Notre Dame Wide Receivers And The Front Seven Must Step Up If The Irish Are Going To Thrive

Earlier in the week we discussed where Notre Dame ranks among the nation’s top programs, and our analysis is that the Fighting Irish rank as the No. 5 program in the country. That’s certainly a great position to be in, especially considering where Notre Dame has been in the past, but the standard at Notre Dame is to be a championship, not an almost program.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff must now focus on what must happen to continue to climb the national ladder. We followed up our discussion about where Notre Dame ranks with a breakdown of where the Irish are championship ready, what units can play a key role in a title, and where the Irish are currently falling short.

In the last two articles about this topic I discussed the positions where Notre Dame is already elite and on a championship level, and areas where the Irish have units that should play a very key role to the offense being a championship caliber unit.

Now it's time to discuss the areas where Notre Dame isn't quite there yet, or to be more precise, the areas where the biggest questions remain. Just how good will these units be? Will they be solid, will they be key drivers for the Irish, or will some of them become strengths? How those questions get answered will tell us a lot about how good the 2023 team will be.

WIDE RECEIVER

None of the four position groups listed here lack talent, the discussion must center around will their potential turn into impact production. Potential doesn't win games, production and execution wins games.

No position greater symbolizes this than the wide receiver unit. From a pure talent standpoint this unit has the tools to be a key contributor, if not a driver of a championship caliber offense. There is length, there is speed, there is playmaking ability and there is really impressive depth.

What the unit lacks is certainty. We don't yet know who the starters will be, much less who will be the standouts. How will the unit mesh with the quarterbacks? Will they be able to make the clutch plays? Will they be able to shine against the best opponents on the schedule?

If this unit taps into its potential they will become a strength of the offense, and arguably no development on that side of the ball will have a bigger impact on the rest of the group. If the wideouts don't step up teams will continue to focus on slowing down the run game, and it will make it harder to beat the best teams on the schedule.

On the flip side, if the wide receiver unit produces on a consistent basis, and proves it can make big plays, teams will have to back away from the box and play Notre Dame straight up, which then makes the run game so much more dangerous. If teams continue to play the run, and the wideouts emerge, they will rip defenses apart with the pass game.

That's the potential this offense has, and it's up to the receivers breaking out to make that happen.

There is certainly plenty of options. Sophomore Tobias Merriweather might be the team's most talented player, and he's having a great spring so far. Junior Deion Colzie flashed potential a season ago, and he could be a Miles Boykin type of player. Classmate Jayden Thomas showed himself to be a steady playmaker in the second half of the season, and the other junior - Lorenzo Styles - showed impact potential in 2021 as a rookie.

Notre Dame also welcomes Virginia Tech transfer Kaleb Smith this spring. All he did a season ago was rank third in the ACC in yards per catch (18.2) while earning honorable mention All-ACC honors. Then there are the freshmen - Braylon James, Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores - who in past seasons would be no brainers to get playing time as rookies. Now they are battling to crack the two-deep. Classmate Kaleb Smith will arrive in the summer and add even more depth.

Notre Dame moved running back Chris Tyree into the slot this spring, and he immediately became the most explosive player at the position. If Tyree can find a niche at wide receiver he'll add some big time speed to the position.

That kind of talent, and that kind of depth, greatly enhances the chances this unit steps up. Now they have to prove it.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Defensive line has been a primary strength of the defense for years, but it took a step back last season and enters the 2023 season as a question mark. Like the wide receiver position, this unit has plenty of numbers and lots of potential, but right now there are more questions than answers.

Notre Dame was an inconsistent pass rushing team a season ago, and it must replace Isaiah Foskey, the team's best pass rusher. There are plenty of talented options battling this spring, and veteran Jordan Botelho has a chance to become a breakout player. Sophomores Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham provide plenty of raw talent to the rotation. How will this unit be utilized in 2023, and will the younger player turn their potential into production?

Landing Javontae Jean-Baptiste was important for the depth at the big end position. A rotation player at Ohio State, Jean-Baptiste will be tasked with being a more consistent playmaker for the Irish. If he can do that the big end position will be much better this fall than it was a year ago.

The starters inside are obvious, with Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III projecting as disruptive players up the middle, but can they be consistent? How about the depth behind them? Is Gabriel Rubio ready to play like the Top 100 recruit he was coming out of high school? Is the spring Jason Onye breakout going to carry over into the fall? These are important questions that will go a long way towards determining if the defensive line can play big time football in 2023.

Simply put, Al Washington needs to get the defensive line back on track after a down season. If that happens they jump way up into the second category and become a foundation of what could be a very good Irish defense in 2023.

LINEBACKER

The biggest question here isn't really about the players at the position. We know who the veterans are, and we know the freshman and sophomore classes are loaded with talented young players. The questions here are more about coaching.

Will Al Golden actually open up competition at linebacker and allow the younger players to win spots? Will he scale things back enough to allow the entire depth chart to play with greater proficiency, allowing their talent to shine more and their execution to be more consistent? Will he start tailoring the defense to fit their skills, and stop asking the veterans to do things they aren't all that good at.

How these questions get answered will go a long way towards determining if the linebackers become a liability, which they were for chunks of the 2022 season, or if they become a strength of a defense, something they are certainly capable of becoming.

I expect JD Bertrand to always get unfair criticism from some Irish fans, but if he continues to develop the way he did a season ago he'll become a key force up the middle. If Jack Kiser gets used in more of a niche role, and is allowed to attack the football (something he's very good at), he could become a force as well.

Next it's how do the sophomores fit into roles. Simply put, Jaylen Sneed and Nolan Ziegler need to play, and play a lot. If Golden answers the questions above in a positive manner, and finds a way to get these two sophomores onto the field, and to get the veterans to play more consistent football, the linebacker position could become a strength.

SAFETY

This is the one position that has the narrowest margin for error because of the depth, which has come from years of inconsistent recruiting, and that's being polite. The reality is none of the top three safeties on the roster - Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson or DJ Brown - were recruited to play safety and moved from somewhere else.

Watts and Henderson are very athletic and have a lot of potential, but they have to be more consistent. If they do the starting rotation could be very, very good. Brown can be a steady player if used in a rotation role. There's a chance, if everything goes according to plan, that safety will once again be a solid part of the defense, as it was a year ago.

Here's the problem, can it be better than solid? That remains to be seen, but it's possible. The other concern is the lack of depth, and the fact if they suffer an injury there things could go downhill in a hurry.

Notre Dame also will likely need to use Thomas Harper as a safety to shore up the depth, instead of using him more as a nickel, which is where he made his living at Oklahoma State.

I personally believe moving a player like Clarence Lewis to safety could really shore up the depth chart, but the staff so far seems unwilling to consider that move.

Championship teams don't have units in this category. Playoff teams rarely have a unit in this category. If Notre Dame wants to make a playoff run, and a championship run, these position groups need to answer important questions and produce. The more that do the better Notre Dame will be.

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

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