Notre Dame to be a backfield-by-committee to open season

Senior tailback Cierre Wood (Oxnard, CA/Santa Clara) comes into the 2012 season on a high note of rushing for 1,102 yards on 217 carries and scoring 9 touchdowns in 2011 while splitting time with now-graduated Jonas Gray. Gray is gone and there are three others that he will be sharing the ball with this fall.

            Wood has recently gotten himself into some pre-season troubles, just before camp started. He and reserve junior defensive end Justin Utopo (Lakewood, CA/Lakewood) have been suspended for the first two regular season games, Navy and Purdue, by head coach Brian Kelly for violating team rules that were not disclosed any further. So, there will now be three Irish starters that will not even be allowed to travel to Dublin, Ireland with the team this week for Saturday’s game. Junior quarterback Tommy Rees (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) and senior inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese (Verona, NJ/Verona) were also suspended, but solely for the season opener vs. Navy on Saturday. Rees and Calabrese’s suspension were from an off-campus incident on May 3rd in South Bend.

            Fellow senior Theo Riddick (Manville, NJ/Immaculata) has fully moved back to running back from being a wide receiver in 2010 and a majority of the 2011 campaign, but is no stranger to the Irish backfield from his freshman year in 2009. When Jonas Gray went down with an injury late last season, coach Kelly immediately turned to Riddick to pitch in.  Riddick will be a dangerous threat out of the backfield and also lining up in the slot. His speed will take some teams by complete surprise, considering that he’ll be mainly a running back, but also counted upon to catch passes and open things up offensively for the Irish.

            Speed stems down to the next man up on the depth chart. Sophomore running back/kickoff returner George Atkinson III (Stockton, CA/Granada) brings another speed element in the absence of Cierre Wood. He has very little collegiate experience (9 carries) from his frosh season last year as a running back, but has adapted quite well through spring drills and fall camp thus far. His kick returning skills and tactics should hopefully help him revamp his ground game.

            USC transfer Amir Carlisle (Santa Clara, CA/Kings Academy) brings another speed factor to Notre Dame’s backfield. Missing every practice leading up to the Annual Blue-Gold spring game in April because of ankle surgery, Carlisle should be a vital piece of the Irish offense as he eases back into fresh legs this fall. Odds are that the former Trojan won’t fully be ready for action this Saturday vs. Navy, if at all.  

            Just when sophomore Cam McDaniel (Coppell, TX/Coppell) thought he had completely moved over to the defensive side of the ball at cornerback, the offense may be calling on his services again. McDaniel technically becomes the third choice at running back on Saturday against Navy with Carlisle being close to unavailable. He and freshman Will Mahone (Austintown, OH/Fitch) should be called upon to mix up the rotation.

            Wood ought to be primed and ready to go following his suspension. He’ll get his shot back in the starting lineup on Saturday, September 16^th on the road against Michigan State at Spartan Stadium. It may be one of the tougher road games that Notre Dame plays, but Wood’s coming out party for 2012 under the lights should be a dandy against a storied rival like the Spartans.

Irish lose CB Lo Wood for season with achilles tear

The days of being in the shadows of Robert Blanton and Gary Gray are now over for cornerbacks Lorenzo “Lo” Wood (Apopka, FL/Apopka) and Bennett Jackson (Hazlet, NJ/Raritan). For Jackson, he will be getting his due time in the starting lineup, but Wood will now have to wait until the 2013 season.
Wood was all set to step into a starting role for Bob Diaco’s defense this fall and in just seconds during Monday’s practice, it all came tumbling down. One minute, you’re running in a drill in practice. The next, you’ve put an end to all the hard work that you knew was paying off. Lo will be out four to six months and should be back in time for spring football.
With just five scholarship players remaining at cornerback, it leaves head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco in quite the bind with the season opener coming up in 10 days in Dublin, Ireland. Digging deep in the depth chart, it’s still a crapshoot for who will start at the other cornerback spot opposite Jackson.
Wood’s out of the mix until next spring, but there are probably four guys that could step in to take his place. Sophomore Jalen Brown (Irving, TX/MacArthur) is making the biggest improvement. Brown is competing for a starting job with fellow sophomore Josh Atkinson (Stockton, CA/Granada), who is the twin brother of running back/kick returner George Atkinson III. Just like his brother George, Josh Atkinson is a speedster and could prove to be what Notre Dame is looking for in a cover corner. Another sophomore in Cam McDaniel (Coppell, TX/Coppell), switched from running back to cornerback during the off-season and it might become a blessing in disguise that he’ll be able to help provide depth for the Irish defense. True freshman KeiVarae Russell (Everett, WA/Mariner) will also now be looked at to come in and play more of a role than he imagined and be part of the rotation right away.
In recent seasons, Irish corners have struggled with covering some of the nation’s best wide receivers and tight ends. It’s been more than just struggling. They’ve been burned pretty badly by the Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford and USC offenses to name just four that come to mind.
More than likely, it’s going to be a last minute decision as to who will actually start on Saturday, September 1st against the Navy Midshipmen. In the days before the Irish head across the pond to Ireland, it sure will be a dog fight for playing time with the first team defense.
Junior cornerback Lo Wood left a drill during Monday’s practice with a torn achilles tendon and will not be able to return at all in the 2012 season.

Indiana High School football: Week 1

It seems like the summer goes way too fast and before we know it, it's time for two-a-days to start. And, a few weeks later, school starts with the first game of the season normally that same week. For the first time in my life, I will be missing Week 1 of the Indiana High School football season. It's a tough streak to break at 33 years, but I will definitely make up for it in the 14 weeks following.

Below are the Indiana Football Coaches' Top 10 polls for each of the five classes:
Class 5A
1. Carmel (defending state champion)
2. Warren Central
3. Fishers
4. Ben Davis
5. Fort Wayne Snider
6. Penn (defending state runner-up)
7. Center Grove
8. Avon
9. Lawrence Central
10. Pike
Receiving votes: Lake Central, Chesterton, Hamilton Southeastern, Crown Point, Merrillville and Castle

Class 4A
1. Indianapolis Cathedral (defending state champion)
2. Fort Wayne Dwenger
3. Evansville Reitz
4. Columbus East
5. East Central
6. Indianapolis Roncalli
7. Mishawaka
8. Leo
9. Concord
10. Hammond Morton
Receiving votes: South Bend Washington (defending state runner-up), Jasper, Pendleton Heights, New Palestine, New Haven, Delta and Griffith

Class 3A
1. Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (defending state champion)
2. South Bend St. Joe's (defending state runner-up)
3. Jimtown
4. West Lafayette
5. Eastbrook
6. Evansville Memorial
7. Mishawaka Marian
8. Charlestown
9. Hamilton Heights
10. Western Boone
Receiving votes: Brownstown Central, Indian Creek, Corydon Central, North Montgomery, John Glenn, Heritage Hills and Brebeuf Jesuit

Class 2A
1. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (defending state champion)
2. Evansville Mater Dei (defending state runner-up)
3. Guerin Catholic
4. Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter
5. Heritage Christian
6. Bremen
7. Andrean
8. Speedway
9. North Putnam
10. Churubusco
Receiving votes: Tipton, Wheeler, Northwestern, Shenandoah, Southridge, Paoli, Fountain Central, Rensselaer Central, North Posey and North Judson

Class 1A
1. Lafayette Central Catholic (defending state champion)
2. Linton-Stockton
3. Sheridan
4. Indianapolis Scecina (defending state runner-up)
5. Pioneer
6. Milan
7. Indianapolis Lutheran
8. South Adams
9. Perry Central
10. Rockville
Receiving votes: South Newton, Southern Wells, North Central (Farmersburg), Whiting, Adams Central, Union City, Culver, Attica, North Miami, Frontier, Winamac and North Vermillion

Week 1's more interesting meetings:
Elkhart Central at Elkhart Memorial (Charger Field) -- The Mangy Lion match-up is always quite the intriguing one, despite it not being a notable game when looking at all games around the state. Elkhart Central head coach Levon Johnson is trying to build the Blue Blazers' program back to what it once was with legendary former head coach Tom Kurth. Elkhart Memorial is starting over from scratch with former Concord offensive coordinator Bill Roggeman at the helm. I wish coach Roggeman the best of luck in leading the Chargers, as he was my offensive coordinator when I played at Concord. My pick: Elkhart Memorial

2A#1 FW Luers at 5A#5 FW Snider (Spuller Stadium) -- On paper, this Summit city rivalry doesn't look to favor Luers, simply because they're 2A and Snider is the bigger 5A school. Non-sense! Regardless of the fact that Luers head coach Matt Lindsay has won 9 state titles for the Knights, he just can't seem to beat the Snider Panthers. In the last 10 years, Snider is 8-2 vs. Luers. My pick: FW Luers

2A#5 Heritage Christian at 2A#4 Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter (Lucas Oil Stadium) -- Heritage Christian has only had a football team in existence for 10 years and head coach Ron Qualls is already succeeding with flying colors. He's made two consecutive trips to the state championship game, winning the 2008 state title with a 14-1 record over Lewis Cass, 17-14. Their lone loss that year was to Ritter by a touchdown. Ty Hunt and Ritter have pretty much owned the new-to-football Eagles, taking eight of nine.
My pick: Cardinal Ritter

Heritage Hills at 2A#2 Evansville Mater Dei (The Reitz Bowl) -- These two haven't seen each other on the gridiron since the 2006 season. Mater Dei beat Heritage Hills in the game, 30-7. They both have rich football traditions and are notorious for representing their respective classes in the state finals. Current Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler is a Heritage Hills graduate. My pick: Mater Dei

4A#1 Cathedral at 5A#4 Ben Davis (Giants Stadium) -- As dominant as the Cathedral Irish have been in recent years in the 4A state tournament, they've been the complete opposite against the Ben Davis Giants. The two have only played five times since the 1994 season, but Ben Davis is 5-0 in those meetings, including at 24-21 overtime thriller at Lucas Oil Stadium last season in Week 1. Cathedral always reloads and this five-game streak vs. BD is bound to come to an end. My pick: Cathedral

Merrillville at 5A#2 Warren Central (Warrior Stadium) -- This is always one of the more blockbuster games of Week 1 and turns out to be a blowout in Warren Central's favor. It's turned into a mini-rivalry and a dandy it's become. The Warriors are just 3-2 vs. the Pirates. Steve Tutsie is back as head man at Warren after John Hart had a four-year stint, including the controversial '09 state title over Carmel in double overtime. Tutsie had a short two-year run previously at WC, going 23-4 with state championship in '06 over Carmel. Recently, Tutsie has been an assistant coach under Hart the past four years. This might be one of the bigger games in the state this weekend. My pick: Warren Central

Northwood at 3A#4 Jimtown (Knepp Field) -- The State Road 19 rivalry has become all that it's measured to be in northern Indiana. The Panthers and Jimmies face-off for the 16th season in a row. Jimtown leads the series 10-5, but you wouldn't know that if I hadn't just told you. It's football tradition at its best. Former Jimmie standout Mike Campbell is 42-11 in his first four years taking over for legend Bill Sharpe. Campbell already has three sectional and two regional titles in just four years. Northwood's Scott Hoover isn't too far behind in Nappanee. One sectional in his first three campaigns since taking over for long-time coach Rich Dodson, but is just 21-15 in those three years. It's extremely tough to beat Jimtown at Knepp Field. My pick: Jimtown

Valparaiso at 5A#6 Penn (Freed Field) -- Last season's runner-up, the Kingsmen have much to prove. I seriously doubt that had planned on being embarassed 54-0 at the hands of the Carmel Greyhounds in the state championship game. Cory Yeoman (97-23) enters his 11th at Penn taking over the reigns pretty well from Hall of Fame coach Chris Geesman. Yeoman and crew have won 14 of their 16 tilts with the Valparaiso Vikings, but they haven't really been lopsided affairs. Five of the 16 were decided by seven points or less, including two overtime games. Penn is out for redemption. My pick: Penn

3A#10 Western Boone at 1A#3 Sheridan (Blackhawk Field) -- You can't say enough about the class that Sheridan head coach Larry "Bud" Wright has shown in his 47 years leading the Blackhawks. He has gone 370-158 in those 47 seasons, while winning nine state titles and being runner-up twice. He'll coach high school football at Sheridan until the day he is ultimately ready to retire. His two sons are both successful coaches as well. Kent is in his 12th year at Lebanon (57-56). Kevin is slightly more successful than his brother, winning three state titles at Warren Central ('03-'05) and 2011 at Carmel. Western Boone comes to Blackhawk Field on Friday and it'll be a battle of farmboys and a good one at that. My pick: Sheridan

Stay tuned to my blog throughout the 2012 high school, college and professional football seasons. I will make my picks for each level of football and share them with you here each week.