1. Rochelle - the only player on the DL that was disruptive/making plays .. in on almost every snap just like last year. He will wear down if we do not get someone on the 2 deep to spell him often over the course of the season.
2. Morgan - how in the world was this kid on the bench all year last season? Was a sideline to sideline force -- and he looks absolutely wrecked/like an NFL linebacker. Big body, fast, strong. Only player i saw where when he got in range to make a tackle, the opposing player consistently went down. I simply do not understand how he did not see the field at least 50% of the snaps last year over Schmidt.
3. Shawn Crawford - Standout star/playmaker. Ran a 2 pt back on the blocked field goal, got some nice yards on the interception, and was the only player in the defensive backfield that was NOT getting burned all game by the opposing receivers.
4. Deshone Kizer - Our new face of the team (and not just because he's a quarterback). He's the complete package / one of the best players in college football. Was trending that way over the course of last season and cemented that status vs Texas. Prey to god he returns in 2017.
5. St Brown - Was targeted all night but wore down over the course of the game. Big bodied, sure handed, large catch radius, an obvious favorite target of Kizer's and will be the top target on the offense going forward.
6. The offensive line in general was pretty good .. Kizer had plenty of time .. space was created in general for a solid running game vs one of the more talented defensive lines ND will face this season.
Some other observations: Folston & Adams both left yards on the field last night. Adams is clearly not healthy ... he was banged up from the get go (hamstring issues were reported during camp). He was still pretty effective but didn't have that extra step/power we saw last year (usually went down instead of shaking tackles). It looks like he's added a pass catching dimension to his game as he made several key receptions the big one being the over the shoulder catch on a wheel route in the redzone.
Folston was his usual shifty/fall forward/get the tough yard self but lacked the ability to shed tackles like we saw in 2013 & 2014. He was largely ineffective outside of that first series long run. It's 1 game though against a talented roster. Dexter Williams needs to behave/get out of the doghouse as he will be needed in a big role going forward.
Seemed like ND didn't have outside linebackers vs Texas (they were gobbled up by opposing blockers and out of position all game). Defensive backs in general outside of Crawford also seemed non existent. Cole Luke made some nice plays but the entire defensive backfield were constantly confused/out of position/missing tackles/and burned by opposing receivers/etc.
TEs were also non existent ... didn't really evaluate their blocking but this will be the first year in a while where ND has no playmakers at the position. Alize was sorely needed in the passing game Sunday night ... his suspension was a HUGE loss as ND desperately needs weapons in the passing game.
2. Morgan - how in the world was this kid on the bench all year last season? Was a sideline to sideline force -- and he looks absolutely wrecked/like an NFL linebacker. Big body, fast, strong. Only player i saw where when he got in range to make a tackle, the opposing player consistently went down. I simply do not understand how he did not see the field at least 50% of the snaps last year over Schmidt.
3. Shawn Crawford - Standout star/playmaker. Ran a 2 pt back on the blocked field goal, got some nice yards on the interception, and was the only player in the defensive backfield that was NOT getting burned all game by the opposing receivers.
4. Deshone Kizer - Our new face of the team (and not just because he's a quarterback). He's the complete package / one of the best players in college football. Was trending that way over the course of last season and cemented that status vs Texas. Prey to god he returns in 2017.
5. St Brown - Was targeted all night but wore down over the course of the game. Big bodied, sure handed, large catch radius, an obvious favorite target of Kizer's and will be the top target on the offense going forward.
6. The offensive line in general was pretty good .. Kizer had plenty of time .. space was created in general for a solid running game vs one of the more talented defensive lines ND will face this season.
Some other observations: Folston & Adams both left yards on the field last night. Adams is clearly not healthy ... he was banged up from the get go (hamstring issues were reported during camp). He was still pretty effective but didn't have that extra step/power we saw last year (usually went down instead of shaking tackles). It looks like he's added a pass catching dimension to his game as he made several key receptions the big one being the over the shoulder catch on a wheel route in the redzone.
Folston was his usual shifty/fall forward/get the tough yard self but lacked the ability to shed tackles like we saw in 2013 & 2014. He was largely ineffective outside of that first series long run. It's 1 game though against a talented roster. Dexter Williams needs to behave/get out of the doghouse as he will be needed in a big role going forward.
Seemed like ND didn't have outside linebackers vs Texas (they were gobbled up by opposing blockers and out of position all game). Defensive backs in general outside of Crawford also seemed non existent. Cole Luke made some nice plays but the entire defensive backfield were constantly confused/out of position/missing tackles/and burned by opposing receivers/etc.
TEs were also non existent ... didn't really evaluate their blocking but this will be the first year in a while where ND has no playmakers at the position. Alize was sorely needed in the passing game Sunday night ... his suspension was a HUGE loss as ND desperately needs weapons in the passing game.
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