Spring Breakout Predictions For The Notre Dame Offense
One of the more entertaining parts of the offseason, and especially the spring, is learning what the new Notre Dame football team will look like. Every team is different, having to replace departed players and coaches. How well the new team looks is impacted greatly by the number of breakout players that emerge.
For the Notre Dame offense, there are a lot of options and potential breakout players. In fact, with seven starters leaving the program and another out for the spring, every position group on the roster has the need for breakouts emerge. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen, but we'll learn that over the next 13 practices and in the Blue-Gold Game.
The good news is Notre Dame has a young and talented roster ready to compete this spring. At every position there are multiple players with the talent to have a breakout spring. This is important because the margin for error is greater, which increases the odds we'll see more breakouts.
There are several players that I predict will be the breakouts for the Irish offense by the time we get to the end of the spring.
JEREMIYAH LOVE - JADARIAN PRICE, RUNNING BACK - Replacing Audric Estime won't be easy, but the Irish backfield remains loaded. While Estime rightfully got the attention last season, the returning backs combined for over 1,000 yards of offense. Love and Price enter the spring competing for the lead role, but there's a very good chance they are both so good that the backfield ends up as more of a 1A/1B situation.
Price and Love can both be lead backs, and both can do everything the offense needs in the run game. Despite this, the duo also has desired complementary skills, with Price being more of a pure lead back and Love being a dynamic all-around player. Their complementary skills means they can attack defenses in different ways, but also means they can be used together.
I fully expect Price to be the player he was during his first spring, when he was the team's most impressive back. According to one source on staff at the time, Price out played Estime, Logan Diggs and Chris Tyree that spring. Now that he's another year removed from his Achilles injury, expect Price to get back to being the dominant, explosive back he showed he could be as a rookie.
I expect Love to be a constant home run hitter as both a runner and pass receiver. His combination of speed, vision and toughness give Love lead back skills as well, but his all-around game is exceptional, at least from a potential standpoint. Don't be surprised if he's the team's flashiest back this spring, and if he proves to be the most explosive playmaker on offense.
As a duo, don't be surprised if Love and Price end the spring as the most impressive players on offense.
JADEN GREATHOUSE, WIDE RECEIVER - There are a lot of strong breakout options at wide receiver, and I certainly wouldn't push back against anyone who picked Kris Mitchell, Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie, Jordan Faison, Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Jayden Harrison or KK Smith as breakout players. That's a big reason why I'm so excited about the potential of the receiver room, there is a lot of talent and plenty of players poised for a breakout.
After considering the entire group, and feeling a pull to go with Mitchell or Thomas, I'm choosing to go with Greathouse as my breakout player on offense. I'm impressed with his strong all-around game, and his feel for how to get open. Greathouse showed this off the moment he got on campus last spring. He finished last year's spring with 11 catches, and he started his career off with two touchdowns in the season-opening win over Navy. Greathouse was poised for a breakout rookie season before a move to the boundary and a hamstring injury stunted his development.
Now a sophomore, Greathouse is a year stronger and smarter. He can not only thrive in the slot, but I could Greathouse being a swing player that can spend time at all three positions. His combination of athleticism, ball skills, route running and penchant for winning are unmatched on the roster, and I predict by the end of spring he's the wideout being talked about the most, assuming he can stay healthy.
He won't be alone, and if I had to go with a breakout position it would be wide receiver for that very reason.
CHARLES JAGUSAH, LEFT TACKLE - This one isn't overly surprising when you consider Jagusah is a five-star talent, and how well he played in his lone start last season. Jagusah is a massive (6-7, 329) young tackle with loads of potential. The question isn't really about whether or not he'll become a standout, it's more about when he becomes a standout.
During his one start Jagusah showed two things. One is he is immensely talented, and the two is that he is still in the developmental stage as a prospect. The extra reps he got while preparing for that first start, the time spent in the winter program (his first) and now the chance to go through a spring practice (his first) is just what Jagusah needs to build on his 2023 finish.
Now that he's the projected starter, Jagusah is going to get plenty of attention and focus from Joe Rudolph and the rest of the offensive staff. They know his emergence this spring is a major ingredient needed for an offensive line that. can play well enough to fuel a playoff run. Jagusah's combination of size, athleticism and power is outstanding, and him breaking out is a must.
But I'm not going with Jagusah here because he needs to break out, I'm going with him because I think he will be a breakout player. I'm looking forward to seeing Jagusah's growth this spring. His run blocking should make the easiest jump, but how well he improves in pass protection, and the consistency he shows will be the ultimate keys to him becoming the standout he's capable of being.
BILLY SCHRAUTH, RIGHT GUARD - I don't expect Jagusah to be the only breakout lineman this spring. After missing his first spring due to injuries, Schrauth seemed poised to earn a starting job at left guard after last year's spring. That didn't materialize, and he spent most of the season on the bench. Injuries thrust him into the lineup for the final three games, and Schrauth got better each week. Now a junior, it's time for Schrauth to truly break out.
What he showed in his late season starts is a willingness to play a punishing style of football, and the combination of talent and power needed for him to live up to the high expectations placed upon him when he signed. He also showed that he still needs a lot of work from a technical standpoint, and that will come this spring.
As long as Schrauth can stay focused and show a work ethic that matches his talent, I see no reason to believe he'll not win a starting job. If he plays well enough to win a starting job, I fully expect that to mean he's tapped into his immense potential, which means he'll end the spring as a breakout player for the Irish.
If I am right and both Jagusah and Schrauth are spring breakouts, expectations for the line will skyrocket. If one or both of them fail to breakout, the line will remain a question mark heading into the summer.
QUARTERBACK - I predict that by the end of the spring we'll be talking about the future at quarterback has emerged. I'm not quite sure who that player will be, but I do think one of the three younger quarterbacks will establish himself this spring. I don't include Riley Leonard in this group because I don't think he needs to do anything to breakout this spring, his breakout will be more in the fall when they start playing games.
While Marcus Freeman has talked about there being a battle for the No. 1, the reality is Leonard is going to be the starter as long as he's healthy. His questions will be more about just how good he can be, which we won't know until the spring. That's why Leonard isn't someone I'm considering for a spring breakout.
Behind him is where the real battle is taking place this spring. Who emerges as the backup QB is the bigger question. That player will be needed to step in should Leonard go down, but looking to the future, that player will have a leg up on who becomes the starter a year from now.
Steve Angeli has the experience needed to be in that role for now, and he showed out well in the bowl victory over Oregon State. Now he'll need to battle with talented sophomore Kenny Minchey and big time rookie CJ Carr if he's going to hold onto that job. Angeli lacks their arm talent, but his experience and grit helps him. The young players will need to breakout this spring in order to pass Angeli up, and I think that's going to happen. I'm not sure which young player that will be, but don't be surprised to see the depth of talent and competition bring out the best in one of the three talented backups.
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