Notre Dame ended the past season on a high note with a huge win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl, and the momentum should carry over to 2018. Management, the coaching staff, and the team have good reason to be optimistic, for sure.
Just a year ago, the Fighting Irish were struggling, coming off a 4-8 showing and with the NCAA having mandated the program to vacate the team’s 21 wins from the 2012 and 2103 seasons.
A year after, and with head coach Brian Kelly overhauling the coaching staff, Notre Dame went into the offseason as a 10-win team, capping things off by beating LSU. Even as rebuilding continues with the loss of several key players, we can expect the Irish to improve on defense. Mike Elko has left and is now the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. But former linebackers coach Clark Lea should be more than qualified for the job.
Expect conditioning coordinator Matt Balis to excel more in his second year in the program. This was previously a big issue with the Irish, but last season’s showing proved that Balis had done a good job with the players’ mental and physical toughness. The challenge is to sustain such toughness among the players throughout the 12-game schedule.
Notre Dame’s kicking game should continue to be a key factor in their success this coming season. Justin Yoon was solid this past one, connecting on 14 of 26 field goal attempts and was perfect from inside 40 yards. Punter Tyler Newsome also had a good showing, having averaged 43.6 yards per kick in the 2017 season. Yoon and Punter should play a crucial role in the Irish’s upcoming campaign.
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Hello there, I’m Tom Colton, a student at the University of Notre Dame. I’m a huge fan of our Fighting Irish football team. For more Notre Dame football reads, visit this blog.
Tom Colton 