Notre Dame Sophomores Are Ready To Make Their Presence Felt On Offense

Notre Dame has certainly upgraded its talent on offense in recent seasons, and the Class of 2022 is part of that upgrade. Like the 2021 class, there wasn't much first-year impact from the class, but now heading into their sophomore seasons, the 2022 class is ready to make a much bigger impact.

The 2021 class had a few players that got on the field as rookies, due in part to injuries, but as sophomores they emerged as a key part of the Irish offense. Eight players from that 2021 class started on offense in the bowl game win over South Carolina. Two members of that class have departed, and along with some veterans heading to the NFL or exhausting their eligibility, plenty of opportunities have opened up for the sophomore class.

Of course, some of the opportunities aren't necessarily coming open, but several members of the sophomore class are kicking the door down and forcing their way onto the field.

No matter the cause, the end result is the same, we are going to see a lot more of the sophomore class on the Notre Dame offense this season.

Tobias Merriweather, Wide Receiver

Merriweather has certainly garnered a great deal of attention from Irish fans over the last year. He didn't play as much as a rookie as fans would have liked, or as much as I would have liked, but that's going to change in year two.

The Washington native broke out during the spring, beating out Lorenzo Styles and emerging as one of the team's best offensive weapons. By the end of the spring Styles was gone after entering the transfer portal. Merriweather is now poised to become "the man" at the field outside position (X).

Notre Dame is counting on Merriweather to be more than just a solid new starter, he needs to become an impact player. The arrival of quarterback Sam Hartman came at the perfect time for Merriweather, who is the kind of vertical talent that Hartman made a living throwing to at Wake Forest.

Whether or not he becomes the go to receiver remains to be seen, and junior Jayden Thomas is going to have a say in that. But Merriweather will certainly be a key figure in the Irish pass attack, which is expected to be far more wideout oriented than it was last fall.

Billy Schrauth, Left Guard

Another sophomore that kicked down the door this spring is Schrauth, who quickly emerged as the top player at left guard. Schrauth will need to lock down the job in the fall by building on his strong spring, but the expectation is that he'll do just that.

Injuries kept Schrauth from doing much as a freshman, but he was healthy in the spring and his big time talent started to shine. The Wisconsin native has a unique combination of size (6-4 1/2, 304), power and athleticism. He was one of the crown jewels of the Notre Dame 2022 signing class, and he didn't waste time this spring showing that the high expectations were justified.

Schrauth will benefit from playing between a pair of veteran players in All-American left tackle Joe Alt and fifth-year senior center Zeke Correll. This should help Schrauth get caught up to speed a bit quicker than expected, as the veterans can help Schrauth with communication and assignments. The faster he can get comfortable with the system and enhance his technique the faster the left side of the Notre Dame offensive line becomes a force, instead of it just being one elite player (Alt) and a younger, inexperienced player trying to find his way.

Jadarian Price - Gi'Bran Payne, Running Back

Although Merriweather and Schrauth are the only two sophomores expected to be starters at the start of fall camp, there are several others that will have a chance to earn very important roles on offense.

Price and Payne are both expected to compete for snaps this season at running back, and their emergence is vital to Notre Dame established the running back depth it needs to have a dominant ground attack.

Payne was a breakout player for the offense during the spring, taking full advantage of Price and the now department Logan Diggs being out with injuries, and with Chris Tyree transitioning to wide receiver. He had a strong spring that was capped with a strong performance in the Blue-Gold Game. Payne appears to be past the injuries that plagued him as a junior and senior in high school, and his combination of football intelligence, quickness, strength and vision has him poised for a key role on offense.

Price was the breakout star for Notre Dame in the spring of 2022, but an Achilles injury cost him the entire 2022 season. According to head coach Marcus Freeman, Price is healthy and back to full speed. If that is the case he'll be a huge addition to the Irish offense.

The Texas native was a legit home run weapon prior to his injury, and if that player emerges the running back room will be scary good. Price is an explosive athletic with the vision to be an efficient back, the power to grind out tough yards and the speed to score from anywhere on the field.

He'll likely need time to build up his endurance, and being careful with how much he plays early might be wise, but Price is the kind of back that can do more with less. As he gets up to speed it will be very hard to keep him off the field, and if that becomes true the Irish will have a truly special one-two punch at running back.

Holden Staes - Eli Raridon, Tight End

The tight end position is going to look a lot different this season now that Michael Mayer is off to the NFL. Losing the most prolific player in the program's history is going to be a challenge, and it's part of the reason Notre Dame will be more wideout dominant this season. That does not, however, mean the tight ends are going to take a back seat.

Junior Mitchell Evans is poised to become the team's starter, but sophomores Holden Staes and Eli Raridon are going to be factors on offense this season.

Staes had a great spring and brings a completely different element to the offense than we've seen at tight end in recent seasons. He's a player that can move all over the field, including lining up outside and acting like a bigger receiver. He's not the possession type of receiver that Mayer was, and adding the kind of speed he possesses could be a welcome weapon to the middle of the field for Notre Dame.

Raridon is coming off an ACL injury, and we don't yet know when he'll be back, and when he does come back how much he'll be able to play. Notre Dame needs to be very, very cautious with Raridon, who injured the same ACL twice in less than a year.

If Raridon does return he'll combine with Staes to bring some big time juice to the tight end position. Both Staes and Raridon can flat out run, and they bring big play potential to the tight end position. A two tight end alignment with Evans and one of these two players gives the Irish the ability to do a lot of things in the pass game that could force opponents to treat it more like an 11 personnel grouping from a scheme standpoint. That not only opens up opportunities for them to make plays in the pass game, but it also makes it harder to defend the Irish ground attack in those looks.

I have little doubt this duo is going to make their presence felt this season.

Aamil Wagner - Ashton Craig, Offensive Line

It would likely require an injury for Wagner or Craig to get on the field this season, but they are both battling for very important No. 2 spots on the depth chart. That would put them in position to get on the field in case of injury, but more importantly to put them in position to earn starting jobs in the very near future.

The presence of Wagner and Craig is also partly why I believe that while an injury up front would be painful, Notre Dame has the depth needed to keep things rolling up front should that worst case scenario happen.

Wagner was a standout in the Blue-Gold Game, and despite weighing just 278 pounds he showed the combination of athleticism and power needed to thrive on the edge. If he can build on that, and add 5-8 more pounds, he'll put himself in position to become a major player on the Irish line. I could even see Wagner earning some short-yardage goal line snaps in a similar fashion to what we saw from Alt back in 2021 before he stepped into the starting lineup.

Craig has played both guard and center during his brief tenure at Notre Dame, and he's impressed the Irish staff. Craig has added good weight and is athletic young blocker with an incredibly bright future. I won't be at all surprised to see him earn a No. 2 spot at either guard or center, possibly both, and for him to get in position to become a "next man in" inside.

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2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

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

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