SPRING TRAINING UPDATE
THE OFFENSIVE LINE
* As you may know Chris Little will not be with ND.
* Offensive guard Chris Stewart is being moved to the DL.
* Weiss has JOHN SULLIVAN and SAM YOUNG "set" with starting jobs on the OL.
* These developements mean that ND will, almost certainly, have an all white offensive line this year. Perhaps the only among ranked teams.
LINEBACKERS
* JOHN RYAN: Defensive end John Ryan is being moved to outside linebacker. He has been impressive thus far.
TIGHT END
* WILL YEATMAN is keeping up with the rest of TE's despite his focus on Lacrosse... He seems most likely to start in the 2 TE set along with John Carlson. The TE competion is a, very competative, all white affair.
WIDE RECEIVER
* ROBBY PARIS: If the season started today 6'3" freshman Robby Parris would be third on the depth chart, meaning he would see the field in the 3 WR sets. Robby has, thus far, proven himself to be more effective then Ashley McConnell, DJ Horn, and Richard Jackson. This despite the fact that both Horn and Jackson were more highly touted. Robby's primary difficulty: blocking. Weiss will not start a reciever who can't, or doesn't, block. Parris gets daily phone calls from Jeff Sabardja (sp).
* George West and David Grimes currently are ahead of Parris. Both West and Grimes are sub 6'0" WR's. It has been suggested that Weiss may need a height upgrade.
* BARRY GALLUP seems to be burried in this very tallented group of WR's... It is an all out battle for those starting spots at ND.
FULLBACK
* LUKE SCHMIDT is focusing on becoming a better blocker. Luke says he got a good look at tailback. He himself contends that he was simple not as tallented as some of the others. He is happy that he at least got a chance. Schmidt, however, has proven himself to have good hands and to be much faster then current fullback Aschley Schwarpp. And Weiss maintains that Luke could be a rushing threat even at fullback. To keep Schmidt fast and agile Weiss says he will try not to bulk him up to much. At 6'3" and with the kind of athletic tallent Schmidt is blessed with; he may end up being an impact player for the Fighting Irish even if he is officially considered a fullback.
QUARTERBACK
Weis' main concern with the quarterback situation right now is finding the guy who can run the offense efficiently in terms of getting the play from the sidelines and getting the offense lined up properly. His second concern is with getting his quarterbacks familiar with progression reads vs. coverage reads. Third is the accuracy with which each quarterback is delivering the ball. Weis "wants the best guy" under center regardless of who may be the fastest or who has the strongest arm. He said he will mold the offense around what his starter does the best. This position is completely up for grabs.
PLAY CALLS
Weiss says the 11th player on offense will be interchangeable between being a full back, second tight end, or third wide receiver. This is very good news for Yeatman, Schmidt, and Parris as it means that at least one of them will be on the field at all times.
Edited by: OC football
