This has been unreal season for the Irish

[socaljim242]

Yes I agree im talking about future Center. I think he will play his Soph year. Kid is Top Center he should be able to start by year 2. I year in the strength program will help

SC had three true freshman and a Soph starting this year on the O line and they played really well (mostly) . You guys better get a good D line for the next couple years ( starting next years trash talk early.lol) because SCs got the O line ready.
Question. Your LB Jaylon Smith. You guys had/have high hopes for the kid and I didn't see him impact the games (the few ND games I watched). He does look quick/fast but doesnt he seem a little light? I dont think he's strong enough at what ever weight they have him at. Also how is it a kid who was a walk on becomes the defensive leader (schmit sp?) over a player whos been there and is supposed to be All American material? That your RS senior QB wasn't a captain says something too.

 

[purguy12]

SC had three true freshman and a Soph starting this year on the O line and they played really well (mostly) . You guys better get a good D line for the next couple years ( starting next years trash talk early.lol) because SCs got the O line ready.
Question. Your LB Jaylon Smith. You guys had/have high hopes for the kid and I didn't see him impact the games (the few ND games I watched). He does look quick/fast but doesnt he seem a little light? I dont think he's strong enough at what ever weight they have him at. Also how is it a kid who was a walk on becomes the defensive leader (schmit sp?) over a player whos been there and is supposed to be All American material? That your RS senior QB wasn't a captain says something too.

J Smith has been awesome. He has had a lot on his plate with all those injuries at the LB position and Defense. The kid is some what playing out of position because of lack of Depth. Next year will be a BIG year for him.

 

[poewelch84]

SC had three true freshman and a Soph starting this year on the O line and they played really well (mostly) . You guys better get a good D line for the next couple years ( starting next years trash talk early.lol) because SCs got the O line ready.
Question. Your LB Jaylon Smith. You guys had/have high hopes for the kid and I didn't see him impact the games (the few ND games I watched). He does look quick/fast but doesnt he seem a little light? I dont think he's strong enough at what ever weight they have him at. Also how is it a kid who was a walk on becomes the defensive leader (schmit sp?) over a player whos been there and is supposed to be All American material? That your RS senior QB wasn't a captain says something too.

The good d line isn't so much a problem as the overall depth is. Sheldon Day and Jarron Jones didn't play against USC so that left them extremely thin at DT.

 

[jjc2009]

Question. Your LB Jaylon Smith. You guys had/have high hopes for the kid and I didn't see him impact the games (the few ND games I watched). He does look quick/fast but doesnt he seem a little light? I dont think he's strong enough at what ever weight they have him at. Also how is it a kid who was a walk on becomes the defensive leader (schmit sp?) over a player whos been there and is supposed to be All American material? That your RS senior QB wasn't a captain says something too.

I think Smith played exceptionally well this year. He had too many responsibilities, especially once Schmidt was lost, but I think you're going to be hard-pressed to find a better athelete at that position anywhere in the country. He's fast enough to cover WR's, he's one of the few that can consistently get to the QB on blitzes. He is fast enough to run down a play from the backside, and if you'll note the Navy game, they ran away from him as much as they could. I think he is in the 230's, so I don't think weight is a problem for his position. He's not a true MLB.

I don't know who the AA material person you are talking about that Schmidt beat out (Niles Morgan?). But the backstory on him is, yes he was a preferred walk-on, but one that had offers from other schools and chose to come to ND, so this is hardly a Rudy type story. I think he's earned his place on the field. He's a Mater Dei kid so you should know his background coming from a SoCal powerhouse. I think before the season, most would agree that it was going to be tough sledding if he was our best option at MLB, but his greatest asset was between his ears. He was always around the ball, knew how to line people up and even if he didn't always make the play, he certainly knew where to be to disrupt the play. There's probably no small correlation that our defense was decidedly worse after he went down. He certainly made a believer out of me the first half of the year.

Morgan is a gifted athelete and can hit a ton, but talk about raw. He's out of position A LOT. He can get better and I think he would be an AA candidate if he does, but he doesn't know what he's doing right now. For that reason alone, Schmidt was the obvious choice.

On Golson, I've said this exact same thing before. I don't think he carries the respect of the team. In a program like Kelly's with the all-importance of QB play, if he can't be the lockerroom leader, I think you have problems.

 

[craigk217]

Hey, we'll always have the Michigan game.

... hilite of the season.

 

[purguy12]

... hilite of the season.

and stanford