Seven Notre Dame Players Rank Among The Nation's Best Players
Notre Dame returns some of the nation’s best players in 2020, at least according to the Lindy’s Sports College Football National 2020 Preview. According to the preseason publication, the Fighting Irish return seven players that rank among the 10 best at their position heading into the fall.
There were four offensive players, two defensive players and a specialist in the rankings.
Senior quarterback Ian Book ranked as the nation’s seventh best quarterback on the Lindy’s breakdown. The Fighting Irish quarterback accounted for 3,580 total yards and 38 touchdowns last season while helping lead Notre Dame to an 11-2 record.
Three Notre Dame offensive linemen also cracked the Top 10 at their positions.
Fifth-year senior Liam Eichenberg ranked as the sixth best offensive tackle in the country according to Lindy’s. Eichenberg was also named a preseason second team All-American according to the publication.
Another fifth-year senior, right guard Tommy Kraemer, ranked as the fifth best guard in the country. Rising junior Jarrett Patterson ranked as the nation’s eighth best center. According to Pro Football Focus, the trio of Eichenberg, Kraemer and Patterson did not allow a single sack all season.
Notre Dame and Ohio State were the only programs with three offensive linemen to rank among the nation’s best at their respective positions. Alabama, Iowa and Boston College each had two offensive linemen in the lists.
Senior rover Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ranked as the nation’s fifth best outside linebacker after leading the Irish with 13.5 tackles for loss and tying for the team lead with 80 tackles and 5.5 sacks last season.
Safety Kyle Hamilton was a freshman All-American last season after racking up 41 tackles, six pass break ups and a team-leading four interceptions. Now a sophomore, Hamilton is ranked as the nation’s sixth best safety heading into the 2020 season by Lindy’s.
Senior place kicker Jonathan Doerer was ranked as the eighth best player at his position. Doerer made 17 of his 20 field goal attempts last season and nailed all 57 of his extra point attempts.
Looking at Notre Dame’s opponents, the Irish tied Clemson with seven total players in the rankings. Clemson had more total position players (seven to six), but Notre Dame had the same number of players ranked in the Top 10 at their position, and the Irish had more players ranked among the top seven at their position (five to three).
Eight other Notre Dame opponents had players ranked among the best at their position. USC trailed Clemson with five, Pittsburgh had four, Wake Forest had three, Louisville and Stanford had two each, and Arkansas, Wisconsin and Duke each had one player ranked in the analysis.
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