Spond was the likely starter and his departure from the active roster opens the door for all-everything freshman Jaylon Smith to see considerable playing time. But, for now, the notion of not seeing Number Thirteen on the field will take some getting-used-to. The 2012 Student-Athlete of the Year Award winner, Spond is known as a humble, spiritual young man, who used his talents to honor and help others.

The South Bend Tribune‘s Eric Hansen has a terrific piece on Danny Spond, his departure and his place within the squad here.

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LINEBACKER: THE IRISH

Manti Te’o won every award available to a linebacker, save one, last season, thereby leaving behind giant, Hawaii’an shoes to fill. With no disrespect intended to Carlo Calabrese, or Dan Fox, or Danny Spond, Prince Shembo is my pick for this piece and the Irish linebacker most likely to end thefts of bicycle seats for all time. Seriously, if Prince yelled at me and accused me of taking his bike seat, I likely would not only have peed a little, I probably would have given him my own bike seat and that of every first born male child in my ancestral village. What would you have done?

As a player, Shembo’s got three seasons under his belt and absolutely blew it up last year. A Butkus Award watch-listee, the 6’2″ 258 pound native of Charlotte, North Carolina tallied some rather impressive numbers over thirteen games: 22 solo tackles, 29 assisted tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries and 1 pass break up. His fellow watch-listee, Carlo Calabrese, had 19 solo tackles, 30 assisted tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 forced fumble. His other fellow watch-listee (yep, we have THREE), Dan Fox, had 30 solo talckles, 33 assisted tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 2 broken up passes, and 2 quarterback hurries. Highlights here:

http://youtu.be/6g-eLm6a2a0

LINEBACKER: THE ENEMY

Of all the linebackers on all the teams the Irish will face in the upcoming campaign, BYU’s Kyle Van Noy is likely the best of them all. Slightly taller at 6’3″ than Prince Shembo, and about fifteen pounds lighter, Van Noy is all over the field, even returning a punt. Which maybe Shembo can do for us. I don’t know. We should try something. How could make it worse? Amiright?

Last season Van Noy, a consensus preseason First Team All-American, put up some crazy numbers that harken back to the days when a fella played both sides of the ball, smoked Lucky Strikes and went off to fight the Hun: 37 solo tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 15 assisted tackles, 2 interceptions, 13 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries, 6 forced fumbles, 2 blocked kicks, and the aforementioned punt return.

Check out his action here:

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Thankfully, I don’t have to justify ranking a kicker #1 (NEVER FORGET) or leaving our starting QB off the top 25 list (NEVER FORGET THIS AS WELL).

So without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.

#25 – #21

I’m splitting these into sections of five, not just because that’s how Keith did it, but because that’s how I tend to form the rankings in my head.

For the bottom five, I usually rank on pure potential. You’ll usually see most of the incoming freshmen around this area, but every now and then you’ll see a veteran in there as well. This year, that definitely happened.

#25 Chris Brown (Sophomore, WR) – Chris rounded off my top 25, mostly because I just couldn’t shake the long bombs he pulled down last year out of my head. The one against OU was one of the top plays of the entire season. The kid has some serious breakout speed and I’m hoping he can parlay this into a Golden Tate-type breakout year in 2013.

#24 Ishaq Williams (Junior, “Cat” LB) – Ishaq is one of those guys that we have also seen flashes of brilliance from. He has yet to record a sack, but did manage to rack up 3.5 TFL in 2012. I’m hoping that his junior campaign is when we see it all put together.

#23 Jaylon Smith (Freshman, “Dog” LB) – I am really excited to see Jaylon play this season. I have him slotted in the “dog” LB position, spelling Spond. He definitely has the raw talent to succeed at the coverage LB position, so I’m looking for him to make an immediate impact.

#22 Steve Elmer (Freshman, T) – The 6’5″, 300 lbs., top-rated tackle will likely see quite a bit of playing time this year on the line. Thankfully, he early-enrolled giving him a much needed jump start in experience and conditioning. Usually, I want all linemen to redshirt since it is such a physically demanding position, but with the Irish needing immediate, talented depth, a spring head-start definitely works. I think he has all the physical tools to succeed (notice a pattern yet?), so I’m looking for another immediate impact from the young lineman.

#21 Max Redfield (Freshman, S) – I can’t even remember the last time I was this excited about a safety recruit. I doubt he will start at the beginning of the season, but I could definitely see him winning a spot before the 2013 campaign comes to a close. The Irish secondary has needed a big-time recruit for quite a while. With Redfield coming into the fold, I feel he has the best chance out of this group to make an impact in 2013.

#20 – #16

This group tends to actually have some proven success. If I rate someone purely on potential here, I’m definitely high on them.

#20 Malik Zaire (Freshman, QB) – While he will likely see a redshirt this season (unless everything goes to hell like it did in my NCAA sim), Zaire is by far my favorite recruit in the 2013 class. Like Golson, he has a big arm and great mobility. There’s a reason Gunner Kiel jumped ship and my gut tells me he felt Zaire seriously breathing down his neck. It’ll be hard to project his impact, but I have no problem sticking my neck out for this kid, even with Golson’s return in 2014.

#19 Greg Bryant (Freshman, RB) – I don’t think I’ve ever considered putting this many true freshmen in the top 25 ranking, but I can’t help it. 5-star RB recruit that will have the chance to take on a backfield that has some huge holes with the departure of Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick just has to make a huge impact, right?

#18 Ronnie Stanley (Sophomore, T) – Yep, that’s two young tackles in the top 25. Much like Elmer, Stanley will be needed to fill some depth on the Irish line. He’s had a full season under his belt, so he gets a bump into this group of five.

#17 Carlo Calabrese (5th year, ILB)

#16 Dan Fox (5th year, ILB) – I’m combining the reasoning for Calabrese and Fox into one because honestly, I see them as damn near equivalent in the ranking. They have loads of experience and you know what kind of play you will get from each.

#15 – #11

This is the group that starts separating talent and potential on the roster to moving towards the elite. To put it another way, this is the true middle-ground. Players here could end up being the true difference makers or the people that I will later be embarrassed to have ranked so high.

#15 DaVaris Daniels (Junior [RS], WR) – I can’t help but feel like I’m waiting for Daniels to just break out. We’ve seen some signs of the potential before, with the huge reception on Golson’s 45 yard bomb to help send the game into OT. He was also one of the few bright spots of the Irish offense against Alabama notching a career high 115 yards on six receptions, one of which was another long strike of 31 yards. I think he should be able to nail down a starting spot so hopefully we start to see him break out in a huge way.

#14 Sheldon Day (Sophomore, DE) – We all know that Tuitt and Shembo are the two big pass rushing threats, but don’t sleep on Day. In his freshman campaign, Day notched two sacks, 3.5 TFL, and 23 tackles. With the departure of Kapron Lewis-Moore, Day will likely see quite a bit more playing time and he is my personal favorite to start along with Nix, Tuitt, and Shembo. In completely unrelated things tainting my objectivity, Day destroyed opposing offenses in my NCAA ’14 sim and seemingly had at least one sack a game. Here’s hoping reality mimics video game success.

#13 Matthias Farley (Junior [RS], S) – When Slaughter went down for the season, I was definitely terrified that the Irish secondary was beyond screwed. But then Farley stepped in and made an impact that I’m sure very few people saw coming and I don’t see that stopping this season. Fear the beard.

#12 KeiVarae Russell (Sophomore, CB) – Because of a thin secondary, Kelly was forced to move Russell from RB to CB…and did that ever work out. Now, Russell is a returning All American and looks to continue the fantastic job that he began last season. The only reason I don’t have Russell ranked higher is my fear of a sophomore slump and the overwhelming fear that gambles like this just don’t work at Notre Dame so I’m awaiting the other shoe to drop somehow.

#11 Tommy Rees (Senior, QB) – Here are the facts about Tommy Rees:

• He had an incredible run to close out his freshman year in 2010
• His 2011 was completely awful and I want to forget it forever
• He came up clutch in several situations during 2012
• With that said, his start against BYU left a lot to be desired

There is definitely potential there for greatness, but there is also the potential for great disaster because none of us are really ever going to be able to shake 2011. Rees still appears to have issues with locking-in on receivers (see: Floyd in 2011 and Eifert in 2012), but if he can kick that habit, that alone will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds in 2013.

Here’s hoping.

#10 – #6

Now we start moving into the elite parts of the roster. These are the guys I expect to be no-doubt playmakers during the season.

#10 T.J. Jones (Senior, WR) – T.J. made some great strides in 2012 and I still don’t think he’s found his ceiling yet. The WR corps needs a leader and a playmaker and I expect T.J. to fill this role.

#9 Chris Watt (5th year, G) – Watt has been one of the veteran anchors in the interior of the line and will enter his third year as a starter. With the departure of Braxon Cave, I’m looking to Watt to be the glue that holds the middle of the line together.

#8 Troy Niklas (Junior, TE) – Niklas is just a beast at 6’7″ 260 lbs. He made his biggest impact blocking in two TE sets, but with Eifert gone, it will be Niklas job to continue the amazing string of badass TEs from ND. At 6’7″, I am fully expecting Niklas to be a bit of a security blanket for a Tommy Rees jump ball and will soon be one of his favorite targets all season.

#7 George Atkinson III (Junior, RB) – GA3 still has some fundamentals to get down to truly be the best RB possible (One Foot Down has a great breakdown of this), but the bottom line is that GA3 is a straight-up playmaker. His speed on the team might just be unmatched and you can’t help but expect something special to happen when he’s in the open field. With two years under his belt, and the backfield begging for a breakout star, I’m expecting GA3 to take control.

#6 Bennett Jackson (Senior, CB) – Sure, Russell had an amazing, breakout year and Manti Te’o seemingly got all the INTs, but Jackson had a hell of a year himself. In 2012, he had 4 INTs (second only to Te’o) and broke up 4 passes (second to Nix, he led all DBs in this stat). I expect Jackson have yet another great season. With Te’o gone, the only people that can steal the spotlight from Jackson are on the defensive line — the rest of the show is all his to steal.

#5 – #1

The absolute elite on the roster and by far the easiest for me to rank.

#5 Danny Spond (Senior, “Dog” LB) – Spond was one of the best surprises for the 2012 defense and was a solid presence all year at the “dog” linebacker. He had one INT and broke up three passes, which was only second among LBs with Te’o taking top honors. I expect the arrival of Jaylon Smith to only further push Spond’s performance this season. He might not light up the stat sheet, but his presence on the defense cannot be overstated.

#4 Zack Martin (5th year, T) – Martin was my top-rated lineman last season and I see no reason to change that. Martin helped anchor a line that gave up only 13 sacks last season (T-28th in NCAA). Sack numbers (most often) speak to the strength of the exterior linemen and considering where this line used to be just a few years ago, I can’t help but give Martin all the credit in the world for that success.

#3 Prince Shembo (Senior, “Cat” LB) – Shembo was one of the people that helped us say “Aaron, who?” With 7.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL, Shembo was just an absolute beast on the line. To further blow your mind, consider that Shembo also led the team in QB hurries with 12. So that’s at least 30 plays that Shembo hung around in the opposing backfield which is just incredible. But as impressive as he was…

#2 Stephon Tuitt (Junior, DE) – 11 sacks, 11 TFL, 9 QB hurried, a blocked kick, a forced fumble, and an incredible fumble return for a TD — there’s no wonder why Bayou picked him as the Irish D-linemen to watch. Tuitt is simply incredible and the best pass rushing threat that we’ve seen in quite a long time. The only downside to Tuitt? He’s excellent play will likely make this his last year with Notre Dame. Enjoy this while it lasts.

#1 Louis Nix III (Senior, NT) – With all respect to Bayou’s selection, and to Tuitt, my pick at #1 was not hard at all. The success of the 3-4 defense starts with the nose tackle and Nix is one of the best that I have ever seen. Ideally, you just need a guy that can command and handle a double team on every snap. Nix goes well beyond that. NTs aren’t supposed to light up the stat sheet, but Nix manages to do so: 50 total tackles (7th on team), 7.5 TFL (4th on team), 2 sacks (T-4th on team), 3 QB hurries (T-5th on team), and 5 passes defended (leads the Irish). Simply put, Nix causes all kinds of havoc and opposing offenses have no choice but to respect the damage that he can cause. That opens up opportunities for the rest of the Irish defense, leading to TFLs, sacks, and turnovers. Plus, how can we ever forget this:

The post Ranking the Irish Roster: Tex’s Top 25 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

However, unlike last year, the Notre Dame prevailed thanks to a career day from Theo Riddick and yet another solid performance by the Irish defense.

With Everett Golson still recovering from a concussion, Tommy Rees had his chance to create a true quarterback controversy for the Irish. The “closer” got off to a solid start, leading the Irish immediately to what should have been a scoring drive, but Kyle Brindza missed a 40 yard field goal. After Manti Te’o strengthened his Heisman campaign with another interception, the Irish promptly went three and out. Rees bounced back and led a TD drive before the end of the first quarter.

Then things quickly went to hell.

First, the Irish defense finally cracked and gave up their first offensive TD since Purdue. The Irish offensive response was cut short by a Tommy Rees interception that was practically identical to one thrown against USF last season: directly off the helmet of an Irish receiver. DaVaris Daniels played the roll of T.J. Jones this time and BYU promptly scored another TD on the Irish defense. The Irish rushing attack then gained some momentum, but again came up short as Brindza missed his second field goal of the day.

In the second half, Kelly decided to lean on running game to bring the Irish back; in fact, the Irish only ran four passing plays in the entire half. The comeback was spurred by an incredible second effort 55 yard rush by Theo Riddick, in a textbook example of what forward progress actually looks like *cough*Stanford*cough*. After Brindza finally connected on a field goal, the Irish comeback was officially under way.

The following drive, one of the few Irish passes connected in a huge way as a 32 yard pass to T.J. Jones started a TD drive that ended with a George Atkinson III TD run. The Irish defense then did what they’ve done all season and stepped up to secure the victory. A few more Irish rushes and a Danny Spond INT later, the Irish walked off the field with a 17-14 victory.

While the game itself was far from a dominating performance, there are still several positives to take away from this game. The biggest perhaps is that the Irish were able to overcome their mistakes and win in spite of them, a feat they couldn’t accomplish last year. The two missed field goals left 6 points on the board and the lone Irish interception turned into 7 points for BYU. That’s a 13 points that the Irish spotted the Cougars, and a potential 20 if you assume the Irish would’ve scored a TD on the drive that ended with an INT. Despite such setbacks, the Irish still came out on top.

While Rees wasn’t hurting the Irish via turnovers (and let’s be honest, the INT wasn’t his fault), his inaccurate passing day certainly wasn’t helping after going zero for the second quarter. However, there was no panic from Kelly. The adjustment at the half was clear: let the rushing attack bring the Irish back and take a run a couple passes only to keep BYU honest. There was no panic to an air raid with a struggling QB like we’ve seen in the past.

The result: 270 rushing yards against the (previously) 6th ranked rushing defense in the nation that was giving up only 67.9 yards/game, 6.3 yards/carry against a defense previously giving up 2.2 yards/carry, and the second game this season in which the Irish had two 100+ yard rushers in the same game. I’d love to tell you the last time the Irish were able to have two games with two 100+ yard rushers, but I couldn’t find enough box scores before the year 2000.

What I can tell you is that the Irish are 7-1 in their last eight games decided by seven points or less. In the eleven games before that, the Irish were only 2-9.

This is a team that has learned how to win the close games, how to win ugly. This is a team that doesn’t panic and fall into “here we go again mode” as we’ve seen so many times before. This is a team that consistently adjusts in the second half and refuses to give up. This is a team that doesn’t fall victim to the trap game.

This is a damned good football team and more than just Irish fans are taking notice:

5. Notre Dame. Ugly as hell in winning a 17-14 victory over BYU, but should have been. BYU plays a nasty, caustic brand of football that is really not dissimilar to Notre Dame: defense first, and let the touchdowns happen where they may. They happened marginally more often for ND than for BYU, but marginal victories are the sort of things good teams make happen on rough nights. Notre Dame — he says, reaching for the bourbon with a terrified, shaking hand — IS A VERY GOOD FOOTBALL TEAM.

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