Notre Dame’s Undrafted Players: Trying Out For NFL Teams
By Nick Combs
Oct. 27, 2012; Norman, OK, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Cierre Wood (20) runs for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Cierre Wood
One that I thought was a for sure pick in the draft, but ended up being undrafted and signed by the Houston Texans. After being a 1,000 yard rusher in 2011 he took a step back in 2012 after he was suspended the first two games of the season by Coach Brian Kelly. After he came back he had been replaced by Theo Riddick, who was taken in the 6th round of the draft. He still had a solid season with 742 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry average, and 4 touchdowns. Wood isn’t as versatile out of the backfield like Riddick, but is still a good back especially between the tackles. Played in 38 games at Notre Dame and started 18 of them.
Braxton Cave
Not only did the Browns draft Jamoris Slaughter in the 6th round, but they signed center Braxton Cave after the draft had ended. Cave played in 48 games in his career at Notre Dame and started 35 of those games. He was a solid center for the Irish, but he had some injury problems in the past and isn’t overpowering. Personally I thought he would have been drafted in the later rounds, because of his knowledge of the game and experience alone. Since Cave has taken the starting role as center total allowed sacks have went down every year. In 2012 the Notre Dame offensive line only gave up 18 sacks, which was good for 28th in the country. The year before in 2011 the Irish only gave up 5 sacks and 3 of those were because of the offensive line. This is great improvement since in 2007 the Irish were sacked 58 times.
Mike Golic Jr.
In his Notre Dame career he played in 40 games and started in 17 of those 13 at guard and 4 at center when Cave went down with an injury in 2011. Golic is an underrated player that shows signs of being a very good player, but also shows technique mistakes like putting all his weight forward and lunging at a defender. NFL scouts also comment about his size, but at 6’3’’ he isn’t small and gets good leverage when blocking. With all the problems the Steelers have had with their offensive line they could use a versatile lineman like Golic.
John Goodman
Picked up by the Bengals and joins his former teammate and 1st round pick Tyler Eifert. Goodman played in 45 games in his Notre Dame career and started 5 of those at receiver. He has good size at 6’3’’ 215 pounds, but does lack speed and quickness. He makes up for that by being a sound route runner, soft hands, and able to find holes in the defense. A solid player that got overlooked times in his career.
Robby Toma
The quick slot receiver for the Irish was picked up by Baltimore Ravens and joins former teammate Kapron Lewis-Moore next season. He might only be 5’9’’ 185 pounds, but he is a tough and sure handed receiver that will beat you with precise routes and quickness. Last season he had 1 rushing touchdown for the Irish and 24 receptions for 252 yards. He appeared in 37 games in his career at Notre Dame and started 13 of them.
Jordan Cowart
Many of you may not know who this guy is, but he has one of the most unforgiving jobs on the football field. Cowart was the long snapper for the Irish since 2009. He played in 44 games in his career and never had a punt blocked in his 4 years long snapping at Notre Dame. He will be trying to earn a spot on the Washington Redskins roster.
Ben Turk
Yesterday he was invited to the Houston Texans rookie mini-camp. Turk played in 45 games in his career and has been the starting punter since 2010. He punted the ball 200 times in his career for 7,894 yards, which is an average of 39.1 yards per punt. In 2012 it turned out to be his best season of his career by forcing 23 fair catches and had 14 punts downed inside the 20 yard line. Turk never had a punt blocked in his Notre Dame career.
Dayne Crist (former Notre Dame player)
Crist was picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs after playing for Kansas last season.