primed to elevate to a top tier. "I expect myself to be an impact player, I'm not going to lie," he said. "But I'm going to do my assignment the best way I can do it to help my defense and help my team. I won't boost the ego … I just do what I need to do for my team, that I won't fail my team at all … just coming up as a sophomore I still have a lot to do." "Just always work hard. You don't have to run your mouth to do it." ✦ PRESEASON 2012 55