Irish Fantasy Draft: Rounds 9 & 10

The Draft is picking up some steam and we've plowed through a couple rounds this afternoon. Onward!

9.01 (UHND) - Jarious Jackson, QB

"I'll end the game of chicken WNG and I are playing at quarterback and take Jackson here. I had figured I would be fine with either Jackson or Kevin McDougal, but in looking at the stats, Jackson's numbers are far more impressive. Jackson also worked with a lot less talent and worse coaching but still was able to lead the Irish on some wild comebacks in his career. With Jackson I now have a mobile quarterback that can still sling it over the field. Pretty happy to land Jackson this late." - Frank

9.02 (Domer Law) - Maurice Stovall, WR

"Sometimes overshadowed by Samardzija and Tate, MoSto put up some pretty impressive numbers over his career at Notre Dame as well. This is going to be one prolific offense." - Wacko

9.03 (Her Loyal Sons) - Kyle Rudolph, TE

"Because, HOLY CRAP KYLE RUDOLPH IS STILL AVAILABLE." - domer_mq

9.04 (WeNeverGraduate) - Todd Norman, OT

"Time to give big Aaron Taylor some company up front. Todd Norman was a versatile lineman who started at guard and paved the way for Brooks and Bettis on the '92 squad and then moved outside to play bookend opposite Taylor for the '93 campaign. If you look back at Jeff Burris's touchdown runs in the game against Florida State, you'll notice he went into the endzone nearly untouched running off right tackle both times. Why did that happen? Because Norman sealed the hole and FLATTENED the defensive lineman on each play. Get used to that sight, it'll be common on this team." - Mattare

9.05 (Subway Domer) - John Carlson, TE

"This was supposed to be the pick where I grabbed Rudolph. Somehow, I'm not all that pissed off." - Subway Domer

9.06 (Irish Illustrated) - Glenn Earl, S

"Not only do I get a heady safety in Earl, I get a special teams weapon at the back of my secondary. I was torn on whether I liked Gerome Sapp or Glenn Earl more with this pick, but with Sapp already off the board this was an easy pick. Earl should keep my defense in good position." - Pete

10.01 (Irish Illustrated) - Brock Williams, CB

"Three-year starter at cornerback and one of the better defensive backs on the board, Williams helps push my secondary toward completion. Williams brings attitude to the defense as well. He’ll start opposite Tom Carter on the other side of the defense, giving me two high quality corners." - Pete

10.02 (Subway Domer) - Lyron Cobbins, MLB

"Big, physical inside linebacker. Cobbins was a 3rd team ALL-American his senior year. He wore a dark visor and had a single digit number (#6) as a linebacker. I'm blushing." - Subway Domer

10.03 (WeNeverGraduate) - Dusty Zeigler, G/C

"I'm going to continue building up the offensive line with the versatile and reliable Dusty Zeigler. He was a multi-year starter for the Irish and a captain his senior year. His ability to play guard and center gives me some flexibility in the next couple rounds depending on how the picks play out and gives me three strong pillars up front to pave the way for Reggie." - Mattare

10.04 (Her Loyal Sons) - Matt Shelton, WR

"Because, look at him, 5 foot nothin', a hundred and nothin', and he finished 6th among all-time Irish footballers in career yards per reception at 18.9 ypc, with an astounding 40 yards/TD reception rate. HOME RUN." - domer_mq

10.05 (Domer Law) - Ryan Roberts, DE

10.06 (UHND) - Tony Driver, FS

"Driver was one of the best pure athletes to come through Notre Dame in the last 20 years. Had Bob Davie not decided to flip him back and forth between offense and defense Driver would have been an All American safety. Driver is still the only Notre Dame player to ever return 2 fumbles for touchdowns in the same game (Navy 2000)." - Frank

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I felt it was time to sure up the offensive line and ensure that I'd be dominating the line of scrimmage on each side of the ball. Norman is someone that many fans won't remember, but when you read up on the '93 squad it's not just Aaron Taylor receiving the praise--it's the trio of Taylor, Norman, and Tim Ruddy. Fellow offensive lineman Mark Zataveski commented that they were "the core of the team...you can run anything behind those three guys."

And run behind them I will...

With my bookend tackles taken care of it was time to sure up the interior of the line. Dusty Zeigler started at center as a junior and guard as a senior. If you need a reminder of how effective he was just take a look at the yards per carry statistics of the fullbacks he paved a path for in the triple option. In '94 Ray Zellars went for 5.9 per carry while a year later Mark Edwards rumbled for 5.1. When's the last time an Irish running back averaged 5+ yards per carry, let alone a fullback?!?

Zeigler's versatility gives me the option of plugging him into the lineup at either guard or center depending on who becomes available during the rest of the draft, a nice luxury and the talent pool gets more and more shallow. The construction of the line is not complete, but I've got some great pieces to work with moving forward.