Notre Dame's Future At Wide Receiver Is Very, Very Bright
If you're focus is on the right now, on numbers and on proven production you might find what I'm about to say a bit nutty .... but there is no doubt in my mind that the future of the Notre Dame wide receiver room is incredibly bright. In fact, don't be surprised if in the very, very near future we are talking about that group being one of the best in the nation.
Yeah, I said it, and I believe it.
Notre Dame's wide receiver production in 2022 leaves much to be desired, as the unit combined for just 85 catches, 1,150 yards and nine touchdowns. We've seen players like Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, Will Fuller and Chase Claypool surpass those numbers by themselves. We can talk about the context of why the production was down, including the presence of the best tight end in college football, the fact the team spent most of the year playing with its backup quarterback, and a ground attack that fueled the offense for most of the season, but there's no spin for that lack of production.
Production matters, obviously, but the lack of production masks a group that has some talented young players, and a room that is about to receive a huge, huge boost in depth and talent. It's about projection at this point and not about production, but that projection is what has me believing this unit is about to explode.
I was also pleased with the technical growth that I saw from the unit during the season. A good evaluator can watch how receivers go about their business and evaluate their ability to get open independent of whether or not the quarterback throws them the football. We saw this unit grow and improve throughout the season, and position coach Chansi Stuckey deserves a lot of credit for that. It was also a unit that took pride in their blocking, which fit the run-first mentality of the 2022 offense.
Stuckey is only going to improve as a coach, and the players are going to get better and better as they learn more about him and vice versa.
It all plays into why I'm so fired up about this unit moving forward.
MERRIWEATHER HAS STAR POTENTIAL
We didn't see much of freshman Tobias Merriweather, but the little time he did spend on the field he showed of the talent that had me grade him as the best wide receiver to sign with Notre Dame since Floyd back in 2008. Merriweather has all the tools to be a big time receiver.
I contend that if the quarterback play improves and as Merriweather continues to develop physically he could not only become the team's top target, but a true star at the collegiate level. His combination of size, speed and ball skills is outstanding, and if he can stay healthy there's no doubt that Merriweather can quickly emerge as an impact player.
We've seen this movie before at Notre Dame.
Equanimeous St. Brown caught just one pass for eight yards in his first season at Notre Dame, but as a sophomore the California native broke out with 58 catches for 961 yards and nine touchdowns. Of all the Notre Dame receivers over the last decade, St. Brown has a skillset that most closely resembles the one Merriweather possesses.
Tate only caught six passes for 131 yards as a true freshman in 2007 and Fuller caught just six passes for 160 yards as a true freshman in 2013. Both had monster sophomore seasons despite the first year experience, with Tate exploding for 58 catches, 1,080 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2008 and Fuller racking up 76 catches for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2014.
Can Merriweather make a similar jump? I won't be at all surprised if that happens.
COLZIE IS READY TO BREAK OUT
We have already started to see what sophomore Deion Colzie can do when he's healthy and given the opportunity to play. He didn't make his first catch until Notre Dame's 41-24 win over Syracuse in late October, but Colzie quickly inserted himself as arguably the top playmaker at the position.
He caught two passes for 50 yards against Navy, and both converted 3rd-and-long situations. He did the same with his only catch (for 23 yards) against Boston College and he made huge plays against USC. Colzie caught three passes for 75 yards, and his combination of vertical speed, exceptional catch radius and hands were on full display.
Colzie oozes potential, and that potential started to turn into production in his second season. That experience should also send him into a whole different level as he heads into his junior campaign.
If I'm wrong about Merriweather being "the guy" next season it will be due to two reasons, in my view. One is he and Colzie serve as sort of "co stars" like we saw with Miles Boykin and Claypool in 2018, or Floyd and Tate in 2009. The other is that Colzie turns into that player. He has that kind of potential. Of course there's a third option, which I'll discuss below.
The best part is that Colzie and Merriweather don't project to the same position, with Merriweather projecting best as an X (field) receiver and Colzie projecting best as a W (boundary) player. With Notre Dame wanting to be more of a power team, having two long, vertical oriented players that can take the top off the defense and win contested throws is a great fit, and gives the offense a huge boost.
THOMAS IS THE GLUE
I don't think Thomas will ever be the go-to impact player that Merriweather and Colzie can be, but over the next couple of seasons don't be surprised if he's the glue player. That means I don't see him putting up the raw production that his classmate (Colzie) and the younger Merriweather produce, but it means that when the game is on the line he'll be every bit the target they will.
It also means that Thomas will do the dirty work at a high level, which we saw from him this season. I hammered Thomas for his blocking in early games, but by the middle of the season he became a force on the perimeter in the run game. Thomas also began to play with more confidence and an edge as a player. He is a thick athlete with strong hands, which should allow him to develop into a strong route runner and chain mover.
If Merriweather and Colzie both force their way into the lineup I don't think that hurts Thomas, and I'd argue it helps him. If those two players and the very, very talented freshman class can lock down the outside rotation it would allow Thomas to play a lot more in the slot, which is where I think his game is best suited.
Look back at his best plays from 2022, they were almost exclusively with him lined up in the slot.
Thomas could be a challenge over the middle for nickels, linebackers and safeties, and it allows him to be a consistently effective edge blocker while allowing Notre Dame to maintain using him as a run game weapon out of 11 personnel instead of being in 12 or 13 personnel.
BOUNCEBACK FOR STYLES?
The wild card is sophomore Lorenzo Styles. He was expected to be the team's top wideout in 2022 once Avery Davis went down with an injury, but Styles never really took that next step. In some ways he regressed, and his body language for most of the season was problematic. He just never looked confident, or comfortable.
There are a lot of questions about Styles and whether or not he's locked in at Notre Dame. If Styles stays at Notre Dame he'll have a chance to be a guy that can play all over the field with the players mentioned above, and he's clearly talented enough to be a starter and an impact player in this offense.
Styles has to mentally take a big step this offseason, and if he does this wide receiver corps won't need its talented freshman class to breakout in year one.
FRESHMAN CLASS IS ELITE
Of course, just because the freshman class might not be "needed" to make an impact in year one doesn't mean it won't do so. The talent level is such that keeping the 2023 group of receivers off the field could be very, very hard to do.
The ideal situation for Stuckey and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees is that they returners step up and the freshman prove themselves ready to play. That would give the Irish incredible depth and a very diverse skillset.
Right now the group stands at three pure receivers and one slot player that can also plays some running back and return kicks, but the staff is hoping to add more.
Texas star Jaden Greathouse is arguably the most advanced wide receiver to pick Notre Dame since Floyd. He's physically ready to play in college right now, and he has the game to match. Fellow Texan Braylon James is a long, explosive player that has potential similar to that of Merriweather. His game needs refinement, but James' combination of home run ability and size (6-3) give the staff a weapon it can certainly find an early home for.
If Greathouse isn't the most polished wideout in the class it's because Rico Flores Jr. would stake claim to that honor. Flores is an incredibly productive player from a good high school program, and he's a player that will be a lot like Thomas in that he's always overlooked by his more higher ranked teammates, but he'll always be a guy that is tough to guard and tough to keep off the field.
Kansas star Dylan Edwards is a dominant high school running back and one of the fastest football players in the country. He won the fastest man award at the Future 50 event this summer, beating out the likes of Notre Dame star safety commit Peyton Bowen and USC five-star commit Zechariah Branch. He'll have a transition to wideout, but he'll likely see more of a hybrid role that has him getting action in the slot, out of the backfield, and I expect him to be a kick returner as well.
That's a lot of talent, but Notre Dame isn't done. The Irish staff is pushing HARD for another Texas standout in Kaleb Smith. He's a unique talent that could be a standout in the slot, but he also projects well to the X position. Smith has good route running skills and speed, but he and Edwards are the two best after-the-catch players in the group, and that is something the current roster lacks.
It's easy to see why a group that some viewed as a weakness in 2022 could quickly, and I mean very quickly, become one of the strengths of this football team. And they could do it in a hurry.
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