Notre Dame Football Mailbag - Offseason Edition
Notre Dame completed its spring session this weekend with the annual Blue-Gold Game. There were a number of important takeaways from the game, from both a positive standpoint and areas that must be improved upon between now and the spring.
Our recruiting mailbag will be back later this week, but with the spring game still fresh on our minds it is the perfect time to answer questions about the Notre Dame football team heading into the summer.
As always, Irish Breakdown has you covered for all of your recruiting needs! The questions come from Irish Breakdown subscribers on the message board.
Here we go!
@dmulligannd13: How would you rate the overall depth of the team compared to 3, 5, 10 years ago?
The further back you go the worse the depth was on the Notre Dame football team. Former head coach Brian Kelly inherited a team with a lot of top end talent ... I mean, a lot of top end talent. He inherited a roster that would produce eight players that went onto to get drafted in the first three rounds.
The issue, however, was those teams had major holes at some positions and the team lacked depth. There was often a huge drop off between starters and back ups, which created a more narrow margin for error. The deeper Kelly got into his tenure at Notre Dame the better the depth became.
In recent seasons the issue hasn't been depth but top-end talent, which hasn't always been at the same level it was when Kelly arrived. In the first six draft's of Kelly's tenure the Irish produced six first round picks and six second round picks (a total of 12). If you look at the final six drafts, which includes a projection for the 2022 NFL Draft, Notre Dame will have produced just four first round picks and six second round picks.
I would contend that Notre Dame's 2022 team could challenge the 2018 team for the deepest of the last 15 years. If not for the issues at wide receiver it would be a no brainer.
@dmulligannd13: Out of all the position groups on the team, how would you rank them in order from the most talented to the least talented?
Lists like this are tough because someone - or some position - has to be last, but that doesn't mean there are "weaknesses", per se.
Here's my ranking of the positions heading into 2022 from a pure talent standpoint. So that means taking away experience and projecting who will help in 2022, just pure talent. Obviously depth of talent will play a huge role in the rankings.
1. Defensive Line - Defensive end Isaiah Foskey is a first round talent and DT Jayson Ademilola is one of the more talented players on the roster. I'm expecting big things from Rylie Mills this season because I believe he has a lot of talent. Justin Ademilola will get drafted next year and this might be the deepest position on the roster, at least for 2022. There are guys on the third team right now that would have been key rotation players in 2017.
Things get a bit thin after this season, so the 2022 class panning out and the Irish hitting big in 2023 is a must if this is going to continue. But for right now the defensive line is very, very talented.
2. Running Back - I had a tough time with numbers two through five, and you could make a case for each unit, but the addition of Gi'Bran Payne puts the running backs over the top. All four players on the roster earned four-star grades on my board and all have not only starter potential, but 1,000-yard rusher potential.
You have a unique blend of talent, with some home run hitters (Chris Tyree, Jadarian Price), elusive players (Logan Diggs, Payne) and a hammer (Audric Estime). This unit is inexperienced and still has much to prove, but from a raw talent standpoint this group is loaded.
3. Tight End - A case could be made that Michael Mayer is the best player on the roster, but there are enough questions behind him to cause the tight ends to fall down this list a bit. I initially had them ranked fourth, but I'm extremely high on the incoming freshmen, which combined with the presence of Mayer to have this group ranked third.
If Cane Berrong comes back healthy and Mitchell Evans is as good as my sources say he is this group could move up to No. 2 on the list.
4. Linebacker - This is a bit of a projection because a lot of this has to do with the younger players on the roster and two other players that so far are big question marks. Of course I"m referring to Marist Liufau and Jordan Botelho. Liufau is coming off an injury and his talent is greater than his proven production. Botelho is extremely gifted but has had trouble keeping his nose clean at Notre Dame.
If those two pan out this unit jumps way, way up. I'm quite high on Prince Kollie and veterans JD Bertrand, Bo Bauer and Jack Kiser are quality football players. Of course, the incoming freshmen are a big reason why the group is ranked as high. A case could be made they belong higher on this list, but the question marks have me dropping them down a spot.
5. Offensive Line - Notre Dame will have three starters on its 2022 roster that project as potential first round draft picks, and the incoming freshman class is quality and deep. I initially had the line much higher (No. 2 in fact), but the depth issues at offensive tackle are a cause for concern.
If Blake Fisher and Joe Alt are as good as advertised, and if one of the young guards emerge, this unit could easily move up the list .... way up the list.
6. Safety - Landing Brandon Joseph was huge for Notre Dame, and if he doesn't arrive this winter the safety position would have fallen to the bottom. There is some athleticism at this group but I have too many questions about whether or not players like Ramon Henderson and Xavier Watts are natural safeties. They are clearly top-level athletes, but are they top-level safeties? That's an important question, and if the answer is positive this group could shoot way up the list.
Safety has a chance to fall to the bottom after 2022 if Joseph leaves and the Irish aren't able to keep the 2023 class together. If Notre Dame can keep that group together and possibly land one more top level safety in that class I'll feel better about the future of the position.
7. Quarterback - From a pure talent standpoint I believe Tyler Buchner has a chance to be one of the team's best players. If not in 2022 he'll be that in 2023, assuming he can stay healthy. That's part of the reason quarterback ranks as low as it does, my questions about Buchner's health. I know this is a ranking about talent, but if his talent is on the sideline it really doesn't do a whole lot.
Behind Buchner are two solid, quality quarterbacks in Drew Pyne and Steve Angeli. They are good players, but are they championship caliber quarterbacks? Right now I don't believe they are, which drops this position group way down the list.
8. Cornerback - The presence of Cam Hart - one of the team's best players - and the arrival of Jaden Mickey and Benjamin Morrison keeps this group of the basement. Notre Dame has a lot of solid players at cornerback, but unless Ryan Barnes turns out to be as good as I think he can be (perhaps hope he can be) the reality is the cornerback position lacks the top-end talent to be higher on this list, even with Hart.
9. Wide Receiver - This is about depth, or a lack thereof. Incoming freshman Tobias Merriweather is my No. 1 player in the 2022 class and sophomores Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie are talented. Veteran Avery Davis is steady and veteran Braden Lenzy has home run speed, but he has to prove he's a talented wide receiver and not just a fast athlete.
The issue, however, is depth. Notre Dame is woefully short on numbers due to poor recruiting by the previous assistant and an inability to keep the roster in tact. Notre Dame won't have a wide receiver on the roster from the 2019 or 2020 classes, and they signed just one wideout in the 2022 class.
@john-lacey: Bryan, now that spring ball is over, what new coach, other than Coach Hiestand and Coach Golden, would you say has been the most pleasant surprise for you? Maybe surprise isn’t the right wording, which has done the best job since arriving to make this team better?
Based on the spring game I'd have to go with Al Washington. The Irish defensive line is really deep and it's been one of the best units on the team for years, but the unit showed improved technical play from previous seasons. I'm impressed with Washington's ability to get the unit playing with their hands and showing better counter moves than we've seen from DL in the past.
Chansi Stuckey has also done a strong job, especially as a recruiter. He's the one coach I knew the least about when he was hired, so it's been a very pleasant surprise to see how quickly he's shown himself as a strong coach and recruiter. I'm also extremely impressed with the job Deland McCullough is doing with the running backs.
@tattedxupxirishman: Coach, two questions. Assuming a good to great year is ahead for ND football, which assistant coaches do you think are potentially ready for the next step in their coaching careers? Are there any assistant coaches that you think are on a “hot seat” in terms of needing to prove something this year?
McCullough has not been afraid to talk about his desire to become a head football coach, so he's clearly someone to keep an eye on. I'm extremely high on Washington and his potential to be a head coach. Of course, Al Golden is a guy who has the chops to be a successful head coach if he goes to the right fit (Miami wasn't the right fit, he was excellent at Temple). But look, all these guys have 15 practices at Notre Dame, so it's early yet, but those are the guys that standout to me as potential future head coaches.
@pairishmen: Do you think the wide receivers are improving under Coach Stuckey?
Absolutely. They are still a work in progress, especially when it comes to being better off the line against tight coverage. But there was plenty of noticeable growth in the Blue-Gold Game. The key will be making another big jump from now to September 3, but as I stated above I've been pleasantly surprised - and pleased - with the job Stuckey has done since arriving in January.
@m_catino: Tempo has been stressed a lot this spring to get an uptick in the energy at practices. Do you think the Irish offense will utilize a little higher tempo style this year than in years past? I think it could especially help game one in Columbus with Ohio State ushering in a new system defensively.
I don't think Tommy Rees is a tempo guy. He is more of an efficiency coach, one who values maximizing the snaps you get and being an explosive unit as opposed to attacking teams with tempo and volume of reps. I think both are highly effective if done correctly, but Rees wants to be more of a pro-style guy. That means using a greater diversity of personnel groupings, formations, motions and shifts, and of course greater scheme depth.
I don't think tempo is the best way to attack Jim Knowles' defense. He came from the Big 12 (Oklahoma State) and the ACC (Duke), so he's quite familiar with tempo teams. I think the best way to attack a defense with a brand new coach is to do things that put them in position to make more decisions. So the diversity I mentioned above could be a problem, especially with mixing up motions and shifts, as they force greater communication and more checks/adjustments. Even a veteran defense can make mistakes against this type of offense, if it's done right, and it's especially problematic with a bunch of players learning a new system.
@christopher-crosby: It got me thinking though about how both teams will be going up against a new defensive coordinator. Generally, in this situation how do you go about installing a offensive game plan when you have no tape or reference of a scheme with the players they currently have?
Good question! I don't think Notre Dame needs to know explicitly how Knowles will use the current personnel. They can do two things. One, study how Knowles ran his defenses in the past, at both Oklahoma State and Duke. Keep in mind that Notre Dame broke down 13 games that Knowles coached as it prepared for the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State. They know what he likes to do and how he likes to use his personnel. They can then break down the Ohio State personnel, with the assistance of former Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington, and know what the Buckeyes have talent wise. A good coaching staff can then have a good idea of what Knowles will want to do based on what he's done in the past combined with what they know returns to the Ohio State defense.
@sigismund13: How many of Drew Pyne’s three* interceptions were about him and and how many were due to the defense getting more aggressive about picks/scheming for them?
I would say all three were about both. Pyne was rattled on two of the three interceptions and he threw passes he should not have thrown. Part of that was he didn't seem confident in knowing what the defense was doing on the second and third levels, and the pressure got to him. His third interception was just a great read by the defense and a poor throw/decision by Pyne.
@stephen-b: With Tyler Buchner outplaying Pyne all spring is there any chance they name Buchner the starter before the start of august practices?
Slim to none. The Notre Dame staff is not going to overreact to a spring game. Let's not forget it wasn't long ago that Montgomery VanGorder outplayed DeShone Kizer in a spring game. That's not a shot at VanGorder at all, as he was a respected teammate, but he wasn't on Kiser's level. The staff then didn't overreact to a spring game, and this staff won't as well.
Buchner is going to be the starter as long as he can stay healthy, but the staff is going to continue giving Pyne an opportunity to battle, and they need to at least carry that into the first week or two of fall camp if for no other reason than to make Buchner continue to work and compete to win the job.
@gdavis7575: I think Rocco Spindler has the mentality Harry Hiestand wants (referencing some comments HH made in an interview mingled with observations I see from Blue-Gold game and a practice I was at). What are the chances you see of Rocco breaking the line-up? Think he would wear down teams inside with his physicality and attitude.
Spindler is in a unique situation. I believe you are spot on in that he has the kind of mentality and skills that Hiestand wants from his linemen. Spindler is big, physical and he can move people off the line. If he's playing to his potential I believe there's a chance that he's at worst the first guard off the bench and at best he beats out Andrew Kristofic for the starting left guard job.
The key for Spindler will be continuing to improve his conditioning and improving his footwork. If the latter especially improves this offseason he could be hard to keep off the field, but in the limited action we saw him this spring his feet looked sluggish. The good news is Spindler's feet looked much better in the spring game, so he's clearly working hard and improving. If that continues this summer and in the fall you'll see Spindler playing, whether it's as a starter or part of a rotation inside.
@clearscreen25: Is Prince Kollie going to mainly backup Marist Liufau or will they try to get them both on the field at the same time in certain situations?
I think the proper word now is he'll be in a rotation with Marist Liufau. That better represents what Marcus Freeman and Golden will want from the linebacker position. It's not going to be one guy starts and plays 90-95% of the snaps, we'll see more guys play. So Liufau and Kollie will get action at Will. To your question, could we see them on the field together? Certainly, it's a possibility, especially on passing downs, but that all depends on the health of JD Bertrand, Bo Bauer's development and whether or not Niuafe Tuihalamaka continues to develop.
With that group of players it could be hard for Kollie to force himself onto the field beside Liuafu.
@fishnd: Now that we’ve seen the depth and breadth of the linebacking corps starting to emerge, what is your prediction for how the two deep plays out for Week One vs OSU?
I'll have a full post-spring depth chart prediction out later today, but here's my best shot at the post-spring depth chart at linebacker. That's the best I can do right now, as there are still 20+ practices remaining before the Ohio State game. A lot can happen between now and then.
Will - Marist Liufau - Prince Kollie - Nolan Ziegler
Mike - JD Bertrand - Bo Bauer - Junior Tuihalamaka (Junior will keep moving up, of that I have little doubt)
Rover - Jack Kiser - Jordan Botelho - Jaylen Sneed
@utahirish237: Would you trade Tyler Buchner, Lorenzo Styles and Isaiah Foskey for CJ Stroud and Jaxson Smith Njigba. Just for the sole purpose to make a better football team. Not the players as people themselves. I threw Foskey in there to make it a harder decision.
Absolutely not. I know what you're asking, but the reality is Buchner, Styles and Foskey all chose to come to Notre Dame. They want to be a part of this program, they want to embrace the challenge that is Notre Dame. The players at Ohio State chose not to be at Notre Dame, they wanted to go down a different path. They are extremely talented players, but I would never trade guys who want to be here for guys who didn't want to be here.
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