2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Here are the projected starters for the Irish in 2010:

Offense
QB - Dayne Crist (recovering from leg injury)
FB - Bobby Burger
TE - Kyle Rudolph
LT - Matt Romine/Zack Martin in a fight for the position
C - Dan Wenger/Braxton Cave in a fight for the position
RG - Trevor Robinson
RT - Taylor Dever

Defense
LB - Carlo Calabrese
FS - Harrison Smith

What about LB Anthony McDonald? I've seen a few depth charts that have him starting at an ILB position.

Also, Notre Dame has WR John Goodman who should see some PT this year.

Looks as though Notre Dame will be adding many more white folks to their starting line-up if their current recruiting trends continue. So far, they have 9 whites and 4 blacks (a few of them are even mixed!) not counting their white kicker!!!!!

Yeah, their defense should whiten up a lot, especially the DEs and LBs.

2 whites on defense? That sucks. Notre Dame is the only college team I care about so its a bit disheartening.

On the bright side Kyle Rudolph is considered to be the best tight end in college football.

Yea but without Jimmy Clausen he's prolly not gonna have the year he would have if Jimmy was still there.

Regardless he will be a first round draft pick and he's very athletic. He will be another great white tight end like Owen Daniels and Dallas Clark.

So far, they have 4 white DEs and 1 white LB in their latest recruiting class.

I wish Dan the best, no matter what he chooses to do from this point on.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/ncf/news/story?id=5548331


SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame
fifth-year senior Dan Wenger has suffered his second concussion in less
than a month, coach Brian Kelly said after practice on Wednesday.



The injury leaves Wenger, who lost his starting job at center this
fall to junior Braxston Cave in part because of a concussion, to decide
whether he can continue his college career.




"Dan and I had a long conversation today," Kelly said. "You know he's
had these concussions and it's really & you know, we're going to
have to make a decision as to whether we can put him back on the field.
We're really hesitant to do that right now. He had another concussion
yesterday. So that's his second concussion in a matter of, what, three
weeks. That's a decision that our medical team's kind of looking at
right now."



The 6-foot-4, 298-pounder was not available for comment. Wenger
started all 13 games at center for Notre Dame in 2008. Last year he
moved to guard and appeared in eight contests, including one start
against Navy.



Mike Golic Jr., currently listed behind Trevor Robinson at right guard, will switch to center behind Cave.

"Yeah, [Golic] would come in and I got a lot of confidence in him,"
Kelly said. "He can go in there and do a solid job and [Chris] Watt
would play some center too."



For now, Wenger's future hangs in the balance.



"Dan's involved in that decision, [and] Dan's family," Kelly said.
"We should be very cautious with anybody that's had two concussions in a
very short period of time. Right now, we have to be extremely
conservative when we have a young man that hasn't had game contact and
has suffered two concussions. & Player safety here is of the utmost
concern. This is one that's going to be & have to be decided off the
field and we'll try to do that in the next couple of days."

Here's an updated Notre Dame depth chart, from their last game at USC. QB Tommy Rees is a true frosh starting at QB, and has performed admirably in the last few games. The Irish rotate their recievers a lot, but John Goodman and Robby Toma start for the Irish. While they dont' start, I believe Anthony McDonald and Carlo Calabrese still get playing time at LB. The Irish still start a white safety tandem in Harrison Smith, and sophomore Zeke Motta. The Irish will hopefully stay at 11 white starters for their bowl game.

Offense

QB- Tommy Rees
WR- John Goodman
WR- Robby Toma
TE- Tyler Eifert
LT- Zack Martin
C- Braxston Cave
RG- Trevor Robinson
RT- Taylor Dever

Defense
NG- Sean Cwynar
FS- Harrison Smith
SS- Zeke MottaEdited by: Jack Lambert

How do two white WRs start when ND's most productive WR is the speedy Michael Floyd? Unless they are taking out their TE more with Kyle Rudolph out- I can't see both white WRs on the field at the same time much. JL, does the two white WRs have to do with the TE situation?

ToughJ.Riggins said:

How do two white WRs start when ND's most productive WR is the speedy Michael Floyd? Unless they are taking out their TE more with Kyle Rudolph out- I can't see both white WRs on the field at the same time much. JL, does the two white WRs have to do with the TE situation?

Click to expand...

I think it might, but Notre Dame uses a base three WR set, it's usually Floyd in, and Toma and Goodman get rotated in and out. Tyler Eifert is a pretty good TE. The FB usually is never in for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Junior TE Kyle Rudolph heading for the NFL.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft2011/news/story?id=5990198



Kyle Rudolph
must have been pleased with his NFL draft evaluation. The Notre Dame
junior, who is likely to be the first tight end selected in April, will
forgo his final season in South Bend, Ind.



The Cincinnati product's career with the Fighting Irish ended
with 90 receptions for 1,032 yards and eight touchdowns. The 6-foot-6,
265-pounder started three games as a freshman, but shoulder and
hamstring injuries kept him shelved for nine games the following two
seasons, including the final seven this year.

"Notre Dame is such a special place and
because of all the people I met over the last three years this decision
was very tough for me," Rudolph said in a statement released by the
school. "I truly feel I have grown up here and this has become a home
away from home for me."

Rudolph, originally pegged by most
draft experts as a sure first-rounder, averaged 11.5 yards per catch and
was a reliable blocker for the Irish.

"Kyle Rudolph has a very
bright future ahead of him and he will instantly make some lucky NFL
team much better next year," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said in the
school's release. "I know this was a tough decision for Kyle because of
the great relationships he formed at Notre Dame and he will be missed in
the locker room next year. But we are happy for him and his family and
are excited to watch him represent the University of Notre Dame during
this next chapter of his life."



The only sophomore voted as a Mackey Award finalist in 2009,
Rudolph hobbled through fall camp with a sore right hamstring that
eventually resulted in an evulsion (when the tendon comes off the bone
to which it is attached) in a victory over Pittsburgh in October.

In
his first three games this season, he paced Notre Dame with 21 catches
and two touchdowns, including a 95-yard score against Michigan. His
production dropped off significantly in the following three contests. He
had surgery days after the Pitt game and many believed he would return
for his senior season.



In his place, sophomore Tyler Eifert caught 27 passes for 352 yards and a pair of scores in his first season on the field.

That 11.5 (career) YPC average is what worries me.

I'm not looking to tear this young man apart, and, I started the Kyle Rudolph thread in the "College Stars" section after their Hawaii Bowl win in '07, where Rudolph had a good showing. However, I think he might be limited in the area of route-running and YAC.

From watching all the YAC that Gronk got for New England this year and his versatility, I don't see Rudolph as being in that league. Tony Scheffler can get YAC too, and John Carlson and Witten are underrated athletes (and Witten was an absolute steal in the 3rd Round!).

Luke Stocker had 10.7 YPC this year with a young QB.. and he had 13.4 YPC last year.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/players/playerpage/1125485/luke-stocker

I would rank this Senior above Rudolph.

WR Michael Floyd arrested on DUI charge

That makes two substance-abuse crimes in barely more than a year for this afflete.
That means he gets a lifetime ban from the NFL, right? You know, like Matt Jones did.

Although, since Floyd was operating a motor vehicle at more than twice the legal BAC limit, I would consider that attempted murder. Coming in at 0.01 over the limit means you're intoxicated. Driving a car at 0.19 means "Flip a coin: Heads - someone dies. Tails - serious injury and massive property damage".