Notre Dame Football: Interesting Weight Changes From Day 1 Of Spring Practice.

There were many interesting developments in the Gugliemino Complex yesterday.

Must Read: Sinclair's Hot 5 Big Board - Notre Dame Recruiting

On Tuesday, the updated Spring Roster was released. There were many gains, and some losses, in weight within Notre Dame football’s personnel.

Then, the Fighting Irish held their first organized spring practice yesterday.

Here’s the more notable changes that I noticed on paper, and on the field.

OT – Aaron Banks – 310

This is very good news for a few reasons. The most important one, in my opinion, is that Banks was once listed at 344 pounds. The fact he has dropped 34 pounds shows that he truly wants to be great. Losing that much ain’t easy.

NT – Daniel Cage – 329

This is great news IF he hasn’t lost any mobility. The Irish coaching staff will be careful with him during the spring due to concussion issues, I’m sure.

WR – Chase Claypool – 224

I couldn’t be more excited about the Canadian Kid and his 6’4.5, 224 pound frame. Claypool lined up in the slot yesterday for some reps. I love this look. Claypool could create some significant havoc for defenses when he’s used in advantageous ways by mismatch opportunist Chip Long.

CB – Shaun Crawford – 175

Crawford is coming back from a serious, yet clean, achilles tear, ten pounds lighter than last year. I’m not sure if the dramatic drop in weight is related to the injury but perhaps having less weight on his leg will expedite a quicker recovery.

OT – Liam Eichenberg – 294

This is fantastic news regarding the future of Notre Dame’s left tackle position. He set foot on campus in ’16 at 280 pounds, far too light to compete on the offensive line for the Irish. He is a very talented offensive lineman, however, so this is a huge step to getting him on the field.

Safety – Jalen Elliot – 208

Elliot is one of several defensive backs to make very solid gains in the off-season. This is a 13 pound increase for the talented safety and will help him be a little more sturdy in run support. Good stuff, right here.

OL – Robert Hainsey – 292

The only knock I ever saw in Hainsey’s game was his size that was reported well under the 280 pound mark during his recruitment. He put on an eye-popping 17 pounds and shows that he may push his way into the two-deep at one of the guard spots, where he lined up yesterday.

WDE – Daelin Hayes – 255

Like Claypool, Hayes is true sophomore that was looking great last year.He looks even better now in ’17 after an offseason in Balis’ program. Hayes is primed for a big year of chasing quarterbacks. Can’t wait to see him get after it.

LB – Jamir Jones – 243

This was the most significant transformation, in my opinion and I’m excited about it. Jarron Jones’ not-so-little-anymore brother gained 18 pounds and took reps at mike linebacker yesterday. This will be interesting. He’s very athletic and shows great position flexibility to add depth at Mike,

RB – Tony Jones Jr. – 224

This is great to see. Notre Dame hasn’t had a ‘big back’ type like this since Jonas Gray. At 5’10, Jones Jr. looks primed to break some tackles. This was a 9 pound gain.

Must Read: Tony Jones Jr. Will Make His Mark For The Irish In '17.

OT – Mike McGlinchey – 312

This is where ‘Big Mike’ needs to be, and I’m glad to see it. It was said that Mike McGlinchey was less than 300 pounds at the end of last season. That’s not right. With his frame, McGlinchey should always be at least 310 pounds, in my opinion.

MLB – Nyles Morgan – 238

Morgan looked significantly trimmed down and more mobile as a result. The 7 pound drop in weight would’ve been frowned upon ten years ago, but in today’s game, linebackers need to be able to fly. This is nothing but good news.

G – Quenton Nelson – 329

Love this. This is only a 4 pound increase but the thing about Nelson is that he’s an unbelievably lean 329. “Lean” and “329” do not normally get mentioned in the same sentence.

DE – Adetokunbo Ogundeji – 251

This is an 11 pound increase for the +frame true sophomore who took snaps at drop defensive end yesterday. It’s great to see him coming along. He could be a dude for Notre Dame in the future.

DE – Julian Okwara – 235

This is more like it. Julian Okwara looked like a receiver last year. It was frustrating to see as we need help rushing the passer more than anything. This was a much needed 7 pound increase.

Safety – Isaiah Robertson – 208

This was one of my favorite weight updates/gains on the list. Robertson was listed between 185 and 195 last year. He looked like an athletic upperclassmen in practice yesterday and I think he may play this season. He looked like a safety version on Donte Vaughn.

TE – Durham Smythe – 256

On film yesterday, Durham looked large and in charge. He also looked like he may have gained some speed to go with his 11 pound weight gain. Although there is an enormous amount of talent at tight end this year, Smythe could very well remain the starter.

Safety – Drue Tranquill – 230

I’m impressed with how Drue Tranquill has come along physically during his time at Notre Dame. He put on 5 pounds to get to where he is now which is probably an attempt to become more stout against the run in his likely switch to the new rover position. Drue is shredded.

TE – Alize Mack – 245

I’ll keep this short. Alize Jones looks, and runs routes, like a top tier NFL tight end.

These were the more notable weight gains that stood out to me. There is still a lot of off season training to be done and these numbers will change, undoubtedly.

You can hear analyst Bryan Driskell of Blue And Gold Illustrated’s report of how the Irish players looked on the field on yesterday’s Irish Huddle Podcast, HERE.

One thing is clear, the Matt Balis hype is real.