Aug. 7, 2013
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MARION, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame football team returned to the field Tuesday for its second practice of the 2013 season. The Irish conducted a workout in helmets under overcast, yet extremely pleasant conditions at the Shiloh Park Camp Retreat and Conference Center.
The team opened the day with a 7 a.m. wakeup call for breakfast. The menu was pretty standard (bacon, French toast, eggs, grits). The training room (pre-preactice taping) was then besieged with players for 45 minutes (7:15 to 8 a.m.).
Notre Dame tight ends/special teams coordinator Scott Booker rounded up an Irish special teams unit at 8:15 a.m. for the first meeting/walk thru of the day. Booker’s crew met for about 45 minutes before the players split up into their offense/defense position meetings.
The specific position meetings lasted for an hour before Notre Dame took the field. The offense was first to the field and went through a brief walk thru.
Practice got underway right around 10:30 a.m. and lasted just over two hours. The Irish went through 24 periods for the second straight day, again without pads per NCAA rules.
After lunch, two groups (about 20 players in each group) gathered at the base of the rock-climbing wall. In addition to the wall, the groups rode a zip line, swing and took the leap of faith.
Sophomore safety Chris Badger was the first player to attempt and successful climb the wall. Senior inside linebacker Dan Fox, senior offensive tackle>Zack Martin, freshman cornerback Cole Luke, junior cornerback Josh Atkinson, freshman wide receiver Corey Robinson, senior defensive lineman Kona Schwenke, senior inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese, sophomore long snapper Scott Daly, senior quarterback Charlie Fiessinger, senior wide receiver TJ Jones, senior safety Ernie Soto and sophomore wide receiver Chris Brown also reached the top. Martin (308) and Schwenke (303) both accomplished the feat on the 35-foot wall despite each tipping the scales over 300 pounds.
The 450-foot zip line was the enjoyable ride down from the wall.
A smaller group of players took the leap of faith challenge. Sophomore DL Jarron Jones was the first to give it a try. After climbing a pole, Jones eventually found himself on a plank that stood about 30-feet off the ground. He then was required to jump off the ledge and reach for another rope dangling about six to eight feet from the plank. Jones’ success offered encouragement for a number of players to follow, including Calabrese, Daly, Schwenke, junior inside linebacker Jarrett Grace, junior running back George Atkinson III and others.
The players then returned to their respective dorms. Many took advantage of the down time for rest and relaxation with a game of cards. Some even did a little fishing before hour-long position meetings took center stage at 5 p.m.
The dinner menu featured burgers, chicken brats and sea bass. One more set of position meetings at 6:45 p.m. ended the day’s itinerary.
Notre Dame returns to the practice field Wednesday for session three of training camp. The Irish will be in pads (half rack) for the first time this fall.