Notre Dame football opened up spring practice on Saturday and with no outsiders allowed at any of the workouts we’re left with the scraps from coaches and players’ Zoom sessions with the media. Following the first workout, head coach Brian Kelly took about 20 minutes of questions from reporters with a trio of subjects jumping out as the most important to discuss today.
#1 Get Ready For Pyne
Okay, maybe not as the No. 1 quarterback when the Irish face Florida State but there were some very strong comments made by Kelly in regards to the rising redshirt freshman.
Coan still feels like the heavy favorite with Kelly mentioning his good traits, strong work ethic, and fitting in really well as a leader who’s respected from his experience at Wisconsin. Nothing surprising there.
However, I thought Kelly went out of his way to play the underdog card quite heavily for Pyne stating they “want Drew to be the starter” and he’s been doubted his whole life, etc. Of course, they probably don’t really want Pyne to be the starter (at least not this year) but it certainly feels like they are going to accelerate his development and get him ready to be a starter down the road.
Things would be a little different if the comments about true freshman Tyler Buchner were more effusive. Kelly flatly stated he “doesn’t know the offense yet” and brought up Buchner not having played football in a long time. All to be expected! Still, any hopes for a quick awakening from the highly touted freshman aren’t likely and it seems like the staff really like Pyne’s intangibles in a way that’s going to be dominating Notre Dame message boards this time next year. Put another way, it’s likely Pyne is much, much closer to Coan this year than Buchner will be to Pyne.
#2 The OL Mystery (Partly) Solved
Kelly mentioned that they have a plan for the offensive line but that things could always change, especially once the season begins. But, first let’s lay out how the big guys up front lined up for practice number one:
1st-Team OLÂ
LT Tosh Baker, R-Fr, 6’8″ 300 lbs.
LG Dillan Gibbons, 5th Sr, 6’4″ 309 lbs.
C Zeke Correll, R-So, 6’3″ 295 lbs.
RG John Dirksen, R-Jr, 6’5″ 306 lbs.
RT Josh Lugg, 5th Sr, 6’7″ 310 lbs.
2nd-Team OL
LT Blake Fisher, Fr, 6’6″ 330 lbs.
LG Rocco Spindler, Fr, 6’5″ 315 lbs.
C Andrew Kristofic, R-So, 6’5″ 292 lbs.
RG Quinn Carroll, R-So, 6’7″ 306 lbs.
RT Michael Carmody, R-Fr, 6’6″ 300 lbs.
The key comments from Kelly to piece things together:
1) Correll is the center (perhaps THE center?).
2) Lugg is a tackle but will play guard during the season.
3) They are looking for a guard and a tackle.
Taken at face value, Jarrett Patterson will play left tackle with Correll at center and Lugg at (likely) right guard. So, we’re looking for starters at left guard and right tackle.
I’m assuming the lineup will be shuffled around extensively throughout spring. For example, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for Lugg to take a ton of right tackle reps if he’s not going to start at that spot during the season. At some point, you’re going to want to audition more linemen at right tackle so you’re not headed into fall camp with two new starters at the tackle spots who barely practiced at their positions, and in the case of Patterson, didn’t practice at all.
Our 18 Stripes Sportsbook has now updated the odds for the 2021 offensive line:
LT Patterson–LG Gibbons–C Correll–RG Lugg–RT Baker
The situation at tackle–should it come to this lineup directly above–is a little reminiscent of the 2013 season where you had The Future Left Tackle (Ronnie Stanley) coming off a freshman redshirt and would play on the right side while the under-sized left tackle (Zack Martin) handled things on the other side. The major difference there being Patterson may not be nearly as good as Martin, he’s just now moving from the center position while Martin had loads of starts at left tackle under his belt, and Patterson has 3 years of eligibility remaining with the Covid season included. Some folks are adamant that Patterson (despite never practiced once at the position at Notre Dame?) is the best left tackle on the team but it’s also possible he slots in at right tackle, too.
Opening up spring ball with Gibbons and Dirksen feels like the typical veteran’s getting their due. Ask me today, and my best guess is we will see a lot of frustration with the guard spot to open the 2021 season. I’m not sure true freshmen like Fisher and Spindler will start at all in ’21 but a push for some snaps wouldn’t be crazy, and I’m sure fans will be calling for more. I’d also buy stock in Carroll as a guard to come in and start at some point.
#3 Nothing Interesting at Rover?
Kelly was asked about the Rover position and mentioned 3 players for that spot: Isaiah Pryor, Paul Moala, and Jack Kiser. So, nothing about that list is especially interesting. Prior to being injured last year, Moala was the backup to Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Pryor was moved to the position from safety to backup JOK after the Moala injury, and Kiser started his career at Rover and has been pegged as someone with the skill-set to move well enough to fit at the position.
However, this isn’t what interested me with Kelly’s comments. This section raised my eyebrow:
We’re going to do things that allow…you know…to get another linebacker on the field…I don’t know if we’re replacing the kind of player that we had with Owusu, so you’re going to see a combination of players out there…if we’re in a strictly Rover situation you’re going to see Pryor, Moala, and Kiser out there…at times you’re going to see 3 linebackers out there.
I’ve been wondering since Freeman told the media several weeks ago that they were keeping the Rover name if that meant this position is going to remain the same in terms of responsibilities moving forward under his direction? The fact that Kelly mentions ‘getting another linebacker on the field’ which I take to mean a 4th linebacker lends credence to the scheme being tweaked.
If they’re playing with 4 linebackers on the field together (remember Freeman’s scheme at Cincinnati had 4 linebackers in name together, although he used a safety body-type as one of them) then the Rover spot as we know really isn’t very applicable.
I also keep thinking of Marist Liufau. If they use 3 linebackers together on a play or series and Liufau’s not playing Rover, does that mean he’s remaining at Will linebacker in a more traditional role and not being groomed as an “overhang” menace that Freeman loved at Cincinnati?
Quick Hitters
This has been rumored all season and Kelly confirmed that Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa will be getting reps at the big end position and that he has the skills necessary to thrive at that spot.
Kristofic being the number 2 center for the first practice is pretty interesting. I wouldn’t expect him to stick there long-term but I think he’s shaping up to be one of the guys who is highly valued at multiple positions along the line.
Moala, Chris Tyree, Bo Bauer, and Avery Davis were the 4 player interviews following Saturday’s practice. Moala mentioned that Freeman is instructing them to play free, fast, and physical and it’s less about scheme. He also said he’s not cross-training at other linebacker positions while some other players are right now. Bauer mentioned he’s not cross-training at Will but hopes to soon, while Lea’s scheme was very detail orientated, sometimes difficult for him to process, and Freeman is preaching more natural instincts.
According to Kelly, we shouldn’t see any of these players during spring: Brendon Clark (knee), Jarrett Patterson (foot), Kevin Austin (foot), Jacob Lacey (shoulder), and Kyle Hamilton (ankle). He mentioned that Clark is ready to throw soon but won’t be fully ready to compete until at least mid-summer. Moala is apparently ahead of schedule and close to 7-on-7 work following his Achilles injury.
Kelly talked about picking up players in the transfer portal and how they are monitoring the situation. He did spend more time talking about how the current players are more focused on getting their degree so they don’t lose too much sleep about guys transferring out. Of course, we know eventually some players will transfer out prior to graduating.
Is it more likely that the Pyne comments are simply so he doesn’t think about transferring at the end of the spring, leaving the team with very little QB depth? If Pyne has been playing well in practice, maybe he feels like he could start elsewhere, and is worried the staff is handing Coan the job this year and Buchner the job next year.
Can’t dismiss that theory completely. but IMO these comments are less about “please don’t transfer”, and more like “we like what Pyne has been doing and need to get him ready because if Coan struggles, Pyne is going to get some chances to play in 2021”.
With the mentality that pre-Ian Book that Kelly didn’t really hesitate to bench and play multiple QB’s fairly frequently over the course of the season. Pyne is def QB2 at the moment since Buchner has to learn the offense, so Pyne is perhaps a lot more important right now then many have thought up until now.
I wouldn’t be so bold as to take the over on 74.5 passing attempts for Pyne in 2021 (came up with that number since Book had 75 in his sophomore season in 2017) but I wouldn’t be surprised if Pyne gets an opportunity at some point to play and does get there.
I get the sense that Pyne is committed to Notre Dame in a way that he wouldn’t just jump ship if he felt like he wasn’t going to start in 2021. From everything we’ve heard–and it’s clearly talked about in the media–he’s super well liked by his teammates. I think he’s in a unique situation where he has to understand playing time here isn’t that far away and a transfer likely is a way more unsettling situation for him.
I’m sure he was bummed that Coan came in here, but Pyne is one snap away from being the guy if something goes wrong. I legitimately think if people are hoping Buchner is going to swat him away next spring they better be prepared for a lot of frustration.
If Buchner isn’t ready by next spring, Clark maybe. Until his knee acted up, wasn’t Clark the clear #2 ?
I’m not sure about the timeline with Clark’s injury. Has there ever been less known about a QB injury at Notre Dame? Kind of frustrating.
But, Jamie from ISD told us Pyne was either neck-and-neck and maybe had passed Clark at some point last year but I’m not sure when his knee started acting up.
My impression is that Clark was #2 last year because he had the second best command of the playbook (because of his extra year over Pyne). With Clark’s injury setting him back, plus Pyne having the time to learn everything, it seems like Pyne is currently above Clark.
Pyne seems to fit the Rees/Book mold of a smaller QB who is smart and has mastered the playbook and I would not be surprised to see him starting next year (after Coan leaves) while we all pine (pun intended) for Buchner
I think Clark was ahead of Pyne mainly because he’s a better athlete, bigger and stronger with as much if not more arm talent.(plus a years more experience) Not to say he’s super athletic either, just more so than Pyne. I think Pyne’s passing Clark happened just about the time we started hearing about Clark’s knee. Watching the first practice film, Coan’s first couple throws you notice how much taller he looks than Pyne, or Book for that matter. If Pyne doesn’t see down field better than Book did, he does not have the escape ability that Book had. We already know Coan can survive in the pocket and play well. We’ll see how this works out.
I think the Pyne comments are more along the lines of “We aren’t keeping Drew around as a career backup, we think he’s capable of going out and winning the starting job”. And if he were to do so that would be a good thing, assuming Coan is back to his 2019 self and Pyne simply beats him out for the starting position.
Not sure what to make of those comments about rover / linebackers…I suppose that we will be guessing all spring about the defensive alignments and personnel as to how much change there will be. But it sounds like the strategy / mindset is changing quite a bit (from “know your role and make them earn their way down the field” to “play loose and attack more”).
Yeah, I’m much more worried about pass defense obviously. That’s a difficult skill to teach and flourish at for linebackers.
Plus, switching from predominantly zone to predominantly man-to-man can be quite the change for the DBs