2019 was an amazing year for Notre Dame true freshmen in one respect, not a single player on offense lost a year of eligibility. True, it was a very small class on that side of the ball to begin with but it’s an interesting footnote to the early part of these players’ careers.
The best part about this series is to re-visit some of the recruiting information and 2019 practice with limited game performance (if applicable) to project how these players can make an impact as rising academic sophomores.
This is an intriguing group with a quarterback who quickly moved up the depth chart and a couple other players who could announce themselves early in 2020.
247 Composite grades are followed by our 18 Stripes grades from the 2019 recruiting review.
Quarterback
Brendon Clark
247C: 0.879
18S: 82.0
If you’re interested in the tall, blue-chip, dazzling NFL ceiling quarterback taking over the reigns in South Bend you may have to wait a while longer. Even though we have this recent history of lesser-rated quarterbacks carving out long careers it really seemed like the odds were stacked against Clark more than anyone else in recent memory.
Clark committed in the summer of 2018 after the revival of 2017 with Brandon Wimbush having 2 years of eligibility remaining and Ian Book (gaining quality reps as a backup that year) still with 3 years to go. Additionally, Clark gave a verbal over 2 years after Phil Jurokovec who was ahead of him by a class and then just under 3 months after the more highly rated Drew Pyne committed in late spring 2018. Gaining the commitment of Tyler Buchner 8 months after Clark only added even more pressure to the situation.
Yet, there’s an alternate universe where Ian Book forgoes 2020 and Clark is the starting quarterback this fall either through a Jurkovec transfer or winning the quarterback battle outright.
Even today, with Jurkovec landing at Boston College it would seem as though Clark has the inside track to succeed Book. This will be Clark’s first spring on campus and if he can establish himself as the clear backup (pushing Pyne to a distant 3rd-string) early during practices that’s a huge leg up for the future.
Running Back
Kyren Williams
247C: 0.891
18S: 89.3
Even with a healthy Jafar Armstrong–who effectively missed 6 games with injury–there was an expectation, especially here at 18 Stripes, that Kyren Williams would be a factor as a true freshman. That, did not come to fruition.
Kyren sent Simon to the netherworld from which he didn’t escape in 2019.
It had to be a deflating season for Williams who looked to be squarely in the thick of things right up until the first few games were played and he was given a redshirt. Even more so as Jahmir Smith and C’Bo Flemister picked up invaluable experience it had to bother Kyren quite a bit.
So now, we enter spring and opportunity abounds. With a new offensive coordinator I’m assuming the staff will be in no hurry to sort through their running back options. If I had to bet, I’d put my money on Williams making enough noise this off-season to where he’s right back in the mix. Either way, it could be hard to tell (everyone gets reps during spring anyway) whether he’s closer to first-string or third-string but the Irish do need his skill-set badly.
Wide Receiver
Kendall Abdur-Rahman
247C: 0.878
18S: 86.3
In a recent article about the arrest and loss off 2020 corner Landen Bartleson I pondered whether Abdur-Rahman could be a candidate to switch sides of the ball. To date, I’ve heard no chatter of this actually being discussed inside the Gug complex.
Even if you’re the biggest KAR fan in the world the path to a lot of playing time seems at least another year away. Most likely his best-case scenario is becoming the 6th receiver in 2020 which on average would mean about 5 or 6 receptions on the season. In other words, not much of an impact.
The more realistic scenario is probably as the 8th receiver. One big thing moving forward is where KAR is deployed. Due to his size, you’d think he’s a better fit for the slot and if so he could really benefit from Braden Lenzy not being used there. Then again, if we see Jafar Armstrong in the slot (even if it’s as a hybrid) that could really hurt KAR’s ability for snaps, too.
Offensive Line
Zeke Correll
247C: 0.957
18S: 95.0
This was one of the more strange freshmen situations from 2019 beginning with our belief that Correll could win the starting center job (people forget he was really highly thought of coming in last year) but that was before Jarrett Patterson locked things down in spring. Still, Correll appeared to be in the mix–receiving some backup center snaps during August–before falling back to 3rd-team.
I’m still a bit shocked at someone being listed at 6’4″ 285 pounds by his recruiting profile then coming in at 6’3″ 270 pounds. The good news is that he mixed it up pretty well at that ridiculously low weight. The bad news is that he might be another year from being big enough to actually see the field. In my opinion, Correll looks plenty big and is lacking the larger gut so often seen from the starting linemen.
Bottom line, this feels like a situation where Correll ultimately is going to settle in at guard. Typically, the backup center is either a journeyman (Correll doesn’t qualify yet) or a preferred walk-on which is exactly who the Irish have there in Colin Grunhard.
The future is pretty cloudy at guard for 2021-22 and I have to think–with Patterson still on campus for 3 more years–Correll makes a move at right guard after Tommy Kraemer leaves with the ability to be the backup center if called upon.
Quinn Carroll
247C: 0.947
18S: 87.3
Carroll was very highly rated last year coming in just behind the aforementioned Correll and eventual freshman All-American safety Kyle Hamilton from the 2019 Irish class. Our 18 Stripes grade for Carroll wasn’t nearly as high, although prior to his ACL injury it appeared he was on track to maybe be a backup tackle last season.
We’ll need to see if Carroll will be healthy for spring practice. He’ll be about 7 months clear from surgery and could be in the mix straight away. If he’s ready to go I like him to eventually backup either Eichenberg or Hainsey. A big focus this year will be replacing both of those veterans for 2021.
Andrew Kristofic
247C: 0.925
18S: 88.8
Granted, last year wasn’t a great year for backup tackle depth (hence Carroll getting run early in August) but Kristofic took advantage of the situation just like his classmate. He saw minimal action while keeping his redshirt, but perhaps more importantly, traveled with the team frequently and was at least officially listed as a backup for most of the season.
Does any of that translate to a backup in 2020? Maybe not, although you have to like the experience he gained last year which should give Kristofic an advantage over someone like Carroll.
Size could be an issue, though. Kristofic was listed at just over 6’5″ and only 280 pounds last year. We knew as a recruit he needed to put on considerable weight in a way that Quinn Carroll (nearly 6’7″ and 304 lbs) would not so perhaps this battle at tackle is going to be really close this spring.
John Olmstead
247C: 0.924
18S: 82.5
Right now, we should probably point out that there are a ton of bodies on the offensive line. Nearly every class has linemen who come in and struggle to break through all of those numbers ahead of them. Will Olmstead be one of those players?
Certainly, he was the least heralded of the offensive linemen last year. While he was the 6th highest rated of the class in the Composite we had him much further down our rankings as a high school tackle who projected to guard.
Your guess is as good as mine on his future. There’s a chance he zooms up the guard depth chart (it wouldn’t be shocking to hear someone pass the likes of Gibbons or Dirksen who are nominally backups due to their age until further notice) and there’s also a possibility he’s the 13th or 14th lineman on the team as an academic sophomore.
It seems like the new redshirt rule will result in everyone and their mother being 5th-year eligible. If I’m not mistaken, the only Irish players on the entire offense that haven’t redshirted are Wright and Hainsey.
You are correct. Austin would’ve been in that group, but well.
Along those lines, it’ll be interesting to see how that might apply to Tyree, Johnson and Mayer. No real reason to redshirt any of them, in my opinion. Even if they’re not front line players, what’s the chances any will need 5 years? Probably very small and getting them more experience and time would have to mean more than messing around with only planning on playing them in four games.
Here’s an idea for a future article. I am fascinated by the decline of Stanford. It’s the same headcoach and the same school, but the recruiting and player defections have been brutal. I would love to see a deep dive into what happened to bring this about. I’m assuming the early signing period has something to do with this.
I second the motion, Russell. I notice the Staff basically takes their own advice on articles to write, though. (as in, they have ever taken up any of my ideas for articles 🙂
But in view of their princely remuneration, I guess I cannot blame them.
The preview this year hit on those themes pretty well, and obviously it’s all gotten even worse this offseason. Will see if Brendan (our Nostradamus on Stanford) is up for it!
Thanks Michael.
“taking over the reigns in South Bend”
[sic: horses not royalty]
Relatedly though: until proven wrong, I’m going to keep saying that I think ND’s 2021 quarterback is on some other college team right now. The transfer market provides too many good options, and unless Clark gets a lot of PT and looks good, ND would seem to be a prime candidate for a solid transfer portal guy (i.e., next year’s KJ Costello).
My initial guess is there’s 2% chance that happens.
Yeah I agree. I think Notre Dame’s starting quarterback in 2021 is way more likely on a high school roster right now.
I’m very doubtful about that, as that would be effectively punting on the season. It is much, much more likely that true freshman Buchner is Bo Nix-level (if that) than Trevor Lawrence-level, and there’s too much talent on the roster otherwise to just plan on him being the guy and committing to struggling through a hopefully 8-4/9-3ish year. So, unless Clark looks like a real player this year, there’s going to be an open QB slot for a talented guy to come in and at least compete if not be The Guy from the second he’s on campus.
Plenty of levels and difference in between Nix and Lawrence. Could be a Sam Howell, Kedon Slovis, Jayden Daniels freshman, any of which would be superior to a grad transfer who would have some level of questions to necessitate being a transfer in the first place. If Buchner is an EE and goes through spring ball that also mitigates the inexperience a bit. If you get a young, elite QB, gotta commit to playing him at some point and hope he can reach Trevor/Tua type of levels.
Tua didn’t start as a freshman. Hell, Trevor Lawrence, the highest rated prospect in 247 history, didn’t open his freshman season as a starter.
I get that. I’m not saying put Buchner as QB1, set it and forget it. Clark will probably be useful in 2021 and of course if history has taught us anything probably will play a bigger role than we can imagine! But just that a Clark+Buchner combo in 2021 is a lot more likely than getting into the QB grad transfer market. The Jalen Hurts’ of the world (or even the D’Eriq King’s) aren’t going to Notre Dame.
Why wouldn’t they go to ND? I get that it hasn’t happened yet, but ND also hasn’t needed it to happen yet.
There is a question of need, but also a question of fit and convenience. There’s a reason guys like Joe Burrow go to colleges with online classes. Obviously for Hurts, going to Oklahoma where they churn out Heisman QBs would be a no-brainer if his decision was that or Notre Dame.
I’d venture to say ND hasn’t gotten an elite grad transfer at ANY position really. Some serviceable players occasionally, sure, but fit is always going to matter and I don’t really think it aligns for ND or the players to be a great option.
I’m sure Notre Dame COULD get a mid-level QB through the portal for 2021, I am very skeptical it would be a wise move with the likely caliber of players that would fit. No sense in being scared of playing a freshman QB just because it is an unknown. It certainly is, but it’s also the best bet to hit on finding the next great ND QB by recruiting a very good HS QB and hoping he hits.
Interesting. I would think that a guy like D’Eriq King would be a very likely target. At the end of the day, odds are that he’s not going to be a high level NFL player, but he could be an elite college player. Getting a chance to get into a graduate program at ND would be huge for his future real world career prospects. And if he did light it up on the field and show NFL potential, he could just skip out on the 2nd semester.
To me, it would seem just as likely that ND would be able to pull in an elite QB recruit as an elite QB transfer. I just don’t think the situation has arisen yet where ND would really benefit from it. Similar to the way everybody used to think ND would never bring in early enrollees; now it’s an every year thing.