Playmakers Must Emerge For The Notre Dame Offense
Building a championship caliber offense requires many things from both a coaching and player standpoint. Strong game plans and play calls, coaches that teach players how to properly play the game and building the right mindset are important. From a player standpoint, however, to truly have an elite offense a team needs skill players that can simply make big plays.
Look, in football things aren't always going to go how you draw it up. It is also extremely hard to consistently move the ball up and down the field in a methodical manner when you're playing other top programs. To win big games with any kind of consistency you need players on offense capable of making big plays in big moments.
Notre Dame will enter the 2022 season with arguably the best tight end in the nation in Michael Mayer. That's clearly a great starting point for Notre Dame, as Mayer possesses the proven ability to be a weapon on third down, a weapon in the red zone, an after the catch weapon and in 2022 the hope is we'll see him attacking down the field with greater frequency.
Mayer can't be it though; Notre Dame needs multiple players to step up. Ideally, it needs at least one more playmaker to emerge in the pass game and a ball carrier to become a legitimate playmaker.
QUARTERBACK IS A MUST
Of course, the best opportunity to have a dynamic offense is to have a playmaker at quarterback. That is where Tyler Buchner potentially comes into play. If Buchner wins the starting job in the fall, which we fully expect, he needs to become a legitimate playmaker in the pass game and run game.
Having a dynamic run-throw quarterback clearly provides an offense with a major boost, and it certainly opens up opportunities for other skill players. I can be quite challenging to defend multiple playmakers on the outside and inside (tight ends, running backs) if your quarterback is a dynamic runner.
A dynamic runner at quarterback is more dangerous, and the offense is more explosive, when that quarterback is also a legitimate pocket weapon. We all know Buchner will be a dynamic and impact runner, but he must prove this fall that he can also sit in the pocket, process his reads, make quick decisions and get the ball out accurate.
That will be what determines if Buchner can be a truly impact player at quarterback.
PASS CATCHERS NEED TO STEP UP
Mayer will be a favorite weapon for Buchner, but playing big time football on offense will require other pass catchers to emerge to take the pressure off both players. There are plenty of good options, but Notre Dame needs at least one player to emerge as a legit playmaker from a volume standpoint and another to emerge as a playmaker from a big play standpoint.
Rising sophomore Lorenzo Styles has a chance to provide both for the offense. He finished the 2021 season off on a very strong note, hauling in eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Styles showed he can stretch the field, make contested catches and we already knew he could make plays after the catch.
Now a sophomore, Styles gets a chance to go from being a lightly used freshman (before the bowl game) to a go-to player. We've seen this happen plenty of times in the past, a both Golden Tate and Will Fuller went from six catches as freshmen to 1,000-yard receivers as a sophomores.
Styles doesn't have to quite get to that level, although doing so would obviously be a great thing for the offense, but being a legitimate weapon on all three levels gives the offense a huge boost, and would take a lot of pressure off Mayer.
An interesting note is that Styles and Buchner were roommates as freshmen, and it's been noted in the past that the two young standouts share a strong connection on the field.
Styles breaking out is important, but there are other weapons on offense. Notre Dame gets Avery Davis back in the fall, and if he is back to full strength he gives the offense a legit third-down weapon and a veteran presence in the pass game.
A player that could have a huge impact on the offense is Braden Lenzy. It has been expected that Lenzy would be a home run hitter for the offense from the moment he signed with the Irish. He showed off that home run ability as a sophomore, which you can see in these highlights:
Lenzy has big play speed, but injuries and other factors that should no longer be an issue have held him back. If Lenzy can stay healthy and get back to being the home run hitter I know he can be he'll give the offense a major, major shot in the arm. Having a burner that can take the top off the defense and turn a reverse, jet sweep or quick throw into a long touchdown takes a ton of pressure off Mayer and Styles and makes Buchner more effective.
BALL CARRIERS SHOULD BE GOOD
Notre Dame has plenty of talent at running back, but right now the backfield is a question mark from a proven production standpoint. Junior Chris Tyree has 718 career rushing yards and five touchdowns, but he went for just 222 last season and averaged just 4.0 yards per carry while dealing with injuries. He also missed much of the most recent spring.
Can Tyree stay healthy? If he can there's no doubt he'll add home run impact to the run game and pass game. He's had a 100-yard game as a runner (Syracuse, 2020) and pass catcher (Oklahoma State, 2021). Tyree is clearly a playmaker, but he must show he can stay healthy with a full-time role.
The injury to Logan Diggs has raised questions about how healthy he'll be this season and when he'll be available, but there remain other talented options in the backfield. Audric Estime could have a chance to provide production to the run game, and freshman Jadarian Price showed all spring he can be an explosive runner.
Tyree needs to stay healthy and play his game, and if at least one more back can emerge as a legit rushing option the run game will be dangerous.
As you can see, Notre Dame has plenty of speed, talent and potential. The final piece is that the potential discussed throughout this article absolutely must become production, especially in the big games.
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