Spring practice is under way for quite a few schools, so forecasters have no choice but to trot out “Top College Football Player” lists for 2010. ESPN reporter Joe Schad has his top 100-names that we already know, or are sure to know as next season gets going.

His list includes a few Domers, Michael Floyd at #12, Manti Te’o at #32, Dayne Crist at #47, and Kyle Rudolph at #92.

Schad is correct on those names of course, but (for you super fans) here is a more complete list of Irish players to watch (in the correct order)…

Here we go.

Dayne Crist, QB. He is lower on Schad’s list because ole’ Joe took the easy way out and selected guys that have already broken out for his top spots (You mean that returning Heisman-winner Mark Ingram is a “player to watch”? I would never have thought that!). However, Crist is the most important player on Notre Dame’s roster. A former 5-star recruit with all the makings of a stud, Dayne has the tools to help Brian Kelly’s offense put on 40 point shows as often as Lady Gaga scares small children with her fashion choices. If he recovers from injury, and picks up the offense, Notre Dame will surprise. If he can’t, this season will have all the makings of a Charlie Weis record (6-6).

Michael Floyd, WR. Legitimate claim to college football’s best receiver along with Julio Jones and A.J. Green. If the Irish are indeed an explosive offense, this guy will be a huge reason why.

Kyle Rudolph, TE. 1st-year starting qb. New offense. Can we say a tight end is a young quarterback’s best friend? When in doubt, he will make like Dwight Howard, and post up a linebacker to get open for an easy completion.

Manti Te’o, LB. We saw flashes of explosiveness, and Mike Tyson-like hitting power from the freshman phenom last year. The guy looks like he belongs on an SEC defense, and will need to keep building on his freshman year to become the truly fearsome defender that the Irish desperately need.

Robert Blanton, CB. Blanton as a freshman was like Tommy Lee Jones in “The Fugitive”.

Opposing WR: “I’m not gonna catch that ball, you don’t have to cover me.”
Blanton: “I don’t care. I’m gonna keep you covered anyway.”

Blanton as a sophomore?

He stumbled on the field like Ozzy Osbourne would stumble in a Spelling Bee.

A return to the Blanton of old would mean good things for Notre Dame.

Darrin Walls, CB. Recycling is a big thing, so you can pretty much just recycle the comments about Blanton, and use them for Walls. Just substitute the “freshman” and “sophomore” years for Blanton with “Sophomore” and “Senior” years for Walls. Oh, and throw in a “year’s exile” somewhere in there.

Darius Fleming, LB/DE. Perhaps the only other Irish front 7 player that can bring the type of athleticism to the table that Te’o does. Just not enough production. If Fleming can put it together, he could have a double-digit sack season for the Irish defense. If he can do that, opposing quarterbacks might not find it more enjoyable to play the Irish defense than it is spending a day at Disney World.

Those are the guys that make the first cut, the ones that have the most say in the success that the Irish will or will not see this season. Look for the second part of this list coming up.

Paul Hornung, ND’ original “golden boy”, is the namesake for college football’s newest honor: “most versatile player”. What does than mean? Well, to give you a proper picture, the Paul Hornung Award would have gone to either C.J. Spiller, or ND’s own Golden Tate if it were awarded this year (a player that can help their team the most in a large variety of ways).

Hornung is one of college football’s all-time greats (think the original Rocket Ismail, plus he could throw, and play defense), the only player special enough to win the Heisman on a losing team, so his name belongs right up there with the Biletnikoffs and Nagurskis.

However, he might have even more fame for the statement “ND must lower admissions to get the black athlete and win”. Technically, he may be right on lowering admissions, he just made the mistake of using the qualifying term “black”. (That’s what we call racial profiling.)

So, occasionally in his honor, the Blarney will bring you Hornung’s Words Of Wisdom, or technically true statements that are worded wrong, and perhaps show some prejudice or some kind of political incorrectness.

Paul Hornung’s Words of Wisdom For 3-5-10:

“Insure the hell out of any asset that you own, and you will not regret it. J-Lo insures her ass should it ever be damaged by massive shaking while dancing, and the possible money from that is enough to purchase several Renee Strausse wedding dresses ($12 million) for several more marriages. Also, people have been heftily paid for items as unusual as toilet seats. So, insure, make a claim when asset is damaged or lost, and get ready to listen to The Zac Brown Band on a sunny beach while drinking rum-filled drinks for the rest of your days!”

The NFL has wrapped their annual Dog and Pony show. The show to see who the next NFL stars will be. Heights have been measured, weights have been weighed, forties have been run, buffets on top of naked ladies have been trotted out, swords have been swallowed, pyrotechnics have exploded and etched a picture (of gladiators in shoulder pads wrestling 3-headed beasts to the ground) into the night sky. (Hey, the combine is an Event, baby. That’s right, with a capital “E”.)

Players stocks have risen, player stocks have fallen, in large part due to talents that don’t even show themselves on a football field (”Jones, from as complete standstill, jump for that first down now, damnit!”). GM’s have seen these test results-and some (I’m looking in your direction, Al Davis) will fall in love with them, and forget about the three years worth of game film that preceded these showings. In fact, “Arbitrary test results over on-field production” could be the combine’s slogan.

True, the combine is a gathering of more information that might prove to be valuable, and certainly is a measure of athletic ability, but should never overshadow what talent evaluators see when the pads are on. Management should always remember this.

Even knowing this, the fact is that the combine is a huge event, and a means to gain the NFL more exposure in the off-season, so it is here to stay. And, since it is still worth talking about, here are some random combine notes gathered by the Blarney, complete with a deciphered meaning.

Scouts think Jimmy Clausen is “arrogant”.

What it Means:

Maybe he is. So are all great athletes (and any other person who sees themselves as a “player” in their industry). He is also talented, smart, and coachable enough to go from throwing double digit picks in his sophomore year to throwing only three as a junior. I don’t know Jimmy Clausen at all-but “arrogance” is a pretty poor reason to drop him on draft boards.

Ndamukong Suh verticals 35.5″, and runs slightly under 5 seconds.

What it Means:

Again, film is more important. The jumping ability shows lower-body explosiveness, but Suh made his name by tossing around o-lineman like rag dolls.

Tennessee’s Eric Berry runs a 4.4.

What it means:

He comes out aces in film (what he does on the field), and athletic ability. 1st round pick, and future NFL stud, count on it.

USC’s Taylor Mays ( 6-3, and 230lbs, at least), runs a 4.24!! Wait, it’s actually a 4.43. Plus he broad jumps 10′5″.

What it means:

First, why bother with hand-timing? Humans are not accurate in measurement (guys know what I am talking about) in any way. Second, the guy is a stud of an athlete, but he must have also have the TBWA Chiat/Day marketing team behind him to make him look like a machine (reports of a electronically-timed 4.3 40 at USC, as well as a broad jump of almost 11 and a half feet)! Mays doesn’t play as well as he tests (he even got torched by Dane Sanzenbacher), but should last in the NFL for awhile.

4 defensive linemen, including USC’s Everson Griffen, and TCU’s Jerry Hughes, run in the 4.6’s.

That, combined with great (for Hughes) actual game ability, show that this is not your grandfather’s NFL. Defensive lineman really do run like safeties these days.

Florida’s Joe Haden run a 4.57 (that’s almost a 4.6 for a corner, which is slower than some defensive ends).

What it means:

SEC speed?! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! (Pause for breath.) Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahaha! Seriously kid, don’t leave your house without your game film, ever.

ND safety Kyle McCarthy places second in shuttle and cone drills, but runs a 4.65.

What it means:

Nothing that we didn’t know already for Kyle. He is a good, but not great athlete, that can certainly do some things on the field. His film will show that he is good enough to be involved in the play, but not good enough to make a play. A Special Teamer, and maybe get on the field in some nickel-type situations.

Look, the combine is great, and we love to see what athletic achievements these kids can accomplish. And I know I just laughed at Joe Haden, but he can still be a good pro (though that bad performance might cost him some dollars). But, the combine is sizzle, and what these kids do when the helmets are on (and the lights are dark in the film room) is the steak that is really needed.