If he can put it together then him along with Ian could make us a good front seven. Another thing I think we'll see is T. Smith at linebacker against heavily running teams. Toryan could be a force against the run.

USC, MSU, Pitt, and who else? One of the things that's really going to help ND is that we're gonna be able to play a great deal of base nickel and that plays right into our wheel house

It's a lesson I learned with the OL in 2007. We got a lot of glowing reports about Wenger, Olsen, Carufel, Stewart, etc. I allowed myself to think it was an easy thing to reload a line with three first-time starters (not to mention a still-raw Sam Young). Stupid me.

I look at the prospect of KLM, Hafis, EJ (yeah, even EJ), Fleming, Filer, etc, all starting or having significant playing time, and I have to remind myself that as exciting as the potential is for these players, they are essentially still rookies, and are learning their positions. If there are going to be mistakes anywhere on this team, they will be here.

There is a HUGE difference between "boy strength" and "man strength". Our kids have the former.

I would worry even more if we were playing a read and react scheme. There is no way some of these kids would win the battles, week in and week out, trying to hold a gap or defeat a double-team.

The aggressive scheme will help, but I'm betting we'll still struggle against the better running teams on our schedule.

Two keys: No big plays and success on 1st down.

No big plays will make an offense have to convert over and over again to score. Which leads me to...

Defensive success on 1st down. If the Irish are able to put the offense in a 2nd and 8 or more quite a bit, even power running teams will be forced to throw on second or third down much more often (which I believe will be our strength - defending the pass).

I'm a huge believer that getting a sack on 1st or even 2nd down is so much more important than on 3rd down. On 3rd down, all you need is an incompletion. On 1st or 2nd down, you can kill a drive with a sack.

The DL will not be required to play quite the same mental game that OL does. If there is one way to slow down a player, it is to have him thinking more than acting and reacting. The way this D-line is being coached, it is all about speed, and as coach Hart says "strike a blow, get off the block, pursue the football, and tackle." If you make a mistake, you want to make it at 100 mph, because then you can still be disruptive.

I understand the cautious attitude, but I think it's apples to oranges.

My favorite thing about Hart/Young's DL philosophy is something Hart said to me at the social, repeating a sentiment in either Alvarez's talk or Tuberville's... "It's not the defensive lineman's job to make the LB an All-American. His job is to become the All-American."

I'm afraid we will once again struggle against tough, strong running teams. That's why I think we'll have problems with MSU, even without Ringer. I also think the Nevada game will be close.