Notre Dame Football: 3 biggest concerns to address this spring

All the departures on the offense for Notre Dame football should be offset by the skilled defense they have. What will we see from the Irish in spring?

Notre Dame football enters the course of spring practice with a ton of returning experience, but still some question marks on the roster. Few programs will have more attention on them in the entire nation than the Fighting Irish. There’s a lot of potential with this group, coming off a huge turnaround season in 2017.

The defense does look to be in much better shape than the offense for Notre Dame in 2018. It’s up to head coach Brian Kelly to piece together the offense again to spark a solid run through an extremely tough slate. He did a great job putting together a stable of talented and productive running backs last year.

Since then, he’s seen two of the biggest contributing rushers depart the program. Star rusher Josh Adams is making the jump to the 2018 NFL Draft, after running out of eligibility. And, Deon McIntosh was dismissed from the program entirely, earlier in the year.

However, the ground game is not the only thing left to work on for the Irish in spring drills. The passing game, receiving corps, and defensive cohesion all have to be there too. Few teams can get away with little progress throughout spring practice.

With seven enrollees coming onto campus in South Bend, Ind., early this year, finding the right groove in spring becomes so much more significant. Setting the right tone for the future of the program also matters in the coming months.

Here’s the three biggest concerns and questions the Notre Dame Fighting Irish must address in spring practice in 2018.