The pads haven't come on just yet for Notre Dame during spring practice this year, but once they do, practices are going to get physical - possibly more physical than they've ever been during theBrian Kelly era at Notre Dame thanks to the depth Kelly and his staff have built up after five years on the job.
"This is the first time since I've been here where I feel like I can go into practice and I can bang around," Brian Kelly said earlier this week while addressing the media for the first time this spring.
Depth was a major reason behind Notre Dame's second half landslide a year ago. Defensive injuries mounted and as a result the Irish were relying heavily on contributions from freshmen likeNyles Morgan, and Greer Martini over much of the final six games whether or not the frosh were ready. By the time the USC game rolled around, the Notre Dame defensive line depth was paper thin.
One of the very few benefits of the injuries from last year is that those freshmen all got valuable experience that will give Notre Dame depth like it hasn't had in some time this year so that if the injury bug hits again, the Irish will be better prepared to deal with it.
"We have so many young defensive linemen, we need to see contact. We don't need to see them run the hoop, go over an agile bag. We have a lot of guys that can come and do that at a practice. I know I'm excited about that," Kelly said.
Some of those young defensive linemen that Kelly is referencing, in addition to the frosh who played last year, include Pete Mokwuah, Jonathan Bonner, and Jhonny Williams. Bonner didn't play last year but is up to 272 lbs and could be ready to see the field. "We really like what we see from him right now. So a lot of eyes on him," Kelly said on Tuesday.
Ratcheting Up
"This is the first time since I've been here where I feel like I can go into practice and I can bang around," Brian Kelly said earlier this week while addressing the media for the first time this spring.
Depth was a major reason behind Notre Dame's second half landslide a year ago. Defensive injuries mounted and as a result the Irish were relying heavily on contributions from freshmen likeNyles Morgan, and Greer Martini over much of the final six games whether or not the frosh were ready. By the time the USC game rolled around, the Notre Dame defensive line depth was paper thin.
One of the very few benefits of the injuries from last year is that those freshmen all got valuable experience that will give Notre Dame depth like it hasn't had in some time this year so that if the injury bug hits again, the Irish will be better prepared to deal with it.
"We have so many young defensive linemen, we need to see contact. We don't need to see them run the hoop, go over an agile bag. We have a lot of guys that can come and do that at a practice. I know I'm excited about that," Kelly said.
Some of those young defensive linemen that Kelly is referencing, in addition to the frosh who played last year, include Pete Mokwuah, Jonathan Bonner, and Jhonny Williams. Bonner didn't play last year but is up to 272 lbs and could be ready to see the field. "We really like what we see from him right now. So a lot of eyes on him," Kelly said on Tuesday.
Ratcheting Up
