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Notre Dame Spring Football Practice Update: Quarterbacks

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:45:42 +0000

To some, Notre Dame is in a difficult situation. They have 2 very close starting quarterbacks, and 2 developing quarterbacks. Not everyone can see the potential this team has. But, I for one, am excited to see how all this plays out.

Tommy Rees is performing well. One thing head coach Brian Kelly mentioned in his press conference yesterday was that Rees has the most experience and that he should use it to his advantage.

”Listen (Tommy), you have more experience than anyone out here, so go out and act like it.” -Brian Kelly

Oct 1, 2011; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly talks to quarterback Tommy Rees (11) during a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross Ade Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Purdue 38-10. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Brian Kelly is absolutely right, I believe Toomy Rees can be the starter if he plays with the confidence we don’t always see. If he can’t, then we’ll go with Andrew Hendrix.

Andrex is still a young player (sophomore), so he has a lot to work on. Andrew said that he’s doing everything he can to “learn from his mistakes.” Saturday will be a great test for him to see whether or not if he’s progressing.

Kentucky wins the National Championship

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:19:07 +0000

Despite being up by as many as 18, Kentucky held off the Kansas Jayhawks for their 8th National Title. The final score was 67-59.

: Apr 2, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats celebrate with head coach John Calipari after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men

The Jayhawks, who had great comebacks all season, fought to the finish and cut that deficit to 5 with about 1:35 left. But Kentucky knocked down 5 free throws to seal the win.

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis was nowhere to be seen on the offensive side of the floor. He only shot 1-10 from the field and had 6 points. However, he was a monster on defense. Davis grabbed 16 rebounds and had as many blacks as he did points, 6.

Doron Lamb, a sophomore with first-round-draft-pick dreams, led the Wildcats in scoring with 22 points, which included back-to-back 3-pointers that put them up by 16 with around 10 minutes left.

For Kansas, Thomas Robinson (another possible lottery pick for the NBA) finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds on a 6-for-17 shooting night. Robinson had this to say about Anthony Davis.

“He’s not Superman,” Robinson said. “He’s just a great player. I don’t mean to be disrespectful by it, but as a competitor, I’m not going to sit here and give all my praise to someone I go up against.” -ESPN.com

This was a great game to watch. The tempo in the first 8 minutes was incredible. Both teams were going at it. Kentucky’s speed surely helped them win the Championship. Kansas should be proud of their run, because they were not expected to be where they ended up. I thought they were the one team that could have competed with the Wildcats, and they surely gave it their best shot.

Notre Dame spring practice update

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 02:56:50 +0000

Notre Dame was forced to practice indoors Friday for the team’s 6th practice so far this spring. Not much has happened, but here’s the highlights of what has been going on.

: Dec 29, 2011; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back George Atkinson III (34) returns a kick by the Florida State Seminoles during the fourth quarter of the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl at the Citrus Bowl. Florida State defeated Notre Dame 18-14. Mandatory Credit: Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

There was no real change in the quarterback competition. It is really open mostly because Brian Kelly has decided to retrain each QBs fundamentals so that he can see the progression in what he wants.

“Each day we’re staging different tests for the quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “That’s why this is gonna be a long process. We’re not gonna have this thing accomplished because we have not even got to the checks in our offense yet. There are no checks in yet. It’s call it and play.” -ESPN.com

Notre Dame will be without Prince Shemboc due to a turf toe, but he will be only out day-to-day. Ishaq Williams took his spot in first team reps for defense instead.

Also, no decision has been made on the return man for punting, the spot is still open to multiple players.

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