Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SEASON KICKOFF: DEFENSIVE BACKS News & Notes • One player who looks to be staying put, for a change, amid the shifting seas of the Irish defensive backfield is freshman safety Nicky Baratti. The Texas native played five different positions for his Klein Oak High School team, including quarterback and tight end, where he was an all- state player. He hasn't played safety since he was a sophomore, but ad- justed well enough to the position in his first few weeks at Notre Dame that he took some reps with the second team during defensive drills in August. "It was kind of weird the first couple of days backpedaling, turning out recruited to play the position. Jackson came to Notre Dame as a wide receiver. He played exclusively on special teams as a freshman and was a standout on kickoffs as a return and a coverage man. "Bennett has kind of always been older in the sense of a and running out in cover two, but I'm adjusting to it fine and getting a lot of reps at it," he said. At 6-1, 206 pounds, Baratti is drawing early comparisons at least physi- cally to first-round draft pick Harrison Smith and senior Zeke Motta. That's company he's happy to keep at this point. Smith hosted Baratti on his visit to campus as a recruit last fall. Motta was his roommate during summer camp and has been his mentor and tutor at the field safety spot during the past month. "Nicky's been doing good. It's just a matter of learning the defense and maturity standpoint," Cooks said. "With him playing a lot of snaps on special teams as a freshman I think that helps for a player like him. He's been at big games. Maybe not at cornerback, but he's played at big games." Last season Jackson flipped to defense to prepare for the loss of Gary Gray and Robert Blanton at the corner position, a double hit that is turning out to be more detri- mental than the Irish thought. He's not the technician that Wood became this offseason, but Jackson learned more about the position this summer by regularly teaching the freshmen and sophomores below him on the depth chart. He said one item he definitely doesn't lack is the mental having the confidence out there to really communicate," Motta said. "He's got the skills. I don't have anything bad to say about him." Baratti started his college career along with three other freshmen safe- ties, two of whom have since moved on to different positions. The Irish coaches shifted Elijah Shumate to cornerback to try to find a shorter path to the field for the physically ready freshman. C.J. Prosise (6-2, 208 pounds) moved up a level to the Dog linebacker position after an injury to projected starter junior Danny Spond at that spot. That leaves Baratti and John Turner as the two new freshmen remaining at safety. • The Irish got one more boost to their defensive backfield depth chart this summer with the return of Chris Badger, now a 21-year- old freshman. Badger started his Notre Dame career as an early enrollee in the spring of 2010 and then departed for nearly two years to serve his Mormon mission in Ecuador. Badger said the month of spring practice he had in Kelly's first season made the transition back to football this summer a lot smoother. "It comes back to you. It's edge — the swagger — that most defensive backs need to survive. "I like having the pressure on me, knowing that one guy is me. Knowing the spotlight is going to be on you just makes you want to work that much harder," he said. "I like it. People on the outside don't know what we do every day. I know what I'm capable of. I know what our defense is capable of. I'm just excited to show it off." just a mentality," he said. "Obviously we've got a lot of guys, so the coaches are looking at everybody. I'm just trying to focus on doing the little things and jump in wherever I can and improve little parts of my game that will make a difference in the future." Badger's impact this season will most likely come on spe- cial teams, while he tries to climb a depth chart packed with veterans like Motta, Jamoris Slaughter, Dan McCarthy and Chris Salvi. — Dan Murphy www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Junior Bennett Jackson arrived at Notre Dame as a wide receiver, but was named the Special Teams Player of the Year in 2010 and is now the team's top cornerback. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA PRESEASON 2012 63