Friday, August 25, 2006

Damn It Can't It Be September 2nd Already?

The Georgia Tech game is a little more than a week away and the 2 deep depth chart has been officially released. There were a few interesting things of note on the depth chart.
  • Evan Sharpley will be Brady Quinn's back-up. While it may surprise some Irish fans that neither Jones or Frazer were able to beat Sharpley out, I was not at all surprised. I think Sharpley is really underrated and I would not be surprised if he is the starter next season (Yes, you heard that right. It's my bold prediction for next season.)
  • As of right now, Ryan Burkhart will not be handling the place kicking duties. While Carl Goia probably doesn't have much range outside of 40 yards, I think to rely on freshman kicker in a season where you're expected to compete for a national championship is a much more iffy proposition.
  • Freshman man-child Sam Young will be your starting right tackle. This speaks volumes to how much of a talent Young is and if he develops each year, he could go down as one of the greatest Notre Dame offensive linemen ever.
  • Assuming Travis Thomas will not be playing 70-80 snaps a game, Munir Prince is the back-up running back. Everyone has been raving about his speed in camp and I can't wait to see it in person on September 2. He could be lethal as a third down back.
  • Speaking of Travis Thomas, the Travis Thomas experiment at linebacker seems to be working out as he will be starting at weak-side linebacker.
  • Chase Anastasio will the be the fourth wide receiver. This was a really big surprise to me because he's always struck me as being a special teams ace and nothing more. However, George West's stone hands in camp may have something to do with Anastasio's place on the depth chart.