Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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56 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI F ootball has become quite the spe- cialty sport over the years. Short-yardage backs, third- down pass rushers and situa- tional linebackers are among the many athletes who have a specific role. Nowhere might it be more evident than the 2017 Notre Dame special teams. For starters, sophomore long snap- per John Shannon, redshirted in 2016, has taken over as the next four-year starter in that area, succeeding Scott Daly (2013-16) and Jordan Cowart (2009-12). It used to be a long snapper was another lineman or tight end on the team. Now, full scholarships are given for one duty. Junior C.J. Sanders will still handle kickoff returns, but the punt return du- ties will go to either junior Chris Finke or freshman Michael Young, whose first-step explosiveness has grabbed the attention of the staff. Sanders' four touchdown returns (three on kickoffs) are already two short of tying the school record held by Tim Brown, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and Allen Rossum. However, he's had multiple inconsistencies on punts with respect to fielding the ball and making quick decisions, including mishandling a punt near the Irish 5-yard line that Miami scooped up for a touchdown. Finke was inserted in place of Sand- ers later in that game and set up the game-winning score with a 23-yard return. For first-year special teams coach Brian Polian, who had the same job title at Notre Dame from 2005-09 under Charlie Weis, the foremost goal on special teams is not necessarily to win games with the spectacular, but not lose them with errors in the basics. Last year the Irish lost way too many of them, allowing a school-record five touchdowns on special teams, includ- ing a blocked punt for a score by North Carolina State in the Wolfpack's 10-3 victory. "We can't make the catastrophic mistakes in games, and unfortunately that has happened a little bit," Polian said. "We've got to win the battle of field position. … We need to be sound. We can't make the type of mistakes in close games that can cost us games." The theme of spreading the wealth is especially evident among the three spe- cialists: junior kicker Justin Yoon, senior punter Tyler Newsome and freshman kickoff man Jonathan Doerer. "We didn't want to put any dual responsibilities on anybody at this point," head coach Brian Kelly said after the Aug. 11 practice in which spe- cial teams were worked on more ex- tensively. "We wanted them to take the specialty, if you will, of that position and go take that one and be consistent at that one. "If there's anyone that kicks at an- other position it will be because they mastered one and somebody hasn't mastered their own." THREE FOR ONE Yoon was sidelined this spring to rest a wounded, fatigued leg but has been active this August. He has converted 28 of 34 career field goal attempts, a .823 percentage that is second only to David Ruffer's (2009-11) .824 among Irish kickers who have attempted at least 30 field goals. Yoon missed two 42-yard field goal attempts in the partly open practice Aug. 11, but Polian said overall the junior has been productive, including converting from as far as 52 yards. Third-year starter Newsome has been a stalwart leader for the pro- gram on and off the field, and his leg strength (36 punts of more than 50 yards his first two years) could land him a future in the NFL. Nevertheless, the key stat is that while Newsome finished 26th in punting with a 43.5- yard average, Notre Dame was 106th in net punting at 35.28 (after returns or blocks). "Everybody looks at a 58-yard punt A SPECIALTY FIELD Jobs in the kicking game are expected to be more divided Junior kicker Justin Yoon's 82.3-percent accuracy on field goals (28 of 34) ranks second among Irish kickers who have at least 30 career field goal attempts. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA