Not too young to be counted on
Besides Floyd there are some other players in Weis’ latest recruiting class who will be pushed into the spotlight early. Fellow wide receiver John Goodman is one of them, according to Lemming. Also defensive lineman Brandon Newman, linebackers Steve Filer and Darius Fleming, tight end Kyle Rudolph, cornerback Robert Blanton and quarterback Dayne Crist -- if something happens to incumbent starter Jimmy Clausen.

“I think it’s best for all offensive lineman to redshirt,” Lemming added, “but Trevor Robinson and Lane Clelland could be pushed into action early if the returning players don’t make a jump in performance.”

Scout.com’s Allen Wallace has an almost identical watch list, adding defensive back Jamoris Slaughter to the mix and possibly defensive end Ethan Johnson, whose season-ending knee injury last fall is the question, not his potential.

“There’s a lot of kids that may play more than you anticipate,” Wallace said of the Irish incoming freshmen. “Normally, I’m pretty shy about freshmen getting any significant playing time because there’s such a big jump here, but Notre Dame is in such an important year in terms of its future. I mean, Notre Dame may have to pull out all the stops, in my opinion, to get whatever record they can.

“If that means gambling with freshman in what will be the best Notre Dame recruiting class in quite a while, then they’ve got to do it, because Notre Dame has to show drastic improvement in my opinion or Charlie risks losing the one thing he can’t risk losing right now -- he’s still got support of the fans.

“They’re still behind him. They still think he can put it together, and he might be able to. But the world gets very different for college football coaches when fans start losing hope. When that happens, a lot of things can spiral out of control. If Notre Dame in 2008 looks like it’s going to lose too many games and in too many lopsided ways, then you just wonder: How patient is Notre Dame going to be?”

Thrust into a tight spot
The season ahead will bring with it heat, and plenty of it for players and coaches at Notre Dame. There is no getting around that. When a program -- any program, but especially one of the stature of Notre Dame -- comes off a year in which only three of 12 games were won, there's more than just a sour taste involved. There's an immediate need to stop the bleeding.

“If you think Mike Floyd will feel pressure, it’s nothing compared to what Charlie Weis will feel,” Wallace said. “If you look at it, Charlie is going to have three top 10 classes in a time period where you can’t say that about a lot of other schools. Florida, USC, LSU can, but not Oregon, not Cal, not Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee or Auburn.

Video   Notre Dame's top 10 moments of '07 Dec. 27: From everchanging QBs to colossal loss to Navy, it was a season like none other for the Fighting Irish. NBC Sports

“There are some problems Charlie has to address. Everybody understands that. I’m sure he’s doing it, but I probably wouldn’t go as far as to say this class means that classes in the future are going to feel the same way. I think it will depend upon what Notre Dame looks like this year. What kind of improvement do we really see here? How much of a difference is there? How does the team look when it’s playing against better opponents?

“The pressure is at Charlie’s doorstep, but at Notre Dame it always is.”

True, and maybe now so more than ever.

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