Notre Dame Practice Report: Oct. 20 (Pt. 1)

It was cloudy and in the low 60s in South Bend today for the outdoor practice. The temperatures are expected to drop as the week moves on, reaching as low as the high 40s and a chance of rain by game day.

The Irish were in their usual Tuesday attire of full pads and wearing the same color jerseys as last week's practice (offense in blue and defense in white) since they'll be hosting the opponent again.

General Observations

WR Robby Parris wasn’t present at practice, but his MRI results were clear.

QB Jimmy Clausen started over on the stationary bike, per usual, during warm ups. As he made his way over to the stretch lines, it was hard to miss that his right ankle was heavily wrapped.

WR Michael Floyd's left arm looked to be moving around much better during warm ups than it did during last Tuesday's practice. When he met with the media earlier in the day due to the change in the schedule, he claimed that he's able to catch the ball now – with both hands.

RB Armando has said for the past few weeks that he's "100%”, but he continues to run straight forward during the warm ups while the others are going laterally. He does, however, appear healthier as each week passes.

They bye week is a great time for players to heal a few bumps and bruises, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't linger.

"He's giving me crap because my body hurts," DE John Ryan told one of the strength and conditioning coaches as he was stretching about his partner. "This arthritis is kicking in."

NT Ian Williams came out for a play during the game, but he looked fine going through the drills.

Charlie Weis broke the team huddle with “Win!”

Defensive Observations

The defense started with pursuit drills.

The first-team base package was Kapron Lewis-Moore, Ethan Johnson, Ian Williams and John Ryan as the defensive linemen, Scott Smith, Brian Smith and Manti Te’o as linebackers and Gary Gray, Darrin Walls, Harrison Smith and Kyle McCarthy in the secondary.

The second-team base package was Morrice Richardson, Sean Cwynar, Hafis Williams and Kerry Neal on the defensive line, Steve Filer, Toryan Smith and David Posluszny as the backers, Robert Blanton, Jamoris Slaughter, Zeke Motta and Sergio Brown as the defensive backs.

The first-team nickel package was Ryan, Lewis-Moore, Johnson and Neal as the defensive linemen, B. Smith and Te’o as the linebackers, Brown as the nickel and Gray, Walls, K. McCarthy and H. Smith in the secondary.

The second-team nickel package was Richardson, I. Williams, Cwynar and Filer on the defensive line, T. Smith and Posluszny as the backers, McNeil as the nickel and Blanton, Slaughter, Motta and Ray Herring as the defensive backs.

The defensive backs started with their usual drop and break drills. First they backpedaled and broke on the ball, then backpedaled and opened to both sides and finished up tying it all in by backpedaling, opening and breaking.

“Come on Harrison,” Corwin Brown said to H. Smith. “You’re moving like you’re in quicksand.”

After the safety reminded his coach that he was banged up, C. Brown replied, “Oh, that’s right,” giving the player a pass on the slower rep.

Next the players got into a tackling drill.

McCarthy is known for being one of the better tacklers on the team based on his production on Saturdays.

H. Smith had a noticeable hitch to his step.

Motta has good balance when he’s pursuing the ball carrier, but he was asked to get back in line for another rep after not wrapping up.

Herring has the experience in the group and delivers a sound hit using good technique.

Slaughter is more physical than his stature may seem. His style of play allows the coaches to audition him at both safety and corner.

S. Brown was grabbing at the grabbing at the player a bit high, so he’ll need to work on getting a better forward lean.

G. Gray came in with a high hat and wrapped the player up top instead of hitting lower and rolling the hips through.

McNeil was caught going for the strip instead of securing the tackle.

Worth Noting:

• NFL scouts from the Oakland Raiders (2) and the Kansas City Chiefs were in attendance.

Weis made his way over towards the sideline to talk to the scouts while the team was warming up. He was overheard mentioning both S Kyle McCarthy and OT Paul Duncan.

As the Notre Dame HC made his way back towards the middle of the field, one scout turned to the other and said, “He’s different than you’d think.” The other replied, “He seems excited to me.”

Check back tomorrow for Part 2 of the report on the OL vs DL 1-on-1 drills, WR vs DB 1-on-1 drills and a Boston College game prediction.