Swiftly and convincingly, No. 20 Notre Dame pulled away with the kind of resolve that has characterized the Irish’s transformation during a head-turning nine-game winning streak.SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis will remain on the field instead of coaching from the press box.
“A very, very large majority, almost everyone I talked to, were overwhelmingly thinking that I was thinking way outside the box,” Weis said. “I got bad knees. Everyone knows I had a reconstruction on the right knee. Could I end upstairs for physical reasons some day? Yes, I could, but my intent right now is to coach from the field.”
Weis contemplated moving to the press box permanently to call offensive plays after the success Notre Dame had in the Hawaii Bowl in December, a 49-21 win over the Warriors where the Irish threw for 413 yards.
Wide receivers coach Rob Ianello and tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee will be in the press box this season. Ianello will be in charge of giving Weis coverages and Parmalee the defensive fronts and blitzes coming.
It’ll also be part of their weekly scouting responsibility.
“I would talk to Rob first because coverage is the first thing I need to know, but what ends up happening as you call both your runs, play-actions, protections and dropbacks, between series, the No. 1 issue is what blitzes are they bringing at you,” Weis said.
“So the guy you talk to down-to-down is the guy who tells you what coverages you’re seeing.
“Coverages dictate the play-calling early and between series, the most important thing is knowing the stunts and blitzes. That’s why I’m putting two veteran guys up there.”
Two-sport Tate
Junior wide receiver Golden Tate won’t be around much this spring because he’s playing baseball.
Weis thinks Tate will be at five practices, including the Blue-Gold Game on April 18, when he’ll likely play a few series before playing in that afternoon’s baseball game.
“He’s limited because I worked out with (baseball coach) Dave (Schrage) days he’ll be in football and days he’ll be in baseball in compliance with amount of hours he can be involved in a week,” Weis said.
Tate is hitting .368 with two doubles, a triple and two stolen bases starting 15 games in center field.
Depth chart issues
With every spring come depth chart questions. On the chart released Friday, Notre Dame couldn’t list its fifth-year players, so there are some thin spots, like strong safety – where Kyle McCarthy will play – and left tackle, where Paul Duncan will be. Junior Harrison Smith will move back to free safety from linebacker; Notre Dame is moving to a 4-3 defense; sophomore Kapron Lewis-Moore is listed as one defensive end and Steve Filer is listed at linebacker.
This and that
Fort Wayne native John Goodman could see time as a third quarterback in addition to moving up the depth chart at wide receiver. … The Blue-Gold Game honorary coaches will be Justin Tuck (New York Giants) and Bertrand Berry (Arizona) on defense and Jeff Faine (Tampa Bay) and Reggie Brooks (Notre Dame) on offense.
