Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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110 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2015 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY LOU SOMOGYI N o Power Five conference team in America returns more start‑ ers on offense and defense from a 2014 bowl game than Notre Dame's 19 out of 22. What is easy to overlook is the "three starters" who are gone in one fell swoop on special teams. For the past two years, Kyle Brindza handled kicking, punting and kickoff duties for the Fighting Irish, a rare triple play anywhere. During the 12‑1 season in 2012, Brindza's field goal kicking helped spell the difference between victory or defeat (or at least overtime) in seven contests. In 2013, his punting prowess earned him the game ball in the 17‑13 win over Michigan State (the Spartans' lone loss that season), while his kicking and punt‑ ing in frigid conditions did the same in a hard‑fought, 23‑13 victory versus BYU. A change in holders last year helped create a night‑ mare November for Notre Dame's all‑time field goal leader in back‑to‑back home losses to Northwestern (43‑40 in overtime) and Louisville (31‑28), but Brindza's career fittingly ended on a high with his 32‑yard field goal as time elapsed in the 31‑28 win over LSU in the Music City Bowl. Replacing Brindza is possibly the most underrated or overlooked task of 2015, at least outside the Notre Dame football offices. "We had a special young man in Kyle Brindza that was able to do all three," Irish special teams coordinator Scott Booker said. "Physi‑ cally it's taxing, but it's also taxing mentally when you have to be able to transition from kickoffs to field goals to punting. They don't do that in the NFL, and not many specialists are able to do it in col‑ lege. Kyle was able to do it at a high level." In February 2014, Notre Dame signed Georgia native Tyler New‑ some as a potential heir to Brindza in all three facets. However, while redshirting as a freshman last season, Newsome concentrated specifically on punting, where he was more of a work in progress. He didn't begin punting until his senior year in high school, and even then punted only 20 times for a 38.65‑yard average. His five punts in the Semper Fidelis All‑America game, though, averaged 47.7 yards, with a long of 52. Early in fall camp he displayed inconsistency with his punts, which is why the staff wanted him to get that squared away first. He received plenty of tips from Brindza, too. "My steps were covering a lot of ground on punts, and he told me, 'Look, you've got to shorten those up if you want to play,'" recalled Newsome, who has added 23 pounds since last summer to his 6‑2½, 205‑pound current frame, while also doing yoga to improve his flex‑ ibility. "If your steps are too long, you're not going to be able to hit as good a ball. Compact steps correlate to the flight of the ball." Fundamentally, Newsome's progress, including proper steps, has been encouraging. He is a pivotal figure because the only other option this fall might be incoming freshman walk‑on Jeff Riney, a left‑footer from Texas. BY THE NUMBERS 6 Kicks blocked by Notre Dame last season, the most since producing the same amount in 2006. Nose guard Jarron Jones had the most with two, and had two the year prior as well. 57 Field goals converted by the graduated Kyle Brindza as the three-year starter from 2012-14. That broke the school career mark of 51 set by longtime NFL kicker John Carney from 1984-86. 90 Extra points attempted by Kyle Brindza the past two years, with only one miss. Wouldn't you know that it resulted in a two-point return by Northwestern that helped their 43-40 overtime win versus the Irish last year. SPECIAL TEAMS READY REPLACEMENTS A new kicker and punter join an otherwise veteran lineup Sophomore Tyler Newsome is the frontrunner to take over as the team's new punter, after honing his craft during a redshirt year in 2014. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA YEAR-BY-YEAR ND FIELD GOAL LEADERS Year Kicker FGM-A (Pct.) 2005 D.J. Fitzpatrick 11-17 (.647) 2006 Carl Gioia 8-13 (.615) 2007 Brandon Walker 6-12 (.500) 2008 Brandon Walker 14-24 (.583) 2009 Nick Tausch 14-17 (.824) 2010 David Ruffer 18-19 (.947) 2011 David Ruffer 10-16 (.625) 2012 Kyle Brindza 23*-31* (.742) 2013 Kyle Brindza 20-26 (.769) 2014 Kyle Brindza 14-24 (.583) * School record