The football updates are few and far between these days. Although things are trending in a much more positive direction for a college football season to take place in the fall (the Navy game has moved to Annapolis for the first time ever!) we’re left waiting mostly on updates from recruiting and the transfer portal. Speaking of which, Notre Dame picked up its fourth grad transfer of the off-season as former Stanford running back Trevor Speights recently committed to the Fighting Irish.
Our last full depth chart article came back in January and while there hasn’t been a ton of movement or news across the landscape there are plenty of opportunities for a refresher as players are likely to return to campus in the coming weeks.
Slightly New Depth Chart Topics
Offensive Line Health, High Five
Remember that one spring practice the team had back in March? Remember the whispers that there would be a ton of injuries to deal with? Well, it turns out it wasn’t that bad (except Aaron Banks’ broken foot) and the veteran line should at least be thankful they’ve been able to heal up completely during this long break. For what it’s worth, Banks was ruled out for 6 to 8 weeks back in early March so he should be good to go now.
We know the starting line-up for the Navy game. The backup positions are still wildly to be determined and the glimpse from the lone practice didn’t help much. It’s possible Correll has gained enough size that he’s the true backup center. We know Josh Lugg is Next Man In at guard and/or tackle.
Beyond that, it’s just a mountain of players competing which includes Hunter Spears who switched over from nose guard for the spring. There are 17 offensive linemen–which I believe would be a Brian Kelly-era high for scholarships–so it wouldn’t shock me if Spears ultimately moves back to defense especially since he got close to zero experience on offense and it seemed like he was partly moved to help out with the players who were banged up and out of action in March.
You Figure Out Running Back
Just about every person who heard about the possible transfer of Speights and saw that he was coming was like, “Okay, but why?” If you’re looking on the bright side he was nominally stuck behind Bryce Love for 2017-18 and missed his chance last year to take the reigns at Stanford due to injury. On the other hand, he’s averaged 3.8 yards per carry for his career and that’s pretty bad.
This is a tough read. Stanford’s running game has been mostly terrible over the last 3 years (Love’s carries from 2017 are the only bright spot) and it’s possible Speights is ready for the spotlight in a different setting and coaching with a better offensive line.
But what does this say about the rest of the running backs?
One spring practice saw Avery Davis move to slot, his 27th position switch in South Bend. For that one workout he was 2nd-string so he’s probably sticking there long-term. Or long-term in Davis’ world which could mean until October.
Armstrong and Flemister worked with the starters while Smith and Williams worked with the backups. Somewhere incoming star freshman Chris Tyree needs to work in and get reps. Are we sure there’s anything remaining for Speights?
Clearing the Linebacker Fog
This position has been a hot topic as the recruiting continues to be a struggle. However, depth in the near-term is far from a problem. Things get a little tricky when you factor in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s impending decision to turn pro after 2020. For a while, he’s been Notre Dame’s quiet little secret but that isn’t likely to last as he debuted at No. 17 overall on Todd McSay’s Way-Too-Early Top 32 Draft Rankings.
The lack of spring ball was good and bad for different players. Jordan Genmark Heath opened up the one practice as the starter at Buck and it felt like this was his final opportunity to make a big move. Likewise, Bo Bauer (suddenly a junior) had an opportunity to build off his strong special teams work from 2019 with a little breathing room at Mike.
Conversely, injuries looked to keep Jack Lamb and Shayne Simon at least partially out of the spring and now they can go into fall camp healthy and ready to keep their places on the depth chart.
I’m anxious to see the role that Paul Moala carves out, how liberal they will use JOK at other positions if that’s still being considered, and the ceiling of someone like Marist Liufau who was working at both Buck and Rover during the lone spring practice.
Defensive Back Stabilized
The transfer of NC State’s Nick McCloud feels enormous for the secondary. I’m penciling him in as a starter with Notre Dame for 2020. His arrival feels like one of those transfers where everyone is on the same page that he’s good enough for unquestioned first-team reps.
One spring practice showed us a productive Houston Griffith starting next to Kyle Hamilton. Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor had a bad showing, but honestly a big rise from Griffith feels doable and would be one of the off-season’s biggest stories.
I thought for sure freshman Ramon Henderson would start spring at safety. Well, he did not and he brought some nice reviews in his limited action. With McCloud coming in does Henderson definitely move to safety now? It’s a question of having 9 corners (an unheard amount of depth in the Kelly era) and only 5 safeties if Henderson remains at his position.
Although, it’s possible we see a McCloud-Bracy duo at corner with Shaun Crawford exclusively a nickel/safety in which case the numbers are a little more balanced. Henderson is pretty skinny (6’3″ 180 pounds) and anyway I’m just pointing out corner is the one position where backlogged depth never lasts.
Something Shaking on Shakedown Street.
You may have noticed Notre Dame is over the scholarship limit of 85 players. I’m told Colin Grunhard and Mick Assaf (awarded scholarships in the winter/spring) are not on scholarship for 2020. So, the program is either at 90 or 88 scholarships with our without them.
Some folks are not coming back.
That one spring practice brought us a bizarre set of comments from Brian Kelly regarding receiver Isaiah Robertson who wasn’t at the workout. Let’s not forget that as he seems like a likely candidate to find other pastures.
There are just so many loaded positions with bodies. Offensive line, running back, and receiver are particularly packed to the gills. Offensive linemen rarely transfer from Notre Dame so anyone there would be a complete guess and if it happens will likely be a surprise.
The situation at receiver and running back doesn’t seem tenable. The three-year average for players at this position since 2017 is just over 14 combined bodies. The Irish are carrying 19 right now and something has to give. Only two others seasons (2012, 2013) has the roster carried 6 running backs and in 2012 that included Amir Carlisle who wasn’t eligible following his transfer from USC.
My wild guess is a running back and two receivers move on during the summer and have already made their intentions known to the staff.
New details on the team returning:
*Coming back June 8th to begin a 10-day quarantine.
*Daily wellness checks upon entering buildings.
*Players will live in the Morris Inn for summer.
*Phase 1 (groups of 10 or fewer) begins June 22nd.
*Phase 2 will be 50 or fewer and Phase 3 unlimited.
Speights has 2 seasons of eligibility too, which makes his pickup even more questionable/interesting. Would def agree with the article that one would think that at least one RB on the roster now will be transferring out sooner than later. Still, hopefully Speights is better than he seems, otherwise just seems like more quantity than quality for a group that already has a lot of that (quantity over quality).
On the other hand, really happy about McCloud. Has great size and seemingly a pretty solid player at a spot where they desperately needed another body. He’s pretty much exactly what they need.
I guess I’m less concerned about LB than most since there are four players with 4 years of eligibility left. That positioned seems more de-emphasized than ever with only 2 of them on the field in the base set, and also easy to coach or scheme up a Bilal or Drew White out of no where to be a solid contributor.
Wait, did Speights get a 6th-year already? He was a 2016 recruit.
Not sure, just remember seeing it in a lot of places that mentions he has two more years of eligibility.
https://247sports.com/college/notre-dame/Article/Another-graduate-transfer-in-the-works-for-Notre-Dame-143915539/
I am wondering if the Speight transfer does not speak more to Lance Taylor’s perception of what I might term loosely rugged character. He obviously knows and even more obviously likes this young man. but that alone would not presumably persuade Pollian and BK etc. to sign on, especially in the absence as Eric has carefully noted compelling evidence of overwhelming talent at the college level. In short, it may be more of a leadership issue?
Perhaps Speights can and is willing to pass block? It seems like that is a big issue with the coaches in past seasons and what got some backs on the field over others.