Notre Dame Offense Has Strengths And Questions Heading Into The Spring

Notre Dame needs to take its offense to a much higher level in 2023 if the Fighting Irish are going to make a run at the College Football Playoff. The good news is there are some strengths the staff can build on, but there are also some important questions and concerns that must be answered.

In our latest podcast we discussed both topics and broke down five strengths and five questions/concerns for the offense. That was followed by a Football 101 and our daily mailbag.

Here's a look at our five strengths for the Notre Dame offense, which were discussed in the show.

1. 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. We discussed the talented tackles (Joe Alt and Blake Fisher) and the potential for this unit to be elite.

2. 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.

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. 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.

3. Lots Of Skill On The Perimeter - This is a unit that is largely unproven, but they are here because of the talent (potential), length and depth of the group. Notre Dame's quarterbacks will have plenty of weapons to throw the football to this spring, of that there is no doubt.

4. 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.

5. 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.

Here's a look at the five questions/concerns for the Notre Dame offense, which were discussed in the show.

1. How Quickly Can The New Staff Mesh - Notre Dame doesn't have quite as much staff turnover heading into 2023 as it did in 2022, but there will still be a lot of getting to know you going on this spring. How quickly the staff can get on the same page and develop a strong working relationship this spring will have a significant impact on the overall growth this unit can have.

2. Who Becomes The Go-To Pass Catcher - Notre Dame lost its star pass catcher when Michael Mayer declared early for the NFL Draft, as expected. Mayer was Notre Dame's best offensive player each of the last two seasons, and he was an All-American in 2022. Notre Dame needs someone, or a couple someones, to step up and become big time, go-to pass catchers for the Irish offense.

If that's going to happen in the fall we'll start to see that happen in the spring.

3. More Explosive Plays Are A Must - Notre Dame must find more ways to create more big plays on offense in 2023, and that work needs to begin this spring. If Notre Dame wants to be a more explosive offense there are also personnel changes that need to be made (mix things up more), they need to create more isolations that create big play opportunities, and when those plays are drawn up - like we saw last year - the quarterback actually needs to throw the football. Better quarterback play in 2022 would have resulted in a lot more big plays in the pass game, and those plays need to hit in 2023. We should start to see more and more of that this spring.

4. Efficiency Is A Must - Notre Dame must absolutely become a more efficient offense in 2023. The Irish ranked 45th nationally in yards per play, 48th nationally in rushing yards per play and 37th nationally in passing yards per attempt. Efficiency leads to a more productive and explosive offense. Notre Dame has a ways to go, and efficiency is a key ingredient to that, as are explosives.

5. Can They Keep Everyone Happy - One of my concerns this spring is keeping everyone engaged, happy and on the roster heading into the fall. That requires coaches to be open and honest with players, make sure everyone knows what the vision is for each player, coach the entire depth chart and try as best as possible to make sure everyone gets chances to prove themselves this spring.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
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Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

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

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