Notre Dame opens up fall camp on Friday, August 5th as the 1st full season of the Marcus Freeman begins in earnest. It’ll be a challenging August where most of the roster questions reside on this side of the ball with Freeman entrusting Tommy Rees to come up with answers after ultimately staying on campus and hitching his stock to the first-year head coach.
Coordinator: Tommy Rees, 3rd Season
Rees just turned 30 this spring and enters his 3rd season as offensive coordinator after previously being the quarterbacks coach in South Bend. If you’re keeping score at home Rees has been at Notre Dame in 10 out of the last 13 seasons either as a player or coach.
His stock is pretty high outside of Notre Dame, either because many national writers are lazy and repeat the same stories, or maybe because Rees has genuinely impressed a lot of folks across the country with his acumen at a young age and flexibility to adapt to his personnel.
Inside Notre Dame, Rees’ stock is a bit more complicated. With the hype comes great expectations, and perhaps even greater expectations as Rees steps up to become one of the most important voices in the new Marcus Freeman era tasked with developing his 3rd starting quarterback in 3 seasons.
Scheme: Zone-Blocking, Multiple Spread
Last year, we had 12 personnel included in this title and for 2022 we are removing it. Not necessarily because of a shift in emphasis but due to the injuries at tight end. Of course, we’re going to see a lot of Michael Mayer. And we will see plenty of other tight ends, too. How much of that will be the traditional 2 tight ends attached to the line remains to be seen. We should see a lot of detached Mayer and others, too.
With the return of Harry Heistand the blocking shouldn’t be changing too much after the transition from Chip Long’s preferences to Tommy Rees’ in recent years.
Returning Starters: 8 of 11
It doesn’t really feel like Notre Dame is bringing back this many starters which tends to happen when the quarterback departs along with the top running back and wide receiver. It has set up a weird situation where we might expect a new look or a bunch of new faces on offense, although that looks to be far from the case.
Officially, these are the spots for new starters:
Quarterback – Barring something miraculous from Drew Pyne this should be an easy decision to name Buchner the starter relatively early in fall camp.
Running Back – Ostensibly, this is Chris Tyree’s starting job and there probably won’t be much competition with a couple of significant injuries from other challengers.
“W” Wide Receiver – This will be the talk of fall camp as Notre Dame has enough experience at the other receiver positions but in some ways looks to be starting from scratch at this ‘big’ receiver spot.
Injuries
RB Logan Diggs – Shoulder
RB Jadarian Price – Achilles
WR Avery Davis – Knee
WR Joe Wilkins – Foot
OL Jarrett Patterson – Knee
OL Pat Coogan – Meniscus
OL Billy Schrauth – Foot
OL Joey Tanona – Concussion
TE Mitchell Evans – Foot
TE Cane Berrong – Knee
TE Eli Raridon – Knee
This is a lot of names! But, we should have Patterson and Raridon 100% fully cleared and Davis pretty much ready to go, too. The likes of Diggs, Price, Tanona, and Evans are longer term injuries and won’t be available any time soon.
It was reported that Wilkins isn’t likely back until October at the earliest. Coogan was injured in the spring and may be close to coming back to some work. The same goes for freshman Billy Schrauth. The health of Berrong will be one to watch as he’s 10 months out from his ACL injury suffered in the middle of last season.
Camp Questions
Will the offensive line become a team strength immediately?
Let’s not repeat the beginning of the 2021 season for the offensive line, you guys. Things fell apart almost immediately from Zeke Correll not working well at guard, to transfer Cain Madden being average at best, to the injury to Blake Fisher and the ensuing turnstile situation at tackle which developed.
The line should be so much better this year and really has no excuses at 3 out of the 5 positions. We still have to see how things will play out at guard versus center and what the gameplan will be moving forward.
Can the passing game show sufficient consistency to give the running game some breathing room?
Even with the injuries at running back there should be a nice uptick in the success of the running game with Tyler Buchner’s wheels behind center. Over his final 2 seasons, Ian Book averaged right around 235 passing yards and 42 rushing yards per game. Buchner is probably an easy bet to surpass that rushing average in his first year of starting.
Whether there are enough weapons through the air to keep the rushing attack fresh remains to be seen. Buchner’s arm talent is miles ahead of Book’s but we don’t know if that will translate to a good passing game right away, or maybe at all.
Are there enough bodies at wide receiver and running back?
With all the expected injuries we are looking at a fall camp roster of 3 running backs and 6 wide receivers, the latter including Avery Davis. At minimum, that’s about 3 to 4 players short of where a roster should be heading into fall camp.
The offense eventually will have to go hard in preparation for Ohio State in the opener but literally cannot afford anyone at these skill positions to miss time.
Can Buchner lift the offense on his own?
I mean, this is the question for 2022. Here’s a snippet from THIS piece back in December:
To me, it’s just been odd seeing the reaction to Buchner in 2021…Buchner seems like he’s ticking off the boxes of meeting expectations early as a top 100 player and the future at Notre Dame. His ceiling does seem high!
Yes, it feels like Buchner is being slept on as a playmaker. Nevertheless, he will feel the pressure of carrying the offense from time to time as a sophomore for a fan base that is growing bored of 10 and 11-win seasons.
New Faces to Watch
A very brief primer on the top freshmen to watch for fall camp…
WR Tobias Merriweather
Arguably the country’s top 2022 freshmen big receiver is exactly what Notre Dame needs on offense right now. There have been whispers and some comments from the Notre Dame beat media that Merriweather has been really impressing during workouts. Are we about to see a true freshman breakout at wide receiver?
Although the offense on paper is seeking a bigger wideout, Merriweather will likely have to fight through the trio of Braden Lenzy, Avery Davis (if he’s full-go), and Lorenzo Styles seeking a major sophomore breakthrough.
TE Eli Raridon
As little as a couple months ago most didn’t expect Raridon to be ready to play in the early part of this season, if at all. Following a grueling recovery process it appears he’s ready to make an impact from the beginning of fall camp. The usual caveats apply that a true freshman probably won’t be relied upon in the more often used blocking role. However, Raridon’s nearly 6’7″ frame and enticing pass-catching ability could turn into the best option at tight end when Mayer needs a rest.
RB Gi’Bran Payne
Payne was an early signing period commit for Indiana but backed out of his Letter of Intent in early March to sign with Notre Dame about 5 weeks later. It was a curious move (Notre Dame had been looking for a second tailback in the 2022 class but seemingly stopped after January rolled around) but ends up being an important one. The Irish start fall camp with just 282 rushing yards returning from 2021 with Payne 1 of just 3 running backs healthy as practices begin next week.
Key Positional Battles
A list of battles to watch…
“W” Wide Receiver
As stated, Notre Dame likely sticks to its “small” receiver lineup of Lenzy–Davis–Styles for a while. Someone to watch out for is Jayden Thomas who brings the physicality (215 pounds at just a little under 6’2″) to play this position and had been progressing nicely in the spring last seen catching 4 passes and including a 22-yard run in the Blue-Gold Game.
Otherwise, fans should focus on the sky rocketing stock of Merriweather and if sophomore Deion Colzie can make a move after a pretty quiet freshman season.
Backup Running Back
This was supposed to be a Chris Tyree vs. Logan Diggs battle for starting reps but with the latter recovering from shoulder surgery we have to assume Tyree is a clear no. 1 back heading into fall camp. The late arriving Payne and the muscular Audric Estime need to get up to speed very quickly and provide quality depth at a position lacking bodies.
Backup Tight End
Notre Dame has 6 tight ends on the roster which felt like a lot of bodies with the All-American Michael Mayer sitting at the top. Now, with injuries to Mitchell Evans (the presumed backup) and a maybe-not-healthy Berrong our attention turns to redshirt sophomore Kevin Bauman and a pair of freshmen.
Bauman (1 catch in each of the last 2 years) could offer some veteran stability, particularly as a blocker. We already mentioned Raridon who could shoot up the depth chart. We’ll also see fellow classmate Holden Staes begin his career after being a good blocker and pass catcher in high school.
Right Guard
Tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher plus center Jarrett Patterson are assured starting spots this year. After spring practice it appeared the line was ready to stick with Andrew Kristofic at left guard and Josh Lugg at right guard. There has been talk that Patterson would move to left guard thus opening the door to Zeke Correll at center and pushing Kristofic to the bench. If they make this move the staff must feel good about Correll coming back strong at center. Then we will see if Lugg would remain the preferred starter at right guard instead of Kristofic.
Starting Quarterback
This is pretty much in name only as Drew Pyne didn’t make a move during spring and concluded things with a rough outing in the Blue-Gold Game.
Freshmen Numbers
#9 TE Eli Raridon
#13 RB Gi’Bran Payne
#15 WR Tobias Merriweather
#18 QB Steve Angeli
#20 RB Jadarian Price
#56 OL Joey Tanona
#58 OL Ashton Craig
#59 OL Aamil Wagner
#74 OL Billy Schrauth
#77 OL Ty Chan
#85 TE Holden Staes
So stoked for TB12, my mad lad!
I think my only concern with Buchner’s play is about the turnovers. I think he’ll make a lot of plays. But if he can limit the turnovers (and stay healthy) then the offense I think will look pretty darn good.
I couldn’t find fumbling stats, but the good news is that Buchner’s INT’s all came in his first 20 attempts of the season. Of course, the bad news is that he only had 15 more attempts all season.
yea, it’s a super small sample-size. So it may turn out to be just fine. He’s got a little more experience and will have a ton of extra practice reps. But it was a noticeable problem in the little bit we saw him throwing last year.
I just also think he’s going to make a lot of good plays – both throwing and running. So I’m not concerned about that part; he’s got the talent.
In the FWIW bucket he was also 12/15 in those last 15 attempts.
3 INT in 35 passes is bad, but one was against Cincy – held it too long, threw as getting hit, bad idea to pass. And 2 were against Virginia Tech, one terrible route and competitiveness by Colzie, one that Buchner threw rolling right just a touch over his receiver. He had several very good passes in the Tech game too, just a little to clean up.
I do think the original point is very valid since Coan and Book were very turnover cautious and did a lot to limit their mistakes as smart/veteran players. Buchner is more of a natural gunslinger/risk taker.
INT’s will go up, but surely the 1 every 12 attempts can’t happen and surely will get better to some degree.
Just to be fair, Book had some gunslinger in him early in his career, I recall him taking some risks in that start against UNC when Wimbush was hurt. With the additional developmental time under his belt and the coaches in his ear Buchner could very easily reign those tendencies in. Let’s hope he’s a coachable kid.
Edit to add: I’m so curious the vibe we’ll get from the QBs with Kelly gone. Freeman and Rees seem less domineering and more pull you aside and level with you types, which I hope is beneficial. I always worried that Kelly was too much of a tight ass with his QBs.
No Kelly, Chip is Long gone, no one is even around to mother-f the QBs any more when they mess up! I guess they say Rees is kinda demanding and gets after them a little bit, but I just can’t picture him that mad or mean.
My thought on buchners picks from last year: I think his pick 6 vs Virginia tech has more upside than down. He threw a timing hitch route, and misread the coverage, the corner was playing a hard flat in cover 2, and buchner misread it (I think).
While that stinks, and pick 6’s are no bueno, the major silver lining here is he trusts himself to throw anticipatory throws. That’s a MASSIVE ability for QBs to throw to a spot rather than wait for a WR to get open. I’d say this has been one of those missing link abilities from the past few years that could take the offense up a level, throw the receivers open. I believe buchner does it well, and last season, he did it as a true freshman! Yes, there were misreads, but life happens, that’s why we have a defense. So long as his coverage processing ability improves, that anticipation is an asset.
Yes, he threw other picks last season, but at the end of the day, he went in, in some tough spots no less, and pulled the trigger on passes, HE trusted his ability. I’ll take that, especially under the caveat of his lost senior season. I believe in TB12!
I think one difference I’ll see with Buchner vs. Book is I won’t be screaming “throw the damn ball” near as much. Hopefully I’m not moaning “why did you throw it?” very often.
I hope you’re right, Tindma.
We should also remember we did pretty damn well with Book, who had mostly very average talent in his receiver corps, particularly compared to the elite teams he faced.
Interested to see his pocket presence as a mobile quarterback. Book had such a good feel by his senior year of staying in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield (agreed that he had to stay in the pocket because he didn’t pull the trigger fast enough a lot of times). For instance if you watch the highlight reel of Kyren’s blocking in the Clemson game, Book is so slippery.
Favorite bit of that video is right before the post to Avery Davis, the announcers say “under pressure all night but never sacked”. Then Kyren makes a nice block and Book dances 6″ to his left, which lets him avoid contact from the blitzer and keeps his base stable and his eyes downfield to find Davis.
Will be interesting to see Buchner’s poise this year.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Marcus_Freeman1/status/1551990759653576706
Shamrock Series uni release is imminent!
Imminent, but I found it weird he posts that tweet at 2:00pm on the dot (probably not a random thing) and then they don’t unveil the jersey today. Especially with today being the big recruiting cookout day, I was surprised that they didn’t go for the clout of showing it off for the kids.
Maybe the plan all along for a little tease and to stretch it, but in this instant gratification social media world, how are you gonna talk about it and not pay if off?
And it’s released…Maybe they should have worked on it a little more.
https://twitter.com/FightingIrish/status/1552263532124807168
I do love the shoulders, but the numbering and colors gives me “Georgia Tech wearing Russell Athletic” vibes. Really wish it would have had some green on it, like the v good previous white/white Stadium Series offering.
Marcus Freeman in a Hangover style short makes up for it though.
https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1552262533611864064
The Hangover-spoof video that NDFootball put out was pretty good. Needing the white uniforms instead of the ones Golic tossed over was a pretty good move.
I think the trim around the numbers is dark blue, not GT black, but either way it’ll make the numbers legible, so I’m reasonably happy with it.
yea I kind of like it. I wonder if gold pants would have made it better though.
Probably, but guessing for Stadium Series they wanted to differentiate from the typical away jersey design more.
Just for personal preference I think it would have been improved with green, but at that point it almost becomes the 2013 SS jersey. (Which again, to me is a superior white/white concept anyways).
That makes sense.
After watching the baseball team in the tournament, I’d love for the green jersey to become a staple of our football jersey too. They just look too good to be used so infrequently.