Notre Dame Football: 3 way-too-early breakout candidates for 2022

Notre Dame football is under new management heading into 2022 with Marcus Freeman in charge. Who’ll break out in his first season?

Brian Kelly dropped a bomb on the Notre Dame football program before the Fiesta Bowl, taking the LSU job and the Irish were left no choice but to find the best possible option.

Luckily, Marcus Freeman was just sitting there waiting to be hired. It was only a matter of time before the elite defensive coordinator landed a Power Five head coaching job. Notre Dame was fortunate enough to have hired him the prior offseason to replace Clark Lea as defensive coordinator so he was an easy choice to replace Kelly.

Now Freeman has to try and keep the team together in order to make another playoff run but he’ll need some players to step up.

Who could break out for the Irish in 2022?

What would a breakout list be without one of Marcus Freeman’s rising defensive stars?

The former defensive coordinator turned head coach has gotten a chance to work closely with Rylie Mills who was one of the top recruits in Notre Dame’s 2020 class.

The Irish will need some guys to step up on the defensive line with both Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish departing. That’s two starters down which will make way for a junior like Mills who has waited his turn and showed flashes of being a dominant lineman in 2021.

Mills played in five games as a freshman, recording seven tackles with two tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. He had an even more impressive sophomore season, recording 16 tackles and three sacks in nine games. He’s due for an even better junior season as a potential full-time starter.