Don’t Call It A Comeback...

Once the word had come back from the doctors Monday that his broken collarbone was healed and that he was being cleared to play, it didn’t take long for sophomore receiver Michael Floyd to decide on a return date.

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis said Tuesday that he left the ultimate decision in Floyd’s hands once clearance had been given. After the star wideout made a quick call to his mother back in Minnesota, he told Weis that he was ready to play against Navy on Saturday.

Apparently, he told plenty of other people shortly thereafter.

“It wasn’t too much longer when I was already getting texts from [junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen],” Weis noted. “He might have been as happy as [Floyd] was.”

Though the Irish offense hasn’t exactly been struggling – it ranks fifth nationally in yardage per game – Weis was clearly excited to have Floyd back on the field. It’s easy to forget now with the explosive play of junior Golden Tate, but it was Floyd who had been the team’s leading receiver before getting injured.

“I’m very happy to have Michael back to integrate into the system,” Weis said. “Your game planning on Monday becomes a little different element when you’re adding a top-flight player like Michael to the mix.”

In addition to taking pressure off of Tate and Clausen, Floyd’s return should also give a boost to sophomore tight end Kyle Rudolph, because as Weis noted, the two usually line up on the same side of the field.

...And Now, The Bad News
Just as Floyd was being welcomed back, the Irish learned that they will be without the services of backup quarterback Dayne Crist, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Washington State.

Crist will undergo surgery on Friday and be out for approximately 4 to 6 months. That recovery schedule would run right into spring football, and Weis was asked about the likelihood of the sophomore’s availability at that time.

“I really don’t know the answer,” he replied. “I know one thing – that we will definitely be conservative, because the whole deal is to have [Crist] full go for August. That’s really the bottom line, and whatever we have to do to have him full go for August, that’s what we’ll do.”

Fifth-year senior Evan Sharpley, a part-time starter in 2007, steps into the No. 2 quarterback spot, while sophomore receiver John Goodman will also get some work as an emergency option.

While Goodman will run with the quarterbacks during some of the individual drills Tuesday, though, the vast majority of his time will still be spent with the receivers.

“He really won’t be getting any reps [at quarterback],” Weis stated, “because Sharpley needs to get all the reps we can give him.”

If the emergency glass needs to be broken, though, the coach appears to have enough confidence in Goodman.

“It’s not a question to me of whether Goody can throw the ball or run the offense,” he said.

Don’t Sleep On The Mids
The Naval Academy might not get the most prized recruits in the country, but that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of playing with the big boys. The Midshipmen consistently find ways to score points with their vaunted triple option offense, but Weis seemed even more impressed with their defense.

“[This is] by far the best Navy defense they’ve had in my time here,” he said. “I don’t think it’s even been close.”

The main reason for their success this year, Weis believes, is the continuity that comes with having a veteran unit playing together for a length of time – similar to Notre Dame’s 2009 offense. The Mids have six seniors and four juniors starting on defense, including an all-senior linebacking corps.

“We already know about the effort of the guys from the Naval Academy,” Weis said. “That’s never an issue. But now all of a sudden, you get guys that have been used to playing together for quite some time...it’s different.

“They don’t try to do too many crazy things on defense. They just try to play sound fundamentally and run to the football – and trust me, they run to the football.”

Weis also commented on the passion that Navy plays with on a regular basis.

“The one thing you know about Navy is that the easiest part of their day is football practice,” he said. “Our guys are challenged academically every day on campus, but the grueling schedule that those guys lead while they’re at the Naval Academy, and knowing the commitment they have past the time they graduate, makes football a pleasure for them. They don’t ever look at it as a task or a job.

“So therefore, you know what you’re going to get from them is 24/7, you’re going to get 100 percent effort all the time.”

Limiting The Option(s)
Beyond outlasting an underrated Navy defense, the obvious key is shutting down a rushing attack that always ranks among the nation’s most potent.

Weis, though, believes his defense will be up to the challenge.

“If you look at last year, until the 900 onside kicks at the end of the game, the defense had really mauled them,” he stated. “I feel really good about the confidence of our defense improving, especially when it comes to a team that intends to try to run the ball for 300 [yards] against you. I think that’s been one of our strengths over the last six games.”

Miscellany
• In other injury-related news, senior receiver Robby Parris will be back at full speed this week, with junior running back Armando Allen still listed as day-to-day.

Sophomore guard Trevor Robinson remains unlikely to play in the Navy game after suffering an ankle sprain against Washington State.

“He’s making good progress,” Weis said, “but he’s still doubtful for this week. But I’m not ruling him completely out at this point.”

Senior fullback/tight end Bobby Burger will be held out of action until more tests can be done on his neck.

Defensively, sophomore lineman Kapron Lewis-Moore, who had a slight limp after Saturday’s win, is considered probable.

Looking ahead a bit, freshman tight end Tyler Eifert, already declared out for the season with back issues, is undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to be ready by the start of spring practice.

• Speaking of looking ahead...the question came up a bit early about Notre Dame losing at least three starters on the offensive line after this season. The query might have been an attempt to get Weis talking about the fifth-year options for seniors Chris Stewart and Dan Wenger, but the coach wasn’t taking the bait.

“Without getting in to the infamous fifth-year conversation, I think that some of our answers are already taken care of,” he said.

The coach mentioned the play of junior Matt Romine at left tackle and said that plans are already in place to address the other holes to be left by graduation. Some of those plans, he noted, could involve position changes.

“It isn’t like we don’t have answers for some of these situations,” Weis said. “Some of them might be guys down at the other field [on defense]. Some of them might be guys that are playing one position that we’re going to move to another position. So it isn’t like we don’t have a plan for this.”

• Weis was asked about the high volume of fair catches by Tate on punt returns this season, and he stated that it’s more about the new spread coverage being used by most teams (including Notre Dame) than anything else.

“I don’t think it’s so much him [being] conservative,” Weis said of Tate. “Everyone’s in this spread punt now...[so] unless the punt outkicks the coverage, usually you get a bunch of fair catches.”