Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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116 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW SPECIALISTS C.J. Sanders contributed four return touchdowns (three kickoffs and one punt) his first two seasons in South Bend, which puts him on pace to break the school record. PHOTO BY RICK KIMBALL QUOTABLE: POLIAN ON HAVING PEOPLE SUCH AS RUNNING BACKS TONY JONES JR. AND DEXTER WILLIAMS ON COVERAGE UNITS: "I want to establish a culture where everybody knows every guy can be thrown out there to play on special teams. The other part of it is I want to help some of these players to understand that if you dream of playing beyond college, you have to do that." Starters ★★★½ Junior kicker Justin Yoon and senior punter Tyler Newsome are two-year starters that have been in pressure- packed situations. Yoon has made 82.4 percent of his field goal attempts and Newsome is on pace to finish with the second best career punting aver- age at the school. Junior return man C.J. Sanders al- ready ranks fourth all time at Notre Dame in combined kick and punt re- turns for touchdowns. He finished the 2016 season ranked No. 23 nationally in kick returns. Sanders also averaged an impressive 12.5 yards per punt re- turn, but his inconsistency fielding the ball could result in classmate Chris Finke or another player taking over punt return duties. Experience ★★★★ Newsome and Yoon are two-year starters, and Sanders has been the team's primary return man the last two seasons. There is confidence in their ability to repeat past success, but ideally they will continue to im- prove and become more consistent. If Yoon continues on his current pace he'll finish his career as Notre Dame's all-time leader in points, field goal percentage, extra points made and extra points attempted, and place second in field goals made. Sophomore long snapper John Shan- non takes over for four-year starter Scott Daly. Special teams coordinator Brian Polian recruited freshman kicker Jonathan Doerer to at least take over the team's kickoff duties. Depth ★★★ Notre Dame has three scholarship kickers on the roster and there is some positional flexibility. This should provide some protection against in- jury or if one of the kickers struggle early in the season. Doerer will focus on kicking off if everything goes according to plan, but should the need arise he could take over punting duties. Senior walk- on kicker Sam Kohler's good spring provided some confidence he could handle the placekicking duties if Yoon is slow to return to health after miss- ing the spring. Senior tight end Nic Weishar is the team's backup long snapper, and that is the one area where it could get dicey if an injury occurs. Overall Grade ★★★½ Based on experience and past pro- duction, Notre Dame is poised for a productive season with placekicking, punting and returns. Hiring Polian to run the unit should help, and Notre Dame has a great deal of experience at every spot except long snapper. Newsome has been brilliant at times, but there are also occasions when his punts make observers scratch their heads. Yoon has gone through some ups and downs with his technique, and when he gets out of sync he loses the ability to nail long kicks. Sanders is dynamic as a returner at times, but he has been prone to lose confidence and make mistakes. Consistency will be most vital if this unit is to be an asset. BY THE NUMBERS 4 Straight years that long snappers Jor- dan Cowart (2009-12) and Scott Daly (2013-16) started. They were the first two long snappers in Notre Dame his- tory awarded scholarships strictly for that singular duty. Current sophomore John Shannon became the third, and he also is in line to start all four years from 2017-20 after redshirting last sea- son, just like Daly did behind Cowart in 2012. 6 Touchdown returns for touchdowns on kickoffs and punts by Tim Brown (1984-87), Raghib "Rocket " Ismail (1988-90) and Allen Rossum (1994-97) to set and tie the school record. With two more seasons of eligibility remain- ing, junior wideout C.J. Sanders already has four (three kickoffs and one punt) and has a legitimate chance to set a new standard at the school. 79 Final ranking of Notre Dame on over- all special teams performance in 2016 by Football Outsiders. The analysis in- cluded a multitude of factors, including the average starting field position that came from punts or kicks. 116 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★★ National Title; ★★★★ Top 10; ★★★ Top 25; ★★ Too Unproven; ★ Major Concern