IBB Watercooler 10/9/08

Here's a SPECIAL edition of the IBB Watercooler for North Carolina Week.

Getting Their Kicks: After last Saturday's performance by sophomore Brandon Walker, Coach Weis sent out an email to Irish Soccer Coach Bobby Clark on Sunday about open tryouts for a field goal kicker. Additions were also extended to two students who play interhall football as well.

Early in the week Junior forward Tamba Samba was the main target for the additions and might possibly be added to the Irish roster in the coming weeks. Samba did connect on several kicks, including some from 45+. Like Walker, he is a little bit on the inconsistent side.

As for the two interhall players, both struggled at times and really didn't make a solid impression for Coach Weis and the coaching staff to ask back for another day.

For the actually kicking competition, Brandon Walker was nearly flawless during practice, while Ryan Burkhart couldn't keep up with the incumbent. Come game time, I will be shocked to see Walker trot out and try anything over 30 yards.

Shaq Update: California receiver Shaquelle Evans made it public that he longer is a silent commit to the Southern Cal Trojans. In fact his visit to South Bend for the Purdue game was a success that he told several Irish players, including QB's Jimmy Clausen and Dayne Crist that this won't be the last they see of him.

All signs are pointing up towards Notre Dame as Evans has not panned down an official date to visit Michigan. Plus there is a recent photo cropping up on some myspace and facebook pages of Evans' mother sporting Notre Dame gear at one of Shaquelle's football games.

More information will be announced when it becomes available.

Yeatman Decision Still Not Decided: The Will Yeatman saga continues on for another week. Yeatman appeared before the university's Student Affairs Judicial Board and decided it will need a few more days to decide what to do with the two-sport athlete. In fact, they asked Yeatman to provide a few more character witnesses for his case.

This case is getting everyone involved in this matter, including the Indiana Excise Police, the Indiana State Police, and the South Bend Police Department. I don't know about you, but something seems awful wrong here if they have been putting this off for this long; especially since this is Yeatman's second announced offense with the law in a span of eight months.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Kick Coverage Goes Back To Original Form: The ND kickoff coverage team gave the Stanford Cardinal a different look, as they racked up good yardage against one of the stronger and more surprising units of this team. Coach Weis and Brian Polian switched back to the original package from previous games to combat the NCAA's best return man, Brandon Tate.

Look for the Irish to have good success on the coverage behind Mike Anello and David Bruton.

What to expect:
1.) Strong push from the offensive line. This unit had a strong and spirited week of practice. Look for the Irish to have a decent day running the ball.

2.) More safety and corner blitzes. The Irish are going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at UNC and Cam Sexton. Question is, will the Tar Heels be ready?

3.) More tricks up Weis' sleeve. Don't be surprised to see some special plays involving the likes of Golden Tate and some offensive linemen. Trust me, it could be interesting if the timing is right.