Green with Envy: A Look at Notre Dame's Uniforms

A few months ago I wrote an article detailing the history of Notre Dame's football uniforms (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/210445-my-changes-to-notre-dames-football-informs) and made a few suggestions about what I would like to see different with the Fighting Irish wardrobe.
I thought now that we are heading into Notre Dame's first ever primetime "home" game that it would be a good idea to revisit some of my ideas and recap some of the things we have seen this year.
First off, as expected Charlie Weis has not made any major changes to the Notre Dame uniforms this year. In fact, he has kept the same design for five straight years now which is the longest Notre Dame has gone without major changes since probably the Holtz era.
The only minor change this year (although visually it makes a big difference) is that Weis has had the Irish wearing "pro-style" socks in the last two home games now that the weather is turning cold.
In past years throughout Weis' tenure, Notre Dame would wear knee high navy blue socks during this time of year with the Adidas logo prominently displayed. I never had a problem with this look, although I was never crazy about having the Adidas logo on there.
Does anybody else think it is cool that Notre Dame and many other college programs go without socks when it's in the warmer part of the season, and then decide to wear them when it is cold? I've always thought this was a neat thing to do and just another thing that makes the college game better than the NFL.
This year, Notre Dame has decided to wear blue socks with white on the bottom, giving the team a more professional NFL-style look. Normally, I would shy away from anything making the Irish look like some of the NFL teams today, but I really like this look.
One reason is that the blue used in the socks seems to be brighter than in the past (although being paired with white it may just seem that way) and it stands out much more. The other reason is that I it makes the team look bigger (two colors make the legs look longer) and faster (the eye cannot track white as quickly as dark colors thus giving the appearance of more speed).
Also, when Notre Dame wore the long dark blue socks they always looked black to me and didn't seem to match the uniform that well. I wonder if we will see the pro-style socks with the away uniform in the future or if Weis will have the Irish stick to the long knee high white socks.
Now let's revisit some of my suggestions on uniform changes:
Shamrock on the Helmet
As of today, Notre Dame currently holds the longest streak of wearing the same helmet (Gold with gray facemask) in NCAA history. I am very supportive of traditional styles, but I really think it would be neat if Notre Dame wore a shamrock on just one side of their helmet (worn on both side of the helmet from 1959-62).
They wouldn't have to do this for an entire year (although I think I'd support that), but I believe it would be an interesting idea to use (a la the green jerseys) and pump the team for a big game against say...Boston College perhaps?
The Leprechaun
Has there ever been such a great logo that is so under used? You can walk around the Notre Dame campus for hours and never see the fighting leprechaun logo. Something has to be done where this wonderful mascot is displayed more prominently by the school.
I don't think it should be put anywhere on the uniforms (except perhaps at the end of the collar where the inter-locking ND logo currently is) but there could be some other good places. How about putting the leprechaun on some sideline hats or on the back of those giant winter coats guys like Crist wear on the sideline or even on the skull caps like Golden Tate wear?
ND Logo on the Sleeves
I've never been too crazy with the current jerseys and the absence of the inter-locking ND logo on the sleeves. This is probably because I grew up watching Tim Brown, Tony Rice, and Rocket Ishmail flying down the field with the ND logo so prominent.
Moreover, I always thought having four sets of numbers on a jersey was a bit much but in this age of television it is probably a necessary evil. How about a compromise? Notre Dame should keep its current style for home games and switch to the inter-locking ND logo on the sleeves on the road.
Removing Gold
As I've stated in my previous article, I am in favor of removing the gold outline from the numbers on the road white uniforms. I believe this would be beneficial because it is how the uniforms looked when first used under Ara Parseghian and it would bring more attention to the gold helmets.
As far as the green jerseys are concerned, a more traditional look based on the Paul Hornung era is what I would like to see. Just a simple green jersey with white numbers will do the trick!
Socks
I've already covered the changes in the socks, but I have some ideas of my own. One would be to utilize some striping, but with the new style Weis has been favoring this year it seems unlikely.
If I remember correctly, we have seen some striping on the lower cut blue socks in the recent pass. I believe Clausen had white stripes (Adidas socks perhaps?) during the Hawaii Bowl, and both Clausen and Allen had the same socks for the Michigan game. It also seemed that Allen had this pattern on his forearms during the Michigan came as well.
The other small addition I would make is to put a green shamrock on the socks. It would certainly be better than the Adidas logo we have seen in the past.
Paint the Field
Other than changing the helmets, this subject is sure to rile up the fan base more than anything else, especially from the more traditional folk.
Side note: Can we finally get rid of the natural grass in Notre Dame Stadium? I know it gives it that old-school look and many say football is supposed to be played on it, but it is getting out of hand.
How many more times do we have to see Armando Allen slip on that cut that could spring him for that much needed long touchdown run? Or how many more times does Clausen have to slip while in the pocket? And let us not forget Kamara's slip on the last play against USC.
You may say that both teams have to play on it, but I'm just sick of watching the field look like eastern France during World War I after only a few series. Seriously, it looks like ten of the world's worst golfers were let on the field and allowed to just hack away at the turf leaving dinner plate sized divot holes in their wake.
During last week's game against Boston College an Eagle defensive lineman came to hit an Irish lineman and they just slid backwards about three feet while engaged. This field is a mess and stuff like that should not be happening.
So, if Notre Dame was to install field turf next season it would make it that much easier to paint the field. I'm not advocating anything too radical, but I think there should be some paint laid down.
If they are going to keep the old-school white diagonal slash marks in the end zone, why not put a logo at midfield? Don't tell me a giant ND logo, shamrock, or leprechaun wouldn't look totally amazing because it would. Plus it's easier to tell where the ball is on television with a midfield logo.
And if you don't want that, then why not put something in the end zone? It's curious that many people believe that Notre Dame's current uniform is the "traditional" style, yet they have only been worn from 1964-77 and since the Holtz era in the late 80's.
That is nearly three quarters of a century wearing the supposed "non-traditional" uniforms.
The same goes for the end zone paint. It hasn't always been in its current style and the field has been painted before. In video clips and pictures I have seen, the end zones were definitely painted in the 1970's during the Rudy and Montana era.
These designs included the word mark IRISH or FIGHTING IRISH, along with the leprechaun and football logo. If it has been done before, then I don't think it is too much of a break with tradition to do it again.
If anything, it could be used like the green jerseys as something to do for a big game that is getting a lot of hype. Can't you just see ESPN Gameday remarking on Saturday morning, "And they've painted the end zones for today's game folks...you better watch out!"
The last thing I'll say is directed toward this weekend's neutral site "home" game in San Antonio, Texas. Will we see the field painted in Notre Dame colors? Will it be treated like a bowl game where both teams get their own end zone painted? What are the chances we see some sort of patch on the jerseys to mark the occasion?
I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Go Irish!

Irish Roots: The Secret to Notre Dame's Continued Success

Throughout the first half of the 2009 season, Notre Dame Head coach Charlie Weis has marched an explosive and threatening offense onto the field each Saturday. While the Fighting Irish defense has been struggling all year long, the Domers offense, led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen, has been mostly cool and efficient.

But, there still is much room for improvement and the continued success of the Irish offense depends on the team getting back to its roots and running the ball.

It is true that Notre Dame was one of the first programs to utilize the forward pass and the school has produced numerous college legends at quarterback including: Frank Carideo, Angelo Bertelli, Johnny Lujack, Paul Hornung, Daryle Lamonica, John Huarte, Joe Theisman, Joe Montana, Steve Beurlein, Tony Rice and Brady Quinn.

However, for over a century of football in South Bend the running game was the most important weapon to the team's success on offense. And today, with a high flying aerial attack in place, Notre Dame would do well to also commit to running the ball as best as they can.

During Charlie Weis' first two seasons at Notre Dame, the team scored a school record shattering 843 points, posting nearly 34 points per game. While many will remember the arm of Brady Quinn as the force behind this offense, let us not forget that the 2005 and 2006 teams boasted a strong and versatile running game.

In 2005, tailback Darius Walker ran for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns, while the following year he gained 1,267 yards and seven touchdowns. To go along with the very respectable 4.85 yards per carry average, Walker also caught 99 balls for 742 yards with another three touchdowns.

While many fans were never enamored with Walker at running back, myself included, it is clear now in hindsight that he was able to put up tremendous numbers, became an integral part of the offense, and will forever be one of the more underrated players in Irish history.

Which leads us to 2009 and the current state of the Irish running game. It is absolutely crucial that Charlie Weis develops the current talent at running back over the next six games, and into next season, in order to ensure long term success on offense.

Partly because of the previous regimes coaching and partly because of his heavy reliance on Darius Walker as the exclusive running back, Weis was left with a set of far too inexperienced tailbacks during the 2007 season at a time when he needed a strong ground game more than anything else.

During that disastrous 2007 season, Notre Dame started an inexperienced sophomore James Aldridge tailback while rotating true freshmen Armando Allen and Robert Hughes. This trio struggled mightily all year long and when you tally up the sack yardage, the team only rushed for 903 yards at 2.1 yards per carry.

To put that in perspective, Notre Dame has already rushed for that many yards through seven games this season.

Thanks to a strong recruiting effort by Charlie Weis, this lack of experience may never occur again anytime soon. But it is paramount that Weis quickly develops his growing stable of running backs so that Notre Dame can be even more dominant on offense in the future.

Clearly the go-to guy right now is junior Armando Allen who has rushed for 514 yards but has been banged up for the majority of the season. When he is healthy, Allen brings a Walker-like game to the Irish offense and is the team’s best weapon right now not named Golden.

The questions arise as to who will continue to back up Allen and which players will step up and assert themselves as the No. 1 runner in the future.

Junior power runner Robert Hughes has been filling in behind Allen and has gained 180 yards on only 40 carries to go along with three touchdowns. Bringing up the rear, sophomore Jonas Gray has picked up 98 yards on 26 carries and true freshman Theo Riddick has chipped in 43 yards on only seven attempts.

Everyone knows Charlie Weis is going to stay with a pass-first offense, but in order to reach the offensive output of the 2005 and 2006 teams, Notre Dame will need a healthy and effective Allen or one of the younger backs to provide excellent back-up carries.

Notice how I didn’t include the veteran Robert Hughes in that scenario? I hate to continue beating this drum, but I don’t think Hughes has much to offer in the form of a running back at Notre Dame. Yes, he’s got pretty good speed and agility for his size, but overall he doesn’t have anywhere near the speed of Allen, Gray, or Riddick.

What’s more, Hughes isn’t much of a threat to catch the ball out of the backfield and that is another slight that can’t be ignored. That’s not to say that Hughes can’t come in and run hard from time to time, because he certainly has this year against Purdue and Washington, but he’s clearly less talented than the other backs waiting to carry the ball for the Irish.

If I am Charlie Weis, I make it a priority over the next two games to give Jonas Gray and Theo Riddick significant amounts of carries whenever possible. This will give Notre Dame two more speedy running backs to utilize in their tough games to close out the season and perhaps more importantly, give the team a lot more confidence in the ground attack heading into 2010.

I don’t believe Weis is doing the team any favors if he continues to give the ball to Hughes whenever Allen is tired or banged up. Even worse, if Notre Dame is sporting healthy leads against Washington State and Navy, Gray and Riddick have to be given the ball.

Clearly, the strength of the Notre Dame offense is the passing game led by Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph. However, running the ball is so obviously important to the game of football and it has to be something the Fighting Irish can do effectively against anyone if they want to compete with the best.

This means that even if Notre Dame is breezing through their next two games, Weis shouldn’t just run the ball continuously like he did against Navy last year. But instead, he should keep a balanced offense that mixes up the play calling so that the fresh running backs can gain some confidence without eight men stacked in the box.

It also wouldn’t be a bad idea to develop backup quarterback Dayne Crist as well.

Great Expectations: Why Charlie Weis is Not the Problem at Notre Dame

I was doing some hearty coverage of Notre Dame football last night when I came across a blog that made some forthright comments which aroused my interest. Here is a short summary of what was written:

*Charlie Weis is not the problem at Notre Dame
*No coach in South Bend could recruit like Carroll at USC
*Notre Dame is like a small market MLB team
*ND as a program & school cannot recruit dominant defensive players
*Weis has pretty much maxed out ND recruiting
*The program has a bigger image of itself than in reality
*Notre Dame is a "rich man's Stanford", a second-tier school that can't hang with the big boys in college football
*ND has zero shot at beating USC until at least 2013
*Weis' biggest problem is his physical appearance

Let those comments sink in for a moment if you can. Now, I know a lot of Irish fans are going to be somewhat surprised by all of this, but you have to ask yourself: how much of this is true?

I have to admit, I believe a lot of these comments are very true.

Do you think the Notre Dame program has a bigger image of itself than in reality? I'm not sure how the powers that be who are running the University truly feel, but a quick look at history would seem to demonstrate that football is not a priority, or at the very least, not one of the top one or two priorities like it used to be.

In other words, Notre Dame is not a football factory. We all know this and we all know Notre Dame is not the veritable minor league training ground and stop off point for football players the way USC and Florida are.

So, the issue of where this self image comes from is not really about the school itself (except the coaching staff who obviously need to promote that image with statements like "9-3 just isn't good enough"), but it comes from us, the fans of Irish football.

But nothing really bothers me more then if someone says Notre Dame needs to get back to being an elite program because it's NOTRE DAME. Why don't people say the same things about Army? The USMA has a proud tradition of excellence in football, why don't they compete for national titles?

I know the comparison with Army is a bit of a stretch, but my point is, at the end of the day Notre Dame's tradition and past mean very little. Sure the storied tradition helps somewhat with recruiting and the large fan base with deep pockets boost the university's capabilities, but I just don't like the notion that Notre Dame has to be an elite program just because it's Notre Dame.

Make no bones about it, this has been a bitter pill to swallow for many Irish fans. We have a glorious tradition of football, but the playing field is so undeniably un-level and it is difficult for Notre Dame to compete against such stacked odds.

Sure it sounds great and makes one feel proud when we chastise the program, coaches, and other fans for accepting not just mediocrity, but really good football too, all because this is Notre Dame and it should not be happening.

We've witnessed a program, on its knees from lack of recruiting, climb out of that hole and become respectable again. It's very possible we could see this program go from 3 wins, to 7 wins, to 10 wins, but there will still be thousands of people claiming this is not good enough because this is NOTRE DAME. I don't like that perspective.

Which leads me to Charlie Weis and I agree that I don't think the problem is the head coach right now for Notre Dame. In fact, as time goes on I think we'll see that he's done a pretty impressive job of taking this program to the next level from its 1997-2004 darkness, although he may never get it to an elite level.

But again, does anyone really think another coach could bring Notre Dame to the level of USC right now? Even if we assume someone like Brian Kelly is a better college coach, that still leaves the Irish quite a distance from being elite, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

What Notre Dame desperately needs are a couple of Buck Nasty defensive linemen who can dominate the way they do at USC, LSU and Florida. But Notre Dame makes it all but impossible to recruit that stud DT from Long Beach, California with a 2.5 GPA, nor does this kid have any desire to go to Notre Dame. Brian Kelly, Jon Gruden, or any other coach won't change that fact.

Not only does Notre Dame need some Buck Nasty's on their defense, but they need to continually bring in a couple every single year if they want to be a truly elite team. Manti Te'o would be an example of the type of player Notre Dame would need. The Irish need about five or six more of him to be seriously discussed as an elite team.

Just think about it for a moment. The signing of Te'o was heralded as a momentous steal by Weis and Te'o has come in with deserved hype and expectations. But he's just one player. USC has been churning out Manti Te'o type players every season for the past decade.

How many current Notre Dame defensive players would start at USC? How many would even play at all over four years?

And I do think a lot of people are overly harsh of Weis because of his physical appearance and his demeanor which fuel a lot of the hate that is thrown his way. That and the dismissal of Tyrone Willingham.

I suspect if Jim Harbaugh had the exact same record as Weis at Notre Dame we'd be hearing, particularly from non-Irish fans, about how hard it is to win in South Bend and that Harbaugh was doing a great job of digging the program out of the days of Willingham.

As it is, Weis has done an excellent job of recruiting but he still has not been able to recruit dominant defensive players just like his predecessors could not stretching back to the mid 1990's. I’m not going to say that Weis is going to win a title in South Bend, but I think he is clearly bringing the program in the right direction.

There are two things I will stick fast to about Weis. First, he is one of the best offensive minds in all of football. Clearly this guy can score as evidenced by his complete obliteration of the Notre Dame record books over the past five years.

Secondly, I don’t blame Weis for the 2007 season as I still blame Willingham for that and I view it as an aberration of a season. Weis came in and won 19 games in his first two years and then didn’t just forget how to coach folks. Weis will lose that badly ever again at Notre Dame.

Charlie Weis’ winning percentage currently stands at .589 which is slightly better than his predecessors in Willingham and Davie. If Notre Dame is able to win the rest of their regular season games, Weis’ will move to a very respectable .629 winning percentage.

What’s more, if we take out the aberration of 2007 completely, Weis’ winning percentage is .681 which would have him scratching at the door of where other elite coaches are. Minus the 2007 season and plus six wins to close this season and Weis would be at top 12 winning percentage of .720 behind the likes of legends and legends to be Carroll, Paterno, Stoops, and Bowden.

Many will cry that I can’t remove 2007 because it still counts, which is true, but the reason I bring up these numbers is that Weis could very well be in to the .650 winning percentage range within a calendar year. That would put Charlie Weis at just about the same winning percentage as Frank Beamer’s career at Virginia Tech.

While some call Notre Dame a mid-major along the lines of Michigan State or Boston College, and others shout that Notre Dame must be an elite school, I think the Irish’s potential is somewhere along the lines of Frank Beamer’s Virginia Tech program.

Without the Buck Nasties continually prowling the field on defense for Notre Dame, as they do at USC and Florida, the Irish can never attain the level of success like the Gators and Trojans have over the past decade.

But that doesn’t mean Notre Dame cannot be successful. With the level of recruiting that Weis has been bringing in for a few years, the Irish can be very similar to Virginia Tech and go out and consistently win 10 games a season and try and run with the big boys every three or four years.

It’s time to stop complaining that Notre Dame isn’t an elite program anymore and put some things in perspective. Charlie Weis has done a great job recruiting and has this team’s stock rising. Two months from now we may be smiling at the renewed success in South Bend and another ten win season.