The 27,863 fans that paid to see the Blue-Gold game in person might be thawed out and dry by now. For the rest of you that either skipped the festivities or watched on TV, trying to quantify what you saw and reach some conclusions might be a little difficult.
First, let’s cross off a few of the easy ones. Notre Dame has four intriguing quarterback options, all of whom are good enough to start for a BCS program... eventually. The Irish also have three legitimate kicking options, with Nick Tausch and Kyle Brindza putting together impressive performances. Lastly, Aaron Lynch looked pretty good out there, even if he still is a work-in-progress.
Here are a few other thoughts worth chewing on after re-watching Saturday’s game.
1. Even with a shaky Saturday, Dayne Crist is still the leader in the clubhouse for the starting job.
Sure, that short-hop throw to Theo Riddick gave many of you the twitches. But Crist looks much more stable in the offense, and that 5 for 11 wasn’t as ugly as it semi-appeared. Is Dayne as accurate as Jimmy Clausen (or even Brady Quinn)? No. But his command of the offense is much better than it was last year, and Crist’s struggles on Saturday were often because his receiver wasn’t on the same page -- a page Crist was correctly on.
While it was nice to see both Hendrix and Golson flash brilliance, it’s clear right now that Crist and Rees give the Irish the best chance to win. Rees’ day -- specifically his struggles controlling the slick ball and his poor read on Lo Wood’s interception -- were a reminder that Tommy isn’t quite ready for prime-time either.
2. Dan Fox inserted his name into the middle of the middle linebacker conversation.
Fox has always been an intriguing candidate, but never much of an option because of his inability to stay completely healthy. But his seven tackles tied for a game high with Danny Spond and Aaron Lynch, and he was incredibly active from his middle linebacker position.
The depth at middle backer, whoever takes the spot next to Manti Te’o is an intriguing lot, with Carlo Calabrese the starter, but by no means a clear leader over Fox and Kendall Moore. You can easily add David Posluszny and Justin Utupo to that list, and I was really impressed with the freshman’s physicality.
3. Bob Diaco wasn’t showing his hand on Saturday.
Blink and you missed these guys: Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ethan Johnson, Darius Fleming, Gary Gray, and Harrison Smith. (I’m not counting Manti Te’o, who Kelly allowed to play on the punt team.)
Diaco has always played things close to the vest, but Saturday he filled his secondary with walk-ons and rolled into a vanilla coverage just about every play, relying on the strength of his front-seven players to keep the Irish offense at bay on a sloppy day.
Still, Kelly said everything he needed to after the game.
“When you go into the Fall and you feel like your defense is going to be able to stop the run and play the ball in the air, that is pretty good feeling,” Kelly said.
4. The wide receivers need a little work. The tight ends are good to go.
Regardless of weather conditions, I was hoping to see more from Theo Riddick and TJ Jones. Jones was playing nicked up with a bum ankle and Riddick was still in the midst of a (potentially temporary) transition to Michael Floyd’s receiver position. Still, it’d have been good to see one of the quarterbacks take a shot down field, especially against a mostly walk-on secondary. Robby Toma looked good in the slot, and Deion Walker finished up a strong spring with five catches for 56 yards.
While the wideouts underachieved, tight end Alex Welch impressed in his first real performance in front of Irish fans. Mike Ragone also had a nice catch to open the game in the slot, adding another complement to Tyler Eifert, who could be an All-American candidate this season. With Ben Koyack coming to campus this summer, those are four solid options at the position, taking some of the pressure off the receivers.
5. The young secondary is coming on strong.
For worried Irish fans, seeing Lo Wood step in front of a Tommy Rees pass and make a savvy play had to be reassuring. Just as important, Bennett Jackson looked like a natural at cornerback, making a few big hits and seeming at home on the opposite side of the ball. Ditto for Austin Collinsworth, who spent a ton of time as the only scholarship DB on the field, covering plenty of ground and making quite a few plays.
6. There’s a punting battle brewing between Ben Turk and Kyle Brindza
It’s no secret that Ben Turk struggled last year, both in terms of hang time and distance. With a strong wind, Brindza averaged 42.7 yards on his kicks while Turk averaged 40 yards per kick, with one of Turk’s punts the beneficiary of some nice roll.
From all reports, Brindza is still learning and his operation time needs some work. But special teams coach Mike Elston knows he needs more out of his punter and I expect Turk and Brindza to battle well into the fall.