Per Brian Hamilton's informative tweeting from Weis' presser, James Aldridge is out this week and doubtful for the Spartans with the shoulder injury he sustained in the opener.  Robert Hughes, who had been surpassed on the halfback depthchart by sophomore Jonas Gray, will start in his play.  Hughes has the size to be effective in the role and it's not like the coaching staff didn't just decide "Hey James, you're a fullback now," so this shouldn't be a difficult transition.  Still, Aldridge got reps in the role for the entirety of fall practice, so there may be a learning curve for young Robert.

Also of note, Barry Gallup, Jr., will be returning kicks with freshman Theo Riddick in Aldridge's absence.  The only bad thing about the shutout Saturday was that Riddick didn't get more chances with the return unit, but hopefully the Irish just keep shutting people out so we don't have to worry about muffed kickoff returns or poor decisions on whether to take a touchback or not.