Quote:
Originally Posted by NMUCats
I'll give it a shot. Some of ND's best players from last year were freshman, and it is generally accepted that the greatest improvement in players occurs between their freshman and sophomore years. Included in this group are:
Starting QB - Clausen
Top 2 of 3 RBs - Allen & Hughes
#2 WR - Kamara
Starting OLB - Neal
Starting MLB - B. Smith
Starting DT - I. Williams
It's also a given that ND's o-line will be improved this year, the question is how much. Throw in the addition of Tenuta, who has a great track record with defenses, and a much softer schedule than last year, and you have most people predicting a better year record-wise.
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See, that's just what I'm talking about. Who says its a given? Notre Dame's OL coach is clearly incompetent, and he was working with a talented core of players. These are Charlie's kids, and they haven't been taught proper technique from the moment they set foot on campus.
I'll give you Tenuta, that was a solid pickup. As for the schedule, it may be softer on paper, but some of those teams should be significantly improved from last year (Pitt, UNC), you have two teams with coaches on a sizzling hot seat (Washington, Syracuse) and several other teams coming off much more successful seasons than ND with the majority of their core intact.
There is certainly the potential for ND to take a step forward, but I haven't seen a single thing that's told me it's a "given". In fact, seeing a repeat of 3-9 wouldn't surprise me in the least.