Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SEASON KICKOFF: DEFENSIVE LINE shadowed the most accomplished member along the front — fifth-year veteran (and bearded) defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore (6-4, 306), who has started 29 career games and boasts 140 tackles (13.5 for loss). Notre Dame's elder statesman on the defensive line returns to South Bend after missing the second half of last season with a detached medial collateral ligament. He said a long winter of grinding rehab left him with a fully healed leg and a new appreciation for the day-to-day abil- ity to play college football. "I'm actually just looking forward to having some fun out there," he said. "It's a grind. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't, but I think we have to enjoy the grind. Football doesn't last forever, it's a fun game." Reserve defensive ends Sheldon Day, a freshman, and tient along the defensive line this year. That mix of experi- ence and youthful zeal makes the unit one of the strongest for the Fighting Irish this fall. Most of the attention has been on juniors Kona Schwenke and Louis Nix — who combine for 616 pounds of trouble at nose guard — and sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt, a 6-6, 303-pounder from Monroe, Ga., who's easily the most imposing figure on the roster. Tuitt started three games as a freshman, registering 30 tackles and a pair of sacks in 2011. Schwenke appeared in only three games last year, but emerged as a first-teamer through the spring and fall. He's expected to split time with Nix, who started 11 games last year in his first season on the field. The excitement around that trio has seemingly over- N otre Dame will get contributions from players who took copious notes over many years and waited their turn and others who were a little more impa- Defensive front has teeth again in 2012 BY WES MORGAN LINED UP ALL Chase Hounshell, a sophomore, round out a group that has position coach Mike Elston pretty excited. "We've got a lot of depth," he said. "In the front, we've got as good of depth as we've had since we've been here. It's great to see that. No one has wilted in terms of guys we're counting on. Everybody has really stepped forward in those areas. Your usual suspects that are in that 'next man in' role, they've all stepped forward and done a great job." The Irish entered last season with rookies Tuitt and Aaron Lynch eager to make an immediate impact. Lynch, who was named a Freshman All-American, left the pro- gram this spring. Elston appears to have had little trouble moving on. "Oh, we're way ahead," he said. "It's not even close to the 2011 season due to injury, but he has maintained a leadership role. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore may have missed the second half of 56 PRESEASON 2012 last year. We have more experience in there now. Chase has more experience than the other guys did a year ago because he spent the spring with us. Sheldon is not like a normal freshman. He was taught a lot of good things BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED