2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

2018 Notre Dame Football Preview

Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview

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110 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW SPECIALISTS T he nucleus of special teams begins with the basics of kicking, punting and long snapping. From that perspective, Notre Dame on paper is well above average with fourth- year starting kicker and record holder Jus- tin Yoon, fourth-year starting punter and 2018 captain Tyler Newsome, plus reliable second-year long snapper John Shannon. Sophomore Jonathan Doerer also is back to handle kickoffs and to get groomed as a replacement for Yoon or Newsome. Part two of the special teams unit, how- ever, is just as pivotal in the overall opera- tion, and those are the specific areas second- year Notre Dame coordinator Brian Polian is attempting to upgrade. They include: • Finding a core of three to five players who can lead all four areas (or at least three) on kick and punt coverage plus kick and punt returns. Polian was elated with the assistance veteran starters such as Greer Martini — who graded out as the top player on special teams in 2017 — Drue Tranquill and Dur- ham Smythe provided on specific units, but he is seeking a larger core group to lean on consistently. "That needs to grow," Polian said. "We were using too many mixes of people last year. You look at the number of guys that ended up playing different spots, I'm not sure there were enough that you said this guy is a difference maker on three or four units." Possibly such candidates this year include junior safety Alohi Gilman, sophomore run- ning back/wide receiver Jafar Armstrong, sophomore linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath, sophomore rovers Isaiah Robertson and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and junior linebacker Jonathan Jones. • Generating more positive plays. This is not solely about the return game, but also manufacturing turnovers and pounc- ing on opportunities. In the Citrus Bowl against LSU, the Irish had two chances to recover fumbled Tiger punts but did not. "We recovered the muff against USC, but there were four other times that the ball was on the ground against our coverage units and the opponent came up with it," Polian said. "We've got to get two or three of those throughout the course of the year. That's a huge deal." • Finding a kick return man. With C.J. Sanders opting to be a graduate transfer at SMU in 2018, top candidates this August could include Armstrong, sophomore Michael Young and several freshmen. "I'd like to rep Jafar there and see what that looks like," Polian said. "Braden Lenzy, Joe Wilkins Jr., TaRiq Bracy — we have some freshmen coming in that were explo- sive space guys that you would say, 'Alright, I think this is going to translate.'" More challenging is punt returns, where Polian is comfortable with senior wideout Chris Finke's reliability of consistently catching the ball. Young and possibly se- nior nickel/cornerback Shaun Crawford also could get auditions. ✦ BOOT CAMP The Irish have loads of experience in the third phase of the game, but the return and coverage units need more impact Fourth-year starter Tyler Newsome made history this spring as the first full-time punter at Notre Dame to be named a team captain. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL

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