Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 111 SPECIALISTS QUOTABLE: HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY ON KICKER JUSTIN YOON'S U N D E R R AT E D C O N S I S T E N C Y, INCL UDING CL U T CH 46- A ND 49-YARD FIELD GOALS IN THE 21-17 CITRUS BOWL WIN VERSUS LSU: "Our kickers were really solid and when you play a game like this where it's going to be close and it's going to be a low-scoring game, they have to impact the game. I would say that both those kids made their mark." 2017 VS. 2018: STOCK UP OR DOWN? Notre Dame returns a senior kicker in Justin Yoon and a fifth-year senior punter in Tyler Newsome that will have their names written all over the all-time record books by the time the season ends. Yoon has been steady throughout his Notre Dame career. He has yet to be put in any game-winning situations, but odds are that will change in his final season. He had to handle double duty at times last season, but the late-season emergence of kickoff specialist Jonathan Doerer will give him the opportunity to narrow his focus in 2018. Doerer becoming more consistent with his ball placement should give the Irish kickoff coverage unit a chance to show dramatic improvement. Junior John Shannon had a strong first-year performance as the team's long snapper. X-FACTOR Newsome was voted a team captain, which speaks volumes of his character, but his work ethic was also a factor in him earning that honor. He has improved every season, and last fall he became a more consistent punter. Always known for his strong leg, New- some displayed an improved ability to place the ball, although he was still a bit erratic. If his ball placement and leg strength can be a constant part of his game, he will have a major impact in his final season. Field position is arguably the most essential aspect of special teams. Forcing opposing offenses to go 75-plus yards possession after possession against a veteran Notre Dame defense will greatly decrease scoring opportunities. FRESHMAN OUTLOOK Notre Dame did not sign any specialists in the 2018 class, but the return game and coverage units could receive a boost from the incoming freshmen. Wide receiver Braden Lenzy will immediately become one of the fastest players on the team the instant he walks on to the field. That's good news for a team in need of a new kick returner. Fellow receiver Lawrence Keys also was a dynamic return man in high school. Expect the coverage units to be bol- stered by Notre Dame's four-man line- backer haul and its three-man safety class. DID YOU KNOW? Last year was the fourth time in head coach Brian Kelly's eight seasons at Notre Dame that the Fighting Irish did not score a touchdown via special teams. The others were the three consecutive seasons from 2012‑14. The Irish scored once on special teams in 2010 (blocked punt by Robert Blanton versus Utah), and twice in 2011 (George Atkinson III kickoff returns versus Michigan State and USC) and 2016 (C.J. Sanders kickoff returns against Syracuse and Army West Point). The best such campaign occurred in 2015 with four touchdowns: a fake field goal at Virginia in which tight end Durham Smythe scored on a pitch from holder DeShone Kizer, a punt return by Sanders against UMass, a blocked punt by Equanimeous St. Brown versus USC that Amir Carlisle returned for a score, and a kickoff return by Sanders at Stanford. SCHOLARSHIP PLAYERS (4) Listed after the class year is the years of eligi‑ bility remaining. Kicker 19 Justin Yoon (5‑10, 194), Sr./1 39 Jonathan Doerer (6‑3, 200), So./3 Punter 85 Tyler Newsome (6‑2½, 210), 5th/1 Long Snapper 54 John Shannon (6‑2, 232), Jr./3 NOTABLE DATA Because Notre Dame allowed a school‑record five special teams touchdowns in 2016 and because other snafus had a significant hand in five of the eight losses that season, first‑year special teams coordinator Brian Polian said the first objective of the unit in 2017 was the Hip‑ pocratic oath of "do no harm." Other than a blocked punt by North Carolina State for a touchdown (a game the Irish still won 35‑14), LSU recovering a misplayed punt in the Citrus Bowl and a fumbled kickoff in the loss at Stanford, the bad plays were more limited. However, Notre Dame special teams also did not make much of a difference on the plus side. Among 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Fighting Irish finished 64th in net punt‑ ing (37.88 yards), 82nd in punt return de‑ fense (8.41 yards), 83rd in punt returns (6.24), 84th in kickoff returns (20.34) and 91st in kickoff return defense (22.56). Senior kicker Justin Yoon's career field goal percentage of .808 is easily the best among Notre Dame players with at least 50 attempts. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL