With Spring Practice underway for the top programs across the country, who is there to watch to potentially breakout for Notre Dame football?
Notre Dame football has a very significant Spring slate that will gain a good amount of attention from the college football world. A few key dates are upcoming for the Spring for the Fighting Irish. On March 22, Notre Dame plays host to its 2018 Pro Day in South Bend.
The biggest event of the Spring comes on April 21 at Notre Dame Stadium, as the Fighting Irish take part in the annual Blue-Gold Spring Game. It’s the last time the team has a game played in Notre Dame Stadium until they take on the Michigan Wolverines in Week 1 of the college football season, on Sep. 1.
National Signing Day 2018 was very friendly to Notre Dame as they reeled in the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation, with 27 signees incoming. Of those signees, there’s seven that will be on campus this semester as early enrollees.
All eyes will fall on the Notre Dame quarterback battle come the Blue-Gold Game. Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book are competing with incoming freshman four-star recruit Phil Jurkovec. Notre Dame also has to replace former star running back Josh Adams in the backfield.
Barring anything that could happen before the 2018 campaign begins, the Irish return nearly every starter on the defensive side of the ball. They do lose nearly half of all the production from 2017 on the offense. However, the defense should help make up for that. Get ready for an interesting season in the works for Notre Dame this year.
Here’s a look at the five players for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that could breakout starting in Spring Practice.
Notre Dame is left searching for answers in the receiving corps after players like Kevin Stepherson were dismissed back in January 2018. Star wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown made the jump to the NFL Draft too, leaving the Irish without much returning production at the position.
Yet, rising sophomore receiver Michael Young Jr. is among the players competing for one of the three starting spots for the Notre Dame offense. Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool can also make a huge impact come 2018, as they’re the most experienced returning receivers.
As a former three-star recruit, part of the 2017 Notre Dame class, Young Jr. fits the bill of a player primed for a breakout sophomore campaign. He saw action in just two games in 2017, and was targeted only four times. Of those four targets, he caught two passes for 10 yards.
Whoever is the starting quarterback for the Irish in 2018, they’ll need the support from some solid wide receivers. At just 5-foot-10, Young Jr. is an interesting choice for a starting outside receiver. However, his speed and route running ability should give him a leg up during Spring Practice.
Head coach Brian Kelly swapped between Wimbush and Book a few times during the 2017 season. However, Wimbush got the good bulk of the snaps last year, and continues to occupy the first team reps during Spring Practice. That does not mean that a quarterback battle is not ongoing.
The push for the starting gig for Book starts during Spring Practice. If he can make a real impact on the thought process for Kelly before the Michigan matchup in Week 1, he’ll have a good chance at significant early playing time this year.
Last year, Book threw for just over 450 yards and four touchdowns, with four picks too. He built some momentum up from the Citrus Bowl victory over running back Derrius Guice, quarterback Danny Etling and the LSU Tigers. That also should earn him some brownie points from the coaching staff.
Book has the better passing accuracy over Wimbush, and that could also sway the Notre Dame fan base to really push for him to start. Wimbush is an inconsistent pocket presence, usually completing less than 50 percent of his passing attempts. Book could be the answer in 2018.
Rising senior running back Dexter Williams is primed to take over the starting role in the backfield after the departure of Adams. That’s just another area where Notre Dame has major turnover on the offensive side of the ball. It’s up to Kelly to keep the running back stable ready to go.
If Williams falls short of expectations in 2018, rising junior Tony Jones Jr. could get called up a lot more. Since fellow running back Deon McIntosh was supposed to be a key part of Notre Dame’s ground game this year and he was dismissed from the program, Jones Jr. becomes that much more important to the team’s success.
Last year, Jones Jr. took 44 carries for 232 yards and six touchdowns. He’s a solid rusher when it comes to the red zone. Williams is a bit more elusive than Jones Jr, and will likely average more yards per carry. However, Jones Jr. did average well over 5.0 yards per carry in 2017.
A few other names to watch in the backfield outside of Williams and Jones Jr. are rising sophomore Jafar Armstrong and freshman Jahmir Smith. There’s going to be plenty of new faces in the Irish backfield this year. Williams and Jones Jr. will lead the way.
Notre Dame returns an absolutely loaded group of defensive talent in 2018. There’s a chance that the Irish fields a top defense in the nation this year. A lot of that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the few new faces we will see on the Notre Dame defense.
One of those new faces, that could even start for most of the 2018 campaign, is rising sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Much like Young Jr. Owusu-Koramoah was a three-star prospect in the 2017 recruiting class for the Irish. He’s an underrated possible impact player for 2018.
As a linebacker that has a great nose for the football, Owusu-Koramoah could be a valuable piece of the Notre Dame run defense. He’s the type of player that could reach the mark of 120 total tackles in a single season.
In regards to the path to contention for Notre Dame in 2018, it goes through the play of the defense. The offense needs to step up, but that’s where the strength of the depth chart lies. Watch out for incoming freshman four-star linebacker Shayne Simon to also get some early playing time, but he does not arrive in South Bend until the fall.
Notre Dame seems to be set along the defensive line, but that could all change at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Most of the starters along the defensive line are rising seniors, like Jay Hayes and Jerry Tillery. Fifth-year senior Jonathan Bonner and Daelin Hayes are important pieces too.
To build up the strength of the defensive line rotation, the Irish need to find a few new answers from some younger players. A good portion of the backup lineman are rising sophomores, and one name that sticks out is nose guard Kurt Hinish.
In very limited action in 2017, Hinish racked up eight total tackles and one half of a tackle for a loss. He’ll likely get more exposure come the 2018 season, especially during the course of Spring Practice. Kelly definitely needs to start building up the depth for the younger lineman.
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Hinish could work himself into some playing time during the upcoming regular season, behind the experienced Bonner. He also gets the exposure of playing behind, and learning from, a talented lineman like Bonner. Look out for some underrated players to make an impact for the Notre Dame defensive line this year.