Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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SEASON KICKOFF: SPECIAL TEAMS mitted to take off more than one yard down the field prior to the kick, the college rule permits the front seven to run down prior to the kick. Thus, the formation in vogue in the collegiate game In recent years, "The Shield" in punt coverage has helped minimize returns in the college game. Unlike in the NFL, where only the two gunners are per- THE SHIELD man. It's more about getting just enough blocking up front to help ward off the vast and spread out coverage team. Booker said a lot of the concentration has been on helping hold up the coverage — without getting called for hold- ing, of course. "We're looking for guys up front who are able to do the as opposed to "pro punt" has the seven front-line play- ers (three on each side of the snapper) spread out to cover punts, and then three blockers — many times of- fensive linemen — in front of the punter. The three who were lined up in front of Turk in the Aug. 15 practice were sophomore offensive linemen Nick Martin and Matt Hegarty, and sophomore linebacker Jarrett Grace. At least three purposes are served with The Shield: • Much more people can get into coverage quicker, which usually requires more frequent fair catches every- where, not just at Notre Dame. • With the blockers spread out up front, more skill and speed can be put along the line for coverage, while a couple of linemen are put in to protect the punter. Faster people along the line allow for quicker overall coverage, allowing it to smother potential returns before they can set up. • The wide splits along the line help spread out the techniques, and the things were asking them to do to hold and to give those guys in the back end — whoever it is — a crease to go," Booker said. "That's a very important part of the equation. We're working hard at trying to work on our tie-up and tie those guys up at the line of scrimmage — and then put someone out there that can go vertical." A stronger investment into the punt return game just might yield some overall better returns. ✦ News & Notes team had in particular displayed noticeable improvement, head coach Brian Kelly singled out the senior tandem of kicker Nick Tausch and punter Ben Turk, plus sophomore Kyle Brindza, the backup for both and the kickoff man. Tausch converted a Notre Dame-record 14 straight field goal attempts • When asked during the Aug. 16 media day if any specific area on the as a freshman in 2009, but an injury provided the graduated David Ruffer the chance to take over the duties the rest of 2009 and all of 2010-11. Turk had a slow start in 2011, but he helped make a difference in the punt return defense, thereby lessening the chance for a blocked punt as well. "In this game with the shield punt and the fact that [the hard-fought 15-12 win at Pitt when three of his four punts were downed inside the 20 to help win the field position battle. Then he excelled in November, averaging nearly 43 yards per attempt. He saved his best for last in the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida coverage is] able to get out so early, if you look at the stats around the nation, there aren't that many punt returns happening," said first-year Irish special teams coordinator Scott Booker, who also coaches the tight ends. Although Notre Dame attempted only 13 punt returns State. Although the Irish lost, 18-14, Turk's seven punts averaged 40.7 yards, had excellent hang time, and four were downed inside the 20 to help keep the Seminoles at bay. "You saw in the end of the year Ben Turk starting to come on with in 2011, or an average of one per game, Florida Inter- national University led the nation in punt return aver- age (15.93) — but returned only 15 punts in 13 games. Northwestern was No. 2 (15.86) — and returned just eight punts, or five fewer than the Irish. Ole Miss ranked No. 3 with just 14 punt returns. The two teams that had the most punt returns with 41 apiece were Ohio U (14 games) and Penn State (13 games), or an average of three per game. While Notre Dame re- turned only 13 punts in 2011, its opponents combined for only 15 returns against them. flag this season when it comes to punt return. The punt return stats might not make or break a team's campaign, but the three punt return yards Notre Dame totaled dur- ing its 12-game regular season also is unacceptable. "We had Rocket and Tim Brown, but those rules didn't apply when they played," Kelly said. "So not to take any- thing away from their ability, but we certainly do not want to be where we were last year." In practice situations, the staff attempts to distract the players catching punts by throwing towels or other ob- jects in front of their faces, among other tactics, while the ball is in the air. However, Booker says it's hardly about just the return www.BLUEANDGOLD.com That's not to say Booker and Co., are waving the white FINDING ANSWERS some consistency," Kelly said. "He had a great spring. He's been terrific, and I don't want to jinx him, but Coach [Bob] Diaco is working with the punters directly, and he's done a great job of getting them to a level of consistency. "There were some questions in my mind, but watching them and spe- cial teams, they've done a really nice job." • Although first-year tight ends coach Scott Booker has the special teams coordinator title, he points out that many members of the staff have been special teams coordinators at various points in their career, among them defensive line coach Mike Elston, safeties coach Bob Elliott, cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks, and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco from 1999-2008. Each has been given a specific area to instruct, including Diaco with punters and Cooks and running backs/slot coach Tony Alford in the return game. • While the search for consistency in the punt return game continued this August, sophomore running back George Atkinson III established himself as one of the more dangerous kick returners last season with touchdowns against Michigan State and USC. This year, an NCAA rule change now moves kickoffs up from the 30 to the 35, and touchbacks now come out to the 25. Those five yards on kickoffs are expected to limit a top return man's chances. "George Atkinson would be featured as the kickoff return specialist — if we get a chance to return any," Kelly said. With junior safety Austin Collinsworth — Notre Dame's 2011 Special Teams Player of the Year —sidelined at least until the latter part of Octo- ber, sophomore running back/defensive back Cam McDaniel was an early favorite to join Atkinson as the deep man on returns. — Lou Somogyi PRESEASON 2012 67