Notre Dame Football: 3 Questions For Daniel Cage
We have three questions about every player on the Notre Dame football roster this spring.
There will be about 65 guys on scholarship for spring football this year. We are going to take a look at each one (alphabetically for dewey decimal fans), and ask a few questions. What those questions will be, are probably more important than the answers actually given before September- if any are given at all.
Daniel Cage is yet another prospect that should have been redshirted, but instead he saw a good amount of action in his freshman year. As a sophomore, Cage played in 11 games and started in seven of them. He only accounted for 18 tackles, but 4 of those were tackles for a loss.. DT. Notre Dame Fighting Irish. DANIEL CAGE. JR
1. How good can Daniel Cage get?
Really it’s hard to believe that Cage is entering his Junior year, but here we are. Cage has already cemented himself in the rotation on the defensive line, but he hasn’t the “wow” stats or moments that might make someone think he is on the cusp of being really good. Still, he is now a seasoned veteran and that in itself sets up a player to get past all the pitfalls a young player can make and focus on the things that will help him improve. How good? A really good rotation player / next man in which is a great thing to have.
2. What’s holding Cage back?
If there is one thing that is holding Cage back, that’s his body shape. He can’t help that he is only 6’1″ and not 6’4″, but he can help his weight which at 315 is more con than pro. If he can get closer to a flat 300 and help with his quickness and his stamina, he could be more than just a really good option off the bench.
3. Who’s he rotating with?
Jerry Tillery and Jarron Jones will start at defensive tackle this year. As long as they stay healthy, the guys coming off the bench to rotate will be a mix of Jay Hayes, Daniel Cage, and Jonathon Bonner. How Cage stacks up to those two will determine how much he actually rotates in during the game.