Notre Dame 2008: Still Ridiculously Young

Before all you glass-half-full people get too too excited, I just want to remind you all how seriously, seriously young this Irish Football team is this year.

Last year, we were pretty much babies.  Average age on the starting squad was like 3. 

This year, we may be up to, oh, maybe 11 or 12.   We're still TWEENS people!  We like Miley Cyrus and have braces and have 'felt up' a girl or two.  But that's it!  We're not even high school age yet, people, and let's not forget it. 

The 2-Deep was released, and the extreme levels of talent in the freshmen and sophomore classes is showing through big time.  All in, we have 7 freshmen and 16 sophomores in the mix.  On a team that's fully developed, in a program that isn't starting over from scratch, how many Frosh and Sophomores should be on that list?  I don't know, maybe 4 or 5.  And, at MAX, 1-2 should be starting.  That's the reality in a program that wasn't recently decimated.  What we have today is the reality of a program building from the bottom up, on a talent base that is still extremely young.

Should we see improvement over last year?  Heck yeah.  A lighter schedule, a better approach from C-dub, more cohesion in the team, more physical practices, no QB controversy...blah blah blah.  Better?  YES.  But.  BUT BUT BUT.  We should all seriously temper our expectations here.  This is a young team with a ton of 18 and 19 year old kids.  Take a look at other elite programs (specifically the ones doing well recently), and see how many first and second year guys are in that two-deep.  See how many are starting, and at key positions all over the field.   Right, not close to as many.

This issue of age and inexperience won't last long - Charlie and co. are stocking this team with awesome recruiting year after year.  But expect some more growing pains this year, as these young guys gain significant experience.  Feel free to say what you want about what we 'should' do, or what Charlie 'has' to do for this year to be a success.  Just think before you say it, and realize that the teams that went far last year, BCS, MNC, etc etc did it on the back of experienced talent. 

Not just talent.

 

About The Biscuit

Unabashed Notre Dame fan. Always right. Including when stating that you're wrong.
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