Welcome back to another edition of Subway Domer’s Wu Am I?series. This is a look at who the 36 players of impact are on this Notre Dame Football team for 2010. If you have missed some of the previous Wu Am I? posts from 2010, please check out: Chambers 1&2, Chambers 3&4, Chambers 5&6, Chambers 7&8, Chambers 9&10, Chambers 11&12, Chambers 13&14, Chambers 15&16, Chambers 17&18, Chambers 19&20 and Chambers 21&22.
Let’s keep this bitch rolling as we open Chambers 23 & 24…
Cierre Wood #20
Running Back
6’0″ 210 lbs.
Sophomore (RS)
Oxnard, California
Wu Name: Darnell Jefferson
Cierre Wood was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation for the incoming class of 2009. He was an electrifying running back and return man while in high school, but was considered by many to be a better safety prospect at the college level. Charlie Weis and Brian Polian assured Wood that he would be a running back at Notre Dame. Wood committed to the Fighting Irish during the Blue-Gold Game weekend. I had the pleasure of meeting Cierre, along with Jake Golic, during that weekend, and I was impressed with the way that Wood carried himself among the Irish faithful that swarmed around him that day. I couldn’t help but notice how proud he looked as he sat in the stands with, who I presume was his mother. Wood took a redshirt during his freshman year as he sat behind Allen, Hughes, Gray, and fellow freshman Theo Riddick.
One of the first player names to be mentioned by Brian Kelly after he took the Notre Dame job was Cierre Wood. He looked as if he was foaming at the mouth to get a hold of Wood. After wide speculation that Cierre could be moving to safety in the spring because of a perceived need at the position, the notion was squashed rather quickly. Kelly moved Riddick to play slot receiver, and while that was a bold move and signaled Wood’s arrival, it still wasn’t enough to convince some that Wood was staying put. After all, he was still battling Allen, Hughes, and Gray. His spring game performance was enough to raise a few eyebrows as he rushed for 110 yards on 10 carries and 2 touchdowns. Hopefully the Spring Game Curse doesn’t weigh Wood down in 2010. He will try to position put himself in a position to get a fair amount of carries in summer/fall camp, and something tells me that he will make an impact running and returning the ball. (BTW- Doesn’t he look like Darnell Jefferson in uniform? Duh… hence the name.)
Jamoris Slaughter #26
Safety
Junior (RS)
6’0″ 195 lbs.
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Wu Name: Tha Vendetta Vandal
Jamoris Slaughter is one of those kids that I really like while getting recruited. First of all he took my number once he got to ND (#26) so he is already a bad ass in my book. But, back to recruiting… Slaughter was a 4 star defensive back prospect from the state of Georgia that had the capability of playing either safety or corner and had offers from all over the SEC and ACC. Instead of playing close to home, Jamoris committed to the Irish in June of 2007 and became a part of what ended up being the number 1 recruiting class in the country that year. He redshirted his freshman year, and as a sophomore he saw time at both corner and safety as well as being a vital part of the special teams units.
One of the biggest question marks heading into the 2010 season for Notre Dame was at safety. Who was going to step up and take control of the starting role? With the depth chart fairly thin at safety because of recruiting misses for the past 3 years, it didn’t take long for Slaughter to start and cement a role as one of the two safeties in the defensive backfield. That raises new questions, such as: can he hold off guys like Zeke Motta and Dan McCarthy? Can Jamoris play physically, like a good safety should? Can he handle the pressure of being a fulltime starter? Obviously, or maybe it isn’t, I think that he can, and in addition I think he will be able to provide an athletic, ball-hawking option that we have just not had in a few years.
