Given that Yeatman was behind Carlson for his freshman and softmore year, I am not sure its fair to call him a career backup. How many guys start as sophomores when an NFL 3rd round pick is in front of them?

I watched Yeatman on Tivo a number of times last season, and he can really block (about the only guy you could say that about last year) .

He rarely misses his assignment, and doles out a few pancakes as well.

Missing spring is of little consequence.

Irish will be fine.
CareerBackup? | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 6:45 pm | #

Like I said, that was the pessimistic viewpoint. Just trying to be fair and balanced with my natural optimistic outlook. For the record I think Yeatman will have a very good year.

I would say that missing spring practice is somewhat of a big deal though. At the very least not something to causually dismiss.

It would have been his first chance to spend 15 practices working with the first team offense. Carlson mentioned the differences in roles, routes, and responsibilities between the #2 and #1 TE in ND's offense when he took over from Fasano. Yeatman will probably have to learn the same.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 6:53 pm | #

My prayers are with Mr. Ragone for a full and speedy recovery. To the other tight ends... "next man up".
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 6:57 pm | #

Wasn't Ragone the one who missed his whole senior season of high school from an injury? Man, that is just a tough break. I feel for him.
bgr | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 6:57 pm | #

Regarding missing Spring Practice - As a junior, Yeatman should be able to handle the learning of the new routes - he has been in the offense for 2 full seasons already.

If he cant handle it well, then either the offense is too complicated or he is not sharp enough!

I am more worried because Ragone was quite fast, as well as quite feisty. If ND is really going to run the ball tho, Yeatman was going to get most of the 1st and 2nd down snaps anyhow. Ragone is quite small, he really looked like a kid next to Yeatman, who is at 265 per the press guide
CareerBackup? | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:12 pm | #

Yeah, bgr. This is the exact same knee that he injured while wrestling in high school.

The fact that this is an ACL tear to the same knee is very, very scary to me. Especially with a guy like Ragone who everyone is so excited about because he has legit 4.5 speed, which is rare (if not impossible) at the TE spot. Hopefully he can rehab and come back next year with the same speed he has impressed everyone with.

The upside is that apparently they Ragone had the option of playing this year with this injury. The decision to shut him down and do the surgery was done because they were worried about the tear becoming worse. Also, ND has some of the best orthopedic surgeons around for a college team. The fact that playing with this injury was an option is a very, very good thing for Ragone. My prayers are with him.

I really, REALLY wanted to see this kid get on the field this year. I'm upset about that. With that said, I still think we will be just fine at TE. Yeatman is one hell of an athletic kid, and is more than capable of handling the starting role. By himself, we'd be just fine. But we have a good supporting cast. Luke Schmidt is another kid who has been too athletic to keep off the field the past few years, and he can be a nice suprise for us. Fauria can be a great target, and has excellent bloodlines.

But the guy I am really excited about is Kyle Rudolph. I went to the fan day and was absolutely FLOORED by this kid's athleticism. He is tall, he is strong, he can catch, and he can block suprisingly well for a freshman. This kids gonna be all over the field this year in my opinion.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:13 pm | #

Yeatman came in as freshman on a lax schollie and immediately out-shone Five Star TE and classmate, Konrad Reuland. Yeatman is the real deal, and should give ND two more great seasons of work before following Fasano and Carlson into the NFL.
The TE position is still in good shape, and I believe Luke Schmidt will make a very pleasant impact as the H-Back. Rudolph the Wide Eyed Freshman should get lots of reps, and he'll be like a Sophomore by mid season.
Have I mentioned how concerned I am about the O line? We'll be as good as Sam Young is.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:28 pm | #

seems to me like all the injuries we are having and have had are making the transfers hurt that much more. It also makes transfering look like that much more of a hasty/bad decision. I'd love to see where the transfers would be on the depth chart had they stayed.
bcnd | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:31 pm | #

They will be fine with Rudolph and Yeatmen. If Fauria could get a little more faster they could use him as a more pass TE.
Mexican Irish | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:40 pm | #

bcnd, you are correct, Sir!

Reuland, especially, bailed too early.
And Carufel was just plain crazy to leave as soph with starts under his belt. Insane. Anyone know if he is enrolled and/or practicing elsewhere?
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:42 pm | #

I was about to ask what ever happened to Carufel when he left?
Mexican Irish | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:45 pm | #

I understand that the guys who transfer want to play immediately and are trying to get to the pros. However, you know the competition is going to be fierce at Notre Dame. You know that players inevitably get injured or run into academic/legal problems. If you stick around you're going to get your shot if you work hard. Remember Kevin McDougal and Reggie Brooks? Nobody wants to pay their dues any longer. Plus, leaving a Notre Dame degree on the table isn't the best of choices in a world where even Heisman trophy winners sometimes don't get selected in the NFL draft.

By the way, I was reading the SI college footbaw preview not too long ago and it mentioned Ohio State has forty-six seniors or fifth-year guys (Todd Boeckman is actually in his sixth year)on their roster. We'll never have that many older players because of the rule about graduating to be eligible for a fifth year. I'm not arguing against that but it really hurts in the experience department.
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 7:52 pm | #

I don't have any problem with kids leaving ND. Lou Holtz used to always say, right off the bat to every ND recruit, that "Notre Dame is not for everyone". That isn't a statement meant to make people feel that they aren't good enough for ND. Its because Notre Dame is not an environment that is suiting for everyone. ND is much, much different as a university environment than almost all other schools. Think about other major schools, like UM, OSU, USC, etc. A lot of those schools have huge enrollments that allow for a large amount of diversity. Anyone can go to a large college town with an enrollment of 30-40k and find a place to fit in. Notre Dame is different in that manner. Some kids come here and just find that its not a good fit for them. And they deserve our best wishes.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 10:07 pm | #

CareerBackup? - On second thought, I think you are right. "Career backup" isn't an accurate description of Yeatman. "Junior with limited experience" fits better.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 10:15 pm | #

Getting older makes it harder to remember
We are our only saviors
We're gonna build something this summer
Lo-fi | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 10:24 pm | #

I'm with you, Lo-Fi.
We are our only saviors.
Hal | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 10:42 pm | #

Thanks Lo-fi. I wasn't sure if I was reaching too much with this headline.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 08.22.08 - 11:41 pm | #

I'll always get your Ohio Players and Hold Steady references, Pat.
Mike | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:28 am | #

Ragone is just headed to the chillout tent for a while.
Buck Mulligan | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:51 am | #

Never want to see a man go down but lucky for us it's at a postion of depth. I can't even believe 2 weeks from now I get to watch my Irish. NICE!!!
Paul | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 11:17 am | #

If we're not realistically going to contend for a title this year, does it hurt anybody's feelings that starters like Ragone and Walls sitting out will mean that in 2009 we have more experienced depth at their positions?
HikeND.com | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 12:39 pm | #

With all due respect, freshman do not represent depth. They really shouldn't be on the field. Wies' offense frequently includes two and three tight end sets, and one player with a little experience and two true freshman with zero experience, represent another woeful example of why transfers matter. Charlie needs to figure out how to convince players that have been passed on the depth chart that they need to be ready to play regardless as injuries, bad grades, etc. can change the depth chart quickly. It may not have seemed a big deal when Reuland transferred, but with Yeatman gone for spring ball and Ragone now injured, we are in quite a bind. Rudolph might be the best TE ever, but he has all of training camp to figure out the entire playbook as well as to see what playing against top notch players is like. We can't keep expecting freshman players (no matter how good) to be able to perform well. Just imagine being the defensive coach for another team knowing the Irish have a true freshman trying to block. You think they might try to test him?
Michael | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 1:41 pm | #

Hike,

That is true, but it gets a little old playing the same song, "just wait till next year."
Michael | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 1:44 pm | #

Lo-Fi, is that a hiaku?

Mike, I agree that just having freshman doesn't mean the same thing as having depth. But to totally discount all freshman as a weak point on a team would be a mistake. Sure Rudolph would not have started, but he sure could have earned a big role come mid-season. Do you think defenses were "testing" Marc Edwards by the end of his freshman year? Although the Irish were young last year, and will have limited experience again this year, Charlie didn't have to rely on youth his first two seasons. I don't see this perceived "depth" problem continuing beyond this year. That said, I don't think it's a stretch to assume Charlie's ability to recruit young talent exceeds his ability to keep those kids happy.
Mark | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 2:02 pm | #

It should also be pointed out that when ND has used three tight end sets the past few years, it is usually in short yardage rushing situations. And when that happens, Charlie has sent in an offensive lineman as the third tight end. Turkovich, Duncan, Stewart, and Olsen have all lined up as tight end the past few seasons. I expect to see Trevor Robinson and/or Duncan fill that role on occasion this season.

Voice - Carufel is playing for Minnesota, his home state school.
Pat | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 2:26 pm | #

s/compliment/complement

Also, Ragone won't need to bother with a hardship waiver because he won't play at all—so it will just be a conventional redshirt. The significance of the hardship waiver is that a player who is injured early in the season can get the year of eligibility back (e.g. Rhema McKnight, Matt Romine).
Mr. Wednesday | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 2:49 pm | #

There is an article about Samardjiza in the most recent Sports Illustrated about his pitching prowess.
GB | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 3:45 pm | #

mark. I don't mean to discount all frosh. Clearly many have played and played well. Sam young and ian Williams are two recent examples. I just want to see us build some depth for the future so they are not expected to be great because most of the time they aren't. Not cause they wont be good but because they have only had a short time to learn the college game It also helps when there are veterans surrounding spot freshman as opposed to last years debacle.
michael | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 4:10 pm | #

looking forward to a great year. shake down some thunder, charlie
bcuster | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 8:39 pm | #

Will the Aztecs be requiring a human sacrifice prior to kickoff on the 6th?
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 9:41 pm | #

That's what we'll be putting a stop to. In exchange, we'll feed them corn and build their character working the South Bend silver mines. Historically, their encounters with Catholics don't go so good.
indy | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:11 pm | #

That's hysterical, indy!!
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:18 pm | #

Yeah, that really was a great take on Indy's part.

I cannot wait for college footbaw. It is far and away my fave thing to watch on t.v. except for maybe "Hard Knocks" on HBO which is just incredible. I mean, where has Tank Johnson been all my life?
Fighting Binny | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:42 pm | #

I agree. I am so pumped for the season to start it's ridiculous. Load Young up with Guns, Germs and Steel and let's get it on! Go Irish!
indy | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 10:46 pm | #

Hey Voice,

I am fairly certain Carufel will be playing for the Gophers at the University of Minnesota.
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 08.23.08 - 11:32 pm | #

still two weeks to go before kickoff. thank god for this wonderful and informative blog to tide us over in the meanwhile.
bcuster | Email | Homepage | 08.24.08 - 10:25 am | #

Not a bad read on our AD and his 1st month on the job.

http:// chicagosports.chicagotrib...1,2484308.story
Domer Dan | Email | Homepage | 08.24.08 - 10:51 am | #

Hey Voice,

I think Carufel landed with the University of Minnesota Gophers.
OC mj | Email | Homepage | 08.24.08 - 6:20 pm | #

Thanks OC mj. I wonder when his eligibility begins. '09 is my hunch since I believe he walked mid-season '07. By then he'll have had two springs and one Fall (this season) of practice, and should make an instant impact. It's doubtful that anybody will ever be able to make me understand how leaving ND was a wise life decision. Nevertheless, I wish him well.
Voice in the Wilderness | Email | Homepage | 08.24.08 - 8:23 pm | #

We’ll put it back together,
raise up a giant ladder,
With love, and trust, and friends, and hammers

We’re gonna lean this ladder up against the water tower,
Climb up to the top, and drink and talk (This summer!)
Jonathan Domer | Email | Homepage | 08.25.08 - 2:49 pm | #

Guys:
Your excitement is understandable. I just came back from spending several days at ND. Band tryouts were going on in several venues. WOW!! Now, if we can only get rid of those staged pep rallies and get back to the days of real pep rallies!!
Lush | Email | Homepage | 08.25.08 - 10:06 pm | #