Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/80354
GAME PREVIEW: NAVY impressive numbers in the run game by sheer force of will. Navy finished last season fourth in the nation with 3,747 rushing yards and was one of 11 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision to top 600 attempts, placing fourth in that category with 694 carries. That's 261 more than the Irish in 2011. Navy's top two rushers from a year ago are gone. VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The Midshipmen's triple-option attack creates ON PAPER NAVY RUNNING GAME BY DAN MURPHY Quarterback Kriss Proctor and fullback Alexander Teich graduated and took 48 percent of the Mids' rushing yards with them. Sophomore Noah Cope- land (5-10, 205 pounds) is next in line to churn up yards from the fullback spot, but Navy will need to rely on its third option — senior slot backs Gee Gee Greene and Bo Snelson — to carry a bigger load in 2012. Greene ran for 501 yards and three touchdowns last season. Notre Dame's defensive front is led by senior linebacker Manti Te'o. The All-American had a field day against the Midshipmen a year ago with 13 tackles. Sophomore defensive end Stephon Tuitt made seven tackles in one of his best perfor- mances of the year as well. Still, Navy's persistence earned them 196 rushing yards in that game. In a battle of team strengths, Navy's persistence al- lows them to put up impressive numbers in the ground attack. Advantage: Navy NAVY PASSING GAME quarterback Trey Miller. In his lone start last year, Miller completed five passes for a total of 33 yards against Notre Dame. He reportedly has more of an arm than Proctor and a couple of potentially strong targets, so those numbers should go up at least a little bit as a full-time starter. Junior Matt Aiken and 6-4 senior Brandon Turner VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Proctor's exit leaves the door open for junior are both back after leading the team in yardage and receptions a year ago. Turner, however, missed the majority of training camp when he failed to pass a conditioning test in early August. Notre Dame's secondary is thin at corner with junior Bennett Jackson and either Jalen Brown or Josh Atkinson, both sophomores, making their first start in Dublin. A pair of veteran safeties in fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter and senior Zeke Motta give the Irish the advantage in what is as much a battle of weaknesses as the running game is a battle of strengths. Advantage: Notre Dame The Irish have their own version of a triple option in the backfield this season with seniors Cierre NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE 76 PRESEASON 2012 Junior wide receiver Matt Aiken was Navy's second-leading receiver in 2011, with 13 receptions for 201 yards (15.5 yards per catch) and two touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY Offense Pos. No. Name X 7 Slot 6 9 LT 70 Zack Martin 78 Ronnie Stanley 87 Daniel Smith Theo Riddick Robby Toma TJ Jones LG 66 Chris Watt C RG 57 Mike Golic Jr. 72 Nick Martin TE 80 Tyler Eifert 18 Ben Koyack 65 Conor Hanratty 52 Braxston Cave 77 Matt Hegarty RT 74 Christian Lombard 6-5 309 Jr. 64 Tate Nichols W 81 John Goodman 10 DaVaris Daniels RB 20 Cierre Wood 4 Everett Golson Gunner Kiel G. Atkinson III PK 40 Nick Tausch 27 Kyle Brindza 35 Ben Turk Pos. No. Name P KO 27 Kyle Brindza 40 Nick Tausch 27 Kyle Brindza 5-11 190 Jr. 6-4 215 Jr. 5-11 199 Sr. 5-9 185 Sr. 6-4 304 Sr. 6-6 285 Fr. 6-3 310 Sr. 6-5 305 So. 6-3 304 5th-Sr. 6-5 291 So. 6-3 295 5th-Sr. 6-4 285 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Ht. Wt. Cl. Defense Pos. No. Name DE 89 K. Lewis-Moore 91 Sheldon Day Louis Nix III Cat 55 Prince Shembo or 11 Ishaq Williams Dog 30 Ben Councell 45 Romeo Okwara Mike 5 Manti Te'o 59 Jarrett Grace QB 12 Andrew Hendrix 6-2 220 Jr. or 5 1 6-8 320 Jr. 6-6 251 Sr. 6-5 253 So. 6-3 207 5th-Sr. 6-2 190 So. 6-0 185 So. 6-4 210 Fr. 6-0 215 Sr. 6-1 210 So. Ht. Wt. Cl. 6-0 201 Sr. 6-1 225 So. 5-11 186 Sr. 6-1 225 So. 6-1 225 So. 6-0 201 Sr. Will 48 Dan Fox 8 S S 26 Jamoris Slaughter 6-0 200 5th-Sr. 15 Dan McCarthy 17 Zeke Motta Kendall Moore BC 2 6 Special Teams Pos. No. Name LS 60 Jordan Cowart 61 Scott Daly H 35 Ben Turk PR 20 Cierre Wood or 6 KR 4 or 3 Theo Riddick George Atkinson III 6-1 210 So. Davonte Neal Ht. Wt. Cl. 6-2 230 Sr. 6-3 245 Fr. 5-11 186 Sr. 6-0 215 Sr. 5-11 199 Sr. 5-10 175 Fr. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 41 Matthias Farley FC 21 Jalen Brown or 43 Josh Atkinson Bennett Jackson 6-0 185 Jr. KeiVarae Russell 5-11 182 Fr. 6-0 198 So. 5-11 185 So. 50 Chase Hounshell 6-4 275 So. 6-2 250 Jr. 6-5 255 So. 6-5 240 So. 6-4 239 Fr. 6-2 255 Sr. 6-3 240 So. 6-3 240 Sr. 6-1 242 Jr. Stephon Tuitt NG 96 Kona Schwenke or 9 DE 7 Ht. Wt. Cl. 6-4 306 5th-Sr. 6-2 286 Fr. 6-4 286 Jr. 6-3 326 Jr. 6-6 295 So. 6-2 205 5th-Sr. 6-2 215 Sr. 5-11 200 So.