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Position battles to watch in fall camp for the Irish

By Bobby Norell

Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the field for the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 16, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the field for the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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November 28, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) is brought down by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Greer Martini (48) and safety Elijah Shumate (22) during the first half at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
November 28, 2015; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey (5) is brought down by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Greer Martini (48) and safety Elijah Shumate (22) during the first half at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Outside Linebacker

The Irish lost perhaps the best outside linebacker in school history last season in Jaylon Smith. It’s almost impossible to replace a player of Smith’s caliber, but the Irish do have a few guys that are more than worthy for the challenge.

Greer Martini, Tevon Coney and Asmar Bilal will all vie for playing time this fall camp. Martini played great when he saw action last season. He’s now a junior and is the most experienced of this trio. The staff loves the way Martini fits in against certain schemes, most notably the triple option.

Coney seemed like the slam dunk, no-brainer as a candidate to replace Smith, but that was before he suffered a major shoulder injury in the Fiesta Bowl last season. Coney didn’t participate in spring practice which let his competition catch up to him a bit. He’s a different type of player than Smith. He’s a bigger, thicker body that doesn’t possess the same speed.

Bilal took the role of benefactor to Coney’s injury. Bilal really impressed in the spring. In fact he was so good that Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune said that Bilal’s skill set is the one that most resembles that of Smith’s.

I think this could be the the fiercest battle of them all. If Coney is healthy I’ll say he gets the job.

Even with the loss of Smith, I will say Notre Dame should be better at linebacker as a whole. Nyles Morgan is set to step in at middle linebacker and James Onwualu at the other outside linebacking spot.

Next: Safety

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