All About The Seniors

The media gathering with Irish head coach Charlie Weis Thursday night focused mainly on the group of 33 fourth- and fifth-year seniors who will be playing their last game in Notre Dame Stadium Saturday.

Weis said he recognized immediately during his first season in 2005 the importance of this game for the players, both before and after the game.

“It’s different than any game the entire year,” Weis said. “So many things go through their mind. You should see some of these guys…you try to settle some of these guys down (before the game) because they are wired for sound. But you should see them after the game.”

Weis and his staff have put a heavy emphasis on the importance of this game because of what happened last season when a hapless Syracuse team came into Notre Dame Stadium and dumped the Irish on Senior Day.

“Probably one of my biggest regrets is losing to Syracuse last year,” Weis said. “Because those seniors walked out of here with a loss. It was as gut-wrenching feeling that stuck with me for a long time.”

One of the methods of motivation Weis called on this week was to have the veteran players and team captains talk with the players after practice, shying away from the usual routine of the coaches delivering the post-practice message. Weis said the entire coaching staff has left the practice field before the veterans addressed the players. But judging by the effort in practice this week, he believes the approach has taken hold.

“The attention to detail in practice has been very good,” he said.

When Weis was asked if he had thought about this potentially being his last game at the stadium, he said this weekend is not about him.

“That would be very selfish for me to think about anyone other than those fourth- or fifth-year players,” he said.

Kicking Update

Weis sarcastically called the punting in practice this week “a thing of beauty” and didn’t fully commit to either senior Eric Maust or freshman Ben Turk to be the starter against Connecticut, though he did suggest Turk has a slight advantage.

The Irish had two punting sessions this week instead of the usual one, hoping to find some answers to a problem special teams coach Brian Polian called the most disappointing aspect of his units this season.

Freshman placekicker Nick Tausch is back at practice after missing the Pittsburgh game with an unspecified injury. Tausch will be the starter Saturday, while walk-on David Ruffer will continue to handle kick off duty.

Robinson Ready

The only injury update came from sophomore guard Trevor Robinson, who rolled his ankle in the Washington State game, sat out the Navy game, and had to leave the Pittsburgh game early.

Weis said Robinson is much better this week compared to last and should be full go.