No open practices, no problem. How does one figure out what the Notre Dame depth chart is going to look like just under 2 weeks until the first game when no one has watched the team practice? Through logic, dear readers.

Of course, it’s impossible to know everything and if we’re being honest even an official depth chart released by the school won’t always tell the full story of the 2020 roster. Nevertheless, let’s try and break things down the best we can as this weird season is still on track to commence in two more Saturday’s.

[players listed by eligibility]

The Unquestioned Starters

5th SR – QB – Ian Book
5th SR – OT – Liam Eichenberg
5th SR – OG – Tommy Kraemer
SR – OT – Robert Hainsey
r-JR – OG – Aaron Banks
r-SO – TE – Tommy Tremble
r-SO – OC – Jarrett Patterson
r-SO  – WR – Braden Lenzy

Pretty much the only thing affecting these players’ status are injuries. The entire offensive line, quarterback, and your likely top two pass catchers is a nice foundation, although one more skill player sure would be nice to plop into the above list.

Who’s Probably Not Playing?

r-JR – OG – Dillan Gibbons
r-SO – WR – Kevin Austin [injured]
r-SO – WR – Micah Jones
r-FR – WR – Kendall Abdur-Rahman
FR – QB – Drew Pyne
FR – WR – Jay Brunelle
FR – OT – Tosh Baker
FR – OT – Michael Carmody

These are the players I feel comfortable believing won’t see the field beyond extreme garbage time situations, in other words the guys who are 3rd team or worse. Unfortunately, this includes the injured Kevin Austin who surely would’ve made the starters list above if he were healthy.

I’m curious to see more from KAR and Brunelle, both young receivers I really liked coming out of high school. It’s just so hard right now at receiver where there are a ton of bodies–11 in total–and that doesn’t include the flex tight ends that will eat up reps from wideouts.

The Trusted Backups & Top Youngsters

SR – TE – Brock Wright
r-JR – WR – Avery Davis
r-JR – OT – Josh Lugg
r-SO – RB – C’Bo Flemister
r-SO – RB – Jahmir Smith
r-FR – QB – Brendon Clark
r-FR – RB – Kyren Williams
FR – RB – Chris Tyree
FR – TE – Michael Mayer

This is the most interesting list of players, by far. I don’t think we’ll see any full-time starters out of this bunch absent a long-term injury somewhere but the 2020 Irish really need most of these guys to be solid to very solid contributors.

We know Lugg is the main backup across the entire line, or at least tackle or guard. Wright is sort of a co-starter depending upon your perspective but could have Mayer stealing snaps from day one. Nothing would surprise me with Davis at this point–he could be relied upon heavily early in the season as a backup in the slot or maybe we won’t see him all that much.

So, we have 4 running backs listed here. Based on last year’s carries you’d think Flemister and Smith are near the top of being a starter but the (very limited!) scuttlebutt coming out of campus is that Williams has made a big jump and Tyree is as advertised as The Future at the position. Those two have also been singled out by Kelly in the press which also helps feed the hype.

The Borderline Guys aka Not-So-Trusted Backups

5th SR – WR – Javon McKinley
r-SO – TE – George Takacs
r-SO – WR – Joe Wilkins
r-SO – OG – John Dirksen
r-FR – OC – Zeke Correll
r-FR – OT – Andrew Kristofic
r-FR – OT – Quinn Carroll
FR – WR – Xavier Watts
FR – WR – Jordan Johnson
FR – TE – Kevin Bauman

You could say this is quality depth but in a way it feels like the older players are trending one way while the younger players are just biding their time for their chance, which is unlikely to come this year.

Some might think McKinley will play a decent role as a backup and they could be right. I think he’s likely pushed out of the picture due to a grad transfer plus someone like blue-chip freshman Jordan Johnson getting his feet wet early this fall camp. I’ve included Watts here as opposed to ‘Probably Not Playing’ because the pre-season is for hope. At best, he’s about the 6th receiver on the team but he’s unlikely to come out of the gate with consistent playing time.

The Other Likely Starters

5th SR – WR – Bennett Skowronek
r-JR – RB – Jafar Armstrong
r-SO – WR – Lawrence Keys

It’s totally fair if no one is super excited about this group being starters. Book seems to have a good rapport with Skowronek and the receiver is expected to fill the role of a steady possession receiver while adding some much needed size to the lineup.

I’m curious to see how much Keys plays this year. If Austin was healthy I thought the best deployment for the offense would be Lenzy in the slot which would’ve severely hampered Keys’ snaps. Now, he’s probably the most trusted slot receiver, but at the same time, I could see Tremble flex out so much that the most often used packages leave someone like Keys on the sidelines.

I’m as ready as anyone to see 1st-team freshman All-American Chris Tyree taking the first carry against Duke and off we go! I’m also a pragmatist who believes a healthy Armstrong is likely to lead the way early in the season. I would imagine his leash is extremely short with so many other options available.