Three Positions That Notre Dame Can Build A Championship Team Around

Earlier in the week we discussed where Notre Dame ranks among the nation’s top programs, and our analysis is that the Fighting Irish rank as the No. 5 program in the country. That’s certainly a great position to be in, especially considering where Notre Dame has been in the past, but the standard at Notre Dame is to be a championship, not an almost program.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff must now focus on what must happen to continue to climb the national ladder. We followed up our discussion about where Notre Dame ranks with a breakdown of where the Irish are championship ready, what units can play a key role in a title, and where the Irish are currently falling short.

Let’s look at a position-by-position look at where Notre Dame stands, with each position group being categorized as a “Championship Driver”, a “Key Component” to a title team and a “Not There Yet” category.

The first part of this two-story feature will focus on the positions where Notre Dame is already on a championship level.

These are the position groups that you look at and say they are the primary reason for a championship run. If Notre Dame were to win a championship in 2023, I believe these position groups will be a driving force.

RUNNING BACK

Notre Dame has quickly developed one of the top backfields in all of college football, and the Irish have a chance to be a Top 5 unit in 2023. The one-two punch of Audric Estime and Logan Diggs became quote potent last season. Now they are juniors, and they’ll be joined in the backfield by dynamic sophomore Jadarian Price and explosive freshman Jeremiyah Love. Another sophomore - Gi’Bran Payne - is also a talented back in his own right, and if he’s healthy he adds an impressive skillset to the depth chart.

The depth is outstanding, but it’s the Estime-Diggs duo that has this group in the elite category for the 2023 season. Estime and Diggs combined for 1,742 rushing yards (5.4 YPC) and 15 touchdowns a season ago and added another 346 receiving yards and three more scores. On the season the paid combined for 2,088 yards of offense (6.1 yards per touch) and 18 scores. When you consider how little threat Notre Dame had as a passing offense for much of the season it puts their production in an even more impressive light.

It’s the best one-two punch Notre Dame has had since 2012 when you consider how they were used together. For example, the 2015 combination of CJ Prosise and Josh Adams racked up 1,867 rushing yards, but Adams didn’t really get legit touches until Prosise got hurt, so they were never a one-two punch. Diggs and Estime, however, were used together, and at times used incredibly effectively.

They combined for at least 180 rushing yards in six games, which included a performance against Clemson where Diggs rushed for 114 yards and Estime racked up 104. Estime rushed for 134 yards against North Carolina while Diggs added 115 combined yards (50 rushing, 65 receiving) in the win. Two more games (BYU, South Carolina) saw the duo both rush for at least 90 yards, and another victory (Syracuse) had both players going for at least 85 yards.

If they simply repeat what they did a season ago Notre Dame will be outstanding at running back, but if they can build on their success, and if they can finally get some help from the pass game, this duo - and the depth chart behind them - could be special. Notre Dame feels so good about its running back depth chart they are now working burner Chris Tyree, who had 582 yards of offense himself in 2022, at wide receiver.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Notre Dame greatly benefitted from getting Harry Hiestand back last season, even if it was for only one year. His replacement, Joe Rudolph, inherits a unit that is in far, far greater shape that it was when Hiestand came back a season ago. Toughness was restored, and a foundation of strong fundamentals was instilled. If Rudolph can build on the strong foundation that Hiestand laid this unit could battle for the Joe Moore Award, and I expect it to do just that.

One thing is for certain, this group returns a lot of talent.

Rising junior Joe Alt is a preseason first team All-American and he’s expected to be arguably the best tackle in all of college football in 2023. Early projections have Alt as a possible Top 10 draft pick a year from now. As a freshman, Alt was beat out at left tackle by classmate Blake Fisher, but Fisher was injured in the opener and missed almost the entire season. Fisher was solid last season, and I expect his game to explode in year two, which should allow the Alt-Fisher duo to be in the conversation for the nation’s best tackle tandem.

That pair alone makes Notre Dame one of the better returning lines in the country. Whether or not they can be elite depends on what happens inside.

Senior Zeke Correll struggled out of the gate in 2022, but he quickly rebounded and played good football in the second half of the season. Now going into his second season as a starter, Correll is expected to anchor the interior of the offensive line. I expect sophomore Billy Schrauth to earn one of the spots beside Correll. He’s young and he’ll make some first-year starter mistakes, but Schrauth is loaded with talent and potential.

The only question is who starts between Correll and Fisher. Veteran Andrew Kristofic has eight career starts and is a steady player, and he’ll battle with junior Michael Carmody and a host of talented young players for that fifth starting spot.

This unit should be very, very good in 2023.

CORNERBACK

Like running back, it’s amazing how quickly Notre Dame has built up its cornerback room. Position coach Mike Mickens has worked wonders since he arrived back in 2020. He’s not only an excellent position coach, but he’s added a lot of very impressive talent to the room. Notre Dame enters the 2023 season with a chance to have one of the two or three best cornerback tandems in the country, and the depth has taken a big jump forward.

A note to Notre Dame's administration ..... pay this man, NOW!

After getting off to a rough start in 2022 while battling a hamstring injury, Cam Hart played outstanding football in the final five games of the season before going down with a shoulder injury. If Hart is healthy in 2023 I expect him to finally turn his immense potential into more consistent production. His coverage was quite good the final seven games of the 2022 season, and if he can start making more plays on the football he’ll become a national name.

Opposite Hart is rising sophomore Benjamin Morrison, who is a preseason second team All-American after earning freshman All-American honors in 2022. Morrison made his presence felt in the opener against Ohio State and by the end of the season he wasn't just a top freshman, he was one of the best corners in all of college football, picking off six passes as a rookie.

The Morrison-Hart combination should be one of the nation's best duos, but to truly be the elite unit it's capable of the depth behind this pair must also step up this season.

Sophomore Jaden Mickey has potential, and if he can become more patient as a cover man he could develop into a strong third corner for the Irish. Freshman Christian Gray has a game that is very, very similar to Morrison, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he cracks the rotation at some point this season.

If you want to know how far Notre Dame has come at cornerback in a very, very short period of time consider this ..... junior Clarence Lewis is fighting to be the No. 3 cornerback on this roster, but he was a starter the last time Notre Dame made it to the College Football Playoff.

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