Blue-Gold Primer

It doesn't seem like spring practice started all that long ago, and here it is already over. The Irish will be out in what is expected to be less-than-ideal weather tomorrow afternoon (1:35 PM kickoff) for the 79th annual Blue/Gold scrimmage. With Evan Sharpley continuing to pace the power attack for the Irish baseball team as they travel to West Virginia for a three-game set, Coach Weis changed up the game format due to having only one scholarship quarterback. This year's game will use what is essentially a fantasy football method of scorekeeping, with points doled out for big plays, sacks, fumbles, three-and-outs, first downs, blocked punts, etc etc. Some of the more obscure scoring rules have already been recapped over at Blue-Gray Sky.

A number of board members here will be in attendance at Saturday's game (or at least for the weekend festivities which surround it), so hopefully they'll grace us with a report or two from the scene. As always, my old stomping grounds of WVFI will be handling live internet radio from ND Stadium; always a great chance for the young, aspiring broadcasters to get their first crack at the mike.

It also looks like Weis had to make a call to the 'pen when filling out the honorary coaches card. During last month's opening presser Weis announced that six former players representing the last six decades would be serving in this capacity, with the 70s represented by 1977 captain (and former Charlie Weis roommate) Terry Eurick. Eurick won't be able to make it, so another son of Michigan has stepped in: Greg Marx, an All-American at defensive tackle from 1970-72.

Lastly, Mike Frank from Irish Eyes has put out the official list of "unofficial visitors" for tomorrow's contest, and the Irish will once again be hosting some of the nation's top prep talent for their end of spring showcase. Note to Mother Nature: now would be a really good weekend for uncharacteristically nice South Bend weather. All kidding aside, here's who to keep an eye out for as the weekend rolls along (bold indicates already comitted):

Tyler Stockton - DT, Princeton, NJ
Anthony LaLota - DE, Princeton, NJ
Craig Roh - DE, Scottsdale, AZ
Cierre Wood - RB, Oxnard, CA
Jake Golic - TE, West Hartford, CT
Alex Bullard - G, Brentwood, TN
E.J. Banks - QB/ATH, Mckees Rocks, PA
DeVonte Holloman - S, Charlotte, NC
Jordan Barrett - LB, Sherman Oaks, CA (teammate of incoming freshman Dayne Crist & Anthony McDonald)

The player who'll command the lion's share of the attention is Wood, ranked #3 in the nation by Rivals. He says he's down to UCLA and the Irish, so with ND coming up short in the battle for last year's premier SoCal running back (Milton Knox), I like ND's chances here. I say that only partly tongue-in-cheek. NDNation poster LondonDomer made it clear earlier today that Dillon Hall is doing its part in the recruiting of Mr. Wood (photo's obscured on an angle, but it reads 'WANTED: CIERRE WOOD'):


See you back here after the game for comments and our post-spring roundtable chat. No matter what the bizarro points system might look like, at the end of the day it's still football, so it's a safe bet that the team with more points will probably win.