okay, i'll answer your questions as well as I can:
Who will be QB? I think that this question has been so blown out of proportion by the media. they focus all ND reports on the QB, but the diehard fans are actually more worried about other things. it seems that clausen's arm is bothering him as he hasn't really had any zip on his passes in practice. i don't think clausen will start against GT -- i think he will become the starter later in the season, but i dont think weis wants to throw him to the wolves (and tenuta) in the first game of his collegiate career. that leaves us with Sharpley and Demetrius Jones (we call him DD for Double Danger -- pass and run threat -- a nickname he got while in middle school). sharpley is widely acknowledged as the safe bet... he was #2 behind BQ last year while DD was a freshman. he is the only QB who logged playing time last year other than BQ (but Jeff Samardzija actually threw more passes than Sharpley, lol). sharpley is much more accurate than DD, but he's not a flashy QB. he's better than average, but he won't be dissecting any defenses. however, IF the plan is to bring clausen in as the starting QB mid-season, weis won't want to change his offensive packages and gameplans too much, and sharpley is much more like clausen than is DD. DD is an interesting player.... he's got that "wow" factor. DD is the most inconsistent on his passes, but he's still got a good arm with a lot of zip. like i said, he's not as accurate as the other two, but he's not as bad as Reggie Ball. DD is 6'4" and runs about a 4.5 i think, so he is a major scrambling threat. troy smith ran a 4.7 (i believe) at the NFL combine last year. with DD, weis can implement a spread attack, and, with our inexperienced line, we can expect to see the QB have to scramble quite a bit. weis has stated over and over that he wants to pick the QB that will win the game -- not just manage it. i think he means that he wants to take the gamebreaker, which, in my opinion, is DD. in the practices that we've been allowed to see, he always seems to break off some big runs and make some big plays. weis even said that DD makes the most big plays, sharpley manages the game the best, and clausen has the best arm. all things considered, i think that weis will start sharpley... DD will see time in certain sets and formations (ala tebow) i think. but sharpley will bethe starter b/c weis won't have to tweak the offense as much when clausen comes in.
What about the ND running game? the RBs are the definite strength of the team. we have 5 RB's who are just incredible.... all five could start on D1 teams. you SHOULD see a majority of carries go to our 5th year player, Travis Thomas. TT is a very versatile athlete, he's been a stud on ST all 5 years, played LB for us all last year (b/c of pitiful LB depth), and was our 2nd RB the year before that. however, i'm not so high TT. he was a career 3 ypc rusher in his previous years, but all reports are that he has dramatically improved his strength, speed, etc... he apparently is the best conditioned RB on the team and plays with the most passion. he has the leadership quality about him. so, look for TT to get a majority of the carries -- all reports out of camp are that he has been performing EXTREMELY well and that he is light years better than years past. Our second back, James Aldridge is a sophomore. JA was a 5* running back coming out of HS. He averaged 3.8 ypc in mop up time last year when teams stacked the box. he was coming off of a knee injury, so he didn't do too much juking. he's about the perfect balance of size and speed..... 6'0", 222 lbs, 4.4 with excellent vision. he's been 100% since the start of spring, and he's just a big boy. you will see a steady dose of JA as well. There have been high praises coming out of camp on JA, and he will definitely be a threat to defenses this year. Now, on to our freshman... Armando Allen (AA) and Robert Hughes: AA is a 4* RB from florida, and, is, in one word, FAST. he clocked an electronically timed 4.32 at a Nike combine his senior year. I think the thing that stands out most about AA is his balance -- he's not a HUGE back, but he's not a scat back either... he runs through the tackles and rarely goes down on first contact. AA is the most electric back in our corps, and he will be a starting KR as well. you will see AA a LOT... he will prob line up as a slot receiver, a half back, or even a WR.... he has great hands and great versatility. he's nuts, and most irish fans agree that he's by far the best offensive skill player on the team. robert hughes makes me happy. he is a freaking beast, weighin in at 237.... but he's not a fullback -- he can turn the corner on any given play. if you watch the replay from last saturday's open practice, you'll see hughes (#33), run over and around defenders. he's got 4.5 speed and probably the 2nd best vision out of the backs, and it has been said that he has the best hands out of the backs. hughes WILL be our goal line and short yardage back (just an opinion). I won't talk about our 5th RB, Junior Jabbie.... he's just the odd man out since he doesn't excel at anything. it's doubtful that you will see him at all. it's been said that all backs have great hands and are capable of catching anything thrown to them. other than TT (who is a great blocker), i don't know how they are at blocking. regardless, expect a stable of highly talented and dangerous backs on Sept 1. Oh, and the OL this year will be much better than last… they are also big (all starters and reserves average over 300).
How's the passing game? Weis is really excited about the passing game. We lost McKnight (who was far too inconsistent) and Samardzija (who was.... the man), but our top 2 WR's right now have been impressive. David Grimes is only 5'10", but he has good speed, runs precise routes, and will catch anything thrown his way. he has a knack of getting open, and he has made some acrobatic catches in the past. Grimes is our consensus #1 man, and he'll be a tough cover for any corner. Our likely #2 man is George West. West runs a 4.3 forty, but he's only 5'8". West is our deep threat.... he can really stretch out a defense, and he has apparently been tearing it up this fall. Weis calls our two main WR's our "smurfs", but they are the exact size of his 2 main WR's when he won 3 SB's with NE. he's familiar with how to utilize them best. Our #3 WR will likely either be DJ Hord, Robby Parris, or Duval Kamara. Hord ruptured his achilles tendon last year, and it was an injury from which that many thought he would never recover. all irish fans basically wrote him off in the spring b/c he wasn't showing any improvement, but this week, Hord has been a machine. he's really come along well, and he's starting to live up to his 4* HS billing. however, i think you guys will see Robby Parris as our 3rd WR. He's 6'4 and 210 lbs. he's been, in my mind, the most impressive of the WR's in contention for the 3rd WR spot. he catches every ball thrown to him, but he doesn't have top end speed. he's a dangerous threat for jump balls and fades, and he's very reliable. Kamara is a true freshman, but has done nothing but impress everyone since setting foot on campus. i don't think you have to worry about seeing him in the first game, but i look for Kamara to take over the 3rd WR slot midway thru the season. he's a big boy at 6'5" and 225.... all the players compare him to Maurice Stovall. he's going to be a load later in the season. I think you will see a starting lineup of Grimes, West, and Parris. Weis uses TE's.... alot. you will see our TE's get alot of passes thrown their way. John Carlson is probably the best pass-catching TE in the nation. He had more catches per game and yards per catch than any other TE in the nation last year. he would've broken ND's TE records if he didn't go down for 3 (or was it 4?) games. carlson is our offensive stud -- the only proven commodity coming back on the offense. he's the passing game's safety valve. our other two TE's in contention are Konrad Reuland and Will Yeatman. Reuland was one of the top TE's coming out of hs, and is a very very fast TE. he has great hands and great speed and can set a block very well. Yeatman won the NCAA Rookie of the Year in LaCross this past year.... he is a physical specimen. he's 6'6" and 265 lbs, but is very light on his feet. He's not AS fast as Carlson or Reuland, but man, he can run for his size. Yeatman is the best blocker of the TE's, but he's also very athletic, and will be a threat in the passing game. TE is the second most loaded position on the team (imo). of course, the passing game hinges on the QB, but weis stresses that all three QBs are quite capable of running the O. I don’t think you will see as much passing as in the past b/c we will focus more on a power running game, but the passing game is in a lot better shape than most think.
