Notre Dame's Specialty Field

Football has become quite the specialty sport over the years.

Short-yardage backs, third-down pass rushers, situational linebackers … are among the many athletes who have a specific role.

Nowhere might it be more evident than the 2017 Notre Dame special teams.

For starters, sophomore long-snapper John Shannon, redshirted in 2016, has taken over as the next four-year starter in that area, succeeding Scott Daly (2013-16) and Jordan Cowart (2009-12). It used to be a long-snapper was another lineman or tight end on the team. Now, full scholarships are given for one duty.

On returns, junior CJ Sanders will still handle kickoffs, but for now the punt return duties more likely will go to either junior Chris Finke or freshman Michael Young, whose first-step explosiveness has grabbed the attention of the staff.

Sanders’ four touchdown returns (three on kickoffs) are already two short of tying the school record held by Tim Brown, Raghib “Rocket” Ismail and Allen Rossum. However, he’s had multiple inconsistencies on punts with respect to fielding the ball and making quick decisions, including mishandling a punt near his five-yard line last year that Miami scooped up for a touchdown.

Finke was inserted in place of Sanders later in that game and set up the game-winning score with a 23-yard return. For first-year special teams coach Brian Polian, who had the same job title at Notre Dame in 2005-09 under Charlie Weis, the foremost goal on special teams is not necessarily to win games with the spectacular, but not lose them with errors in the basics.

Last year the Irish lost way too many of them, allowing a school record five touchdowns on special teams, including a blocked punt for a score by North Carolina State in the Wolfpack’s 10-3 victory.

“We can’t make the catastrophic mistakes in games, and unfortunately that has happened a little bit,” Polian said. “We’ve got to win the battle of field position. …We need to be sound. We can’t make the type of mistakes in close games that can cost us games.”

The theme of spreading the wealth is especially evident among the three specialists: junior kicker Justin Yoon, senior punter Tyler Newsome and freshman kickoff man Jonathan Doerer.

"We didn’t want to put any dual responsibilities on anybody at this point,” said head coach Brian Kelly after the Aug. 12 practice in which special teams were worked on more extensively. “We wanted them to take the specialty, if you will, of that position and be consistent at that one. If there’s anyone that kicks at another position it will be because they mastered one and somebody hasn’t mastered their own.”

Three For One

Yoon was sidelined this spring to rest a wounded, fatigued leg but has been active this August. He has converted 28 of his 34 career field goal attempts, a .823 percentage that is second only to David Ruffer’s (2009-11) .824 among Irish kickers who have attempted at least 30 field goals.

Yoon missed two 42-yard field-goal attempts in the partly open practice Aug. 12, but Polian said overall the junior has been productive, including converting from as far as 52 yards earlier this month.

Third-year starter Newsome has been a stalwart leader for the program on and off the field, and his leg strength (36 punts of more than 50 yards his first two years) could land him a future in the NFL. Nevertheless, the key stat is that while Newsome finished 26th in punting yards last year with a 43.5 average, Notre Dame was 106th in net punting at 35.28 (after returns or blocks).

“Everybody looks at a 58-yard punt and says ‘Oooohh!’ [Then] You go cover it!’ Polian said. “That’s been the big challenge is getting Tyler to understand that a 44-yard fair catch is a big win. The 55-yard line drives down the middle of the field have to go away. If he’s going to mishit a ball and it’s a 37-yard fair catch, don’t boo, because I’m high-fiving him.

“I’d rather have a 37-yard fair catch than a 55-yard line drive down the middle of the field, because that is a hard ball to cover, to get the guys down. He has worked really, really hard this camp.”

Polian personally recruited Doerer last winter but said he has not yet seized the kickoff duties. Plus, one never really knows until the lights come on for real and stage fright doesn’t grow.

“I want to put him in the stadium with some people around,” said Polian of Doerer. “You can never replicate 82,000 [people in attendance] and screaming, but we’ve got to keep putting him in pressure situations. Thus far, he’s reacted very well. Long and loose athletic guy, great future.”

Mainstay Figures

In baseball, seldom does one find a five-tool stars. In football special teams, the prized figures are athletes who can excel on all four units: kick and punt coverage, and kick and punt returns.

According to Polian, three players who are best bets to fall into that category are two running backs — sophomore Tony Jones Jr. and junior Dexter Williams — and sophomore wideout Chase Claypool, who recorded 11 tackles last year (seven solo).

“Tony will be on three for certain, maybe four,” Polian said. “If he doesn’t it’s because we made the conscious decision to take him off one.

“That four-unit guy that is going to win 70 percent of his one-on-one matchups, to me that’s a difference-making guy. I’d like to look up at the end of camp and say there are three, maybe four of those guys.”

Although those first three play on offense, they have drawn the attention of Polian in tackling circuits with their physicality.

“Claypool has to understand that if he wants to play on Sunday someday, the fifth receiver on every NFL roster has to be a four-unit special teams player,” said Polian, the son of NFL Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian. “Not only are we trying to add value to our own football team — which is our first priority — we’re also trying to add value to them personally so that if they have this dream of playing football beyond college, they now have a body of work that evaluators can look at and say, ‘This guy adds value beyond being a receiver.’

“I have found that the offensive players we have approached that way have bought in, they understand.”

Williams and Claypool have auditioned as “gunners” in coverage, as have senior receiver/captain Austin Webster, junior cornerback Shaun Crawford, junior safety Nicco Fertitta and sophomore cornerback Julian Love.

“Love has been a nice surprise,” Polian said. “He’s exceeded my expectations … he’s going to show up in a bunch of stuff, too.”

In different roles as blockers or cover men, the leaders could include veterans such as senior linebackers Greer Martini and Drue Tranquill and fifth-year tight end Durham Smythe.

Special teams are also an excellent opportunity for freshmen to cut their teeth. Among them are safeties Isaiah Robertson and Jordan Genmark-Heath, rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and tight end Cole Kmet.

“There are difference makers, there are core guys who will be on three or four units and then there are role players who have to be on one or two for a very specific role and they have to be bought in,” Polian said.

In the case of Owusu-Koramoah, though, he doesn’t even turn 18 until November, so burning a year of eligibility to do only one role might not be practical.

“If we go [with a freshman], he’s got to be out there a bunch,” Polian said. “You can’t decide to play a freshman just for punt returns. That doesn’t make any sense. If he’s not quite ready, then we keep him in the minor leagues and get him ready.”

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