Notre Dame appeared to be in control of this game with a forced fumble by Manti Te’o that was recovered for a touchdown by the Irish, and a defensive battle until the third quarter, when Notre Dame was able to make one of the coolest circus plays you will see all year into a touchdown.

Quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix split a third quarter drive that resulted in Rees throwing a fade route to–who else–Michael Floyd which was bobbled, tipped, and tipped some more before Floyd finally came down with the ball.

Aside from a nice punt return early in the game, Floyd was held in check by Xavier Rhodes, who absolutely shut him (or Tommy Rees) down the whole time he was in the game, but Rhodes was injured and Floyd had a huge size advantage over Greg Reid, and then Reid himself went up so high, he was actually injured on the way down.

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Champs Sports Bowl Recap: Florida State Comes Back to Shock Notre Dame - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

+ Stats- Been really productive at Notre Dame; 282 receiving yards freshman year, already 347 5 games into his sophomore year
+ Size- prototypical, 6’6 250lb frame
+ Blocking- outstanding strength, blocks with a ridiculous mean streak
+ Character- plays the game with as much passion and effort as any tight end I have ever seen
+ Hands- never seen him drop a pass, doesn’t trap passes against his frame
+ Route running- Extremely fluid route runner with loose hips and deceptive footwork

Negatives:

- Speed- good short area speed, but pretty bad long speed for a first round prospect
- Big play ability- not much in the red zone, can’t get yards after the catch, not very powerful with the ball in his hands

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Tyler Eifert- 2012 Draft Scouting Report - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Michigan WR Junior Hemingway had a huge game on Saturday night against Notre Dame

I haven’t watched the full game yet, but I caught most of the 2nd quarter as well as the rest of the Michigan-Notre Dame game and I have to say, I came away really impressed with some guys.

As you could imagine by the final score of the game (35-31) there wasn’t much notable on the defensive side of the ball, though I did see Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o flying around, and there were a multitude of turnovers, mostly the fault of poor decisions by the offense. The best defender in the game by far was Te’o, and he showed me some solid speed chasing down a wide receiver late in the game even though it was on the back end of a huge play for Michigan.

Star Watch

Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd

Floyd was absolutely outstanding, and continued to show why he is one of the best wide receiver prospects in all of college football. He does a great job of using his size to shield defenders, and he knows how to post up in the short passing game. He has noticeably gotten in better shape and has great explosion off the line, and is much more effective after the catch. You can tell that even though he is the focal point of the Notre Dame offense, he still finds ways to get open and he always attracts a crowd. If he keeps his head on straight, he is going to be a star in the NFL.

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Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd Shines in Loss to Michigan, Denard Robinson - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Notre Dame 3-4 Middle Linebacker Mante Te’o leads the Fighting Irish defense.

Offensive Outlook: Dayne Crist enters his senior campaign and is considered to be a legit starter at quarterback.  Crist had the gunslinger arm coming out of high school.  Crist threw for 2,033 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, and 7 interceptions.

Two things he did not have during the Weis tenure that he has improved on now are his accuracy and his awareness.  Crist improved his awareness under Brian Kelly during his first season as the full time Notre Dame starter last season.  Brian Kelly believes Dayne Crist’s throwing accuracy when firing the football has made tremendous strides.  If this is true then the Irish are due for a big year in terms of offensive production when Dayne Crist is on the field.  Crist posted a 59.2 completion percentage for the Irish so Notre Dame fans hope Kelly is right about Crist’s accuracy making strides because most quarterbacks complete around 60 percent of their passes.

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#18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Season Preview - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Michael Floyd Reinstated to Notre Dame Football Program - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Luck seems to be a lock for the number one pick. The Big Question is, Who's going to be drafting him (Picture source tommeltonscouting.wordpress.com)

Round 1

1. Washington Redskins Andrew Luck QB Stanford Andrew Luck has to be the favorite to go #1 overall.  Washington finished at the bottom of my 2011 NFL Power Rankings.

2. Miami Dolphins Matt Barkley QB USC Matt Barkley plays in a pro style offense at USC.  His quick release made offensive lineman like Matt Kalil and Tyron Smith look better than they actually are.  Barkley was the #1 recruit in the country coming out of high school and was the original favorite to go #1 overall back in 2009.  Luck’s breakout year in 2010 before returning to school has now made Luck the favorite to go #1 overall, but I see both quarterbacks going early.

USC is bowl ineligible so Matt Barkley would be wise to jump ship to the NFL in 2012 and in the end that is what I believe he will end up doing.

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2012 NFL Mock Draft 2 Rounds - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Fansided Is Looking For Editors (and Writers) For Some of their College Blogs: Nebraska Cornhuskers and more - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Michael Floyd has 1st round talent, but will off-field issues bring his stock down?

Notre Dame is one of the most historic and well-known schools in NCAA history. From Rudy to Joe Montana, this is a school that doesn’t lack for star power in its rich history, and has no shortage of NFL caliber athletes.

This is a team under coach Brian Kelly that is one of few in the country who run a 3-4 defensive alignment, and they have changed it up, going from the pro-style offense of Charlie Weis to the air-it-out style that Kelly has employed. For that reason alone, you need to be on the lookout for Notre Dame’s unquestioned top prospect going into the 2011 season, a guy who has “Dez Bryant” syndrome, and really needs to get his act together as he prepares for the next level.

3 Michael Floyd (Senior), WR, 6’3″ 227

If ever there was a more appropriate player to look at and use the term “shaking my head” I have yet to find him in this class of players. Floyd was a high school All-American and a top notch collegiate prospect who was heavily recruited out of St. Paul, MN. Has been a dominant playmaker every year he has been at Notre Dame, but has two underage drinking violations (2009, 2010), and will be suspended indefinitely by the Notre Dame coaching staff until he cleans up his act off the field. It’s a wonder he wasn’t kicked off the team for good, but the coaches obviously see something in Floyd, and hopefully this incident and subsequent punishment will help him turn his life around. Floyd needs to realize that he is not just playing for the prestigious Notre Dame, he is performing his audition for all 32 NFL teams, and they don’t miss a thing. In fact, NFL teams will probably dig so far into Floyd’s past, that they will bring up stuff in interviews HE doesn’t even know about. On the field, there is absolutely no questioning his talent. Floyd is a big play receiver who can score every time he touches the ball. As a member of the Fighting Irish, Floyd has caught 171 passes for 2,539 yards and 28 touchdowns. That included a junior season where Floyd caught 79 passes for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns. Big, strong receiver who is probably the top overall receiver in the class of 2011 among seniors. If he can get his head on straight, he should be able to have a long, successful NFL career, but right now I don’t see him going sooner than the second round because of off-field issues.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish Top NFL Prospects for 2012 and Beyond - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

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2011 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Ian Williams DT, Notre Dame - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

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2011 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Kyle Rudolph, Notre Dame - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football