Notre Dame's spent the past several months beefing up its support staff in various areas of the football program, including adding key analysts and multiple young coaches to assist in everything from recruiting to specific phases of the game.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish tabbed Mike McCray II, a former University of Michigan football team captain, to help coach the secondary and plucked away Trevor Mendelson from his on-field role at Football Championship Subdivision power Richmond to assist with the Irish's offensive line.
In recruiting, they grabbed Chad Bowden – folks at Cincinnati have raved about his impact on the Bearcats' program there working in lock-step with Marcus Freeman – and hired away Dre Brown from the University of Tennessee.
Now to fortify its special teams, Notre Dame is adding a staffer – and it's something of a move with a Hollywood feel.
The Fighting Irish have added Todd Leitschuh to their staff in an analyst's role to assist with Brian Polian's special teams' units.
It's a compelling move because it's an all-new career path for Leitschuh, who had been career military – United States Army Special Operations – before retiring from service two years ago.
Leitschuh has already started with the Fighting Irish and was on the practice field working with Notre Dame's teams units Saturday during the Irish's opening practice of preseason camp.