Rockne's Roundtable

Ours is better

Yeah, ending that win streak is one of the programs better highlights. I can't wait for this home and home series to kick off. Oklahoma at home is definitely a game I would pay the stub hub ticket prices for.

Frawls42,

I'm not really comfortable answering that question until 1) they put on the pads and have full contact and 2) I see them on the field, when the lights are on, especially against an opponent that is considered equal (Michigan) or superior (USC). I don't really like to judge speed against Navy.

Keep in mind that Golden Tate had great football speed — including pads — and that Armando Allen ran the fastest 40 among 400 or so players at the U.S. Army Combine. It's how you maximize it within the confines of a football field, not on a track.

You mentioned a great name from the past, Vagas Ferguson. Did you know he ran something like 4.75 to 4.85 (similar to Tony Rice at the Combine)? What Vagas was sensational at was he had the moves to slink by you even if you were playing touch football in a phone booth. Conversely, people often complained about how slow Ryan Grant was (especially compared to Julius Jones), yet he ran a 4.43 at the Combine. He ran track with a bunch of other ND athletes from 2002-05 like Ambrose Wooden, Dwight Ellick, Tom Zbikowski, among others. I've always loved John Wooden's definition of speed: "Speed is the quick and proper execution of the fundamentals, and you don't have to have the faster athletes to have the better team speed."

You tread sacred football soil when you start mentioning Rocket Ismail, and I am averse to linking anyone with him when it comes to speed. To this day, one of my most memorable moments as a spectator was watching him run in a 100-yard tag drill at the Loftus Drill on one of the first days of practice in August 1988. I had to excuse myself to pick up my jaw (so did Lou Holtz), sort of like Wile E. Coyote did when the Roadrunner kicked it into the extra gear just as he was bearing down on him.

Cierre and Theo have fine speed, but George Atkinson III does possess the extra gear, as we saw on the kickoff returns vs. MSU and USC. The flat-out speed is concentrated more in the sophomore and freshman classes. I had a chance to talk with junior corner Bennett Jackson after Monday's practice, and he said the freshman trio at receiver (Neal, Brown and Ferguson) have added more tangible speed to the lineup (more on that in future features), although Ferguson has been listed as "only" a 4.62.

I'm usually on the cynical side when it comes to talking about speed because in the late 1990s the popular mantra was how Notre Dame didn't have any speed at the skill positions, yet people like Julius Jones, Javin Hunter, David Givens, Arnaz Battle and Tony Fisher all had NFL careers, while others such as Mike McNair, Tony Driver, etc. were state champions in the 100 and 200 — McNair's coming in the state of California. I didn't find many teams that could match that.

Experience has taught me to reserve judgment until I actually see it in live action against decent competition.

Hey Lou

Was wondering if you have any word on Danny Spond's injury? I am hearing it was a non-contact injury (stroke) and is still hospitalized... Is there any truth to this? And of coarse it goes without saying all our prayers are with him and his family.

Thanks Lou

is Rees a candidate to start the purdue game or is golson the man for the long term? I just see Rees leading this team to a bcs game.

kpirishfan,

If Brian Kelly has his druthers, Everett Golson will be the starter from Game 1 through 13. That means he likely performed well enough to not have to be replaced, and also demonstrated that he can be durable against an arduous schedule.

Tommy Rees will attempt to vie for the starting job again for the Purdue game after not taking any game-like reps in August. My feeling is that after last year's opener with Dayne Crist at the throttle, Kelly does not want to make another immediate change but stay the course.

However, this will also depend on Golson and how he performs. It's always based on production. If Golson performs at a level that Kelly deems anywhere from acceptable to stellar, the job is his. If he is not reaching an acceptable standard, then he will have to consider putting in someone else if he believes it is justified.

Getting to a BCS level is not just about the QB. JImmy Clausen broke the all-time single-season passing efficiency standard at ND in 2009 (including just four Interceptions all year), but the team was still only 6-6. So do people say "he's not a BCS quarterback"? Tony Rice was 5-of-21 in the two games to start 1988, but the team was 2-0 in those games. It's a TEAM and every player, every unit has to do his part to make the collective whole a success, or pick up others in spots.