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FIRST & GOAL
The Red & Black | Friday, September i, 2006 | 7B
Brady Quinn prepared to take on Georgia Tech
Fighting Irish
play Jackets
in Atlanta
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Sports
SOUTH BEND, Ind. —
Darius Walker stood among a
dozen reporters gathered
around Notre Dame quarter
back Brady Quinn sitting at a
table answering questions.
Quinn didn’t notice Walker
until he joined the question
ing.
“Hey Brady, how often do
you have to audible out of a
running play?” Walker asked.
“And why would you do
that?”
Quinn, finally spotting his
tailback off to his right,
laughed.
“That’s a tough question,
because I’ve got a great run
ning back and he’s obviously
very skilled with the ball.
But sometimes the receivers
need some love, too,” Quinn
said.
So far, though, it might be
Walker who may be the most
in need of some love.
Quinn has been featured
on magazine covers and wide
receiver Jeff Samardzija and
safety Tom Zbikowski stole
headlines this summer as
two-sport athletes for the No.
2 Fighting Irish.
But Walker has been large
ly overlooked — at least by
many in the media — heading
into this season. Walker isn’t
expecting a similar response
from opposing defenses.
“With defenses, most of
the time the main goal is to
stop the run, so they never
forget about No. 3 in the
backfield,” Walker said. “I
wish they would.”
It’s hard to forget about a
back who rushed for 1,196
yards last season, the sixth
best total in school history.
With 1,982 yards rushing
through two seasons, the
junior is on pace to challenge
the school record of 4,318
career rushing yards by
Autry Denson from 1995-98.
His average of 86.2 yards a
game rushing puts him
fourth on Notre Dame’s
career list.
The reason Walker might
get overlooked a bit by some
is that at 5-11, 205 pounds, he
doesn’t run over a lot of
defenders. He also doesn’t
have breakaway speed. His
longest run was for 40 yards
against Pittsburgh in 2004
and his longest TD run was
for 20 yards against Ohio
State in the Fiesta Bowl. But
he churns out yards steadily.
Coach Charlie Weis said
the key to Walker’s success is
his ability to read defenses
and find holes. He also likes
Walker’s desire to fix his
weaknesses, citing his work
on picking up blitzes.
“Last year at this time I
didn’t know if he would pick
up the blitz or not. This year I
would have total confidence
that he would pick up the
blitz,” Weis said.
Walker should get some
chances Saturday to display
that skill against a Georgia
Tech squad the likes to
blitz. In a 14-10 upset of then-
No. 3 Miami last season,
Georgia Tech blitzed on near
ly every play and had seven
sacks and held the
Hurricanes to 30 yards run
ning on 30 carries.
“They’re very physical,”
Walker said.
“Their linebackers and
their secondary like to blitz
a lot, so we’re definitely going
to have our hands full.”
Walker, who played his
high school football in
Lawrenceville, Ga., about 25
miles east of Atlanta, has his
own hands full trying to get
enough tickets for family and
friends. He estimates he has
250 people who want to go to
the game and just 35 tickets
so far.
“I guess going home peo
ple are expecting a show,”
Walker said.
Walker is known for put
ting on a show, leading
Buford High to 45 straight
victories and scoring 46
touchdowns as a senior,
breaking the state record of
Herschel Walker, who is no
relation. Darius Walker was
recruited by both Georgia
Tech and Georgia, but want
ed to go elsewhere.
“I guess in a way a lot of
my teammates and a lot of
people that I know in Georgia
usually stay in Georgia. So for
me, I wanted to venture out
and do something different,”
he said.
Not too different, though.
His parents moved with him
to South Bend. While that
might not sound too appeal
ing to some college students,
Walker appreciates the sup
port.
“Their coming here with
me has just been great. I
don’t get Mom-sick, I don’t
miss any of the home-cooked
meals. I kind of have the best
of both worlds with every
thing,” he said.
Well, almost everything.
He’s still hoping for more
another 215 tickets to the
game and a win on Saturday.
JOE RAYMOND | Associated Press
A Junior Darius Walker, who prepped at Buford High School, rushes during a Notre
Dame game last season. He’s averaged 4.5 yards per carry over his first two seasons.
TOP 25
ASSOCIATED PRESS
USA TODAY
1. Ohio State (35)
1. Ohio State (28)
2. Notre Dame (10)
2. Texas (11)
3. Texas (8)
3. Notre Dame (9)
4. Auburn (3)
3. USC(1)
5. West Virginia (6)
5. Oklahoma (13)
6. USC (3)
6. Auburn (1)
7. Florida
7. West Virginia
8. LSU
8. Florida
9. California
9. LSU
10. Oklahoma
10. Florida State
11. Florida State
11. Miami (FL)
12. Miami (FL)
12. California
13. Louisville
13. Louisville
14. Michigan
14. Georgia
15. Georgia
15. Michigan
16. Iowa
16. Virginia Tech
17. Virginia Tech
17. Iowa
18. Clemson
18. Clemson
19. Penn State
19. Penn State
20. Nebraska
20. Oregon
21. Oregon
21. TCU
22. TCU
22. Nebraska
23. Tennessee
23. Tennessee
24. Arizona State
24. Alabama
25. Texas Tech
25. Texas Tech
- Numbers in parentheses signifies the number of first place votes
the team received.
— compiled by Katy De Luca
Bulldogs, Irish, Bears will devour opponents
>- California at Tennessee
(-2)
(Sat., 5:30 p.m., ESPN)
The ninth-ranked Golden
Bears roll into Knoxville to
open the season against the
23rd-ranked Volunteers.
Cal comes into this season
with its highest preseason
ranking in 54 years, despite
uncertainty at the quarter
back position for most of the
summer.
Sophomore Nate
Longshore beat out junior
Joe Ayoob for the job under
center after missing the 2005
season with a broken ankle.
The Vols are coming off
their worst season in two
decades and need a strong
performance against the
Golden Bears to show they’re
on the way back to being
contenders.
It should be a close game,
but it will be dominated by
Cal tailback Marshawn
Lynch, the best runner west
of Oklahoma’s Adrian
Peterson.
Prediction: California 27,
Tennessee 17
>• Notre Dame ( + 7.5) at
Georgia Tech
(Sat., 8 p.m., ABC)
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Phillip Kisubika
pkisubika@randb.com
A
The game many Georgia
fans will watch after Western
Kentucky will probably be
this one.
The second-ranked
Fighting Irish travel to
Atlanta to play the Yellow
Jackets in the George
O’Leary Bowl (Google his
name if you don’t get the
allusion).
The Irish are one of the
preseason favorites to win
the national championship,
and since they don’t play in a
conference like normal
teams, every game counts.
The Jackets, led by
uneven quarterback Reggie
Ball and All-World receiver
Calvin Johnson, will have to
play the game of their lives to
beat Notre Dame.
As my editor said, “If
Georgia Tech wins, wings will
sprout from my (rear) and I’ll
fly.”
Prediction: Notre Dame
42, Georgia Tech 21
>- Florida State at Miami (-4)
(Mon., 8 p.m., ESPN)
Another Seminole -
Hurricane game means
another possible game post
ponement because of an
actual hurricane.
This year, the llth-ranked
Seminoles and 12th-ranked
Hurricanes find themselves
in unfamiliar territory — out
of the preseason top 10.
Though both teams
return without a lot of stars,
both Miami and FSU return
experienced backflelds that
will light up the scoreboard.
Miami has more talent,
but with all the recent sus
pensions, FSU will have
enough to keep it close.
Prediction: Miami 24,
Florida State 21
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For additional information, contact the ACC
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>- Western Kentucky at
Georgia
(Sat., 12:30 p.m., WATL)
If you didn’t know, the
15th-ranked Bulldogs’ opener
is on Saturday, and they’re
playing a Division 1-AA team.
Don’t expect to see
Georgia’s best performance,
but expect to see a whole lot
of players, as the score will
allow a lot of substitutions.
Am I being too confident?
Probably.
Will this be a blowout?
Definitely.
Let me put it this way: If
they lose, I’ll be taking offers
for the rest of my tickets for
the season. They won”t be
worth much.
Prediction: Georgia 48,
Western Kentucky 13
— Phillip Kisubika is a
football writer for the
Red & Black.
^°° D ST 40/,.
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