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✦ FOOTBALL NOTES Wood and junior defensive end Justin Utupo joined junior quarterback Tommy Rees and senior inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese on the suspension list. Rees and Calabrese will be back with the team next week against Purdue, while Wood and Utupo will serve a two-game sentence before returning for the Sept. 15 game at Michigan State. Head coach Brian Kelly did not divulge information about the specific broken rules that grounded Wood and Utupo, but re- vealed "this is strictly an independent deci- sion that I made relative to the decision that those young men made. "Anytime I suspend somebody from our football team, it's perceived as discipline, and I understand that … I look at in terms of how is this young man going to live up to the standards that I have for our program … We want it to be educational and we want them to come back better citizens and bet- ter young men." Kelly said there is not a matrix on how to hand out punishment, and each infraction is dealt with individually, including the spring suspension last year of first-round wide receiver Michael Floyd for a third alcohol- related offense. "The ultimate goal is we want them all to turn out like Michael Floyd's situation, where they make life decisions to change the way they are," he said. EARLY RISERS Last week, head coach Brian Kelly had originally planned to have early morning practices that ran from 6:15 to 6:45 a.m. just to get the body clocks of his players attuned to what will be a 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time kickoff in the United States when Notre Dame plays in Ireland this Saturday. Upon further review, he canceled it. "College students have a tendency to cut back on sleep more than anything else, and I didn't want to be the person that adds to that and let it possibly affect us later in the year," Kelly said. Part of the reason was "a feel" that he had a lot of upperclassmen that knew how to direct the team correctly to get their rest and work done. However, the Irish did have a 5 a.m. wake- up call this Wednesday (Aug. 29) for an early practice before attending their classes throughout the day and then preparing to embark on the overseas trip by 6:30 p.m. "It's going to be a long day for our play- ers," Kelly said . "It's purposeful in the sense that we want to get them up early. We want to keep them moving through the entire day so that they sleep on the flight over to Ireland. "We'll get up Thursday, go to the hotel breakfast, get into a routine relative to prac- tice and get them early in bed Thursday, Friday — and now we can be adjusted to the time difference. Go through our normal walk-through on Friday and play the game on Saturday." FOUR CAPTAINS SELECTED For the third time in as many seasons under head coach Brian Kelly, the Irish captaincy will have a different look. In Kelly's first season, the Irish selected game-day captains each week. Last year, safety Harrison Smith was named the per- manent captain, and game-day captains were added during the week. This year, Notre Dame will have four permanent fixtures: senior tight end Tyler Eifert and senior left tackle Zack Martin will represent the offense, while senior in- side linebacker Manti Te'o and fifth-year senior defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore will lead the charge on defense. It marks the first time since 2009 that the Irish had as many as four permanent Freshman Davonté Neal is expected to receive playing time and make an impact at wide receiver this fall. captains. Former head coach Charlie Weis' final team was led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen, offensive lineman Eric Olsen, safety Kyle McCarthy and special teams leader/linebacker Scott Smith. ROLE-PLAYING RECEIVERS A year ago Notre Dame's top receiver, Michael Floyd, had tight end Tyler Eifert to help keep defenses from loading up too much to shut him down. The Irish also basically had only a four-man rotation at wideout with Floyd, TJ Jones, and slot men Theo Riddick and Robby Toma. This year, head coach Brian Kelly could foresee six or seven wideouts regularly shuffling in and out, including all three freshmen. Davonté Neal was projected from day one to help in the slot, but Chris Brown's explosive speed and Justin Fergu- son's physical nature also might put them on the field in "niche" situations. Sophomore DaVaris Daniels, who was withheld from action last year to develop, ✦ PAGE 10 PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND will have a major role this time to comple- ment veterans such as Jones, Toma and fifth-year senior John Goodman. Junior Daniel Smith also is awaiting his first ca- reer catch. "You're going to need your media guide as it relates to the wide receiver position because they're all playing," Kelly said. "Each one of them right now has a differ- ent skill set. Nobody is polished to a level where they're a standalone player other than Tyler Eifert. "All the other young men are resolving into specific roles … all of those guys are understanding as we get further into our game planning, 'Okay, I see what my role is going to be against Navy' — and they are going to embrace their role and they are going to understand." Kelly said offensive continuity should not be an issue because of the different roles each has. "We are just going to be rolling a lot of guys in there," he said. ✦