Who are the ten best players on the Notre Dame roster entering the 2016 season? Will the offseason curse also affect this list hours after it’s published? Why is starting articles with questions so trendy now? Keith Arnold surveyed esteemed Irish experts as well as folks like us lacking in both esteem and expertise to compile the Top 25 players on the roster. Follow along with the composite list over at Inside the Irish as it finishes up today, and here’s our Top 10:
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10. Malik Zaire, QB: Here’s another player who is extremely difficult to rate depending on how you view the criteria for the Top 25 list. In terms of sheer talent and ability, he’s likely a little underrated – but what role will he play in 2016? This ranking is a reflection of our belief he won’t win the starting quarterback job, but will still find a way to contribute. I’m also excited to see if the offensive mind put together some NFL Blitz-like play with Zaire and Kizer on the field at the same time.
9. Alex Bars, OT: Bars has made the ideal offensive line transition so far in Harry Hiestand’s group, save for last season’s broken foot. After redshirting his freshmen year, Bars was the 5th or 6th best lineman in a very talented and experienced unit in 2015. He’s now stepping into a full-time role on right tackle, and hasn’t been rushed in his development. Will there be some growing pains? Probably a few, but Bars feels like a pretty sure thing to be a solid performer this season and potential star and early draft pick by the time he leaves campus.
8. Torii Hunter Jr., WR: This shows the uncertainty the Irish face in the passing game – only one wide receiver in our top 25 this year! While Hunter Jr. wasn’t hugely productive in 2015 – Will Fuller and Chris Brown saw the bulk of the targets and rarely came off the field, and he had to battle veterans like Amir Carlisle and Corey Robinson (and spend some time making cameos at nickel back). But his 8.6 yards per target and 13 yards per catch with both second of any receiver, behind only Will Fuller’s absurd stats. And in the category of “Not Really That Bold” predictions, I’d bet on him throwing a touchdown pass in 2016 as well.
7. Cole Luke, CB: Luke enters his season with 26 starts in his Irish career, unquestionably the #1 corner on the roster. But after breaking out in 2014 with an extremely strong sophomore campaign, 2015 was a disappointment for Luke (and the rest of the secondary for that matter). From Pro Football Focus:
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6. Quenton Nelson, G: Nelson is really the safest and least divisive pick in this whole exercise – everyone agrees he’s really good, and no one can really dislike a mauling guard! After beating out Bars last season to start at left guard, Nelson was a beast in his first season of playing time between Ronnie Stanley and Nick Martin. He’ll now team up with Mike McGlinchey (more on him later) to form a gigantic left side of the line I can’t wait to see in action.
5. Josh Adams, RB: His recruiting profile entering his true freshman season was basically “talented, big power back that may need time to adjust to the level of FBS competition”. Then in 2015 Adams basically proved it entirely incorrect (except he was still big), showing explosive ability in the open field and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. Since 2000, only four running backs in the power five and Notre Dame have rushed for over seven yards a carry on over 100 attempts as true freshmen – Jamaal Charles, C.J. Spiller, Nick Chubb, and Josh Adams. Areas for improvement in 2016? Putting on a little more good weight and rounding out his game to contribute more in blocking and receiving.
4. Isaac Rochell, DE: Rochell has proven his credentials against the run, which is where the Irish defense struggled more often last season, ranking just 56th in 2015. But to be successful this fall, Rochell will need to expand his game to also provide a pass-rush threat while continuing to improve the run defense. He should have help against the run with Jarron Jones return and more experience from Tillery and Cage, but getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks is the real area of need. Rochell has just 3.5 sacks in three seasons, and has the body of a run-stuffer versus an edge rusher, but will have to rise to the needs of the defensive line this year.
3. Jarron Jones, DT: Glossed over when looking at the departures of Sheldon Day and Jaylon Smith is just how good Jones was in 2014. According to PFF, Jones actually significantly out-graded Day (+15.7 vs. +5.5) in 2014. When Jones (6’6) pairs with 6’7 Tillery, the Irish defensive tackles should be able to be extremely disruptive against both the run and pass. It feels like batted balls have always gone the wrong way in the Brian Kelly area – maybe this is the year it turns around with Jones returning.
2. DeShone Kizer, QB: Kizer likely would have been something like #35 in the last season’s list. He now enters fall camp as one of the 10-15 favorites to win the Heisman (and would be higher without Zaire or a two-QB system looming as a threat). He turned out to be a better runner than most anticipated, flashing his speed on an 80-yard touchdown run at Temple, and established a reputation as calm and accurate passer. There’s room for improvement in redzone decision-making and more consistency with his accuracy, but Kizer’s ceiling is incredibly high. He has prototypical NFL size and should build on his 11 starts last season and benefit tremendously from another offseason with Brian Kelly and Mike Sanford.
#1: Mike McGlinchey, OT: Hiestand’s run of stellar left tackles (and 1st round picks) should pick up with McGlinchey right where Stanley and Zack Martin left off. Final PFF grades stat, I promise: McGlinchey actually graded out higher than Stanley last season, in particular in the run game. Both were stellar against the pass, and McGlinchey finished the year with the 2nd-best grade of any right tackle in the Power 5.
In Review
Compared to the group rankings, we weren’t too far off, but here were the biggest differences:
- Jarron Jones (18S: 3rd, Group: 9th) – Maybe our crew is a little more injury averse – we also ranked Tevon Coney higher than average. If he truly ends up on a more limited snap count, we could be a little high here.
- Alex Bars (18S: 9th, Group: 14th) – Very shocking that the Eric Murtaugh love of offensive linemen has somehow bled into the pages of 18 Stripes so quickly. Besides, Brian Kelly called him one of the most talented players he’s coached, and he wouldn’t lie to us, right?
- Tarean Folston (18S: 16th, Group: 10th) – We actually rated Folston the lowest of the polled members, but there wasn’t too wide of a range. I think this could be chalked up to belief that Brian Kelly will lean on the senior that I don’t necessarily buy combined with how big of a threat you feel Dexter Williams presents to Folston’s carries.
- Jerry Tillery and Daniel Cage (18S: 14/13, Group: 19/21) – These guys will play a ton and should play well. Cage I think is my pick for most underrated by the group – he’s consistently getting better and in better shape every year.
- Hunter Bivin (18S 24th, Group: 36th) – Maybe everyone knows something we don’t know in terms of who will really lock down the right guard spot?
- CJ Sanders, Durham Smythe, Justin Yoon, and Tyler Newsome (18S: NR, Group: 17/24/23/22) – We didn’t forget about Sanders – I love his skillset, but was truly surprised to see him ranked so highly. There’s certainly a theme here in potentially underrating special teams, but he hardly saw snaps on offense in 2015 and faces a lot of competition this season. Smythe certainly now would rocket up the list along with consideration for Nic Weishar, and Yoon and Newsome may be victims of our criteria. I often start the list by asking who would go first in a draft across all of CFB, and in that case, the kickers won’t make the Top 25, but it’s certainly far from the only (or best) way to do this ranking – the instructions are intentionally vague.
What’s PunterBro have to say about this?
We had to wrap him in duct tape and stick him in the closet to avoid having not just Yoon and Newsome but also Daly and MVG on this list. Kid is fired up.
I wanna say that happens a lot with him.