Oct. 25, 2000

Following tonight’s practice, head coach Bob Davie was asked to reflect on a player that has been with the program for 4 years already.

B.J. Scott, a fifth year senior, returned to the defense this year following a stint at center on offense last year.

“I think that B.J. Scott is a great story,” Davie said. “Here is a guy who went to the offense last year to play back up center, while never really playing any games.”

“He came back for a fifth year just because he really likes this football team, he loves Notre Dame, and he wanted to help any way he could.”

Davie went on to say that Scott plays more than one role on this football team.

“We brought him back mostly because of his attitude and because of his work ethic,” Davie said. “We thought he was a guy that could mentor the young players like Darrell Campbell and Cedric Hilliard.”

“He is a productive guy,” Davie said. “He is not a real play making type guy, but he is a good solid player.”

BACKUP QUARTERBACK NOW ISSUE

When starting quarterback Arnaz Battle was found to be lost for the season following the Nebraska game, the speculation of who would lead the Notre Dame offense was a hot topic.

With Matt LoVecchio taking the helm and looking comfortable, questions of who will be his backup have begun to pop up.

“We are going to wait until next week,” Davie said. “I have had a lot of discussions with Gary [Godsey] and we are on the same page.”

“He is the quarterback this week and we will evaluate that whole situation next week when we have a little more time.”

AIR FORCE OFFENSE DIVERSIFIED

Notre Dame has already faced a wishbone offense that did not give them much trouble.

Coach Davie has stressed, however, that this will not be the case with the wishbone offense Air Force brings to town on Saturday.

“They are a little more diversified then they were in 1996,” Davie said. “They are probably 95 to 98 percent running out of the wishbone.”

“The thing they do different now is they throw the ball at a very proficient level,” Davie said. “The quarterback is very accurate, they have a sophisticated passing attack, and they run the boot and waggle pass.”

“But when they run the football they are still an option style offense similar to Navy.”