Oh, my, god… the Wu Am I series on Subway Domer is coming back for a 3rd year. A fad? I think not. The popular player profile series dates back to the 2008 preseason and has become one of my favorite things to post on the site during the offseason.
Basically, I am not big on depth charts- or the starting 24 for that matter (kickers and punters count). What I am trying to do, is find the top 36 players of impact on the Notre Dame Football roster. In the modern era of college and professional football, more and more role players are being created, and just because a guy may only see 10-11 plays a game, does not mean that he can’t help a team win- or lose. Who will make the difference great and small to winning and losing? Who dammit?!!! Along the way, these guys get a nice little name to go with their new found glory on this powerful website.And, oh yeah, it wouldn’t be complete without a Wu video just for you.
Let’s get started…
Dayne Crist #10
Quarterback
6’4″ 235 lbs
Junior (RS)
Canoga Park, CA.
Wu Name: Iron-Arm Slug Smasha
Notre Dame was on a roll when Dayne Crist committed to the Irish in spring of 2007. The “future” of Fighting Irish Football was unveiled in the form of Jimmy Clausen. Weis had himself two 5 star quarterbacks from California in consecutive recruiting classes.Crist showed himself to be a player of true character as he watched Notre Dame struggle mightily in 2007 and never wavered as a commitment to the Irish. In fact, Dayne helped in molding the recruiting class into the #2 class in the country according to Rivals.com
Dayne is the first player mentioned in the 2010 Wu Am I series for a reason.Crist is the lone quarterback on the roster in 2010 with ANY playing time from 2009. He will have all eyes on him as he could be known as “Crist the Redeemer.” After suffering a major knee injury in the Washington State game, Dayne has rehabbed his knee very well and participated in spring ball. I can’t tell you how important that was with a new coach and a new offense in place for 2010. The offense will go as far as Dayne will lead them- and lead them, he will.
Ian Williams #95
Nose Tackle
6’2″ 301 lbs.
Senior
Altamonte Springs, Florida
Wu Name: Thunderous Wizard
With the offensive weapons of the 2007 class, Ian Williams may have been overlooked a little bit. It’s not common for a big defensive lineman from the state of Florida to turn down the Gators and a host of SEC schools to attend Notre Dame- but that’s exactly what Ian ended up doing. Ian earned 2nd team Freshman All-American honors behind Gerald McCoy ( who was technically a sophomore) while having more tackles then the Oklahoma player. Ian saw a drop in production his sophomore year as he became a fulltime starter, but started to really come on as a beast in 2009.
As Notre Dame switches back to a 3-4 base defense, Ian fits well into the plan. His powerfully stocky frame becomes the anchor for which the entire defense can revolve around. In a lot of ways, Ian reminds me a little bit of Trevor Laws. He his deceptively quick for his size and has a knack of batting down balls at the line of scrimmage. Make no mistake about it, if Notre Dame expects to make big improvements on the defensive side of the ball, they need Ian Williams to step up and become the “main motherfucka.” There is depth behind Williams, but no one with any real experience. Ian will, more then likely, have to carry the load. He can handle it.
