[Lefty Noob]

The Fighting Irish kicked off their spring practices on Wednesday, and one thing that head coach Charlie Weis made clear right off the bat - he wants them to be better this season than they were in 2005.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Raising expectations will be the theme when Notre Dame's spring football practices start Wednesday.

Coach Charlie Weis actually started the theme weeks ago, hanging a banner in the Notre Dame weight room that reads: "9-3 is not good enough."

"I think last year the team didn't know if they were going to be any good or not," Weis told reporters on Tuesday. "I'm hoping that they're not satisfied with the season they had last year. I know I'm not satisfied with the season we had last year. I'm hoping this time around that raising the expectations should be a rather simple task."

He's right, of course. Irish fans have been teased before, especially recently, with one good season followed up by several bad ones. I think it might be different this year, though. The attitude's right, and the defense returns 9 starters. I'd be a little concerned about losing Fasano and Stovall, though. Quinn needs to find a few new favorite targets. It'll be interesting to see who besides Samardzija emerges during the spring.

[Lefty Noob]

More news from Irish spring drills. Apparently, Charlie Weis is going to have a pair of freshmen, James Aldridge and George West, compete for kickoff return duties. The coach says that he has been impressed with Aldridge, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back, and West, 5-foot-8, 172-pound receiver thus far during practices, and seems to think they can contribute immediately. Think they can?