Notre Dame Heads Into The Spring With A Strong Foundation On Offense

We have talked over and over about the need for the Notre Dame offense to show significant improvement, especially if the Fighting Irish are going to make a big jump and be a playoff team in 2023.

Notre Dame has a long way to go, there's no doubt about that. The Irish ranked 39th in efficiency last season (Fremeau Efficiency Index), which was the program's lowest mark since 2010. The Irish scored just 31.8 points per game and just 5.92 yards per play, the offense's lowest YPP mark since 2010 (5.52).

The good news for Notre Dame is that the offense returns a very strong foundation, and offensive coordinator Gerad Parker and the new-look staff have plenty to build upon. Here are the top five areas of perceived strengths that Notre Dame can build on heading into the spring.

Talented Offensive Line Returns - Notre Dame can't be an elite offense without a big time offensive line, and although there are questions, the Irish offensive line should be outstanding in 2023. I've come around on the hire of Joe Rudolph, and he'll certainly have a deep and talented group to work with.

Rising juniors Joe Alt and Blake Fisher have a chance to develop into the nation's best tackle tandem next season. Alt has already arrived, earning first-team All-American honors from the Associated Press, ESPN and CBS Sports as a sophomore, which came after he earned Freshman All-American honors in 2021. Fisher has immense talent, and he flashed that ability quite often in 2022. Fisher will need to become more consistent with his play if Notre Dame is going to have that best tackle tandem, but the talent is certainly there.

Veteran center Zeke Correll was quite solid by the end of the 2022 season, and if he can just build on that success this spring and in the fall the Irish will also have one of the best centers next season. There are questions at guard, but there is no doubting the talent that will be part of the battle for those starting roles, especially rising sophomore Billy Schrauth.

Irish Have A Loaded Backfield - It wasn't that long ago that running back was arguably the biggest question mark on the offense, if not the entire roster (I have 2019 in mind). Heading into the 2023 spring, an argument could be made that running back is the team's greatest strength, with only the offensive line and cornerback spots able to be in the conversation.

Rising juniors Audric Estime and Logan Diggs combined for 1,742 yards (5.4 YPC) and 15 touchdowns in 2022 while racking up a combined six games with at least 100 yards and a total of 10 games with at least 90 yards from one of the backs. If they simply make normal sophomore to junior strides this duo should be brilliant next season.

What puts this group in the conversation for one of the nation's best backfields is the depth. When used correctly, veteran back Chris Tyree is a dangerous all-around weapon as both a runner and receiver. We'll see if Parker uses him more effectively than we saw the last two seasons, and if Tyree can stay healthy. If those two boxes are checked you now have three proven, talented running backs.

I'm curious to see where Jadarian Price is with his recovery from an Achilles injury. If he is healthy at any point in 2023 he gives the Irish another extremely talented dual threat weapon. According to sources inside the program, Price was the team's best running back last spring prior to his summer injury.

Of course, the backfield is more than just the running backs. Landing former Wake Forest signal caller Sam Hartman was huge for the Irish. He brings 12,967 career passing yards and 127 touchdowns to the Irish depth chart. Hartman has thrown for at least 3,701 yards and passed for at least 38 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons.

Brady Quinn (2005) and Jimmy Clausen (2009) are the only two Notre Dame quarterbacks to ever pass for at least 3,700 yards, and no Irish quarterback has ever tossed 38 touchdowns in a season.

Rising junior Tyler Buchner has loads of talent, which he showed in the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina by passing for 273 yards, rushing for 61 yards and racking up five touchdowns in the win.

Both Hartman and an older, healthier, more experienced Buchner give the Irish a chance to have a monstrous jump in quarterback play next season.

Lots Of Skill On The Perimeter - I'll be talking about the wide receiver position in my questions-concerns article heading into the spring, but this group also belongs in the strengths conversation. This is a unit that is largely unproven, but they are here because of the talent (potential), length and depth of the group.

Tobias Merriweather (6-4) and Deion Colzie (6-5) give the Irish a pair of big trees on the outside, and Merriweather is my pick for spring breakout. This duo oozes potential, and Merriweather was my highest ranked receiver recruit to sign with Notre Dame since Michael Floyd back in 2008. Rising junior Jayden Thomas became a steady weapon for the Irish last season, and by the end of the 2022 campaign a case could be made he was Notre Dame's best receiver.

Fellow junior Lorenzo Styles Jr. had a disappointing 2022 campaign, but he showed a lot of promise as a freshman (2021) and expectations were he would be the teams best pass catcher last season. If he gets back on track this group could be really, really good. Notre Dame also welcomes Virginia Tech transfer Kaleb Smith, who earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors last season after catching 37 passes for 674 yards and finishing third in the league in yards per catch (18.2).

Notre Dame also welcomes a trio of early enrollee freshmen in Braylon James, Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr., who were part of one of the nation's best wide receiver hauls in the 2023 class.

Notre Dame's quarterbacks will have plenty of weapons to throw the football to this spring, of that there is no doubt.

Red Zone Offense Should Shine - Notre Dame was quite good at putting the ball into the end zone once it reached the red zone last season. Getting into the red zone was their problem, and that needs to be addressed, but the Irish ranked 19th nationally in red zone touchdown success rate last season. West Virginia ranked 19th in overall red zone success in 2021 with Parker serving as the primary play-caller in that part of the field.

With a strong run game, improved quarterback play and some big wideouts on the outside the Irish have a chance to be even better in the red zone next season.

Third-Down Offense Is Strong - One thing Tommy Rees did at Notre Dame was develop strong third-down offenses. The Irish ranked 13th in third-down conversation rate in 2022 and 7th in 2020. The same reasons the Irish should be even better in the red zone next season should also give the new staff a chance to continue the success on third-down.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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