Welcome back to another edition of Subway Domer’s Wu Am I?series. This is a look at who the 36 players of impact are on this Notre Dame Football team for 2010. If you have missed some of the previous Wu Am I? posts from 2010, please check out: Chambers 1&2, Chambers 3&4, Chambers 5&6, Chambers 7&8, Chambers 9&10, Chambers 11&12, Chambers 13&14, Chambers 15&16, and Chambers 17&18.
Let’s get this bitch rolling as we open Chambers 19 & 20.
Chris Stewart #59
Offensive Guard
6’5″ 344 lbs.
Senior (5th)
Spring, Texas
Wu Name: Tha Human Planet
Chris Stewart was a part of one of the most vaunted offensive line classes to come to Notre Dame in its history. The 6 man class included one 5 star, four 4 star, and one 3 star recruits. Of all of those guys, Chris Stewart may end up as the best of them. (For the record, the class grossly underachieved). Chris arrived to Notre Dame as one of the first players to be able to enroll early in the spring of 2006. Windows shattered in South Bend upon his arrival. As big as Tha Planet was, he redshirted his freshman year. Chris was moved to nose tackle on defense in the spring of 2007, but that didn’t work out and probably set him back a little bit as far as his growth of being an offensive lineman was concerned. He didn’t really start playing much until the second half of the 2007 season. He became a fulltime starter for the Irish in 2008, and was dominant when he played inspired- when he didn’t, he was substituted by Trevor Robinson. He had a good year in 2009, and was the best lineman ND had, when he played with a fire in his ass.
As Chris enters 2010, he does so as the leader in starts on the offensive side of the ball. He is the gray-haired vet, the shoulder on which to lean- and they are big fucking shoulders. He will have some adjustments to make with a new system that is a lot more fast-paced than he is used to, and for a man that large, it could be an adjustment that will shape his future as a 5th year senior and as a NFL Draft pick. With the almost-certainty of Braxton Cave winning the center job over Dan Wenger, Chris will have to step up his role as a leader along the line and inside the offensive huddle as a whole. He is part of a potent OG duo along with Trevor Robinson. As long as he can keep up with the pace, and play with a sense of urgency that a 5th year player should have… he is going to have a very nice year, and play a HUGE part in the possible success of the offense in 2010.
Robert Blanton #12
Cornerback
6’1″ 190 lbs.
Junior
Mathews, North Carolina
Wu Name: Homicidal Terra-Hawk
When Robert Blanton committed to Notre Dame in June of 2007, myself and a lot of others instantly compared him to Bobby Taylor because of his size and his physicality. I’m not sure if Taylor was as confident or as cocky as Blanton during his freshman year, but it was all there. Blanton didn’t take long to endear himself to Irish fans. Against Purdue, Blanton put a spark up the teams ass with an inspired 47 yard INT return for TD. He went on to start 4 games in 2008. Blanton fell off the radar a little bit in 2009, but as was the case with a lot of the DB’s on the team, I blame piss-poor coaching and scheme from Corwin Brown and John Tenuta. They looked lost as the coverage signals came in from the sideline.
Blanton comes into 2010 as the team leader in interceptions. He has also found himself as the odd man out at corner with Walls and Gray being the likely starters come fall. He still has a chance to prove himself and get back to being a fulltime starter with a good camp. But even if he doesn’t, he will still see a ton of action as the nickelback. We should see quite a bit of 3 CB defensive sets as the season rolls on, and Blanton makes a great contribution whether he plays on the edge or on the inside. No other player on the roster plays with as much confidence and swagger as RJ Blanton, and if he can focus that energy into his play while keeping true to himself, he is in store for a big year.
