Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SEASON KICKOFF: LINEBACKERS The linebacker unit is poised for production PURPOSE PLAYING WITH this time at the Cat position. Shembo started eight games last fall at the Dog (drop) spot, and his shift to the other side after the graduation of Darius Fleming is a move that will take full advantage of his pass-rushing acu- men. He finished 2011 with 31 tackles (3.5 for loss) in 12 appearances. With significantly less space to guard against the pass Junior Prince Shembo (6-2, 250) is back on the outside, on the boundary side, Shembo is salivating at the many opportunities he'll have to get after opposing quarter- backs. That's what he grew up doing as a prep player in North Carolina, and it's what got Notre Dame's attention in the first place. Sophomore Ishaq Williams has three inches and five pounds on Shembo, who missed time in the spring due to turf toe, and used that size last year as a rookie to re- cord six tackles in 11 games. The two are expected to split SUMMER WORKOUTS THAT BROUGHT US TOGETHER." SENIOR DAN FOX ARE A LOT OF GUYS THAT ARE VETERANS. WE HAVE A REAL TIGHT BOND. WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY GOOD "WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR A WHILE NOW. THERE time this season, with Williams likely seeing more action against Navy's slippery slot backs. What Shembo lacks in size is made up in attitude. "I might not look the biggest, but I'm telling you, I'm strong," he said. "I'm telling you, don't sleep on me — don't. I'm getting back to my old self and doing what I did when I was young. Don't change for anyone; just follow your heart and your purpose." As a reserve last year, Danny Spond made his impact mostly on special teams, piling up 13 tackles. He emerged as a starter at Dog during the spring and showed im- provement early in fall camp, before missing extended time due to what head coach Brian Kelly said was diag- nosed as migraines. Spond has been sidelined since Aug. 8, when he was carted off the field and later hospitalized. A timeline for his return isn't yet known. Assistant head coach Bob Diaco, whose other respon- Junior Prince Shembo started eight games at Dog linebacker during the A BY WES MORGAN shipmen's usual triple-option offense and accompanying cut-blocks, the Fighting Irish linebacker corps has made it through fall camp relatively intact. Returning starters on the inside Manti Te'o (6-2, 240 s the Notre Dame football team finishes its prepa- ration for the Sept. 1 season opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, which will include the Mid- 2011 season, and is primed and ready after shifting over to Cat linebacker. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA sibilities include defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, expects the same as Kelly: "next man in." And that young man is sophomore Ben Councell, who has made one of the quickest climbs up the team's depth chart in a short amount of time. "It's probably the last thing I would have thought of coming in from last year — redshirting to taking reps with the ones," the 6-5, 240-pounder admitted. "The urgency definitely has stepped up … [They're] drilling me a lot harder." pounds), a senior selected to the Bednarik (top defender) and Butkus (top linebacker) award preseason watch lists, and classmate Dan Fox (6-3, 240), who was named the squad's 2011 Defensive Newcomer of the year, combined for 18 per- cent of Notre Dame's tackles in 2011 — a team-high 128 for Te'o and 48 for Fox. They also had 16 total tackles for loss. 60 PRESEASON 2012 box score two years ago, when in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas he notched 13 tackles, including a sack, and a blocked punt. The Dog position might be the most complicated on Councell, a native of Asheville, N.C., last appeared in a defense because of its many responsibilities. He has to be fast enough to sometimes cover a slot receiver or running back out of the backfield, agile enough to re-route the receiver while dropping into coverage, yet strong enough to set the edge against the run while taking on the blocks of tight ends and even offensive BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED