Print Edition of the Irish Insider for Friday, April 21, 2017

By BEN PADANILAM editor-in-chief

What do you get when you combine preseason top-10 expectations, a disappointing 4-8 record featuring seven one-possession defeats and rumors of a head coach on his way out into one season?

At n otre d ame, this offseason revealed that the answer can be summed up in two words: reset button.

While head coach b rian Kelly is still leading the charge for n otre d ame as it looks ahead to the 2017 season, he’s one of the few familiar faces from last year’s coaching staff still around. For each of those heartbreaking one-score losses from last season, the Irish brought in a new member to its coaching staff, totaling seven new hires in all. The turnover occurred everywhere, too, as the offensive, defensive and special teams

coordinators are all different from last year’s.

And with each of those coaching changes comes new schemes for the players to learn. s o one thing is certain: The n otre d ame team that takes the field against Temple on s ept. 2 will look very different from the one that suffered through an eight-loss season in 2016.

o n offense, the first change that will be noticeable is the new signal caller directing the Irish offense.

Junior quarterback b randon Wimbush replaces d e s hone Kizer, who departed after last season for the n FL d raft. And with him will be two other new faces — offensive coordinator c hip Long, who comes from m emphis to replace the departed m ike s anford, and quarterbacks coach Tom r ees.

And as would be expected with so many new faces, much of n otre d ame’s offseason and spring has been

spent with each of the new coaches familiarizing themselves with each other and their personnel.

“ n ew is new,” new wide receivers coach d el Alexander said April 5. “ n ew is new. I’ve been in situations — every time I move, it’s new. You approach it like you’re trying to teach the players as if it’s day one. s o even though c hip [Long] and I know each other, we have different guys on the staff, so with our communication we can’t cut corners. We have to share that vocabulary with different things that we’re teaching, but the players are all new — they don’t know me yet, but we’re building our relationships. s o yes, every time you change jobs, you start with that new term and you build on it.”

“In my mind, with an offense, it always starts with the quarterback and the offensive line — how can I make it simple, in part, on

my position and make it easier for everybody else,”

Long said m arch 24. “ m e and [offensive line coach h arry h iestand] are attached at the hip. … h e has a level of comfort with me, so we can always discuss those things.

And then with c oach Kelly, we always go over personnel with him as well, so we’re definitely all on the same page, and we’re going to put our kids in a position to make plays.”

And for some of the offensive coaches, the spring has also been an opportunity to hone their own coaching techniques and learn about themselves as much as it has been a chance to get to know their personnel.

“You learn a lot about yourself, your coaching habits and how you want to be in front of those guys and in the room and leading them,” r ees said. “For me, I’ve got to understand everyone learns differently, and I’ve

got to apply different teaching mechanisms for different guys in the room.”

o n the field, however, the new staff has gone fullsteam ahead with its schematic changes. The most significant alteration Long brings to the offense is an up-tempo, no-huddle component that was not present last season. h e emphasized that it’s the no-huddle aspect that really defines the increased tempo for his scheme.

“The biggest thing with me and tempo is between the play,” Long said m arch 24. “ s o when the ball is stopped, [players] have to get [their] eyes to the sideline and understand what we’re doing while, at the same time, running as fast as [they] can to get lined up. s o tempo to me is when the play is over — not once the play is going and how fast we’re going, but between the plays and just guys understanding

and training their eyes after each and every play to find the signal or find the board and getting lined up.”

t he emphasis on tempo doesn’t necessarily mean the offense will be faster, however.

“ t he situation dictates [the tempo],” Long said m arch 24. “ i have the ability to slow it down without the kids knowing we’re trying to do that with shifts, motions, different cadences and whatnot, so i can dictate that. t hen, i can also get us going even faster, so we have that in the offense. We’re just teaching that to the guys.”

a nd while the offense is seeing its fair share of changes during the spring, the defense has seen arguably seen even greater turnover from last season. a fter being led by two different defensive coordinators last

season, the unit will now be under the control of m ike e lko, who left Wake Forest to become the third defensive coordinator at n otre d ame in less than a year. With him came new linebackers coach c lark Lea, which in turn pushed m ike e lston back to defensive line coach. a nd with all these changes to the defensive coaching staff, the focus throughout the spring has been largely on evaluating the strengths of the unit and figuring out which positions will be best for each player in order to offer them the best opportunity to succeed within the scheme.

“You’re just constantly evaluating,” e lko said m arch 24. “ … We never want to get in a groove where we can’t fix something that we don’t see is right. s ometimes, i think, as coaches, you get in this groove of like, ‘ t his kid

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is this position.’ a nd then as you’re watching him, he’s not good enough to do that or he’s not capable or it’s not the right fit, and you just stay with it. We’re just trying to not stay with mistakes.”

b ut in the eyes of the e lko, the unit has all the tools to be amongst the best in the nation if it’s willing to put in the work throughout the rest of the offseason and in the fall.

“ i f we’re going to be a good defense, it’s going to take a lot of work,” e lko said m arch 24. “We can’t become a good defense in one practice, in three practices, a bunch of winter meetings — it’s not going to a short-term [process]. i t’s going to take time. We didn’t just become a good defense because i got here, we have to become one. … i ’m not anything. i watch, i evaluate, i try not to yell and scream too much — i do it

at times, but we’re just trying to get better every day. t hat’s all we’re trying to do.

“ … t here’s also an understanding that when this thing gets up and running, we believe it can be the best in the country. t hat’s why i ’m here, [and] that’s why i left Wake Forest to come here — because we believe we can make this really special. i t’s not going to happen just because i came here, though.”

b ut the emphasis on evaluation is far from unique to the defense. n ew special teams coordinator b rian Polian is no stranger to the position; he served in the position at n otre d ame for five seasons from 2005 to 2009 before eventually ending up as the head coach at n evada for four seasons.

n ow back in a familiar position, he’s spent the majority of his spring introducing himself to his unfamiliar personnel.

“[ m y top priority] is learning our personnel and kind of figuring out who can do what,” Polian said m arch 29.

“ … We’ve really just been focused on teaching technique and trying to find out who can do what so that when we regather come a ugust, we can have people in the right places as the scheme becomes more advanced.”

a nd for a special teams unit that struggled in key moments throughout last season, the most significant change will be a rather obvious one: emphasizing the

need for execution and the urgency with which that emphasis is placed.

“[Kelly] and i had a long conversation. h e knows what i believe, and we’re very much on the same page,” Polian said of the changes he’s made to special teams. “ t here are things that will look very similar, [and] there are things that will look completely different. b ut the biggest change has just got to be the urgency with which we attack the special teams and our execution and critical efficiency in important times in the game — that’s got to be the biggest change.”

a mongst all of the team’s units, there is one common theme, however: t his spring has been just the beginning of a process that will last throughout the season and never end, but it might just culminate in a season far better than the disappointment 2016 offered.

“a s a coach, you have to have incredible patience because you have a vision for how things are,” Lea said m arch 29. “You’re not close to that vision point yet, but you do have small wins along the way. … t he truth is, there’s not an endpoint to this. … i t’s a never-ending process and a never-ending cycle, and i don’t think that they ever completely reach the expectation level, but i think that’s the point.”

Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu

What Kelly can learn from 2016

i ’ll let you in on a little secret — b rian Kelly may be on the hot seat for 2017.

o kay, maybe it wasn’t that much of a secret.

a fter a 4-8 season, it’s not exactly surprising. n otre d ame is a program that wants to be in the playoff conversation every year, so falling seven wins short of the playoff is suboptimal.

There’s a lot of different ways of looking at what happened in 2016, so let’s be optimistic for a second. m aybe Kelly — the coach who guided n otre d ame to a 12-0 regular season in just the third year after c harlie Weis’ disastrous tenure, the coach who was just a 2-point conversion away from the c ollege Football Playoff in 2015 despite a slew of injuries — just had a year of bad luck and lessons he can learn from.

The i rish lost seven games by one score, and usually had the ball with a chance to win those encounters, luck may have played some role in Kelly not having a winning record. b rian vanGorder’s defense was pretty inarguably bad and couldn’t have been helped by some shocking suspensions just before the season began. i t’s clear Kelly has learned to be more involved on defense, and to step in instead of continuing to trust a scheme that sounds clever but can’t get results on the field.

Playcalling was an issue, but Kelly can learn to let someone else shoulder that load, as he has done with the hiring of c hip Long as offensive coordinator. a nd even throughout the disaster of a season, recruiting remained strong, suggesting Kelly has done a lot less long-term damage to the program than some might claim. a s far as 4-8 teams go, the i rish may be well poised to bounce back.

o f course, we could also look at 2016 in a more negative light. Kelly — the coach who has lost to the likes of n orthwestern and s outh

Florida with a talented team of highly-rated players he recruited — went 4-8 against an extremely weak schedule by n otre d ame’s standards. The team repeatedly threw away close games when it mattered, usually with the help of at least one seemingly inexplicable coaching decision. vanGorder stuck around far too long after everyone knew he was the wrong man for the job, and Paul Longo’s strength and conditioning reached a bad enough level that even the players complained about its intensity. The failings of Kelly’s staff may be, first and foremost, a problem with those now-departed coaches, but it also raises questions about how effectively Kelly can control a large program when he can’t be everywhere at once. 2016 may have provided proof that long-term results at a blueblood school is not something Kelly can achieve. a t this point, either interpretation of Kelly’s 2016 could turn out to be true. h e could be hurting this program, but with plenty of pretty legitimate-looking excuses for last year’s failure, he could equally be poised for recovery. n o outcome in 2017 would be immensely surprising, because it’s still not quite clear what b rian Kelly is. That’s not ideal, but the important thing now is that all excuses are gone. Kelly knows he needs success this year or he’s going to find himself looking for a new job — and this time, probably not as an n FL head coach.

i f Kelly actually is a coach worthy of leading n otre d ame, you can expect a big turnaround. Free of the problems in his staff from 2016 and having learned from his mistakes, everything looks in place for Kelly to take n otre d ame back to where it expects to be. Unless he’s not that coach. Then, at least we’ll know it.

Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu

The views experessed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer

Recent NCAA ruling helps Notre Dame

By MAREK MAZUREK Assistant managing editor

d espite coming off of a 4-8 season in 2016, n otre d ame is riding some recruiting momentum.

o n n ational s igning d ay, the Irish came away with a top-15 recruiting class despite six decommitments over the course of the recruiting process.

b ut for the 2018 class, a top-15 finish would be a disappointment rather than the goal, as n otre d ame already has 12 commits. And a set of recent rule changes by the nc AA may what n otre d ame needs to get over the hump according to b lue and Gold Illustrated recruiting analyst b ryan d riskell.

Last week, the nc AA adopted a new early signing period in d ecember so players who are set in their decision can sign with their team before n ational s igning d ay in early February. b ut more importantly for n otre d ame, the nc AA will now allow recruits to make official visits to school starting in April of a student’s junior year of high school.

“I think the biggest change for n otre d ame, without question, is moving the official visits up to April,” d riskell said.

According to d riskell, n otre d ame, and other schools not located in pipeline states, are at a disadvantage because they have to go further afield to find top talent. s chools like o hio s tate or Florida, by contrast, have a large percentage of their players come from o hio and Florida respectively, and thus

getting prospects to campus isn’t much of an issue.

b ut n otre d ame works on a different model.

“ n otre d ame, more than any other powerhouse, has to draw from much further away,” d riskell said.

“A big chunk of their players are from the southeast and northeast areas where a family can’t just hop in a car and go visit a couple schools.

The problem n otre d ame has had is a lot of times, they can’t get kids on campus until s eptember, o ctober, n ovember. The way that the recruiting process has sped up, kids are committed way before then. … What’s happening is n otre d ame is missing out on kids because they just can’t get those kids to campus.”

b ut that will change with the new ruling, d riskell said.

“This gives n otre d ame an opportunity, that five months earlier than normal, they can start getting these kids on campus,” d riskell said. “It’s going to put them in the ballgame with a lot more kids. If you look at n otre d ame, in my opinion, they are not five or six kids a class away from Alabama or o hio s tate and those schools. They are one or two kids a year. If they’re adding one more Jaylon s mith or one more Will Fuller, one more s heldon d ay per year [ n otre d ame will] make a big step as a program.”

c lass of 2018

While earlier official visits will undoubtedly have an effect on n otre d ame recruiting in the long run, the immediate future also looks

bright for the Irish as n otre d ame’s 2018 recruiting class already has 12 commits and is a consensus top-three class in the nation.

d riskell said the early uptick for n otre d ame comes from a successful 2015 campaign, as well as an increase in talented players from the m idwest.

“This class actually benefitted from the 2015 season,” d riskell said. “ s o if you look at Phil Jurkovec, m arkese s tepp, the Ademilola twins and o vie o ghoufo, those six kids were all committed going back to last summer, so

coming off the Fiesta b owl season.

“I think the other things that’s helped them, if you look at who they have signed, n otre d ame has taken advantage of this being an abnormally talented year in the n orth. n otre d ame has a ranked quarterback, a ranked running back and two ranked wide receivers and a top-100 corner already in the class. All but one of those guys are from the n orth. … b ut if they’re going to be able to finish it off, obviously they’re going to need to have a good season on the field and they’re going to have to get some kids who aren’t from this region.”

new faces

much has been made of the slew of new coaches for the Irish this spring as head coach b rian Kelly opted for a shift in his personal. While new offensive coordinator c hip Long and new defensive coordinator m ike e lko haven’t had much time to implement their recruiting policies, d riskell said that e lko specifically has already made a mark.

“I’ll say this right now, m ike e lko’s already made a huge impact,” d riskell said. “ … m ike e lko is a grinder. I can’t remember the last time they were recruiting a kid on defensive who hasn’t talked to m ike e lko at some point in time. Just the work he puts in is such a dramatic change.” Long, d riskell said, will gain recruits’ interest by putting his brand of football on the field on s aturdays.

“c hip Long is just as active

… I think c hip Long’s impact is going to come more once people see what he’s bringing to the offense,” d riskell said. “That’s when you’re going to see that payoff. Plus [Long] already had a quarterback in the class when he got here. They already had a running back in the class when he got here. he hasn’t had to work quite as hard as m ike e lko because two of his best players in the class were already here when he arrived.

Blue- g old game

Traditionally a weekend with a number of recruits coming to campus, the b lue Gold Game this year will offer recruits a unique opportunity to see the new schemes notre d ame’s coaching staff is implementing.

“I don’t know if there’s necessarily something you can look at and say, ‘boy [ notre d ame] better do A, b or c or they’re not going to get kids,’” d riskell said. “This is really the first chance that kids are going to have at seeing the product m ike e lko and c hip Long are putting on the field. And seeing the benefits of what m att b alis has done, seeing the offensive lineman looking a lot bigger and stronger and with less body fat. s eeing a defense that attacks more. … Those are the big things, that’s what kids are going to want to see.”

For more on Notre Dame recruiting, check out BlueandGold.com.

Contact Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@nd.edu

Wimbush ready for opportunity to lead Irish

By TOBIAS HOONHOUT Associate sports editor

There has never been a doubt about b randon Wimbush’s ability.

The Under Armour AllAmerican, e lite 11 participant and n ew Jersey Gatorade Player of the year arrived on campus in the fall of 2015 with exceptional credentials, but found himself ushered into a waiting game as first m alik Zaire and later d e s hone Kizer handled the reigns for the Irish. h e appeared against U m ass and Pitt as a freshman: appearances highlighted by a 58yard touchdown against the m inutemen. b ut last year, Irish head coach b rian Kelly elected to redshirt the sophomore, and Wimbush found himself watching from the sidelines as n otre d ame sputtered to a 4-8 season, the worst during Kelly’s seven-year stint.

n ow, with Zaire transferring and Kizer off to the n FL, Wimbush’s brief cameo is set to become the main act. And with all the hype surrounding Wimbush, he himself is perhaps more excited than his fans to show what he has to offer.

“I knew that my time would come, and I just had to be patient,” Wimbush said on his

journey to the starting role.

“I had a bunch of people to lean on, and it ranges pretty widely. I understand and I know where I’m at, I know what university I’m at and I understand the benefits that come with it.

“ s ometimes you have to go through some struggles to be where you want to be at the end of the day … It’s been two and a half years since I’ve been the guy and been out there on the field, and I couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity coming up.”

With Wimbush’s time in the wings set to end, there surfaces the ever-present challenge for new quarterbacks — the learning curve. Add into the equation the fact that the Irish are welcoming both a new offensive coordinator in c hip Long and a new quarterbacks coach in Tom r ees, and the potential for struggles are clear. b ut despite the tall order, Wimbush is confident in both his own ability and that of the coaching staff.

“I feel like my tempo in high school was very similar,” Wimbush said on his comfort level with Long’s new, fast-paced offensive scheme. “ … I feel like my transition has been just going back in memory and

recalling some of the things I did in high school, so I feel like I’ve done that successfully so far.”

And as an impressive athlete who fits the mold of past dual-threat Irish quarterbacks under Kelly, Wimbush is excited about the explosive potential of the new offense and the options it gives him.

“[I am most confident in]

my ability to make plays when things break down in the pocket,” Wimbush said of his ability to use his legs.

“ … I wouldn’t attribute it to myself, but to the coaching staff and the guys who have built my footwork and my knowledge of the game and being able to understand where my escape lanes are, and when I’m supposed to get outside the pocket.

“ … Teams aren’t going to be able to load the box, because we have so many weapons outside, and then we have the four up front returning, I feel like we’re just going to be able to run the ball against any defense and any front we see.”

The junior quarterback is also relishing the chance to work with an Irish quarterback alum in r ees, who

Ben

Editor-in-Chief

Unlike last year’s squad, this Notre Dame team will not be coming into the season with top-10 expectations. But that’s far from the only difference between the two teams, as this year’s squad has a lot of new faces surrounding head coach Brian Kelly.

Early results appear promising — last year’s young team has a year of experience under its belt, and the new coaches have those players feeling confident about the upcoming year.

But the schedule is more daunting than last year’s as well, with games against Georgia, USC and Stanford standing out amongst a host of other difficult matchups.

This year’s squad won’t go 4-8 again, but it probably won’t live up to last year’s immense expectations, either.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD : 8-4

Assistant Managing Editor

To be honest, nothing would surprise me about Notre Dame this season.

This is almost a completely different team from last year’s 4-8 squad. The Irish have a new quarterback, new offensive and defensive coordinators, a new strength and conditioning program and, most importantly, a new attitude.

These things all bode well for the long-term future of the program, but how much they matter next season specifically remains to be seen.

If Brandon Wimbush lives up to the considerable hype surrounding him, the Irish could post 10 wins. But I still have concerns about a defense that has no pass rush and is installing a new rover position.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD : 8-4

Elizabeth

The Irish have experienced a complete attitude change and revamp over the offseason, allowing the team to leave last year’s nightmare in the past.

With a fresh face under center surrounded by veterans on the offensive line and a receiving corps with a year of experience under its belt, the offense is poised to do some big things.

However, the SEC matchup against Georgia in just the second week of the season could pose a challenge for the Irish. Stanford has become Notre Dame’s Achilles heel in recent years, and Michigan State on the road could also pose a problem.

Overall, the Irish need this season to be a defining one. They need, and want, to find themselves in the playoff conversation again.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD : 9-3

despite all the changes for the Irish this offseason, there’s been a lot of positivity around the program. From top to bottom, there seems to be a motivation and a hunger to prove that last season was a fluke and notre dame football under brian Kelly is here to stay as a perennially ranked team.

I expect the team will come out hot against Temple and carry that momentum into a big game against a very talented Georgia team at home. With a win, the Irish prove they are back and ultimately could run the table with maybe only one or two losses. but with a loss, there will be a lot of questions as the season goes on.

I’m an optimist, and maybe call me foolish, but I think this team has the pieces and now the experience. And Wimbush is the real deal. Look out for notre dame in the playoff hunt once again.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD : 10-2

Daniel O’Boyle sports Writer

The Irish should be markedly better in 2017 than they were the year before.

but the team’s schedule will likely improve from last year’s slate of fellow underachievers, so it’s unlikely the Irish see a big jump in wins. Georgia and Usc could be among the best teams in the country, and they just have too much talent to not be favored.

In michigan state, miami and stanford, notre dame plays three good teams in true road games, and the Irish do not have a recent history of winning those games. notre dame may not lose each of those five games, but in a schedule with many more strong opponents, it’s hard to be certain they win each of the other seven too. This team was terrible last year; one great offseason can only do so much.

REGULAR SEASON RECORD : 7-5

“I think we saw [the importance of experience] coming into 2015 as well,” mcGlinchey said of the experienced offensive line. “having the four of us come back here and have four pieces to a puzzle that needs five is pretty big. Last year we only came back with [nelson] and I and one of us was playing a different position. so, it’s definitely a huge advantage for, seeing things through one set of eyes and being a collective unit on offense. And absolutely, experience is everything in this game and having the experience that we do now up front is certainly going to pay dividends in the long run.”

mustipher added that, with a season of experience as starting center on his resume, there is an added sense of duty to ensure the line is doing everything in its power to help the team

function.

“I feel like it’s a responsibility that we know we have and we know we always have to take care of,” mustipher said. “And there was a responsibility we had last year, regardless of starts or not, we have a responsibility to this team to get our job done and not be the guys that let the team down.”

The offensive line has learned from the mistakes of last season, and has prepared itself to tackle this season with a renewed energy and as a cohesive, experienced unit.

“What I want is for this offensive line to the best in the country and I think we have the players to do that, the mindset to do that and the coach to do that,” nelson said.

Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu

Irish junior wide receiver C.J. Sanders takes a hit from a Duke defender during Notre Dame’s 38-35 loss to the Blue Devils on Sept. 24 at Notre Dame Stadium. The contest against Duke was one of Notre Dame’s seven losses by one possession in the 2016 season. Overall, eight games the Irish played came down to the final possession.

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