6 Thoughts on a Thursday
Back in April, which feels like 40 years ago right now, I wrote about how I didn’t believe many freshmen would play this year for Notre Dame because of the unique circumstances of this year.
I just don’t see a lot of freshmen playing early this year with the lack of spring ball for the early enrollees and the lack of summer training for the others. If someone is playing early, it means they are an exceptional athlete that is too talented to keep off the field.
That will definitely be the main driver for a decision like that because this group of freshmen will be behind when it comes to learning everything. I think just about every program is going to be in the same boat.
Unless there is a desperate need at a certain position or there is someone with exceptional physical talent (like Chris Tyree’s speed), then I don’t see many seeing the field early in the season.
I know it’s only a handful of practices into camp and we haven’t actually had the opportunity to see practices live, but it’s obvious from what we’ve been hearing and what Brian Kelly has been saying that there are some freshmen who could be described as exceptional.
Chris Tyree, Jordan Johnson, and Michael Mayer are at the top of that list and we knew they had elite potential before they even stepped foot on campus as students. We just didn’t know if they’d be able to make a splash this early and it sure seems like they, along with some other skill position players, have done just that.
If we get to the Duke game and those first three don’t touch the ball multiple times, it would be surprising.
It’s easy to say that these guys are so talented that we should have all predicted they would be day one contributors, but in Kelly’s time at Notre Dame, you can count the freshmen skill position players on one hand who have made an immediate impact.
There was TJ Jones in 2010, but even he only caught 23 balls that season. There was Kevin Stepherson in 2016 who flashed explosive ability (18.5 yards per reception) on 25 catches. Josh Adams in 2015 and Tarean Folston in 2013 are the only backs who made a splash as freshmen.
That’s it. That’s the list.
Part of the reason why this year’s group of freshmen have a chance to make a splash is the opportunity that exists at those positions.
If Cole Kmet came back for his senior year, then it would be much more difficult for Mayer or Kevin Bauman to play ahead of Kmet and Tommy Tremble. If Notre Dame had a Dexter Williams or Josh Adams returning, expectations would be different for Tyree. If there was a Claypool or a Boykin coming back or if Kevin Austin was healthy, Johnson would be getting fewer targets in the first scrimmage in camp.
Everyone should acknowledge that, but not let it take away from the talented skill players Notre Dame signed in 2020. There’s a lot to be excited about with them right now and in the future.
It’s yet another reason why it would be extremely disappointing to not see a full season this fall. If a few of these freshmen emerge, it changes the ceiling for Notre Dame’s offense and the ceiling for the season as a whole.
2. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has been listing his 2021 NFL Draft position rankings before the season and there were some familiar names on his cornerback rankings.
Ohio State’s Shaun Wade (3rd), Michigan’s Ambry Thomas (3rd for senior prospects), and Oregon’s Thomas Graham (9th on his senior list) stood out as three Notre Dame wanted in their class, but didn’t land. All three aren’t playing this fall as Big Ten and Pac-12 players, but could have been suiting up for Notre Dame. All three were top-100 prospects in the 2017 recruiting cycle.
Everyone agrees that cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens has done an outstanding job of recruiting his position group considering the late start he got. Can he take it to the next level with more time to develop relationships in 2022? Notre Dame fans have to hope so because the Irish have failed to sign a single cornerback who was a composite top-100 prospect at cornerback, who stayed at cornerback, during the Kelly era. (Houston Griffith was rated as a top-100 prospect at cornerback, but he moved to safety)
They’ve offered five cornerbacks who are currently ranked in the top-100 in the 2022 composite rankings. Out of the 10 they have offered so far, I think as many as eight of them could be top-100 in the composite by the end of the recruiting process. (It’s a loaded year at the position)
If Mickens can land two out of that group, I’d feel a lot better about how they’ll do going up against Clemson’s, Ohio State’s, and USC’s receivers over the next few years.
3. Notre Dame offered two 2022 quarterbacks this week and one of the first questions that was asked is whether or not they would consider taking commitments from both. The quick answer would be that it’s doubtful.
Notre Dame has only taken more than one quarterback in a class once under Kelly and that was in year one when he already inherited two who were committed. But when you look at how the position has worked out for Kelly over the last decade, maybe he should consider trying to land multiple quarterbacks in a class.
I don’t see that as a feasible strategy every year, but with the amount of uncertainty with evaluations for the 2022 cycle, this would be a time to do it.
There are less chances to see these quarterbacks throw in person. There’s going to be less film to evaluate. There are going to be less chances to get them on campus to learn more about them as well as less chances to visit their high schools and speak to the people who know them best.
Considering all of that, taking two swings instead of one seems like an appropriate plan for this specific cycle. It’s hard enough landing the right guy at the most important position on the field in a normal year, so why not try and get two and hope to hit big on one of them?
4. With the news that Wake Forest wide receiver Sage Surratt, a projected top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is opting out this season, that makes two significant pieces who have done so from teams who are going to be looking to upset Notre Dame this fall. Pitt defensive tackle Jalen Twyman was the first.
We know Clemson is already down two big time players in Justyn Ross (injury) and Xavier Thomas (complications after contracting Covid-19), but they are the type of program that can sustain those losses and be fine. Pitt and Wake Forest aren’t in the same position.
That’s two opponents who might not be able to recover from those losses and if say Louisville ended up having a player like TuTu Atwell opt out, then the schedule would be much easier than it was originally projected to be.
5. I’m all for the proposal to allow athletes in all fall sports to keep a season of eligibility regardless of what happens this season with football. While I don’t love jumping up and down on the sideline to get fake hyped for the 4th quarter from Pat Narduzzi’s teams, I do love Narduzzi’s thoughts on this proposal.
“These kids have so much going on their lives, there is so much uncertainty,” Narduzzi said. “There’s just so much they don’t know. They need some stability. … I think if every college football player heard this, that this is the way it’s going to be, I think everybody would be a lot better off. They would all feel a sense of relief.”
If we’re serious about taking care of the mental health of these players, taking this off of their plate is one step in the right direction to helping them with that.
How will it work with the scholarship numbers? Who knows. They can figure that part out later. Let’s get this figured out and put the players first in this case.
6. I don’t think anyone who covers the team was surprised that John Olmstead transferred. He was the one offensive lineman from the 2019 class who looked the furthest away from playing as a freshman.
The spring was going to be big for him to prove he could compete at Notre Dame and not be passed by the offensive linemen recruited behind him. Spring turned to fall camp and it’s safe to assume things weren’t going well on the field if a guy enters the portal in August.
I try my best to not judge freshmen too harshly when we see them in practice, but if you would have forced me to make a call on Olmstead last year, I would have said he was a miss for Notre Dame. I hope he finds the right fit and has success elsewhere, but the reason I’m pointing it out is because Notre Dame has had very few of them in the last few classes.
The evaluations have been very good and credit has to be given to coaches and recruiting staff. There are many players who won’t be significant contributors for the Irish who would have started on many other Notre Dame teams.
That also makes what some of the freshmen this year are doing even more impressive. They’re competing against talented players and still standing out. That’s a pretty great problem to have and it all starts with having a deeper roster because they’ve been much better with evaluations.