Eric Hansen

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Charlie Weis knew the peek at the Notre Dame football team that he gave to 30,286 curiosity-seekers April 19 at Notre Dame Stadium was closer to looking through a kaleidoscope than a microscope.

Bursts of reality -- most notably quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s zing on his passes, offensive MVP Robert Hughes’ relentless running style, safety Harrison’s Smith’s dazzling unveiling -- did poke through the mostly surreal scenarios. The end result, if you can call it that, was a 47-46 win for the Blue (offense), using a scoring format that further led to distortion.

Case in point, just two offensive touchdowns were scored, with the game-winner coming with 24 seconds left on a Clausen-to-Duval Kamara fourth-down pass that would have likely been overturned had instant replay been in effect.

Afterwards, the six honorary coaches -- former Irish players ranging for halfback Jim Morse (1950s) to running back Ryan Grant (2000s) -- more or less proclaimed the flaws of last year’s 3-9 thud had melted away, but Weis provided a more realistic context.

“I think that the jury's still out on that question,” he said when asked if he could deem the spring a success. “I think that right now the arrow's pointing up, but you have to see when August 7 and August 8 roll around. You've got to see how much carryover there is.

“If it stays level and then continues to grow from there, then you've got something special. If you start to see a leveling out or a drop-off of performance, then you've wasted a lot of time and you're starting over again.”

This is a part of Weis that didn’t get swept away in his much-publicized coaching makeover. And that’s a good thing. He may have had to learn a tough lesson about being too corporate and too true to his NFL roots last season, but keeping his foot on the gas, even when everything appears moving in the right direction on its own, has and will continue to serve him well.

The retooled schemes, the more-physical practices, the urgency in the weight room, the special teams revelations would all be limited without an attitude shift. That’s why Weis didn’t go overboard with shock and embarrassment over an on-field skirmish in the second-half of the Blue-Gold Game that, if the officials were really sticklers, could have resulted in perhaps the first ejections in a spring game anytime, anywhere.

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“There are games we played last year where our team came out and other teams are partying, having a good time, getting ready to go,” he said. “Our team's going out there like tin soldiers. For that, I'm the first guy to sit there and take the blame.

“So if you're trying to change the mentality and trying to get them to have some fun out there and trying for them to be that way, there's got to be some give and take. They have to know where the limits of that are. They have to know what your expectations of that are, so they don't do something foolish, and it ends up biting you.”

So where did the Irish show real improvement over the spring?

1. Beyond a more beneficially belligerent mood on the field, it starts with Clausen, who may be the most improved player on the team. Don’t let the 10-of-27 completion rate in the spring game fool you. The velocity, ball placement and ability to read defenses were real. What we’ll have to wait until fall to see is if the sophomore-to-be can make sound decisions and be as accurate when he’s facing a live rush.

2. The secondary is the strength of the team. It has everything – experience, depth, versatility and rising, young players like safety/linebacker hybrid Harrison Smith and corner Gary Gray. And senior safety David Bruton is the best player most of the nation has never heard of.

3. The Irish are more athletic at linebacker. Sophomore-to-be Brian Smith continues his ascent. The unit will get even stronger, faster and deeper in the fall with freshmen such as Steve Filer and Darius Fleming likely working into the mix.

4. The offensive line is more physical. The right side was especially impressive in the spring with rising juniors Sam Young and Chris Stewart making huge leaps in performance. It’s a unit that seems to play with more cohesion and confidence than last year, but again the real tests won’t happen until fall.

5. Corwin Brown still remains Weis’ top addition since arriving at Notre Dame – yes even more than Clausen. The second-year Irish defensive coordinator could have let ego or insecurity get in the way of Weis wanting to add former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta to the staff this winter. Instead Brown embraced it, and the collaboration they have come up with defensively could be the buzz of college football in the fall – if they can find some answers this fall on the defensive line. And don’t forget Brown’s ability to attract elite players in the defensive front seven was something Weis was unable to do on how own.

The arrival of Weis’ most celebrated recruiting class and the likely return of exiled regulars Pat Kuntz and Will Yeatman will change the look of this team further this fall –particularly at defensive line, tight end, wide receiver and linebacker.

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