With an exciting offseason in full-effect, here’s a look at Notre Dame football’s position groups and how they rank comparatively.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has done a good job at piecing together a talented roster in the last few years, putting together solid recruiting classes in back to back years. However, questions still remain on both sides of the ball.
With that said, Notre Dame will seek to build on a strong 2017 season by fine-tuning their roster throughout the season. They are in a great position to do that, so here’s a look at what the Irish coaching staff has at their disposal as it sits right now.
The Irish are somewhat thin along the offensive skill positions, but there is still plenty of available talent. However, that talent hasn’t been able to translate into on-the-field success, especially in the case of tight end Alizé Mack. The Irish’s receiving struggles can easily be linked to quarterback Brandon Wimbush’s lackluster arm, but last year’s receivers still had trouble creating separation.
This unit took a hit following the 2017 season, losing wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown and tight end Durham Smythe to the Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins, respectively. The Irish will also be missing wide receiver Kevin Stepherson in the wake of his dismissal following a string of off-the-field incidents.
The Irish have plenty of speed and physicality on its way, but the majority of their latest recruiting class won’t see the field in 2018. Offensive coordinator Chip Long is starting to recruit his kind of players, assembling an offense that closely resembles his former Memphis offense.
As it stands right now, Chase Claypool, Miles Boykin, and Chris Finke figure to get the most snaps at wide receiver while Mack is positioned for one last-ditch effort at a breakout season. While good things are ahead for Long and his offense, the Irish will have to settle for Claypool and Boykin as current stopgaps on the outside.
This running back group has the potential to make a significant jump over the course of the 2018 season. However, they come in at No. 6 on this list due to the limited sample size of the unit’s top two talents, senior Dexter Williams and junior Tony Jones Jr. Both of these players boast their own respective strengths, but we still need to see more before jumping to any conclusions.
In terms of Williams’ skillset, the former four-star talent out of Winter Garden, Fla., has all the potential in the world to serve as a three-down back for the Irish. However, durability has continued to be an issue. While Williams was able to serve as an exceptionally efficient change of pace back behind star Josh Adams, it’s yet to be seen if he can handle a full-time role.
Jones Jr. didn’t see a whole lot of action in 2017, but averaged a respectable 5.3 yards per game, finishing the season with 232 yards and three touchdowns on 44 caries. Kelly has praised Jones’ consistency this offseason, hinting towards a potentially significant role for Jones if Williams can’t handle a large amount of snaps.
At the end of the day, this group has the potential to be great. However, their lack of pedigree and consistency allows for some hesitancy.
It was hard to determine where to place this group as the corners and safeties are in completely different places in terms of last season’s productivity. To highlight the disparity between the two positions, Irish cornerbacks were involved in 10 turnovers last season (seven interceptions, three fumbles) while the back half of the secondary didn’t contribute to a single turnover.
Despite the impending transfer of fifth-year senior Nick Watkins, the Irish will return a solid group of corners in 2018. That group will likely feature juniors Julian Love and Troy Pride Jr., the former of whom recorded three interceptions over the course of 2017. Senior Shaun Crawford will once again factor in as the teams nickel corner.
Maneuvering through the safety position is where things get a bit more tricky. While former Navy transfer Alohi Gilman appears set to start at free safety, strong safety is currently up for grabs. Outside of senior Nick Coleman (who figures to back up Gilman), just about every other capable safety is competing for the starting gig at strong safety.
The most likely candidates for the starting job are incumbent starter Jalen Elliott and junior Devin Studstill. Elliott impressed in the Blue-Gold game and will get first dibs at strong safety, but will be operating on a short leash with Studstill following closely behind. The Irish also have true freshman Houston Griffith, but he doesn’t figure to truly factor in until later down the road.
Despite contributing significantly in each of the team’s 10 wins, Irish quarterbacks, namely Wimbush, also contributed heavily to each of Notre Dame’s three losses. While backup Ian Book wasn’t nearly as impressive as many would like you to believe, he still showed enough promise to keep Wimbush on his heels throughout the offseason.
Wimbush kicked off the 2017 season with a bang, helping lead the Irish to an 8-1 record while taking the team as high as No. 3 in the AP poll. However, that success would prove to be short-lived as the Irish dropped two of their next three, losing badly at the hands of both Miami and Stanford.
Book, however, made things interesting in the Irish’s final game of the season, taking over for Wimbush early in the game and taking down LSU by a score of 21 to 17 in the 2018 Citrus Bowl. A quarterback controversy would take shape, but that too was short-lived. Wimbush has looked good this offseason, but we’ll wait until at least Week 1 to move this position up the list.
Despite an absolutely abysmal 2016 season, the Notre Dame defensive line turned things around in grand fashion last season, boosting their sack total to 16.5 in 2017. Similar to the situation at cornerback, the Irish defensive line will bring back a significant amount of talent despite Jay Hayes’ transfer to Georgia.
The interior of the defensive line has undergone some remodeling this offseason, with senior Jerry Tillery moving to the three-technique while fifth-year senior Jonathan Bonner gets some work at defensive end. Additionally, the Irish boast plenty of young depth including sophomores Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kurt Hinish, and last year’s redshirt Darnell Ewell.
On the ends, Notre Dame will once again start junior Daelin Hayes. With the departure of Jay Hayes, junior Khalid Kareem figures to start opposite Daelin while fellow junior Julian Okwara looks to rotate in as well. With a strong core and a plethora of youth on the horizon, look for the defensive line to be a source of strength for the Irish for quite some time.
Despite losing two of the team’s greatest offensive linemen in recent memory, Notre Dame will once again bring back a very talented unit in 2018. While it’s yet to be seen how all of the pieces fit together, the Irish will be able to try their luck with a promising next generation of offensive linemen.
As for last year’s incumbent starters, Notre Dame will return two full-time starters in fifth-year seniors Alex Bars and Sam Mustipher. Also, junior Tommy Kraemer and sophomore Robert Hainsey will seek to hold down their own spots on the line after splitting time at right tackle in 2017.
That leaves junior Liam Eichenberg, a four-star product out of Cleveland, as the team’s most likely fifth starter. The common consensus is that Hainsey will stay at right tackle and Mustipher at center while Eichenberg gets the call at left tackle. Additionally, Kraemer will make the switch from tackle to guard. Given the inexperience of Eichenberg, Bars will likely help out at left guard while Kraemer moves to right.
Despite all of the moving parts and the departure of former offensive line coach Harry Hiestand, the Irish still have plenty of leadership in this unit along with a more than capable replacement in coach Jeff Quinn. Look for the offensive line to once again be a linchpin for the success of the Notre Dame offense.
The Irish linebacker corps was easily the team’s greatest strength last season and, despite the losses of Nyles Morgan and Greer Martini, is likely to remain the same in 2018. The linebacker position has often served as a source of leadership for the Irish, producing some of Notre Dame’s all-time greats.
Fifth-year senior Drue Tranquill will serve as a captain for back to back years while making a much anticipated switch to inside linebacker in 2018. He will line up alongside senior Te’von Coney, last year’s team-leader in tackles. Needless to say, defensive coordinator Clark Lea will expect nothing short of excellence from the team’s traditional linebacker spots.
Next: Way-too-early 2019 NFL Mock Draft
The Irish have ventured into the unconventional with their implementation of the rover spot, a position that will likely be filled by either senior Asmar Bilal or sophomore Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Bilal will most likely get the immediate start at rover, but Irish fans can be encouraged in knowing that Owusu-Koramoah was brought in specifically to fill this impending void.