Notre Dame Practice Report: Nov. 10 (Pt. 1)

The temperatures dropped to the mid-50s today as the Irish hit the LaBar Practice Complex in full pads for practice. There were a lot more sleeves being worn by the players and hooded jackets being worn by the coaches. Jimmy Clausen and Michael Floyd, however, didn't wear long sleeves.

General Observations

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen returned to the warm ups instead of the stationary bike like last Tuesday. He jogged straight forward through each drill. There wasn't any hitch to his step and he looked to be moving around better at the start of the individual drills.

Wide receiver Robby Parris tried to high-knee backpedal, but it slowed down to a standard backpedal. He's had his share of bumps and bruises this season, but he looked fine going through the drills.

Tight end Bobby Burger added a cowboy collar to his equipment and fully participated during the media's viewing time. Mike Ragone and Jake Golic were the only other tight ends in the group with Kyle Rudolph out with a shoulder injury and Tyler Eifert out with a back injury. The earliest Rudolph would be able to return is for Stanford (Nov. 28), but Weis feels December practice for a bowl is more realistic.

Running back Armando Allen went through the full warm up after not being at the last two Tuesday practices and looks ready to go. He's slated as the starter for the game this weekend.

Offensive guard Trevor Robinson ran straight forward through the warm ups and had his right ankle wrapped high. He went through the individual drills and should be ready for the starting nod on Saturday.

Frank Verducci shouted to his offensive linemen, “That’s the way to move around!”

Linebackers coach Jon Tenuta was talking schematics with linebacker Manti Te’o during stretch. Irish head coach later made his way over to him with a smile on his face for a chat after talking with defensive backs coach Corwin Brown a bit earlier.

Running backs coach Tony Alford and tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee were going over the practice plan.

As Weis walked by the tight ends, he commented jokingly about Burger, “One week he’s got a broken neck, the next one he’s out here ready to go.”

The atmosphere during stretch was quieter, but in a more focused sense.

Weis broke the team huddle with “Win!”

Defensive Observations

The defense started with pursuit drills.

The first-team base package was Darius Fleming, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ian Williams and Kerry Neal as the defensive linemen, Harrison Smith, Brian Smith and Manti Te’o as linebackers and Gary Gray, Robert Blanton, Sergio Brown and Kyle McCarthy in the secondary.

“I’m running about a 5.4-forty right now,” B. Smith said after his first rep was complete.

Note: This was the same lineup as last week’s Tuesday practice and the starting group against Navy.

The second-team base package was John Ryan, Sean Cwynar, Ethan Johnson and Steve Filer on the defensive line, Scott Smith, Toryan Smith and Anthony McDonald as the backers, Raeshon McNeil, Darrin Walls, Jamoris Slaughter and Ray Herring as the defensive backs.

Note: In comparison to last week’s unit, T. Smith worked as the first middle linebacker (MIKE) instead of McDonald. McDonald shifted to weakside linebacker (WILL) in place of David Posluszny.

The defensive line kicked things off more up tempo. Defensive line coach Randy Hart got in his players’ faces right away once the contact and speed of the drill wasn’t what he was looking for.

“Get the lead out of your asses and keep your feet working,” he shouted.

There has been some buzz around nose tackle Ian Williams after he made multiple comments about Notre Dame being “out schemed” in the post-game interview room.

Williams looked distraught after the loss, which is expected, but more so than any other of his teammates. In my opinion, his comments may have been taken out of context and he was referring to the front line being outplayed versus out schemed.

With that said, the junior defensive lineman was more honed in today at practice than I ever recall seeing a player at any position during individuals. He was moving full speed, used sound technique and you didn’t hear a peep from him.

I noticed a new man in wide receiver Duval Kamara a few weeks back, and I feel Williams is next in line for showing a continued progression on the production chart.

The defensive ends and tackles split up to work on one-on-one blocks and fitting in for the tackle. The DTs worked with defensive graduate assistant Bryant Young and the DEs were with Hart.

Johnson used great hands on his rep and fitted in for the tackle. There was a fire under his butt today in both individual drills and pass rush drills after being in the second group for the second consecutive week.

Lewis-Moore continues to show improvement. He was quick out of his stance, made great contact, got off of his block and pursued the ball carrier. He received praise from Young after his turn and the humble sophomore thought he did something wrong.

Cwynar came out of his stance a bit too high and let the blocker get underneath him. Brandon Newman was guilty of the same.

Tyler Stockton still has some room to grow, but he’s looking better week-to-week technique-wise.

Neal keeps his shoulders square very well and is playing more like a veteran in the group.

Morrice Richardson needed to get off the ball faster, but he used his hands well to get off of the block.

Ryan could’ve used more of a punch. He tends to get himself in a position to make plays, though.

Worth Noting:

NFL scouts were present from the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans. Weis talked with the scout from the Titans while he was watching the secondary.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of the report on the offense, OL/DL and WR/DB 1-on-1 drills, and a Pitt game prediction.