Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/841614
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 117 SPECIALISTS POSITION COACH Brian Polian enters his first year as Notre Dame's special teams coordinator in what is his second stint with the Irish. The 21-year coaching veteran pre- viously served under head coach Charlie Weis from 2005-09, guid- ing special teams and helping with defensive backs and linebackers. Polian spent the past four sea- sons as the head coach at Nevada (2013-16). He led the Wolf Pack to a 23-27 record, and guided it to bowl games in 2014 and 2015. Nevada notched a 49-38 win over Colorado State in the 2015 Arizona Bowl for just the fifth bowl victory in school history. Prior to taking over at Nevada, Polian spent the 2012 campaign as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach for an 11-2 Texas A&M squad. He also helped Stanford notch a pair of BCS bowl appearances in 2010 and 2011 while serving as the special teams coordinator, recruiting coordinator and safeties coach. The Cardinal put together two of the top recruiting classes in school history those two years. In his first go-around at Notre Dame, Polian helped the Irish go to two BCS bowl games (2005 and 2006) and was recognized as one of the top recruiters in the nation. In 2008, he was nominated for the Amer- ican Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award after his unit led the nation in kickoff return defense (16.47 yards allowed per attempt). Polian — whose father, Bill Polian, is a NFL Hall of Fame executive — also made coaching stops at Cen- tral Florida (2004), Buffalo (1998, 2001-03), Baylor (1999-2000) and Michigan State (1997). A former linebacker at John Carroll University (1993-96), Polian has a bachelor's degree in history from John Carroll and received his master's in educa- tion from Baylor in 2000. RETURNING PLAYERS TYLER NEWSOME • P Sr. • Carrollton, Ga. Ht.: 6-2½ • Wt.: 207 Career Highlights: Served as the team's punter for all 12 games in 2016 … Averaged 43.5 yards on 54 attempts with 16 placed inside the 20-yard line and seven fair catches … Booted 15 punts of 50-plus yards, including a career-long 71-yarder … Earned starting duties at punter and was the primary kickoff specialist in 2015 … Punted 55 timed and averaged 44.5 yards … Allowed just 22 punt returns all season for 194 yards (8.8 yards per return) … Had 21 punts of more than 50 yards with a long of 62 … Forced seven fair catches with eight touchbacks … Kicked off 84 times for a 61.6-yard average with 21 touchbacks … Served as the backup kicker, punter and kickoff specialist as a rookie in 2014, but did not see action. Prep: Rivals listed him as a three-star prospect, the No. 75 senior in Georgia and the No. 6 kicker in the land … Handled kicks and punts for Carrollton (Ga.) High and was named to The Atlanta Journal-Consti- tution Class AAAA all-state squad in 2013 … Hit on all five field goal tries and all 78 extra point attempts as a senior … Boomed 76 of his 100 kickoffs for touch- backs, and he also punted 20 times for a 38.7-yard average … His squad went 13-2 and advanced to the Georgia Class AAAA title game … Played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Game. Personal: Born July 14, 1995 … Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business, majoring in manage- ment consulting. Year G Punts Avg. FC I20 Long 2015 13 55 44.5 7 21 62 2016 12 54 43.5 7 16 71 Totals 25 109 44.0 14 37 71 JOHN SHANNON • LS So. • Lake Forest, Ill. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 220 Career Highlights: Redshirted in 2016. Prep: Rated as the nation's No. 1 long snapper by 247Sports, and was listed No. 5 by ESPN and No. 10 by Scout … Did not miss a snap during his three varsity seasons at Loyola Academy, where his teams finished 37-5, highlighted by a 14-0 campaign and Class 8A Illinois state title as a senior … Started at linebacker before dislocating his shoulder early in his senior season after he had recorded 15 tackles … At the Rubio Long Snapping Camp, had his ball speed for 15 yards measured at 0.59 seconds, which is faster than the college benchmark of 0.75. Personal: Born Dec. 17, 1997 … His grandfather, Dan Shannon, was an end and co-captain of the 1954 Notre Dame team … His father, Gerard, also is a Notre Dame graduate and his mother, Elizabeth, graduated from St. Mary's College … Enrolled in First Year of Studies. JUSTIN YOON • K Jr. • Nashville, Tenn. Ht.: 5-10 • Wt.: 190 Career Highlights: Handled placekicking duties and kickoffs in all 12 games last fall … Paced the team with 83 points, while con- verting 44 of 46 extra points and 13 of 17 field goals … Averaged 61.9 yards on 55 kickoffs and recorded 24 touchbacks … Saw action in all 13 games and served as the team's primary placekicker in 2015 … Tabbed as a Freshman All- American by 247Sports, ESPN and Sporting News … Led the team in scoring with 95 points — the most by a freshman and the third most in a single season by a placekicker in school history … Was the first rookie to lead the Irish in scoring since placekicker Brandon Walker in 2007 … Connected on 50 of 52 extra point tries and 15 of 17 field goal attempts … Hit a career-long 52-yard field goal against Navy. Prep: Rivals' top-ranked kicker in the class of 2015 … Kohl's Kicking also listed him atop its kicker rank- ings … Sidelined for most of his senior season with a back injury, but still converted 4 of 6 field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards … Tabbed as a 2014 Ray Guy ProKicker.com first-team All-American after a second-team selection in 2013 … Played in the Under Armour All-American Game and made a game-record three field goals, including the longest ever with a 47-yarder. Personal: Born Oct. 7, 1995 … His father, Jiseop, is a former Olympic figure skater … Enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business. Year G PAT FG LG Pts. 2015 13 50-52 15-17 52 95 2016 12 44-46 13-17 40 83 Totals 25 94-98 28-34 52 178 NEWCOMER JONATHAN DOERER • K Fr. • Charlotte, N.C. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 188 Prep: Ranked as the nation's No. 11 kicker by Kohl's Kicking … Scout rated him as the No. 6 kicker in the country … Made 9 of 16 field goal attempts with a long of 44 yards as a senior at South Meck- lenburg High School … Registered a touchback on 92 percent of his kickoffs and also punted, averaging 41 yards per attempt with a long of 59 yards … Named to the South Meck 8 All-Conference team after his sophomore, junior and senior years. Personal: Born Oct. 14, 1998. BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 117 After redshirting last season, sophomore John Shannon is projected to take over as the program's long snapper for the next four seasons (2017‑20), following in the footsteps of predecessors Scott Daly (2013‑16) and Jordan Cowart (2009‑12). PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS