The following is a partial excerpt from the Notre Dame spring football outlook. To view the complete outlook, please see the PDFs to the right.

New Notre Dame football coach Tyrone Willingham, fresh off seven seasons as head coach at Stanford, takes over an Irish program in 2002 that has played in bowl games three of the last five seasons, including a Bowl Championship Series appearance in the Fiesta Bowl in 2000.

It’s a program that has won nine games two of the last four years – and one that returns 14 starters (seven each on offense and defense, plus a placekicker and punter) and 46 letterwinners overall.

It’s a program that in ’02 features four returning offensive line starters (including all-star center Jeff Faine), all four returning regulars in the secondary (the Irish ranked 10th nationally in pass defense in ’01 at 176.64 yards per game) – plus its top groundgainer in veteran tailback Julius Jones and its incumbent quarterback in Carlyle Holiday. Also around are nine of the top 12 tacklers on a defense that ranked 14th nationally in ’01 in total defense and 22nd in scoring defense.

Junior quarterback Carlyle Holiday made things happen with his legs in 2001 as he rushed for 666 yards, second-most on the Irish team.

It’s a program that has benefited from an outstanding kicking game in recent years, led by a pair of returning all-star candidates in placekicker Nicholas Setta and punter Joey Hildbold.

On the other hand, Willingham hopes to improve a program that has lost six or more games in three of the last five seasons and has not won a bowl game since 1993. He inherits a team that struggled on offense in ’01 – based on averages of 101.55 passing yards per game (114th nationally and Notre Dame’s lowest figure since 1980) and 19.45 points per game (lowest at Notre Dame since 1982). Those figures compare with Stanford averages of 250.5 passing yards and 37.1 points per game in ’01 (the Cardinal ranked ninth nationally in scoring and 10th in total offense at 451.5).

He takes on an Irish roster that must restock its receiving corps following the loss of the only two players who caught more than nine passes in all of ’01 (David Givens and Javin Hunter) along with starting tight end John Owens.

In addition, his first Notre Dame team in 2002 faces a schedule that includes five opponents that finished in the final Associated Press poll for ’01 — #11 Maryland, #15 Florida State, #16 Stanford, #20 Michigan and #21 Boston College. The first six teams on the ’02 Irish agenda (and nine overall) played in bowl games last season.

Senior Julius Jones is only 178 yards away from overtaking Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and becoming Notre Dame’s all-time leading kick returner. He has 1,435 return yards in his career.

That’s the challenge facing Willingham, who brings 25 years of collegiate and professional coaching experience with him to Notre Dame. With him from Stanford have come six Cardinal assistants – including offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick and defensive coordinator Kent Baer. They’ll throw new offensive and defensive packages into the mix as the Irish begin by hoping to improve on their 5-6 mark from 2001. That record came against a schedule rated 22nd nationally in difficulty – with the ’01 Irish agenda including nine regular-season opponents (most in the country) that ultimately played in bowl games.

Notre Dame’s new head coach wants to wait until spring workouts commence to pass judgment on the Irish personnel, but he doesn’t hesitate to emphasize the importance of the quarterback’s role in the offense.

“It’s premature to try to evaluate our personnel right now. It’s difficult to talk about players until we get out there with them. We need to get into spring practice and be able to see people actually do things on the field,” he says.

“But every system around right now hinges on the quarterback. We need to see where our quarterbacks are. It’s nice to have seen these individuals on film from last year as we prepared (to play Notre Dame), but it’s a whole different ballgame to be working with them up close, working with them in terms of mechanics and fundamentals.

Senior flanker Arnaz Battle is ready to have a breakout season after a fractured fibula limited his play in 2001.

“I think it’s best for us to feel like we’re starting from scratch. I say that from a teaching standpoint because it means we will not leave any gaps in our instruction. At some stages we can cover some of these gaps more quickly because of the experience level at certain positions. But we have to start at a level and cover things without assuming anything. We want to feel confident that we’ve covered everything our young men need to be successful. There will be some carryover, but it’s a different system and there are different coaches presenting it.”

Willingham’s basic philosophy is simple – do what it takes to win:

“From the standpoint of offense, defense, special teams, whatever it is, our one goal and focus is to win. What are the ingredients that will lead us to win in these areas? On offense, a balanced attack is the most successful approach we can have and it’s the most difficult style to stop. So we want to have a balanced attack – that is number one for us. Miami won the national championship last year with both dimensions, both the run and the passing game, available to them and it made it difficult for opponents to stop them. That’s what we want to be. For us to do that, our quarterbacks have to understand the speed of the game. We as coaches make calls – but our quarterbacks have to have the skills and adeptness to get us into the right play. Their ability to do that is critical. At that point we factor in their skill level.

“So that’s what we are looking for as we start to put this offense into gear. Then you have to have all the other ingredients – an offensive line that understands the adjustments and changes and the full scope of the game. They have to be active mentally to understand the adjustments and changes and to be able to anticipate those. Once we have all the communication down and are able to apply it, then we can examine the players’ ability to handle both the mental and physical aspects, then we start to get an understanding of what it takes in our offensive system to be successful.”

Senior Gary Godsey looks to assume the starting tight end position after the graduation of 2001 starter John Owens. Godsey, who switched from quarterback to tight end last season, had two receptions for 50 yards against Navy in ’01.

Willingham has three thoughts when it comes to springtime goals:

“We’ve got to get our young men comfortable with our language. Second, how do we get our football team to be confident, to walk with that swagger, to feel like we can go out and defeat any opponent at any time, at any place – yet at the same time have the proper respect for our opponents? If we can achieve those first two things, then identify our best players and the best spots for those players, those three things will be great accomplishments coming out of the spring.

“I’ve seen little signs that tell me we’re going in the right direction, but it’s still very early.”

Most notably missing offensively from a year ago figure to be tailback Tony Fisher (he finished 17th on Note Dame’s all-time rushing list with 1,849 yards), the top two Irish pass-catchers from ’01 (Hunter with 37 grabs for 387 yards and Givens with 33 for 317), plus starters Kurt Vollers (25 career starts) at tackle and Owens at tight end. Major defensive losses include ’01 MVP Anthony Weaver (a second-team All-American by ABC Sports Online, 43 career starts, 59 tackles in ’01, team-high 7 sacks, team-high 21 tackles for loss) and five-time letterwinner Grant Irons (26 career starts) at end, plus starters Tyreo Harrison (leading Irish tackler in ’01 with 97, most by an Irish player since 1998) at inside linebacker and Rocky Boiman (22 career starts, 41 tackles in ’01, 10 for loss) at outside linebacker.

Though Holiday (73 for 144 passing in ’01 for 784 yards, with 7 ints., 3 TDs, second-leading rusher with 156 carries for 666 yards, 2 TDs) returns after starting the last nine games for Notre Dame in ’01, he and fellow juniors Matt LoVecchio (34 for 69 for 287, 4 ints., 1 TD in ’01 after winning his first seven starts as a rookie) and Jared Clark (he played in one game in ’01) all figure to compete again for the starting quarterback job. One of the enduring questions for the Irish will be which of the three fits best into the offense philosophy Willingham integrates at Notre Dame.

Senior Nicholas Setta was one of the nation’s best placekickers in 2001 as he missed only two field goals all season and was a perfect 23 of 23 in extra points. A Lou Groza Award nominee, Setta has converted 55 straight PATs and has made a field goal in 13 consecutive games.

Jones (168 carries for 718 yards, 6 TDs) heads up a tailback corps that also includes sophomore letterwinner Ryan Grant (29 for 110, 1 TD) and senior Chris Yura (a three-time letterwinner, mainly on special teams). If Jones matches his ’01 rushing yardage total in ’02 he would finish fifth on Notre Dame’s all-time groundgaining list (he currently has 1,750).

The fullback roll includes veteran seniors Tom Lopienski (17 career starts, 10 for 63 rushing in ’01, with 130 special-team appearances) and Mike McNair (5 for 15). Additional help could come from sophomore tailbacks Cory Jones, Marcus Wilson or Rashon Powers-Neal, none of whom played as freshmen.

The Irish running game should benefit from the return of four first-teamers up front in Faine (23 straight starts, led team in playing time in ’01) at center, seniors Jordan Black (32 career starts – switched from left tackle to right guard midway through ’01) and Sean Mahan (started all 11 in ’01) at guard and Brennan Curtin (started 6 games in ’01) at tackle. Additional experience returns in the form of seniors Ryan Scarola (41 special-team appearances in ’01) and Sean Milligan (started 5 games at right guard in ’01).

Other names at the line spots include senior letterwinner Ryan Gillis (41 special-team appearances) and sophomore Darin Mitchell at guard (DNP in ’01), senior Jim Molinaro (5 games in ’01) and sophomores Mark LeVoir (DNP) and Dan Stevenson (DNP) at tackle – plus sophomore Zach Giles (DNP) at center.

Senior Donald Dykes is one of four returning starters in the Irish secondary in ’02. Last year, Dykes finished fourth on the team in tackles with 48 and recovered two fumbles.

The receiving corps must be re-tooled, with experience at a premium at those three slots. The only returning letttermen at the wide receiver spots are veteran senior Arnaz Battle (5 catches for 40 yards), whose broken fibula early in ’01 limited his contributions, junior Lorenzo Crawford (2 starts in 8 appearances in ’01) and sophomore Omar Jenkins (7 for 111, 1 TD). Senior Gary Godsey (2 for 50) is the most experienced of the tight end candidates.

Also earning long looks in the battle for playing time will be junior Ronnie Rodamer (1 for 7) and sophomores Matt Shelton (DNP) and Carlos Campbell (1 for 32) at wide receiver – to go with junior Billy Palmer (played in one game in ’01) and sophomore Matt Root (DNP) at tight end.

The Irish kicking game definitely will be a strong point, thanks to the return of Setta and Hildbold (ranked 35th nationally in ’01 at 42.23 yards per punt). Setta connected on 15 of 17 field-goal attempts, led the team in scoring, was eight for eight on field goals from 40 or more yards, has made 55 straight PAT attempts, holds the Notre Dame record with at least one field goal in 13 straight games and ranked 17th nationally in field goals in ’01 at 1.36 per game. They join veteran snapper John Crowther and kick returners Jones (ranked 39th on punt returns on 18 for 192 for 10.7-yard average, 18 kickoff returns for 405 yards and 22.5 average) and Vontez Duff (12 punts for 358, 1 TD, 29.8 average). Jones needs 179 kickoff returns yards to pass former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and become Notre Dame’s career leader in that category.

On the defensive side, look for senior tackle Darrell Campbell (26 tackles, 7 for loss, 3 sacks) and senior nose guard Cedric Hilliard (started last 5 games, 27 tackles, 8 for loss, 2 sacks) to anchor the middle of the line, along with junior Kyle Budinscak (2 starts, 13 tackles). Veteran Ryan Roberts (13 career starts, 20 tackles in ’01, 4 for loss, 3 sacks) is the lone returnee with any experience at the end positions.

More assistance could come from juniors Jason Sapp (DNP in ’01) and Greg Pauly (played briefly in one game in ’01 coming off a rookie season missed due to injury) and sophomores Brian Beidatsch (DNP) and Jeff Thompson (DNP).

Senior Courtney Watson (76 tackles, 13 for loss, 2 sacks) ranks as the leading returning tackler from a year ago after starting all 11 games at inside linebacker. Leading candidates for the slot vacated by the graduated Harrison at the other inside position are senior Carlos Pierre-Antoine (6 tackles) and junior Mike Goolsby (4 tackles, 115 special-team appearances). Junior Derek Curry (2 tackles, 49 special-team appearances) is the most experienced of the outside linebacker candidates.

Other letterwinners on board are special-team standout Chad DeBolt (73 special-team appearances) and senior Pat Ryan (played 3 games in ’01). Also on the linebacker roster are senior Justin Thomas (4 games in ’01) and sophomores Corey Mays (DNP) and Brandon Hoyte (DNP) inside, as well as junior Jerome Collins (32 special-team appearances) and sophomore Justin Tuck (DNP) outside.

Senior Shane Walton is one of 22 returning players on an Irish defense which ranked 10th in pass defense, 14th in total defense and 22nd nationally in scoring defense in ’01.

The defensive backfield ranks as the potential strong point of the defense, with all four starters back in cornerbacks Shane Walton (11 starts in ’01, 43 tackles, 7 for loss, team-high 8 passes broken up, 2 ints.) and Duff (started last 8 in ’01, 25 tackles, team-high 3 ints., 6 passes broken up, 131 special-team appearances) and safeties Donald Dykes (8 starts, 48 tackles, 2 for loss) and Gerome Sapp (36 tackles). They’ll have plenty of help from senior Jason Beckstrom (2 starts, 13 tackles), juniors Garron Bible (4 tackles, 105 special-team appearances) and Preston Jackson (3 tackles, 135 special-team appearances) and freshman Dwight Ellick (122 special-team appearances) at corner – along with senior Glenn Earl (3 starts, 33 tackles, 4 for loss, 2 sacks) and junior Abram Elam (29 tackles, 2 ints., 5 passes broken up, 160 special-team appearances) at safety.

Also in the mix in the secondary are second-year men Lionel Bolen (DNP) and Quentin Burrell (48 special-team appearances).

Matthew Sarb (59 special-team appearances) is another letterwinning returnee to the special-team units.

Among the fifth-year candidates for the Irish in ’02 are Mahan, Scarola, Black, Crowther, Battle, Lopienski and McNair on offense – along with Roberts, Pierre-Antoine, DeBolt, Walton, Dykes and Sarb on defense.

Notre Dame’s 2002 schedule opens Aug. 31 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., with a first-ever meeting with defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Maryland in Kickoff Classic XX.

New names on the ’02 slate compared to a year ago include Michigan (after a two-year series break that allowed the Irish to play Nebraska), Air Force (first trip to Colorado Springs since ’95 – last two meetings have gone to overtime), Florida State (Notre Dame’s first appearance in Tallahassee) and Rutgers (only other Knights’ appearance in South Bend came in final home game of Lou Holtz era).