Notre Dame Football: Five X-Factor Players for 2016
By Greg Hadley
While the spotlight in South Bend has obviously been on the quarterback competition, Notre Dame football has plenty of other gaps to fill if the Fighting Irish want to make a College Football Playoff run.
Throughout the spring, all anyone could ever talk about at Notre Dame was the great QB debate: DeShone Kizer or Malik Zaire?
But people seemed to forget how much else the Fighting Irish are losing on both sides of the ball from 2015. The team’s top rusher (C.J. Prosise), receiver (Will Fuller), and tackler (Jaylon Smith) are all gone, as well as 10 other starters.
Zaire and Kizer are certainly talented, but without a strong sporting cast, neither will be able to carry the Irish to the College Football Playoff in 2016. Last season is evidence enough of that, as injuries took their toll and Brian Kelly’s squad limped down the homestretch, even as Kizer matured as a starter.
Like other top programs, though, Notre Dame has a seemingly endless supply of talent, and there are viable (or at least workable) replacements at each position where the Irish have lost players. But how well certain players perform in the intense pressure-cooker known as Notre Dame football will determine the fate of the Fighting Irish season.
The bottom line is, thanks to Kizer and/or Zaire, a pretty soft schedule and Kelly’s strong recruiting, Notre Dame is in prime position for at least a solid 2016. But these five players, all stepping into starring roles this year, will either be the reason for a great season or precisely what holds the Irish back.
Next: Torii Hunter Jr.