Brian Kelly Addresses Aaron Lynch's Absence Due To Fight, Louis Nix "Demotion" and Jamoris Slaughter's Move To Cornerback
Relax Notre Dame Nation. Aaron Lynch is not transferring. He got in a scuffle during Friday practice with offensive lineman Tate Nichols and apparently it was one in which punches were thrown. Lynch will come back to Notre Dame on Monday.
Louis Nix is now on the second team defense with true freshman Sheldon Day replacing him on the first unit. It sounds like Kelly and his staff want more consistency out of Nix during the spring and just haven't gotten it. I still expect to see Nix starting in the middle of Lynch and Stephon Tuitt come fall.
Jamoris Slaughter has been moved from his free safety position to the other starting cornerback position opposite Bennett Jackson. This move obviously means Lo Wood is not cutting it. The secondary will be the big question mark all season for the Irish after losing starters Gary Gray, Robert Blanton, and Harrison Smith to the NFL. Personally I'm not a fan of moving Slaughter to corner. Slaughter is an All-American candidate at safety and is probably the best hitter on the defense. I would rather see him facing the offense as opposed to having his back to the quarterback. Austin Collinsworth (son of Cris) will move into Slaughters starting spot at free safety playing along side Zeke Motta.
The good news coming out of Notre Dame recruiting today is the commitment of cornerback Devin Butler out of Washington D.C. Butler is the second corner and 10th commitment in the 2013 class. Butler picked ND over Penn State, Michigan, and Nebraska.
Expect another commitment soon from Georgia defensive end Isaac Rochell. The 5th rated strongside defensive end visited Notre Dame this past weekend and came away very impressed and ready to end the recruiting process. Rochell would be a huge get out of SEC Country as he has offers from across the nation.