Don't wish away your summer thinking FOOTBALL!...

When I was a kid the school year couldn't go fast 

enough and seemed to take centuries to end...

Then summer break would come and I'd blink my eyes and

the next grade was open and ready for enrollment!

This is the dilemma of the football fan.

We want to see our team play...but hell the sunshine just 

arrived and we've been looking forward to that all winter!

People e-mail me for updates?...well right now

we are in a holding pattern!

We'll talk recruiting later in this article but as 

far as players?...nothing is happening!

So...Updates will come..but your gonna have to find

a balance to your excitement!

So...what's the balance?...Here is the balance!

It's called "Captain Led 7 on 7 practices" 

In Charlie's last season I had the pleasure of being in town 

in June and was able to sit in on a few of these "coach-less" 

practices!

What these are all about is CHEMISTRY...the ability for a QB 

to time a receiver...to know his patterns and how he breaks from

 cuts, or the speed in which he hits his marks on a route.

It's where the seniors take the freshmen and teach them the 

difference between just being BIGGER and STRONGER than 

everyone, like they were used to in high school...to 

here is the TECHNIQUE for going against players that are 

BIGGER and STRONGER then you've ever seen before!

It's about DB's getting time to perfect their abilities against 

elite talent...and skill.

It's where running backs show the QB that they can 

do more than just run between the tackles and 

build trust. 

It's a chance for the O-Line to come together through repetition

and understanding without the worry of being monitored! 

Spring ball is about learning where to be and when...What's your 

responsibility on each play and grasping your role!

7 on 7s?...that's where the UNDERGROUND magic happens!

In my opinion there is more team chemistry formed in these 

practices than any other time of the year!

"Seniors...I'm not gonna just give you the team. You're not 

ready yet...I'll give it to you, when you've earned it!"

BRIAN KELLY

This is the time where the leaders emerge...there are no "official" 

captains yet...but the LEADERS lead

and CAPTAINS are born!

So during the summer while your "wishing away" the 

days till that first kick off..the team is growing and 

perfecting and training and lifting!

Becoming...what they hope to show the coaches 

come fall...is possible!

I'll be posting updates on these critical practices 

as I hear from people within the program.

So...what's happing now?

This:

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

This class is already off and running and EXTREMELY 

talented and exciting!

We have our RECRUITER now with Hood!

He's been ATTACKING recruits on Twitter and establishing

himself as the leader of this class!

My test of any recruit...who did we beat out to land him!

Elijah Hood	ATH	5-11/221	EVERYONE!
Quenton Nelson	OL	6-5/301	EVERYONE!
Sam Mustipher	OL	6-3/286	EVERYONE!
Justin Brent	WR	6-3/193	Committed early and shut down!
Jimmy Byrne	OL	6-4/275	O$U & MSU
Jay Hayes	DT	6-5/270	EVERYONE!
Andrew Trumbetti	DE	6-5/249	EVERYONE!
Nic Weishar	TE	6-5/215	EVERYONE!
Greer Martini	LB	6-3/230	RKG

We are firing on all cylinders right now and winning 

the battles taking talent from across the country!

My top 2 right now?...HOOD & HAYES!

Hayes is the type of player that ND needs to recruit 

EVERY season!...he's fast, big and has no ceiling!

Having Issac,Vanderdoes and Hayes gives us the 

ability to remain dominant on the D line for 

seasons to come!

He understands his place within a scheme and doesn't 

overplay to try and make an impact!

Remember the 2011 USC game...there was a D lineman

in that game that OVERPLAYED and cost us a ton 

of points...because he didn't know his place within the scheme!

Jay has tons of personality and reminds me of 

Big Louis Nix!

And knows how to keep the fans attention!

ELIJAH HOOD

Where do I start with this kid?

He's a man among boys and has unreal speed for 

a kid his size!

He refuses to go down and punishes anyone in the 

open field that thinks they can arm tackle him 

to the upper body!

His conditioning is second to none and he has the 

ability to make an instant impact in the 

backfield!

ND is SO LOADED at Running Back that 

teams will have no idea how to cope with 

the amount of non stop fresh legs that

can come off the bench at anytime!

BRYANT

HOOD

FOLSTON

MAHONE

GAIII
AMIR

MCDANIEL

We've struggled to get "A" elite running back

in the past...now we have several!

Updates?....Stay tuned!

Inside Info?...It's dead!

Excitement?....TONS!

So pick your favorite...light up a stogie and enjoy the summer...

The IRISH train is rolling and I feel sorry for

whoever gets in our way!...

GO IRISH & GOD BLESS