Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Top Of The Class Greg Andrews ✦ Jr., Men’s Tennis Notre Dame’s top singles player, Andrews will start the fall season ranked 24th by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Andrews, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, is ranked 14 spots higher than anyone in the league. He finished last season with a 26-4 record while playing in the No. 2 singles role for the Irish. His ranking this fall earned him an invite to the ITA All-American Championships in October. Britney Sanders ✦ Jr., Women’s Tennis Sanders enters the season ranked as the nation’s No. 98 women’s singles player. She won more matches (28) than anyone on the Irish roster a year ago, and she was named to the All-Big East team. This season, she will team up with classmate Julie Sabacinski for a doubles team that was ranked 36th by the ITA earlier this month. They finished 13-4 in doubles last season after pairing up midway through the spring. Eddie Smith ✦ ’06, Baseball The former Irish infielder is back in South Bend to complete the Notre Dame coaching staff this fall. Smith won two Big East championships while playing with the Irish after walking on to the team in 2005. He has since coached at Santa Clara and Virginia, where he made trips to the College World Series in 2009 and 2011. Smith will be primarily working with Notre Dame’s outfielders. Leon Brown ✦ Jr., Men’s Soccer One of four players from Notre Dame to make the all-tournament team following the Mike Berticelli Memorial, Brown scored Notre Dame’s first goal in a 3‑1 victory over No. 4 Akron Sept. 9. He has seen his role expand during the first month of the season after the Irish lost two starters for the season with knee injuries. He plays both forward and midfield, adding speed and scoring potential to the Irish lineup. Personnel News After losing more than a half-dozen front-line players prior to or during the course of the 20‑17 victory against Purdue on Sept. 8, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was pleased to report during final preparations for Michigan State that virtually everyone was good to go again. Of the seven players missing from the Irish lineup by the time the Purdue game ended, the only one listed as unlikely to play the next week was placekicker Nick Tausch, who was still recovering from a groin injury. His replacement, sophomore Kyle Brindza, had a strong week in practice after making 2 of 3 field goal attempts against the Boilermakers, including a clutch 27-yarder with seven seconds remaining in the game. In other news: • Sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels — the most doubtful player earlier this week after spending Sunday in a walking boot with a sprained ankle — had an active week of practice for the Spartans. “I was surprised actually,” Kelly said. “First-time injured guys you have to see how that plays out.” • Senior tight end Tyler Eifert (mild concussion), fifth-year senior defensive lineman Kapron Lewis-Moore (calf), fifth-year senior safety Jamoris Slaughter (shoulder), sophomore outside linebacker Ishaq Williams (elbow) and freshman defensive end Sheldon Day (dehydration) all were cleared to practice. • Junior outside linebacker Danny Spond was full go in practices for the first time in a month after leaving the field on Aug. 8 with what was described as severe migraines. Senior inside linebacker Dan Fox started at Spond’s “Dog” spot against Purdue, but Kelly indicated the future plan is to rotate Fox and classmate Calabrese on the inside next to Manti Te’o, and then have Spond and sophomore Ben Councell work at Dog on the outside. • Kelly described senior running back Cierre Wood as “a little rusty” mentally while preparing for Michigan State, after serving a two-game suspension for violating team rules. Wood joined senior Theo Riddick and sophomore George Atkinson III as a huge part of Notre Dame’s game plan against Michigan State. “He’s anxious to get out there and contribute to our offense,” Kelly said. Point ✦ Counterpoint: Which Opposing Player Left On The Schedule Is The Most Dangerous? Barkley Owns Notre Dame By Wes Morgan Matt Barkley is being projected by many experts to be selected first overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. He’s already thrown for 559 yards and 10 touchdowns with just one interception through two games this season. Barkley’s severely sprained ankle against Oregon State the week before Notre Dame visited the Coliseum in 2010 gave the Irish the break they were looking for against the Trojans, which had won eight straight in the series dating back to 2002. Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain filled in under center and completed 20 of 37 passing attempts for just 177 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in the 20-16 loss to the Fighting Irish. As a freshman, Barkley waltzed into Notre Dame Stadium and went 19-of-29 passing for 380 yards with two touchdowns and one pick in a 34-27 victory. Back in South Bend last fall, he completed 24 of 35 throws for 224 yards with three scoring strikes in a 31-17 victory. That Barkley returned for his senior season is surprising, and now that USC has paid its dues for transgressions under former head coach Pete Carroll, third-year head coach Lane Kiffin is licking his chops in 2012 with his ultra-talented senior leading the Trojans offense. At this rate, there will likely be another Heisman Trophy residing in Southern California very, very soon. If so, he’ll join former Mater Dei High School products Matt Leinart (also a USC alum) and John Huarte, who piloted Notre Dame to a 9‑1 record as a senior in 1964. Can’t Tie Up Shoelace By Dan Murphy Notre Dame hasn’t been able to stop Denard Robinson in its first two encounters with the Michigan quarterback. Until the Irish prove otherwise, Robinson is the single-most threatening playmaker on the schedule this season. By now you’ve heard about the unreal 948 yards Robinson has rolled up in his two games against Notre Dame. In week two of this season, he posted more than 200 yards passing and rushing against Air Force. That’s the third time in his career he’s done that, which is more than anyone in college football history. What sets him above players like Marqise Lee, Matt Barkley and Landry Jones is his ability to turn a busted play into a good thing for the Wolverines. See last year’s fourth-quarter touchdown against Notre Dame that started as a fumbled snap for Exhibit A. He can be bottled up for 90 percent of a game, but let him see daylight for a second and it’s over. This is a guy who compared his own 40-yard dash time to Usain Bolt — and he made you at least stop and think about if it was fair or not. What makes him scarier as a senior is it appears his vision is improving. His two rushing scores against Air Force weren’t the typical find a seam and teleport to the end zone plays. He picked his way through a wave of blockers and used each one perfectly before he got into open space. No one on who lines up across from Notre Dame this year can do what Robinson does.