The week of numbers continues! Earlier, we published our primer on the Early Signing Period that began this Wednesday and should just about sew up Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class. Next, we jumped into the overall scholarship situation for Fighting Irish football as Marcus Freeman takes the reigns of his first full recruiting cycle.
Today, we’ll look at the young players who burned a year of eligibility in 2021 and those who were able to preserve a year.
Burned
WR Lorenzo Styles – 12
TE Mitchell Evans – 12
LT Joe Alt – 11
RB Audric Estime – 11
QB Tyler Buchner – 10
WR Deion Colzie – 10
LB Prince Kollie – 9
RB Logan Diggs – 7
DE Kahanu Kia – 7
Raise your hand if you thought this many players would burn a year up in 2021? I know I certainly wouldn’t have predicted this many in a million years but injuries did accelerate a couple of situations.
Prior to the season, the inclusions of Styles and Kollie would’ve made sense. During fall camp, Kollie didn’t look to be near playing time at linebacker but you just knew they’d find a way to get him on the field eventually.
Obviously, Buchner isn’t shocking although it seemed like most did expect him to preserve a year. That he played in so many games and with as many snaps as he did was quite surprising.
On the basis that wide receivers worth their salt typically aren’t going to be coming back for a 5th season it made sense to get Colzie involved this year despite only 4 receptions.
Colzie lining up against an All-American.
Estime being a mainstay on special teams explains why he was in more games than classmate Diggs despite carrying the ball 37 fewer times on offense.
It did seem like the staff genuinely felt like they found a gem in Mitchell Evans–especially after his spring game performance–but the leg injuries to Kevin Bauman and Cane Berrong pretty much sealed the deal that Evans would need to be used heavily in 2021.
You could’ve put Joe Alt just about last in terms of players most likely to play as true freshman at any point through August of this year and no one would’ve said a word. Now, he’s a freshmen All-American who played more snaps than any of his classmates by a mile.
Kia is a bit of a surprise to me with this many games played as a linebacker recruit moved to defensive end, even if that’s a lot of special teams work. He looked like someone who would definitely keep his redshirt.
Played but Saved a Year
S Justin Walters – 3
TE Cane Berrong – 3
CB Ryan Barnes – 3
DE Will Schweitzer – 3
LG Rocco Spindler – 2
WR Jayden Thomas – 2
LT Blake Fisher – 1
PK Josh Bryan – 1
As mentioned, Berrong tore his ACL in mid-October and it could’ve been a close call to keep his redshirt if he stayed healthy.
The 1 game for Fisher still looks so strange given where his stock was coming into the season. Oh, what could have been for a true freshman season if not for his injury. Luckily, he’s bounced back and is at least participating in bowl practices even if he won’t play against Oklahoma State.
Everyone else on this list makes sense as players a little further down the depth chart who got into some action late in games throughout the season. The possible exception would be Rocco Spindler who people clamored for early in the year but he never came close to grabbing a start or any meaningful minutes.
No Games
QB Ron Powlus III
OT Caleb Johnson
OG Pat Coogan
DT Gabriel Rubio
DE Jason Onye
CB JoJo Johnson
CB Chance Tucker
S Khari Gee
JoJo Johnson tore his ACL and was shelved for the year. We spent quite a bit of time this off-season speculating whether Tucker or Gee could make a move in the secondary and it turns out both were quite a far way from making an impact. I’m still really high on Gee, though. He’s someone to watch for the spring.
Rubio not even seeing the field at least a couple times definitely raises an eyebrow as a highly regarded defensive lineman (#117 overall nationally) at a position Mike Elston has not been shy about rotating bodies in throughout recent years. In some ways, Rubio feels like a forgotten piece to the 2021 class but should hopefully be a big part of Elston’s success moving forward.
2020 Saves
QB Drew Pyne
TE Kevin Bauman
DT Aiden Keanaaina
CB Caleb Offord
LS Alex Peitsch
Thanks to the Covid year we have 2020 recruits who essentially returned to campus this season as true freshmen eligibility-wise. From that 18-man class we’ve already seen 3 players transfer (Jordan Johnson, Landon Bartleson, and Jay Brunelle), 10 played pretty significant roles on the field in 2021, while the 5 named above all played in 3 games or less.
In case you missed the breaking news, 2018 long-snapper walk-on Michael “Milk” Vinson was put on scholarship and with the Covid year can play through the 2023 season. With Peitsch, that is 2 long-snappers on scholarship, although the younger Peitsch has eligibility through 2025.
Pyne did not play over the final 7 regular season games.Â
Is it possible that the coaching staff never expected Pyne to be in the thick of the quarterback competition this year with an eye to redshirt if possible? That never seemed likely based on the fall camp reps between Pyne and Coan, though. Yet, Buchner being inserted first in just the second game and the sudden abrupt end to Pyne’s playing time after back-to-back games really makes you wonder if there was more of a long-term approach being considered behind the scenes.
Of course, Pyne still having 4 years left to play college football might make you believe he’s ready to jump somewhere else and start over. However, surely he knows how close he’ll be to playing time next year with the possibility of Buchner fully injured or banged up, plus Pyne was an early enrollee back in January 2020 and could be on the 3-year plan to graduate. If that’s the case, I’d think Pyne at least stays through this upcoming 2022 season, assesses his options, and if he decides to leave to play elsewhere maybe it’s with a diploma in hand too?
I think this is totally it. I think the main reason Pyne was inserted was because they were trying to figure out the O-line and how to get the offense going, Kelly watched Pyne make a couple of plays, told Rees to quit it and figure out how to make it work with Jack. Of course the news we get is that they figured out how to use Jack in the quick passing game and Joe Alt. They didn’t want to have a Buchner/Pyne QB controversy on their hands going into 2022. I think Pyne rides the pine this year, graduates and transfers.
I can see that. Also worth pointing out Coan was pretty banged up in that stretch too (and wasn’t that also when Buchner had a hamstring issue?) and they put in Pyne and he found some lightning in a bottle so you can’t really take him out when he’s leading a comeback against Cincy. But after that, it’s pretty clear they just simplified to go with Coan and adjust with quicker passes rather than yo-yo the QBs.
It was also beneficial for Pyne to have a redshirt too, since as the article mentioned he can leave after 2022 with an ND degree and 3 years of eligibility left to play at Syracuse or Northwestern or wherever he goes next. That’s a pretty good deal for him too, no point in burning a year in 2021.
And it works for ND to keep Pyne for 2022 since he knows the Rees and the offense, etc. Pyne can be the emergency option in case, heaven forbid, Buchner pulls another hammy and they need the smallish, low-end QB recruit to unexpectedly step in and save the day…But when has THAT ever happened in recent ND history? 😉
Yeah, I would bet the backup QB in 2022 gets at least 1 start and throws at least 40 passes. When your #1 QB is a runner, that’s just going to happen. Assuming Pyne stays, that will be him.
If he does transfer, hopefully he lets the team know sooner rather than later. We will need to find a grad transfer QB to fill that backup role ASAP.
I don’t think it had anything to do with trying to avoid some future controversy. It’s just really difficult to find enough snaps in practice during the season to get two QBs ready to play, let alone three. Focusing on Coan with Buchner as the change-of-pace option allowed the staff to untangle the QB mess a bit while also allowing Pyne to carry four years of eligibility into ’22.
Buchner will probably win the job next fall, but I expect that Pyne will make it a legitimate competition into August and that he’ll play some meaningful minutes during the season. Short of ND bringing in another transfer like Coan (possible but far from certain), no way in hell would Pyne leave when he’s so close to being the starting QB at Notre Dame. As noted elsewhere, maybe after the season if he’s earned his degree by that point, but not before then.
By the way, kinda unrelated but I’ve seen a ton of animosity and negative talk from Pitt fans about Kenny Pickett opting out of the Peach Bowl. (Boy, no Pickett and no Walker for Michigan St turns the Peach Bowl into something on the level of the Sun Bowl or Cheez Its Bowl in a hurry, doesn’t it?) I thought ND fans, generally speaking, were a lot more reasonable and understanding about Kyle and Kyren opting out, which isn’t always what one associates with Notre Dame fans!
Also kinda sucks for ND, since the most realistic bowl choices at end of year were:
vs. OK State in Fiesta
vs. MSU in Fiesta
vs. Pitt in Peach
Notre Dame probably got the toughest hand possible to be dealt, considering the opt outs on all fronts. Haven’t heard of any OK St players not playing (though their DC hired to tOSU is not going to coach, so that is one loss).
It’s probably harder to take one of these opt outs of a major player when making a big bowl is a once in a decade kind of thing. It IS their playoffs so to speak.
Yea I guess that means not too many potential 1st/2nd round draft picks this year for OK st.
Yep, Pitt’s first ACC title ever, I believe. Tough for a guy to bow out at this point when they’re in uncharted territory, but welcome to the big time where having really good players mean they have self-interest to look out for. Matt Corral is playing in the Sugar Bowl though, and that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Good point about OK St’s talent level, maybe that’s a good thing that they don’t really have elite players (especially on offense) that even need to consider opting out.
Also tough to get mad at him when Pitt’s OC quit to take the Nebraska job. I wouldn’t want my final NFL showcase to be for a completely new signal caller.
Also they wouldn’t have ever been within a mile of playing a NY6 game without Pickett carrying them all season, so IMO he’s earned the right to do whatever the hell he likes.
I’m curious about how the transfer portal will be in about 4-5 years. Right now it seems like everyone is a potential free agent, especially quarterbacks and freshmen who do not play immediately. I wonder if we will see fewer redshirts except in cases where the player is truly not ready to contribute at all. Also, I wonder if the number of people who enter the portal will decrease if the schools start doing some research to show that players who transfer do not always end up in good/better situations
No Philip Riley?
He transferred.
I’m kidding, I just missed him. He did redshirt.
I forgot all about Riley. We hear to much about Ghee, Barnes, and Walters, it’s easy to forget Riley was actually the highest rated DB in the class.
Excited for the new 2022 class. I wonder, is notre dame’s best recruiting class still pre stadium upgrades?
Best, ever?
I think the 1987-90 classes were all ranked No. 1 in the country or close to it. If we’re going as far back as the 1920’s there are many more elite classes.
Tough to compare to that long ago, I suppose. Post-1997 the 2022 class is up there as one of the strongest but maybe not top 3 or 5.
Here are some of the top classes and 247 info about them.
2022: 271 pts – #7 overall class – 1 five star, 16 four stars, 3 three stars, 91.5 avg
2021: 269 – #9 – 12 four stars, 15 three stars, 89,7 avg
2018: 268 pts – 14 four stars, 13 three stars, 90 avg.
2015: 268 pts – #13 – 14 four stars, 9 three stars, 90.4 avg
2013: 284 pts – #5 – 2 five stars, 17 four stars, 4 three stars, 92.3 avg
2012: 248 pts – #17 – 1 five star, 9 four stars, 5 three stars, 91.2 avg
2011: 271 pts – #9 – 2 five stars, 9 four stars, 12 three stars, 89.9 avg
can’t seem to get total points starting in 2009
2008: #2 – 2 five stars, 18 four stars, 3 three stars, 93 avg
2007: #6 – 2 five stars, 10 four stars, 6 three stars, 92.1 avg
2006: #5 – 2 five stars, 10 four stars, 11 three stars, 90.8 avg
the Willingham years are embarrassing and don’t have much data.
Hey, all you fab commentators — normally you are all far ahead of me. But I have to absolutely say, in my humble opinion, re: ND’s best recruiting class EVER, there is only one choice and there seems to be very little chance it will ever ever be surpassed:
1946!! That incredible bunch of mostly WWII vets became the heart and soul of the four greatest years in ND football and before the Death Star rose in Tuscaloosa, the greatest four year stretch in college football history.
Hi from high in the French Alps (where this altitude is doing strange things to my body’s reaction to this vintage champagne…