Notre Dame Football: Stepping Into the Light

It’s that time of year again, time for Notre Dame Spring Football.

Winter is winding down, and this year the groundhog seems to be accurate as there is most undoubtedly a spring feeling in the air (at least here in northwestern Ohio). With spring, comes the NCAA Tournament, baseball, and well… when the sky’s out thighs are out.

Spring also means the arrival of spring football at Notre Dame.

Depending upon when you read this, Brian Kelly will kick things off tomorrow with a press conference and drop all sorts of knowledge that we probably already know, but it will at least confirm most of our assumptions.

The media will be allowed their obligatory viewing sessions and will write stories about new guys that will make you think that they should be starting for an NFL team, and we eat it all up. Normally, I’m a little more grim about these exercises in trumpet playing, but I have to tell you… I’m pretty excited about this spring and what we may find out.

I couldn’t care less about the “quarterback battle” to tell you the honest truth. Mainly because it doesn’t matter. Neither Malik Zaire or DeShone Kizer will come out of the spring as the starter anyways, and to be even more honest with you… I don’t care who it ends up being- I really don’t (at least right now).

Why should I care about the quarterback position when I know we have two good ones already? Why would I care when Notre Dame lost so much from the 2015 squad and will need to replace starters all over both sides of the ball? This spring, I’m really excited because we have open spots at linebacker, defensive line, safety, corner, wide receiver, and the offensive line.

In fact, the wide receiver slots alone are enough to make me follow what happens extremely close. Three spots? That’s insane. Add that to the three spots along the offensive line- and that’s more than half the offense that needs replaced!

Forget about the quarterback, there will be actual jobs won this spring- and that’s what makes this spring so exciting to me. It may be more subtle than what you might expect, but there should be some closure within the depth chart after the Blue-Gold Game.

So this has the chance to be an incredible spring. So many players have a great opportunity to step into the light and be recognized. Let’s not waste it on the reflective flash of a “quarterback battle.” Instead, focus your gaze on those that truly shine with their own brilliance. It will be worth it- I promise you that.