Jack Cooley hit the deck for a loose ball and fell into the padding below the basket, but the bruises couldn’t slow down the 6-foot-9 Irish forward Saturday against DePaul.SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame’s offensive tackles know what it’s like to enter Notre Dame Stadium when it’s filled with 80,000 fans.
But when sophomore left tackle Zack Martin and senior right tackle Taylor Dever take the field for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. opener against Purdue, it will be different.
The tackles will be making their first career starts.
“Going into the game, you didn’t have any worries, you just hoped that the people in front of you played well,” Martin said of last season, when he didn’t play.
“I don’t see how you can’t be a little nervous, running out in front of 80,000 fans in your first college start. After the first snap, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Dever, who didn’t play as freshman, has appeared in 18 games and settled into the tackle spot after moving from guard at the start of camp.
“I’ve talked to some people about whether or not I’ll be nervous, but it is what it is,” Dever said. “I have experience. I’ve been here long enough. I know what I have to do.”
Both know one of the main things they have to do Saturday is slow down Purdue defensive end Ryan Kerrigan.
Kerrigan led the Big Ten and was third in the nation in sacks last season with 13.
Kerrigan also had 18 1/2 tackles for loss last season, and he had two tackles for loss and a sack in the Irish’s 24-21 win over the Boilers last season.
“If you want a model of a player in terms of the way we’d like to play, Kerrigan is that guy,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said. “He comes after you for four quarters. He is relentless.”
Martin, who played with Boilermakers linebacker Joe Holland at Indianapolis’ Bishop Chatard, will likely be squaring off against Kerrigan the most.
It is a challenge he’s embraced.
“You always want to go against the best,” Martin said. “He is a big, physical, speed guy. He’s a special player.”
Kerrigan isn’t the only player in the front seven the Irish will try to contain.
Defensive end Gerald Gooden had eight tackles for loss and 4 1/2 sacks, and outside linebackers Jason Werner and Holland combined for 18 tackles for a loss and six sacks.
“A bunch of those guys are the same guys from last year, and we know how that turned out. It came down to the wire,” left guard Chris Stewart said. “We are going to have to compete hard and execute.”
Notes: Notre Dame tight end Mike Ragone might not be available Saturday.
Ragone, who missed part of fall camp after suffering a heat illness, was being treated for vertigo and an inner-ear infection, Kelly said. Ragone is questionable for the opener.
Also on Wednesday, BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in a news release that the Cougars – who will play as a football independent next season – are working on a six-game deal through 2020 with the Irish.
