(I want to get to Buzz Bissinger's rancid comments about blogging last night on HBO when I can really fully form my thoughts - short hand: he's a douchebag - but for now, some easier to digest ESPN stuff.)

There's a piece on ESPN today about Phil Savage's handling of his quarterback situation, which now involves a number one draft pick who happens to be a hometown hero and a Pro Bowler who they just signed to an extension.  

I think one of the dumber things the Browns did was in the final game of 2007 when they chose not to take their new toy - Brady Quinn - out for a test drive.  They were playing in a game that meant absolutely nothing, as their playoff hopes were predicated on the results of the night's Titans/Colts game and nothing else.  Instead of splitting time, or giving Quinn at least a few series to see how he did in the face of a NFL defense (as real as the 49ers defense was last season), Romeo Crennel thought it somehow was a good idea to give him a few snaps when Anderson hurt himself and then place him on the bench.  Not that you could glean a whole lot about the sitaution from one game or one half, but it would certainly be better than the snaps Quinn had gotten in the preseason months earler.  

Anyway, a few interesting parts from the piece, including an excellent, "We just crossed our fingers and hoped it worked out" line from San Diego GM A.J. Smith.

Pointing out how rough their logic is will not make fans stop buying Number 10 jerseys and chanting "Brady."

Chargers fans must be thrilled to see Smith's pro-active approach to general managing.

So next time you see Brady on a float in a Subway commercial or running on a treadmill on the barren plains of some hell dimension, give him a break for doing the endorsements: He needs to get that cash.

With the 86th pick of the draft, the Baltimore Ravens selected Notre Dame safety and punt returner Tom Zbikowski.  A lot of people have questions about Zibby's ability to cover, but as we discussed yesterday while watching the draft, a lot of people would have said that about Chinedum Ndukwe prior to his first year with the Bengals, and he excelled.  There's the potential that the Notre Dame system was just that bad that members of the secondary were just constantly placed out of position, and that with some proper coaching, Zibby will be a potent weapon for the perennially bad-ass Ravens defense.

At the very worst, the post-Brian Billick, Joe Flacco Era will have a capable punt returner to trot out there.

This was one of the happiest moments of my Notre Dame career.

While I was optimistic they maybe could creep into the end of the first round, the two most heralded Irish prospects going into this draft were off the board by midway into the second round. If you could survive all the inane yammering from the experts, a speedy but rather anti-climatic first day cruised right by.

John Carlson was taken at 38, the seventh pick in the second, by the Seattle Seahawks.  Just because he's almost unanimously regarded as a really nice, upstanding guy, he's immediately the opposite of Seattle's last high draft pick of a tight end, Jerramy Stevens, who might be one of the worst people who have ever played in the league.  Carlson joins a fellow ex-Irish player as Julius Jones signed with Seattle this winter.  The former Mackey Award finalist should become a pretty big-time target in the Matt Hasselbeck-led Seahawk offense, and while the folks over at Field Gulls are worried they may have reached for him, they're pretty pleased, referring to him as "a pick with no downside."  As far as second round picks go in the NFL draft, getting a tight end with decent blocking ability, good athleticism, good hands and a good head on his shoulders that played in a NFL-style offense the last two years of his college career is probably as good as you can get if that position is a need for you.

Trevor Laws went only nine picks later, rejoining teammate Victor Abiamiri on the Philadelphia Eagles.  I love how Mel Kiper called Laws "arguably the best player on Notre Dame last year" when absolutely no one - not an avid Irish fan, not someone who watch only one Notre Dame game - would even begin to argue with you over the merits of big 98.  The Eagles representatives on SBNation are pretty pleased with the pick, as I think a lot of teams would be.  I think how well former trench-mate Derek Landri has fit in the big leagues bodes well for Laws, as they both had the same type of unstoppable motor - with bonus kick-blocking ability - in their time in South Bend.  I think the Seahawks and Eagles will be very pleased with their second round investments.

I've begun to get a little annoyed with football recruiting.  Partially because it has become a lot of work to follow all the guys, especially since it seems National LOI day was just yesterday.  It's also become a little sobering to remember that I'll be close to 25 years old before these guys ever step foot on the playing field.  That's just weird.  Good news is that my annoyance sure hasn't stopped Charlie Weis and the rest of the coaching staff from gaining some commits this off-season.  I was a bit scared at the recruiting for this year, mostly because of our success last year.  The last memory kids have of Notre Dame is a 3-9 football season.  That didn't effect last year's class since most of the players were already on board, but this year might prove differently.  Fortunately, Notre Dame has received commitments from 4 players.  Here's some thoughts on them:

Jake Golic, TE, Conn. - A name you might be familiar with, Jake is the brother of last year's commit Mike Jr. and is the son of former Irish star Mike Golic.  He was, like his brother, Notre Dame's first commit of the 2009 class and stars at tight end.  While he's a bit lanky (6-4, 225), he's got a great frame to build on.  He's got very good speed and that is probably what attracted Coach Weis.  Connecticut is not a football powerhouse, but he put up good numbers and had a number of other teams interested in him as well.  His commitment was expected if he was offered and when Coach Weis called him to offer a scholarship, Golic jumped on board immediately.  Notre Dame might still go after remaining TE's.

Cierre Wood, RB, Calif. - Get excited.  The nations #3 player and #1 running back is coming to South Bend.  We just have to wait a few years.  Only a week after narrowing it down to ND and UCLA, Wood visited South Bend for the Blue and Gold game and committed to the staff over the weekend.  At 6-0, 190 lbs., Wood is a shifty, smooth, and quick running back.  He's not in the mold of a Robert Hughes, but he has more size and frame than a guy like Armando Allen.  Some say that his competition is a bit suspect, but he's ranked so high mostly because of his efforts in the summer camps.  One thing that he should help with right away is the return game.  On film, he looks phenomenal.  This is a great, and even a bit surprising, pick-up for the Irish so early in the game.  As we've seen with a couple of guys over the past few years, the Irish will need to continue to recruit him just as hard as if he wasn't committed.  But don't let you get you down, Wood may be one of the best athletes we've had in a long time.

Tyler Stockton, DT, NJ - An early offer, Stockton is an important player at an important position.  He might not be the best at his position, but he had a solid offer sheet and has good size (6-1, 295) and strength (just check one of his photos).  He fits in perfectly as a nose guard in the 3-4 since his high school ran the same defense last year.  An All-State Prep player in his junior year, Tyler is a great pickup early in the game.  As an added bonus, his high school teammate, Anthony LaLota, was offered this past weekend and has Notre Dame high on his list.  

Theo Riddick, RB, NJ - Only 3 days after Cierre Wood joined the fold, New Jersey running back Theo Riddick made it official when he announced for Notre Dame on Wednesday.  He, along with Wood, is one of the two running backs to commit to Notre Dame this recruiting season.  An offer sheet that included Penn State, Virginia and BC, Riddick is a good athlete at the running back position and is rated as a 4-star player on Rivals.com.  He reminds me a bit of former Irish running back Munir Prince but with better running back skills.  He's extremely quick and shifty and is just a workhorse at running back.  This is a guy that can do a lot for Notre Dame in the next few years.  The Irish are likely done at the RB position until next year.

Overall, a very nice start for the Irish.  May evaluation period is coming up and you should expect a few more offers over the next month or so.  The summer is filled with unofficial visits and is a frequent time for players to commit.  I think the start of the season is huge for Notre Dame.  If we struggle, you can kiss some of the big-time players we are after goodbye.  If we surprise some people, watch out: it could be another top 10 class.

From Stewart Mandel:

So there you go, folks: In the occasion that Notre Dame is bowl eligible but somehow not selected by anybody else, we'll always have St. Petersburg, although the approval of these new, very necessary games is still pending.

Due to the NFL's plan to alienate everyone who enjoyed rolling out of bed hungover at noon on Saturday to see the first pick of the draft, they've bumped it back until 3:00 in the afternoon.  To counter that unneeded delay (they want the first round to reach primetime and get that cash), they are mercifully cutting the amount of allotted time in the first round down to ten minutes.  The previously allowed fifteen minutes per pick was absurd, and while I understand teams need that time to try and maneuver their way up and down, it was one of the most dragged out affairs in sports.

Last year we saw some Notre Dame-related drama as Brady Quinn tumbled out of his presumed top ten position into the twenties thanks to the Worst Draft Pick Ever Of Any Kind by the Miami Dolphins, who took Ted Ginn, Jr., a punt returner and sometimes wide receiver, because Cam Cameron loves the Ginn family.  (That was actually his argument.  If Brady ends up being a top-notch NFL quarterback - which could go either way, who knows at this point - that really might be the actual Worst Draft Pick Ever of Any Kind.)  Quinn handled himself with class in an extremely tough situation, but made the mistake of holding out into training camp, which put him in the position behind Derek Anderson that he remains in today.

This year's draft doesn't have any sure-fire first round picks coming from the Irish.  I know what you're thinking: After a 3-9 season, how aren't our upperclassmen all NFL prospects?  But apparently NFL teams just don't "get it," so we'll be looking forward to the late first round and early second round to hear the names called of the following:

Trevor Laws, DT The heart and soul of the team last year, and a guy that would have made a lot of award lists if not for the fact the team was so abysmally awful everyone stopped watching after the Michigan game.  He would usually take on two or three blockers and still end up chasing the quarterback around, and his tackle total was absolutely absurd for a defensive lineman.  I've mostly seen him going in the second round, but our SBN Mock Draft had the Jacksonville Jaguars snagging him with the 26th overall pick.  If Laws ended up in Jacksonville, reunited with Derek Landri, that would provide a jersey combo for every pair of Irish fans. For more on Laws, check out his great site.

John Carlson, TE I don't think I've seen Carlson falling out of the second round in any of the drafts, but he hasn't been creeping into the first round in many either thanks to a bad 40-time.  After all, nothing is more important to how you'll transition to the professional level than how fast you run in shorts while a bunch of guys stand around with stopwatches.  I've read in a few places (Monday's Chicago Tribune for one) that Carlson is a great blocker, but that's simply not true.  He's a capable blocker, but in no way is he dominant in the running game.  Instead, you're getting a guy capable of really spectacular catches (see his 2006 highlight reel for proof) who would have won the Mackey Award that season if not for a late season injury.  If you're in need of a tight end, you could do far worse than adding Carlson to the ranks.  SBN's own mock draft has Carlson going 55th to the Seahawks.

In the sequel to this video, John Carlson is dominating on rockets in Halo 3.

Tom Zbikowski, S Really interesting proposition for a team when taking Zibby: he could be a really, really good special teams player in the NFL, but I'm not sure how he would translate to actually playing safety.  The success of Chinedum Ndukwe after leaving the Notre Dame secondary's "system" should give teams some hope, but the fact of the matter is that Zibby was not really a great safety.  He did a lot of other things well - return punts, box - but was woefully out of position so many times on deep passes with a tendency to go for the spectacular tackle instead of just wrapping up on run support.  I've seen him floating around in the third or fourth round, but I think it's somewhat of a gamble for NFL teams, despite the massive rewards awaiting the franchise that can craft this killer athlete into the player he could potentially be.

Joe Brockington, LB Did you just do a double take?  I don't think many people thought Brockington would have his name called by a NFL team this weekend, but in Todd McShay's latest full mock draft at ESPN, there he is at 235 going in the waning moments of the 7th round.  

You’ll notice we didn’t have a lot of (any) coverage of spring practices this year, including limited mention of Saturday’s Blue-Gold game.  The main reason for this is that there was a lot of other stuff going on (March Madness, Frozen Four, weather getting nicer) and a ton of other sites covering the twenty minutes of practice that were open each day.  If you’d like me to try and prognosticate on the upcoming season due to how well someone there said Duval Kamara was stretching, I can try, but it would be a waste of everyone’s time.  As Pat at BGS said, there were just an obscene amount of outlets covering the goings-on that there was a very limited amount of what we could have added to the conversation.

As far as Saturday’s game went, spring scrimmages are a fun return to football but somewhat useless in evaluating the team.  It is a zero-sum game, as nearly every positive you see from one side of the ball comes at the expense of somebody else on the team.  Short of a spectacular catch or pick, or a perfect, indefensible throw, there isn’t much that can just be chalked up to a great play by one side of the ball without knocking someone else.  Yes, I’m really glad Robert Hughes and Armando Allen had good games, but I’m also sort of concerned that an offensive line that was as inept as any unit could be last season was opening up any kinds of holes.  Are talent and size (Chris Stewart and Sam Young are monsters) finally coming together, or is our defensive line just that small?  I’d like to think it’s the former, but until San Diego State and Michigan come to town, we won’t really know.

It’s great to see that the secondary pieces recruited by Weis over the last few years are finally coming together, as Kyle McCarthy, Darrin Walls, Raeshon McNeil and Gary Gray should all see a lot of time this autumn.  I don’t think Terrail Lambert’s "experience" should warrant him a lock at a starting spot going into fall camp, because unless Weis wants to continue rewarding him for the 2006 Michigan State game, there was nothing during the 2007 season that makes me think we’re that much better off with him instead of Gray or McNeil.  Speaking of secondary pieces, special teams captain and starting safety David Bruton had a great quote about the Irish’s new defensive style and the man that brought it to them.

If Tenuta’s system is to work, we’ll need corners that can function on islands (Walls, McNeil and Gray are hopefully those players) and multi-faceted players who can cover, offer support in the running game and get to the quarterback (seems like the perfect role for Blue-Gold Defensive MVP and apache lobo rover linesafety Harrison Smith, for starters).  Tenuta’s "charm" seems to have had a big-time effect on the team, as one of the prevailing themes of the day from all attendees was how much more physical and inspired the team seemed.  Even ESPN picked that up:        

After going through a season where most players responded with apathy to the mounting list of horrible things going wrong, seeing some fire in everyone is a most welcome change.  Weis was making the transition before Tenuta got there, but I imagine having someone who might be clinically insane with their level of intensity around certainly helps in the transition.

On offense, I think there’s the potential for a very good, deep receiving corps with offensive captain David Grimes, Duval Kamara, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, along with Mike Ragone and Kyle Rudolph at tight end.  It’s a shame Floyd and Rudolph couldn’t enroll early, as I think the extra few months of practice could have made a world of difference, but from all accounts, they’ll be quite capable of contributing as freshmen anyway.  For a team that went from far too many tight ends to barely eking back in that position, quick development by Rudolph would be another welcome surprise.  

As far as Jimmy Clausen goes, I think every single thing I’ve read about Saturday’s game contains the line "That’s a throw he couldn’t make last year."  Whether this is or true or not, I have no idea, but it only makes sense that a healthy, bigger, more seasoned quarterback would be more accurate along with some more zip.  I’d like to know if he’s adjusted away from the "Running out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage with the ball still in his hands instead of just throwing it away" habit, but the ability to perfectly place fade and fly routes is also of serious interest to me.  The team will have to cut down on drops – a sometimes overlooked problem in last year’s cavalcade of woe and despair – but there’s some hope for the 2008 offense, if only because it’s almost statistically impossible for things to get any worse.

For the best recap of the game I’ve read, check out ND alum John Walters over at NBC Sports and look here for the final box score.  If you weren’t excited for Irish football going into the weekend, the performances in the Blue-Gold game as well as commitments of mega-back Cierre Woods and defensive tackle Tyler Stockton should have your blood pumping.  Pick up the new Shirt and start researching the Aztecs, as we’re a scant four and a half months away from kickoff.

With the spring game tomorrow, Mike Golic was at the bookstore to reveal this:

I like it, although I wish it was green.  Thoughts?

Now that all the dust has settled from signing day - save for Terrelle Pryor - Rob took the time to grade out the Irish class position by position.  I'm putting this up for Rob because he's down in Jamaica for the week, trying not to become an ongoing topic on Nancy Grace.  Some hoops thoughts will be coming at some point in time in the next few days, although it might not be until I get back to South Bend Saturday evening.

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Quarterback:  Dayne Christ

Once again, Notre Dame got one of, if not the, best quarterbacks in this year's class.  There's not much more to say about Weis' ability to land top quarterbacks.  Besides Crist's physical abilities, the thing you have to enjoy about him is his confidence and demeanor.  He's not cocky, as in he's expecting to come in here and start against SDSU in September.  Rather, he's confident that he can come in and compete and if he has to sit a few seasons, he'll suck it up and get better.  Throughout his high school career and at the High School All-America, everyone has been craving about his ability to be a leader.  Brady was that type of guy and hopefully Clausen is, although it's too early to know for sure.  I am excited to see what Crist can do -- at 6-5, 220 lbs., he has< the perfect size and ability to be an All-American for the Irish.

Grade: A

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Running back: Jonas Gray

After getting James Aldridge, Robert Hughes, and Armando Allen over the past two years, running back wasn't a huge need but the Irish picked up a good player in Jonas Gray out of Detroit, Michigan.  He's not the burner that Allen is or the force that Hughes is, but he's more similar to Aldridge in that he's got a good set of wheels to go with a college ready body.  Unfortunately, Jonas wasn't healthy during the All-American practices so we weren't able to see how he compared to some of the other top backs.  He was a solid addition to the Irish class, but Weis will have to bring in another top back or two next year just for safety.

Grade: B+

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Wide Receiver: Michael Floyd, John Goodman, Deion Walker

This year's wide reciever's class is Notre Dame's best haul at the position in
over 15 years.  It's that special.  Headlining it is All-American Michael Floyd who was one of the top one or two WR's in high school over the past two years. He's got great size to play early and has very deceptive speed.  He knows how to play wide receiver and it wouldn't surprise me to see him starting at the end of next year.  He's that good.  Coming along with him was surprise commit Deion Walker who is a bit taller than Floyd but a little bit less developed. He's extremely athletic and once he turns his rawness into talent, look out. Coming along with them is John Goodman, who although might be the most unheralded of the three, could be the biggest sleeper in the whole class. Goodman chose ND over Michigan and was a terrific athlete in high school, starring as his high school's quarterback this past year.  Although much taller at 6-4, he plays a lot like former Irish player Matt Shelton.  This year's haul is exciting to think about.

Grade: A

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Tight end: Joseph Fauria, Kyle Rudolph

For the third straight year under Weis, tight end recruiting was another knock-out.  Let's just hope they can stay out of trouble and not transfer.  The nation's top tight end, Kyle Rudolph, committed to the Irish early and Joseph Fauria, nephew of former NFLer Christian Fuaria, committed shortly after.  Both are big guys, Rudolph at 6-6 and Fauria at 6-7, although when I saw him on his official visit he looked closer to 6-9 than 6-7.  Both are terrific talents and should be able to compete for playing time as well as shore up the depth chart. Rudolph is probably a bit more ready than Fauria, as he's a bit more filled out.  I think Rudolph is very similar to John Carlson while Fauria is more of a
Yeatman type player.  You can say what you want about Weis, but the big guy knows how to recruit QB's and TE's.

Grade: A

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Offensive line: Mike Golic, Lane Clelland, Braxton Cave, Trevor Robinson

After having two years of solid recruiting along the offensive line, Weis put together a solid group of guys, but there were still some holes to be filled. Headlining the class is early enrollee Trevor Robinson, an offensive guard out of Nebraska.  He is a tough guy who will contribute early (whether he likes it or not).  He's strong and has the nastiness that I'm sure most Irish fans will say was missing from the Irish this past season.  Joining him at tackle is Lane Clelland, a highly recruited tackle out of Maryland.  Clelland is a bit raw and a bit undersized, but he was a top target for Weis and John Latina and they were happy at left tackle when he committed.  He is the lone tackle prospect for the Irish.  At center and guard, the Irish brought in Braxston Cave and Mike Golic, Jr., son of former Irish lineman/current ESPN host/NutriSystem superstar Mike Golic.  Cave proved himself to be one of the top linemen at the ESPN All-American game and should give quality depth right away.  I think he has the heart and toughness we haven't seen at the center position since Jeff Faine.  No word on if he'll frequent the tattoo parlor as much, but we'll see. Golic is another center who could play guard but figures to redshirt his first
year while he bulks up and transitions to the college game.  He's undersized now, but he has the frame to get bigger and by all accounts he has terrific technique that let him push bigger guys around at the All-American game this past January.  The four Notre Dame landed were good players, although I think they missed out on the elite tackle that they needed to get.  This becomes a huge need for 2009.

Grade: B

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Defensive line: Kapron Lewis-Moore, Brandon Newman, Hafis Williams, Sean Cwynar, Ethan Johnson

Even with the Omar Hunter deflection, the Irish did a tremendous job with defensive linemen.  Their biggest recruit is probably Ethan Johnson, a DE who was Oregon's best player in quite some time and offered by everyone.  It's difficult for a freshman lineman to make an impact, but Ethan has the size and Notre Dame has no depth.  He's a terrific end in the 3-4 defense and I can see him even sliding down to DT once he bulks up a bit.  Joining him at end are Sean Cwynar and Kapron Lewis-Moore.  Cwynar has already enrolled, which is a great thing to get him lifting and used to the defensive schemes.  He might be a better offensive player at this point, but we need him on defense and he can
contribute early.  Kapron Lewis-Moore was the surprise addition to the class and brings some athleticism and speed at the defensive end position. Personally, I'm surprised he's starting off their, given how he looked when I saw him on his visit.  He clearly has some room to grow, but he's no more than 220 lbs., so I'm surprised they're not bringing him on as a linebacker first. At defensive tackle, the Irish signed two in Brandon Newman and Hafis Williams.  Hafis is somewhat of an unknown at this point, but Corwin Brown and Charlie Weis offered him very early on and he's a kid who I'm going to pull for. Newman is a large boy and played excellent at the All-American game and quieted the folks who said he didn't belong there.  He has the size to play early, and again the Irish are going to need him to contribute as soon as possible.

Grade: A-

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Linebacker: Steven Filer, Darius Flemming, David Polsznusy, Anthony McDonald

The Irish needed some talented linebackers and they got them.  Coming in at linebacker, Darius Fleming was one of the more highly sought after players in this class and he has the ability to be a real star at Notre Dame.  With the addition of Jon Tenuta, things could get scary for opposing linemen and running backs attempting to protect their quarterbacks.  Joining him at inside linebacker is a fellow Chicago native in Stephen Filer.  Filer has tremendous size and strength but might need a few seasons to learn the position in college.  Anthony McDonald is another inside linebacker who was teammates with Dayne Crist (imagine facing that team).  He's got great size and instincts and people even seem to think he could turn into a lineman, although I would think Tenuta and Corwin Brown have different opinions on that one.  If you think David Polsnuszny has a familiar name, you're probably thinking of his older brother Paul who starred for Penn State and now the Buffalo Bills.  David is eerily similar of his brother coming out of high school and is blessed with terrific size and speed.  He played some safety in high school but figures to become an outside linebacker or inside linebacker at Notre Dame.  He is a bit raw but has a huge upside.  I think he could be a sleeper in this class.

Grade: A-

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Cornerback: Jamoris Slaughter, Robert Blanton

The position which seemed to be the most difficult position for Notre Dame to recruit in the past decade has turned out to be a piece of cake for Charlie Weis and his staff over the past three seasons.  The Irish signed two top corners, Robert Blanton out of North Carolina and Georgia native Jamoris Slaughter.  Both are physical type corners that Corwin Brown covets, in fact most services had them as safeties as their natural position.  Blanton is a tall, physical (6-1) player and brings good speed and instincts at the position.  He held his own at the Army All-American game, where some thought he
might struggle against the elite receivers.  Slaugther is a bit smaller but more athletic and one was of the more sought after defensive backs in the south this year.  He brings excellent ball skills and athleticism to a defensive backfield that could use some depth with graduations imminent and some deflections this past season (Munir Prince).  Cornerback is always an important position for any program to recruit, so don't expect the Irish to let up this upcoming recruiting season.

Grade: B+

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Safety: Dan McCarthy

The Irish only signed one safety this year in Ohio's Dan McCarthy, brother of current Irish safety Kyle McCarthy.  McCarthy was one of Ohio's best players and chose Notre Dame over in-state Ohio State.  He's played a number of positions in high school but has your prototypical size and speed of a safety. He's probably a bit more polished coming out of high school than his brother and should contribute on special teams early.  There is some concern over an injury that occurred this past season, but reports say that he should be ready to go in the Fall.  Look for Notre Dame to target at least two safeties next season.

Grade: B+

When I first heard about Weis turning over the play-calling to offensive coordinator Mike Haywood, I thought he was just giving up calling plays for Lent.  But it seems like it is for good, which is a shocking change if you know Weis.  Charlie also made some smaller coaching changes, such as moving Brian Polian to coach special teams exclusively, as well as assign Tenuta to coach the linebackers and moving Corwin Brown to the secondary.  From today's presser:

I have to admit that I'm pretty happy with these moves.  Weis obviously has enough faith in Haywood's play-calling ability or he wouldn't do it at all.  I think he missed a good opportunity at the end of last season to see how it would work out.  I also have to wonder if Kevin White made him do it, considering he's been adamant about keeping those duties for the past three years.  The Polian move kind of disturbs me, but we're just going to have to trust Weis on this one.  How hard is it to coach special teams, anyways ("Kick the ball farther, Whitaker!")?  On the other end of the spectrum, the Tenuta and Brown moves are going to improve this defense even more.  Maurice Crum, Brian Smith, Toryan Smith, Kerry Neal, and all the other linebackers should be jumping out of their seats at the thought of playing for someone like Tenuta, who I think will fit in very well with the Irish coaching staff - he might even be brasher than Weis himself.

As a sidenote, Corwin Brown was seen in Rolfs today playing basketball with some members of the Irish football team.  It's clear why he's a terrific recruiter and why kids want to play for him.  His enthusiasm and personality is contagious and the guys on the team love him.  He still has a long way to go, but I'm very impressed with him.

Enjoy the first Friday night of Lent and go Irish tomorrow!  Those fish sticks at the dining hall today were truly delicious.