SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As one observer put it Saturday: If the handling or mishandling of wet footballs was to determine Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, the Irish were going to have things settled mere hours after their first practice.
A downpour greeted Notre Dame as it took the field for the first official practice of 2011, but the work carried on, with the expected shuffling of quarterbacks on the first- and second-team offenses during the media’s viewing window Saturday.
Dayne Crist took the first snaps under center with the first-unit offense during the Irish’s “tempo” drill, with Tommy Rees then jumping in after a handful of reps. Likewise, Andrew Hendrix worked first with the second-team offense and gave way to freshman Everett Golson to finish the session.
No real surprises otherwise in the initial Irish lineup. Michael Floyd worked with the first offense, and Andrew Nuss took the first-team reps at left guard — the only offensive line spot in any real flux this August.
On the defensive side, Carlo Calabrese assumed the spot at inside linebacker alongside Manti Te’o, though the battle for Te’o’s partner likely will continue through camp.
Nose guard Louis Nix and touted freshman defensive end Aaron Lynch both worked with the second-unit defense — not a surprise on either count.
It seems likely that equally heralded freshman Stephon Tuitt will work his way up quickly, too, given a 6-foot-7-inch, 295-pound frame that dwarfed nearly everyone on the field and made Tuitt look more ready-made for Sundays than Saturdays.