Notre Dame football: 3 biggest questions heading into spring 2023

Dec 30, 2022; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts after a touchdown during the second half against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2022 Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports /

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Nov 26, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Deion Colzie (16) celebrates his touchdown scored against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Who will emerge as the new go-to target?

I’ve gone over this topic a number of times and even wrote about it, but the question remains: who will be Notre Dame’s No. 1 target this year with Michael Mayer gone?

A number of guys come to mind as potential go-to targets in the new-look offense.

Lorenzo Styles returns as a veteran, Jayden Thomas was productive last year, Kaleb Smith has transferred in from Virginia Tech and is an option, and both Deion Colzie and Tobias Merriweather are intriguing, talented weapons in the receiving corps.

Any of those guys could take over as the WR1 next season.

Could it be a tight end like Mitchell Evans, Holden Staes, or Eli Raridon? Possibly, but I don’t think any of those guys will have the immediate impact that Mayer did.

It’ll be interesting to see if anyone steps up as the go-to target or even if the trio of freshmen — Braylon James, Jaden Greathouse, Rico Flores — will have a say in this WR1 race.

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