Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 113 SPECIALISTS POSITION COACH Brian Polian enters his second year as Notre Dame's special teams coordinator in what is his second stint with the Irish. The 21-year coaching veteran pre- viously served under head coach Charlie Weis from 2005-09, guid- ing special teams and helping with defensive backs and linebackers. In 2017, Polian oversaw a reli- able kicking game. A year after allowing five touch- downs on special teams, the Irish surrendered only one score (off a blocked punt in the 35-14 win over North Carolina State). Notre Dame also finished 64th in net punting (37.88 yards), 82nd in punt return defense (8.41 yards given up per runback), 83rd in punt returns (6.24 yards per return), 84th in kickoff returns (20.34 yards) and 91st in kickoff return de- fense (22.56 yards). Polian spent the previous four seasons as the head coach at Nevada (2013-16). He led the Wolf Pack to a 23-27 record, and guided it to bowl games in 2014 and 2015. Nevada notched a 49-38 win over Colorado State in the 2015 Arizona Bowl for just the fifth bowl victory in school history. Prior to taking over at Nevada, Polian spent the 2012 campaign as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach for an 11-2 Texas A&M squad. He also helped Stanford notch a pair of BCS bowl appearances in 2010 and 2011 while serving as the special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator and safeties coach. The Cardinal put together two of the top recruiting classes in school history those two years. In his first go-around at Notre Dame, Polian helped the Irish go to two BCS bowl games (2005 and 2006) and was recognized as one of the top recruiters in the nation. Polian — whose father, Bill Polian, is an NFL Hall of Fame executive — also made coaching stops at Cen- tral Florida (2004), Buffalo (1998, 2001-03), Baylor (1999-2000) and Michigan State (1997). A former linebacker at John Carroll University (1993-96), Polian has a bachelor's degree in history from John Carroll and received his master's in educa- tion from Baylor in 2000. RETURNING PLAYERS JONATHAN DOERER • K/P So. • Charlotte, N.C. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 188 Career Highlights: Appeared in seven games as a kickoff specialist last season … Averaged 61.2 yards on his kickoffs and notched nine touchbacks. Prep: Ranked as the nation's No. 11 kicker by Kohl's Kicking … Scout rated him as the No. 6 kicker in the country … Made 9 of 16 field goals with a long of 44 yards as a senior at South Mecklenburg High … Regis- tered a touchback on 92 percent of his kickoffs and also punted, averaging 41 yards per attempt with a long of 59 yards … Named to the South Meck 8 All-Conference team after his sophomore, junior and senior years. Personal: Born Oct. 14, 1998 … Enrolled in First Year of Studies. TYLER NEWSOME • P 5th-Sr. • Carrollton, Ga. Ht.: 6-2½ • Wt.: 207 Career Highlights: Served as the team's punter in all 13 contests … Averaged 43.6 yards on 63 punts with 19 downed inside the 20 and a career-best 17 fair catches … Ap- peared in all 12 games in 2016 … Averaged 43.5 yards on 54 attempts with 16 placed inside the 20- yard line and seven fair catches … Booted 15 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-long 71-yarder … Earned starting duties at punter and was the primary kickoff specialist in 2015 … Punted 55 times and averaged 44.5 yards … Allowed just 22 punt returns all season for 194 yards (8.8 yards per return) … Had 21 punts of more than 50 yards with a long of 62 … Forced seven fair catches with eight touchbacks … Kicked off 84 times for a 61.6-yard average with 21 touchbacks … Served as the backup kicker, punter and kickoff specialist as a rookie in 2014, but did not see action. Prep: Rivals listed him as a three-star prospect, the No. 75 senior in Georgia and the No. 6 kicker in the land … Handled kicks and punts for Carrollton (Ga.) High and was named to The Atlanta Journal-Consti- tution Class AAAA all-state squad in 2013 … Hit on all five field goal tries and all 78 extra point attempts as a senior … Boomed 76 of his 100 kickoffs for touch- backs, and he also punted 20 times for a 38.7-yard average … His squad went 13-2 and advanced to the Georgia Class AAAA title game … Played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game. Personal: Born July 14, 1995 … Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business, majoring in manage- ment consulting with a minor in sustainability. Year G Punts Avg. FC I20 Long 2015 13 55 44.5 7 21 62 2016 12 54 43.5 7 16 71 2017 13 63 43.6 17 19 59 Totals 38 172 43.8 31 56 71 JOHN SHANNON • LS Jr. • Lake Forest, Ill. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 220 Career Highlights: Handled the team's long snapping duties in all 13 games last year … Redshirted in 2016. Prep: Rated as the nation's No. 1 long snapper by 247Sports, and was listed No. 5 by ESPN and No. 10 by Scout … Did not miss a snap during his three varsity seasons at Loyola Academy, where his teams finished 37-5, highlighted by a 14-0 campaign and Class 8A Illinois state title as a senior … Started at linebacker before dislocating his shoulder early in his senior season after he had recorded 15 tackles … At the Rubio Long Snapping Camp, had his ball speed for 15 yards measured at 0.59 seconds, which is faster than the college benchmark of 0.75. Personal: Born Dec. 17, 1997 … His grandfather, Dan Shannon, was an end and co-captain of the 1954 Notre Dame team … His father, Gerard, also is a Notre Dame graduate, and his mother, Elizabeth, graduated from St. Mary's College … Enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters, majoring in economics. JUSTIN YOON • K Sr. • Nashville, Tenn. Ht.: 5-10 • Wt.: 190 Career Highlights: Appeared in 12 games as the team's top placekicker last year … Scored a team-high 97 points … Made 55 of 55 extra points and 14 of 18 field goals with a long of 49 yards … Also averaged 61.9 yards and notched 15 touch- backs on 52 kickoffs … Handled placekicking duties and kickoffs in all 12 games in 2016 … Paced the team with 83 points, while converting 44 of 46 extra points and 13 of 17 field goals … Averaged 61.9 yards on 55 kickoffs and recorded 24 touchbacks … Saw action in all 13 games and served as the team's primary placekicker in 2015 … Tabbed as a Freshman All-American by 247Sports, ESPN and Sporting News … Led the team in scoring with 95 points — the most by a freshman and the fourth most in a single season by a placekicker in school history … Was the first rookie to lead the Irish in scoring since placekicker Brandon Walker in 2007 … Connected on 50 of 52 extra point tries and 15 of 17 field goal attempts … Hit a career-long 52-yard field goal against Navy. Prep: Rivals' top-ranked kicker in the class of 2015 … Kohl's Kicking also listed him atop its kicker rankings … Sidelined for most of his senior season with a back injury, but still converted 4 of 6 field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards … Tabbed as a 2014 Ray Guy ProKicker.com first-team All-American after a second- team selection in 2013 … Played in the Under Armour All-American Game and made a game-record three field goals, including the longest ever with a 47-yarder. Personal: Born Oct. 7, 1995 … His father, Jiseop Yoon, is a former Olympic figure skater … Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business, majoring finance. Year G PAT FG LG Pts. 2015 13 50-52 15-17 52 95 2016 12 44-46 13-17 40 83 2017 12 55-55 14-18 49 97 Totals 37 149-153 42-52 52 275 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 113 Long snapper John Shannon started all of 2017 and is projected to do likewise the next three seasons from 2018-20. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL