Notre Dame Sophomore Class Will Be The Ultimate Key To Success In 2023

When you coach and play at Notre Dame the ultimate goal is always to win a championship. Notre Dame will enter the 2023 season as a dark horse team to do just that. The Irish are still a work in progress, but this team should be quite talented, and head coach Marcus Freeman is poised to build on what he established in year one.

To become the best version of themselves, Notre Dame will need contributions from every class, and of course the veteran players will need to shine. When breaking down the depth chart, it becomes increasingly obvious that the rising sophomore class will have to make a big jump if this team is going to reach its full potential.

Notre Dame's 2022 class, which is the sophomore class, had a number of very talented players on both sides of the ball. Outside of Freshman All-American Benjamin Morrison, the class didn't make as much of an impact in year one as I hoped, or as it should have made.

That's likely to change in 2023, and how much that changes will have a major, major impact on the team's success.

On offense, the Irish wide receivers are one of the team's biggest question marks. While the junior class and senior Chris Tyree have to play well, sophomore Tobias Merriweather is a player that has a chance to become a difference maker. He caught just one pass last season, although it did go for a 41-yard touchdown. Going from that to an impact player is a leap, but it's one that he has the talent to make.

Notre Dame can have a good receiving corps without Merriweather making a huge jump, but if he does make that kind of leap the Irish pass catchers could fuel a major offensive jump.

Merriweather is expected to earn a starting role this season, as will classmate Billy Schrauth at guard. Schrauth enters the summer as the clear leader in the race for the starting left guard position. Schrauth is young and didn't get any snaps in 2022, but now he's going to get a chance to become a starter. The Wisconsin native is incredibly talented, but how quickly he can turn his potential into strong play will determine how impactful he'll be this season.

At tight end, sophomore Holden Staes has a chance to become the team's second tight end, if not battle for the starting spot. He earned valuable reps as a rookie last season, and a strong offseason could position him to become a key cog in the offense, along with junior Mitchell Evans.

Running back Jadarian Price and tight end Eli Raridon were two of the best players in the 2022 class, but both lost all (Price) or most (Raridon) of their freshman campaigns. I'm not sure if either will be healthy by the opener, but if they can return to good health at some point this season they'll have a chance to make a big splash.

This is especially true of Price, who could give the offense a giant boost in big play talent if he's able to return to form.

On defense, Morrison needs to make sure he doesn't take a step back this season. Another sophomore cornerback, Jaden Mickey, will play a key role on the defense this fall. Mickey taking a big jump forward solidifies the cornerback depth chart and gives the coaching staff the ability to rotate him with Cam Hart and/or Morrison without the defense missing a beat.

Linebackers Nolan Ziegler and Jaylen Sneed will be major players on the Irish special teams this season, and both will have a great opportunity to push for legit snaps this fall. Ziegler should have a chance to at least push for a key rotation spot at linebacker, if not for a starting role. Sneed could find his way into Notre Dame's nickel packages, where his explosive athleticism could add pass rushing value.

This duo is key to Notre Dame established a deeper and more athletic depth chart at linebacker in 2023.

Sophomores Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham are the depth players at Vyper, and both will get opportunities to earn major snaps this season behind starter Jordan Botelho. They are very talented young players, with Tuihalamaka providing a power profile to the position and Burnham providing big time athletic potential. If this duo can turn that potential into production the Irish Vyper position could be outstanding this fall.

There are other talented young players in the class who will get a chance to compete this fall. The more players from this class that step up and become impact player or key contributors, the better this football team will be.

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2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
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