Notre Dame Football: 5 things to watch during 2019 Blue-Gold game

5. Speed vs. Speed

While some expected senior Troy Pride Jr. to take over for 2018 consensus All-American Julian Love, defensive coordinator Clark Lea has opted to keep Pride at field corner for the 2019 season. That means that Pride will likely find himself lining up against the wide receiver timeshare currently being deployed on the wide side of the field during the Blue-Gold game.

Currently the front-runner of said time share, junior Michael Young boasts incredible speed rivaled only by Pride himself, along with a couple of other receivers who will be giving the latter a run for his money this weekend. Those receivers are Braden Lenzy and Joe Wilkins Jr., the former of whom enjoyed time as a track star similar to Pride.

Pride will also find himself going against sophomore Kevin Austin, a more physical receiver who will force Pride to adjust his game on the fly. Austin’s strength is sure to compliment the pure speed of his wide receiver peers, giving Pride a taste of everything before the season even starts.

It isn’t all too often that you see two college track stars line up across one another on the football field, especially on the same team. Nevertheless, Irish fans will have that privilege Saturday as some of the fastest on the team line up head to head time and time again.