Next is now: Eifert

"Next man in" is a BK hallmark, but strength coach Paul Longo noted in early 2008 that his previous two editions "started the same 22 guys at the beginning and end of the year."

The two ideas work together in the Kelly-Longo model: preferred first-string continuity means injury prevention, and substitutes keep starters fresh and healthy in a system that disregards time of possession.

Kelly, Molnar, and Martin all mentioned the philosophy this month, and Shaq Evans made it clear that the players get the message: "The motto is "next man in." That's our motto and that's what we live by."

Another string of lingering injuries surfaced during Thursday's media availability, but the "next man" making the most good on his chance is Tyler Eifert, the sophomore TE who wasn't in the two-deep two weeks ago. He's played well enough that Kelly opened the door on multiple TE sets in the spread.

Kelly said Eifert is "as good as I've coached" at tight end, except Rudolph because "I really haven't coached Rudolph yet," he admitted.

Eifert not only gives ND the "next man" to start if Rudolph's hamstring doesn't heal quickly but a great practice option so that Rudolph and Ragone aren't rushed back too soon out of necessity.

A seeming paradox, Eifert is playing well enough to help his cause for PT and also well enough to hurt his chance to start because he's made it easier to rest the starter whom ND prefers.

Eifert exemplifies the "next man in" brand of functional depth that spreads playing time to minimize injury while preserving assets like Rudolph as long-term starters.

Film Review: Eilar Hardy

New four-star safety commit Eilar Hardy will probably play cornerback at Notre Dame, according to the South Bend Tribune. Hardy lined up at corner occasionally in sophomore clips but played safety, usually in the box, in his junior highlights from Scouting Ohio. He is more of a sure tackler than a big hitter, and he needs to add muscle to his frame. His strength is run support as he disrupted the line of scrimmage and flourished in the open-field tackling situations in which many current ND defenders have failed.

Hardy succeeded in the limited film in which he had pass coverage responsibilities. While safety is a huge concern for the 2010 season, ND will also need cornerbacks by the time he arrives. Hardy fits the new staff’s demand for tall corners, but he must spend time on the Longo Plan to help get his weight up to par. His excellent tackling fundamentals, which would have been the envy of many ND linebackers a year ago, increase his chance of playing early at either corner or free safety.

From Lange to Longo

Editor's note: Irish Creed completed the following story on Saturday, June 19, and planned to publish it at a later date. It was researched and composed entirely independent of Pat Forde's article today that focuses on Paul Longo with a reference to Father Lange.



Top-notch strength and conditioning has returned to Notre Dame football.

Brian Kelly brought ‘third coordinator’ and strength guru Paul Longo to ND for their seventh season together. Longo’s intensity and ingenuity connect him to Rev. Bernard H.B. Lange, C.S.C., a former de facto Irish football strength coach from Rockne to Parseghian. Their similarities—uncommon exercises, ultra intensity, extreme demonstrations of mental and physical strength—surpass differences in training methods that have naturally accrued over time.

East Prussian-born Lange, the strongman-priest, operated a Brownson Hall weight room for all ND students during the mid-twentieth century. Although Lange lacked the sort of title that Longo carries, weightlifting expert John Wood said Lange became Notre Dame’s “secret weapon” after beginning work with the football team in 1922. Mike Burgener, class of 1968 and a member of the ’66 title team, said “the biggest reason for me choosing to go to Notre Dame was because of Father Lange.”

While Longo has probably not been a deciding factor on a specific ND recruit to this point, new running backs coach Tim Hinton says if a prospect “has X amount of talent, I guarantee you coach Longo will make that an X-plus.” With Longo, Kelly is 42-1 when entering the fourth quarter with the lead.

Lange pioneered unusual exercises, a trait that lives on in Longo. The “ingenious leg press device designed and built by Father Lange” was a staple of his workouts. Longo is likewise inventive with his physical constructions such as the 80-yard training sand pit called Longo Beach and counterpart uphill pitch nicknamed Mt. Longo. According to ESPN’s Brian Bennett, “Longo has been known to ask his guys to lift unusual items like tires and perform what's called a Farmer's Walk, where you walk while carrying a heavy object in each hand.”

Longo is a modern match for Lange’s intensity. Former ND baseball player Kent Durso said “Father Lange ran the gym the way Bismarck ran Europe.” Ed Fitzpatrick, class of ‘69, recalled another exchange: “…in 1927 he was considered the 4th strongest man in the world and held the world record for the bench press at 407 pounds for 7 reps. I asked him why 7 reps. He said he was trying for 10 but started to laugh for some reason and had to stop.” Spring 2010 workouts induced more than one ND player to lose his lunch. Longo’s reaction? “I don’t even blink.”

Longo’s mental toughness offering, Camp Kelly, teaches players to “operate when you are extremely uncomfortable,” such as its first two ND installments at 5:00 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day and the first day of spring break. Lange spread mental toughness to players by example, or at least via the memory of one of his own stunts as a student. After climbing atop the Dome and placing “his right arm around Our Lady,” Lange led police on “a frantic chase through St. Ed's Hall and down to St. Mary's Lake, where he made good his escape by swimming under the ice to the far shore, where he broke from the lake headfirst and disappeared into the woods,” according to 1970 graduate Dr. Paul G. Gill, Jr., M.D., and later told in Jim Dent’s Resurrection: The Miracle Season that Saved Notre Dame.

Today, the Rockne Memorial weight room is named for Lange. Longo doesn’t work with non-varsity athletes, but he is now part of ND’s strength and conditioning tradition that Lange built. Although today’s methods seem tame compared to the most legendary weightlifting priest of all time, Longo has the same intensity and ingenuity to do Lange—and Notre Dame—proud.