All Quiet On The Notre Dame Front
The fall semester classes began at Notre Dame on Tuesday afternoon quietly for Notre Dame’s football players — and that’s exactly how they wanted it.
They were given the day off from practice because, as head coach Brian Kelly noted, the first day of classes usually have the players “staggered” at the start of a new academic year. In recent years, they were staggered by far more than classes.
Today (Aug. 23), actual preparations commence for the Sept. 2 opener versus Temple at home, and it marks the first day of what will be a familiar routine and grind the rest of this year.
When three-week training camp from Aug. 1‑20 concluded, there was virtually zero drama, other than holding the final scrimmage — open to the public — at the refurbished new Notre Dame Stadium on Sunday.
It was a sharp contrast to last August, when one crisis or distraction after another piled up to portend a miserable 4‑8 campaign, only the fourth time since 1887 the Fighting Irish had lost so many games.
• No major injuries were incurred during this year's three-week training camp. The most notable health setback was a pulled hamstring by junior tight end Alizé Mack Aug. 5 that sidelined him almost two weeks before he returned to action.
Senior reserve nose tackle Daniel Cage was ruled out for the 2017 season because of medical issues, but that already had been determined during the summer, prior to training camp. Meanwhile, junior reserve defensive tackle Elijah Taylor was still recovering from a Lisfranc injury suffered in the spring and, as anticipated, would be out of commission for a while.
• No academic suspensions, unlike the infamous “Frozen 5” situation that created a pall throughout the 8‑5 campaign in 2014 and even 2016 (including the NCAA ruling to vacate of all 21 wins in 2012‑13, which is under appeal), or Mack having to sit out last season.
• No off-field suspensions — at least none publicly known — unlike the six arrests made on the night of last year’s final day of training camp, which particularly cast an ominous shadow around the team, including the expulsion of starting safety Max Redfield.
For now, internal crises have been avoided, and graduate student and All-American left tackle Mike McGlinchey, one of a school-record seven captains. said that’s neither an accident nor coincidence. Accountability among all the players academically, socially and athletically was the foremost mandate since last January (when six of the captains already were in place) and constantly reinforced, including by director of athletics Jack Swarbrick.
“We were going to be a smarter football team on and off the field,” McGlinchey said. “It’s time for Notre Dame to stop being in the headlines in a negative way.
“Everybody understands the responsibility that comes with playing football here. We’re starting to see what we’re actually capable of, and I think that allows guys to dial in a little more, keep their eye on the prize and not let themselves slip in a social situation or on the field or wherever it is.
“It’s been preached and hit on us from Mr. Swarbrick to Coach Kelly to the rest of the coaches and the captains. … There’s a lot more hunger on the team. Guys want to do the right thing both on and off the field.”
The accountability factor was manifested perhaps most in enigmatic sophomore wideout Kevin Stepherson, who last year caught the third most passes (25) on the team for a stellar 18.5 yards per reception, and the second-most touchdowns (five). Although suited up and practicing throughout last spring and this August, Stepherson was virtually never even on the top three units among the 12 scholarship wideouts. That might have been the lone talking point with regard to preseason drama.
Kelly has reinforced many times that he erred last year by letting too much slide based on talent and not “the process” of adhering to team standards. In the long run, placing individuals above accountability for their actions erodes the team concept and cultivates divisiveness.
A primary example occurred in the spring of 2012 when the decision was made to part ways with megastar pass rusher/freshman Aaron Lynch. It's always unsettling to lose someone of that caliber — and at the time it seemed like the apocalypse to many — but it also strengthened team bonds and accountability. At some point a decision has to be made: either you want to be all in, or move on.
• No quarterback drama or preseason hype.
One of the reasons why Notre Dame started No. 10 in the Associated Press poll last year was it was deemed to have the nation’s best one-two punch at quarterback with DeShone Kizer (now a potential starter for the Cleveland Browns) and Malik Zaire (now at the University of Florida).
Kelly opted not to name a starter in the preseason and let it play out.
Suffice to say that both quarterbacks saw their effectiveness diminish on a rebuilding offense.
There is no such debate this year, and the combination of junior Brandon Wimbush’s overall skill set and veterans all around him on offense could allow the unit to thrive the way it did with Kizer during a 10‑1 start in 2015 and with sophomore Everett Golson in the 12‑0 regular season in 2012, even though neither had previously seen action in college.
This marks the first time since 2012 the Irish enter a season unranked. That brought out the pride and hunger of a team that had previously underachieved far too long.
The results from 2012 and 2015 might not be similar in 2017, and Kelly knows that at all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools, optimism is always at an all-time high in the preseason.
There is also no such thing on any college football team where it is a finished product coming out of training camp, but Kelly believes that in the first three weeks this August at least some identity continued to be carved and reinforced.
“I think we’re going to be a team that runs the football, can play fast and can push the ball vertically … we have great versatility offensively,” he said. “Defensively, we’re going to play so much better up front, and that really makes you feel pretty good. We’ll be better against the run, better fundamentally across the board, and our kicking game is going to be better.
“When you put all those things together, I think we’re going to continue to get better each and every week — and we’ll see if that’s good enough.”
After 2016, it can only get better. How much better will play out in the next three months.
For now, it’s been better primarily because of the absence of drama.
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