In recent days Notre Dame has received a wave of roster news in addition to losing a pair of assistant coaches in a staff shakeup that’s yet to be finalized. Through the frenzy the Irish defense is in tremendous shape. With the loss–then return–of defensive tackle Jonathan Bonner the team will return 10 of 11 starters as well as the top 20 out of 23 tacklers from the 2016 roster. Even with the loss of Mike Elko to Texas A&M’s greasy money it’s been years since Notre Dame has gone into an off-season fully prepared to field a great defense.

It’s an entirely different world for the Notre Dame offense which at present time is faced with a rebuilding effort unlike any time in the Brian Kelly era. Is this getting enough attention?

On the national level it probably won’t be a big deal. The Irish are returning both quarterbacks, roughly 45% of its rushing and receiving, while 4 offensive linemen come back with starting experience thanks to the rotation at right tackle last fall. I just browsed through several “too early” Top 25 rankings for 2018 and the average take is that Notre Dame faces questions on offense, primarily revolving around the quarterback situation.

I’m here to freak you out about the offense.

Hard Hitting Personnel Losses

Having to replace playmakers typically isn’t an overwhelming concern but 2018 is its own special case. I was interested in looking back at our own 18S list of the team’s Top 25 players from last August and according to our rankings the Irish have lost the 1st (Nelson), 3rd (McGlinchey), 4th (Adams), 5th (St. Brown), 13th (Stepherson), and 21st (Sanders) best players from the offense. Sanders sticks out as a huge whiff but anyway replace him with tight end Durham Smythe who didn’t even make our Top 25 and is moving on, too.

Guarantee a Star

So maybe losing a generational offensive lineman or a leader like Josh Adams isn’t going to make you lose too much sleep. After all, part of replacing guys who leave is having others step up. Plus, let’s look at our Top 25 list from last August because there were an additional 7 players who are coming back for 2018: 6th (Wimbush), Mack (7th), Mustipher (11th), Bars (17th), Claypool (19th), Dexter (20th), and Kraemer (25th).

How underwhelming does that list of players look right now? The two highest rated players arguably fell way short of expectations while only one (Claypool) probably exceeded expectations–just barely. Even worse for the immediate future, was there anyone that didn’t make our Top 25 during the pre-season who played their way into the rankings? I can’t think of anyone who would deserve it. Perhaps Boykin’s game-winning catch propelled him somewhere in the 20’s?

As things stand right now, who would you guarantee is going to be a star on offense next year? That’s a really tough question and I can’t remember a time when you couldn’t pick out at least a for-sure star player or two on offense prior to a season.

Lack of Speed

If you know me I definitely have the need for speed on offense. A huge concern for me is opening up next year with Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin at receiver with Tony Jones in the backfield. I actually think that a more plodding offense that protects the ball and leans on its defense like 2012 could be really effective but it also feels like good getting in the way of great.

We also know that Chip Long wants the offense to move faster on offense and has talked about that being a priority heading into year two of his scheme. That’s useful not just by snapping the ball quickly but by having fast players!

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Okay, so maybe this is partly just for a hot take in January on my part but I do think there’s enough ingredients for the 2018 offense to be the worst of the Kelly era. I haven’t even brought up the quarterback controversy which has the potential to be explosively bad for the offense.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is what began this article. So much of the Kelly era has been both the offense and defense unable to get on the same page running strong together. The defense looks like a 10-win unit but the offense is looking more like a 7-5 unit, in my eyes.

If it’s not time to panic it’s definitely time for the development of numerous new players on offense and a job for the coaching staff that will test their mettle this spring and into the summer.