Notre Dame quarterback Alex Darras, left, will be handing off a lot to hard-charging running backs this season as the Irish utilize a talented offensive line to pound opposing defenses.
photo by Dennis Norwood
A strong-armed quarterback, a stout, scrappy offensive line and cohesive defense just might be another winning formula for Notre Dame in 2015.
The Irish certainly parlayed that into one of the most successful football seasons in school history in 2014. Notre Dame finished 12-2 and lost to Alcoa – both schools were No. 1 seeds in the Class 3A bracket and ranked third and first, respectively – by 28-19 in the state semifinals at Finley Stadium.
The quarterback, senior Alex Darras, returns for his senior season and that’s a good place to start the offense.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pound Darras threw for 1,717 yards and 29 touchdowns last season, directing a unit that averaged 43.9 points in a 12-game winning streak leading up to the Alcoa game.
While the receiving corps is dotted with young players, the offensive line can protect Darras and crack open running lanes for Ricky Ballard and Calvin Sims.
“Our number one returning group is our offensive line,” Irish coach Charles Fant said. “We know going in we can dominate up front and we plan to hang our hats on that line.”
The tenacity of Notre Dame’s front was apparent when Ballard gained 79 of the team’s 90 rushing yards against McCallie in last weekend’s jamboree. The quarter was headed toward a scoreless tie until the Blue Tornadoes’ Shawn McColley picked up a fumble and rambled 62 yards for a touchdown in the final minute.
In the 20-minute quarter, Notre Dame unveiled a new offensive approach, directed by first-year coordinator Aaron Nance. A year ago the Irish, blessed with player talent and four-year experience ran a speedy, spread offense and piled up points in bushel baskets.
After a season-opening, 15-12, loss to Knox Catholic, the Irish pummeled foe after foe before running into coach Gary Rankin’s perennial state championship contending Tornadoes – Alcoa lost to Christ Presbyterian, 7-0, in the 2014 title game.
This season, however, Fant says the Irish will be more deliberate and rely heavily on Ballard and Sims to batter opposing defenses.
“I have learned from coach Rankin that championship football is won by defense and running the football,” Fant said. “We’re going to expand on that because when it gets cold and it’s hard to hold onto the football, you better be able to run the football.
“I’m thoroughly thankful we played them because it helped, as the head coach, to see what you can do to keep advancing in the playoffs. This year we’re to slow the ball down because we don’t have as many back-ups that can play at the higher level. Against McCallie we took our time on offense, kept getting first downs and moved the ball effectively.”
However, the Irish are not about to leave Darras out of the mix. A 4.0 student who almost aced the ACT exam, Darras is entering his third season running the same offense, something that will be of immense value to Nance.
“I pretty much know everything I’m supposed to know,” Darras said.
Darras spent most of the summer at camps from Boston to Fort Collins, Colo. He honed his skills under the watchful eyes of coaches at Harvard, Middle Tennessee State, Vanderbilt and Colorado State. He’s also used preseason drills to disseminate all those coaching tips and feels comfortable in what he’s being asked to do in his final year with the Irish.
And he was intrigued by Harvard’s program.
“It was a cool experience,” he said. “It definitely wasn’t something you think about when you think of an Ivy League school like Harvard. They have a great football program; they’re one of the best in the Ivy League and have been for a while.
“It was one of the better run camps I attended. They didn’t have as many players as the bigger camps, but the coaches knew what they were talking about and that was good.”
Darras has no college offers going into the season, but he’s not flustered. There are schools talking to him and he feels no pressure at all, adding, “I’m focusing on school and keeping my mind off recruiting.”
Darras was bolstered by the team’s showing against McCallie, giving the Irish a good gauge of where they are heading into Friday’s season opener at Central.
A year ago, Darras was battling injuries and wasn’t in game form when the season started, but was quickly up to speed as the Irish mounted a drive to only the fourth semifinal berth in school history.
He’s now 100 percent and raring to go.
“We’ve been working with a lot of receivers and we’re getting more comfortable with each other,” Darras said. “They have to trust the process and that will help me trust them that they’ll be where they need to be at the right time.”
While the tried-and-true offense has a familiar ring to the players, the defense is a different story.
New coordinator Chandler Tygard, with several years of college coaching experience that include stops at Tennessee, University of Cumberlands and Missouri Southern, has installed a 4-2-5 scheme after the Irish used a 3-4 last season.
There were occasions in 2014 when the Irish would change into a 4-3 and something that resembled a 4-2-5, but Tygard has jumped in with both feet with the 4-2-5 this season.
Senior linebacker Tyler Enos started preseason work with one foot in.
“At first the defense was a little complicated for me because it was completely new compared to what we’ve run for three years,” he said. “Last year I had to make one or two calls and this year I’ve got to make four or five. It’s a little complex, but I’m getting more used to it every day.”
Enos is willing to do anything to prevent another game where the Irish watched Alcoa running back Jaquez Tyson gash them for 266 yards and three touchdowns last November. Tyson carried the ball 50 times for the top-ranked Tornadoes.
“He was a workhorse,” Enos said. “But we still just lost by nine points despite making four turnovers (three fumbles and an interception). To come that close to winning made it hurt that much more.
“I think we had a top five defense last year, so I don’t see why we can’t pick it up a little and maybe have a number one defense this year.”
While the Irish offense punished teams a year ago, the defense was thwarting opponents’ offensive units on a weekly basis. Notre Dame allowed an average of 9.1 points a game, including the season-high 28 Alcoa scored.
The Irish had eight games in 2014 – six in a row in one stretch – where they allowed seven or fewer points with three shutouts. They’re hoping for the same type results this season in Tygard’s system.
“The thing now is we’re running a college-style defense,” Fant said. Coach Tygard has done a great job done a great job making it a system the kids can understand. It’s not about how extravagant the system is, but everybody has to know where to go. It’s fun to watch that defense.”
Fant makes no secret that his offense will have to shoulder the load early in the season while defensive players get a complete grasp of Tygard’s new scheme.
“The offense has to hold serve until we’re ready to really go with the defense,” Fant said.
Defensive tackle Robert Murphy, who, along with Enos, is a Murphy Fair Preseason All-State selection, is steadfastly confident the Irish will get a firm grip on the new alignment and become as stingy as the 2014 unit.
And, he said, the Irish’s jamboree effort could be the key to making that goal a reality.
“Any time you do good against a powerhouse like McCallie,” Murphy said, “it will get you amped for the first game. McCallie’s a great team and we shut them down. That shows we’re ready.”
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)
Linebacker Tyler Enos, left, and tackle Robert Murphy are key players for new Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chandler Tygard's 4-2-5 scheme. The Irish are hoping the defense can prevent backs like Alcoa's Jaquez Tyson from running wild on them.
photo by Dennis Norwood