6 Thoughts on a Thursday

2009 was my Dad’s final year coaching high school football. I took him to the Notre Dame Coaches Clinic that year, which turned out to be the last clinic for Charlie Weis and his staff.

I couldn’t tell you anything of particular interest from when Jon Tenuta spoke that weekend, he seemed thrilled to be there, but I will always remember seeing Michael Floyd on the practice field. Not only was his athletic talent obvious from the moment we saw him, but his energy and effort in practice was at another level. He ran through the bags at the start of practice like it was the national championship game. That was how intense he approached every rep that day.

I was reminded of that when Marcus Freeman spoke of some of the veterans on defense that he saw practice for the first time this spring. It didn’t take him long to figure out why players like Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Drew White, and the Ademilola brothers were good players. Each of them practiced at a level that made it obvious why.

As we approach fall camp, seeing that is what I’m looking forward to as much as anything else. Not from those players specifically because there is an expectation about the way they will practice. I’m excited to see who else matches their level. In other words, who might be on the verge of taking that next step because of the way they are working each and every rep.

Everyone wants predictions about players before we start watching Notre Dame practice, but we’ll know a lot more about individuals once we get to see how they practice. That even goes for the freshmen who might not be quite ready for prime time yet.

I can recall the first day of fall camp for Hinish where he had to go over to the side and puke. He might not have been in the shape he needed to be, but he only puked because he was working his butt off. It was clear him and MTA were both headed in a good direction simply from their effort level on that day.

Who’s going to impress us this August aside from the obvious returning starters? That’s what I want to know more than anything. The player who shows that insatiable hunger to be great even when they have room to grow with their game almost always ends up being someone that is going to make a big impact eventually.

2. It’s been a lot of fun covering Notre Dame football over the last four seasons. It turns out watching a consistently successful program is a lot better than a maddeningly inconsistent one.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most is seeing players surprise almost everyone by becoming a star. There’s been one of those every year.

In 2017 Te’von Coney went from splitting the weak side linebacker job to averaging more tackles a game than Jaylon Smith’s best season.

In 2018 Julian Okwara went from backing up Daelin Hayes to becoming one of the best pass rushers in college football.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah didn’t see the field in his first two years on campus after redshirting and recovering from an injured foot. He emerged as one of the top playmaking linebackers in college football in 2019.

Of course there was Kyren Williams last year who came in with four career carries and then finished as one of the top backs in the nation.

Kevin Austin and his six career catches seems like the top candidate to be the next player included with that group, though, it might not be classified as a surprise given the hype around him. He’s the second highest rated receiver recruit of the Brian Kelly era so the hype was there before he even stepped on campus.

On the other side of the ball, there may not be a more obvious candidate than Jayson Ademilola. He’s been a key rotation piece in recent seasons, but now the path is clear for him to start at 3-technique in a system that is going to have him slanting and penetrating into the backfield. It’s a safe bet that he’ll surpass his career total of seven tackles for loss in just this season and there have been signs of this happening before.

I thought the two best games of his career came against Clemson and Alabama to end last season. Oh, and he’s also someone who came in with quite a bit of hype. He’s the fourth highest ranked defensive tackle of the Kelly era.

Talent has never been the issue with either of these two players. Availability and opportunity has played a part in them underachieving relative to their recruiting rankings. That shouldn’t be an issue for either in 2021 and they are the two who I believe have the best odds of joining Coney, Okwara, JOK, and Williams.

To win big, programs need big time players. They are players like Williams and Kyle Hamilton that we know will be amongst the best in the country. Notre Dame will need more than that to be a great team this fall.

Whether it’s Austin, Ademilola, or someone else, chances are that this current Notre Dame team won’t come close to reaching College Football Playoff contention if they don’t get at least one player on the roster to unexpectedly become one of the best in the country at their position.

3. One of the things that helped propel Notre Dame to an undefeated regular season in 2020 was what they were able to get from three true freshmen. Michael Mayer was a go-to option on 3rd down almost immediately and Chris Tyree provided a spark with some explosive plays as Williams’ backup. On the other side of the ball there was Clarence Lewis who ended up taking over the starting field corner spot.

At this point it would be shocking if true freshman tackle Blake Fisher wasn’t an important part of the success of this year’s Fighting Irish squad. Guard Rocco Spindler could be as well based on what he showed in the spring and we’ll have to see with others like tight end Mitchell Evans and receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. All four of them were in for the spring.

The trio who made an impact last season didn’t arrive until June. There might not be one freshman who enrolled this summer who makes a significant impact in ‘21. A lot of that has to do with how the depth chart looks at certain spots.

In saying that, perhaps someone like Audric Estime is someone who can force his way into playing time in the backfield considering the reviews we’ve heard about him this summer. He’s on my list of top-10 players to watch in fall camp.

4. I’m a fan of the offer Notre Dame just made at quarterback in 2023. I like Avery Johnson‍’s skill set and while he definitely has a lot of physical development to do, he reminds me a lot of former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert as an athlete.

My question on him would be arm talent, but since Tommy Rees worked him out in person there’s less concern there. I also believe that some tweaks to his mechanics could help as well.

I think it’s a must that Notre Dame adds a true dual-threat at quarterback in this class. Johnson fits the bill there as does Dante Moore‍, who also visited this weekend. I think Notre Dame fans should be happy if the Irish are able to land either even though Moore is higher rated nationally at the moment.

5. This leads back a little into my first thought, but I really am curious to see Andrew Kristofic practice. He’s part of that strong 2019 O-line class the Irish signed that we really know very little about outside of a couple of Zeke Correll games.

This should be the time for Kristofic to make a move in his career at Notre Dame, but it won’t be easy for him to jump ahead of the pack. Graduate transfer Cain Madden was brought in to compete at guard and Rocco Spindler is turning heads as a true freshman. Things have been very quiet in regards to where things stand with Kristofic and I’m very interested in seeing where his development is currently at.

6. The situation with Quinn Ewers‍, the 5-star Ohio State quarterback commit, and his potential lucrative NIL deals that await him if he graduates early is even more interesting than Bryce Young making big money from deals before he starts a game at Alabama.

Ewers is as close to “can’t-miss” as a quarterback prospect can get. I can see why brands would see a unique opportunity with him given how things played out with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, both 5-star recruits who ended up being top picks in the NFL Draft. If Ewers does what he is supposed to do, the money invested in him will be worth it.

On the other hand, Ewers is also walking into a situation where it’s not a slam dunk he is going to be the starter in his second year. The projected starter for Ohio State this season is CJ Stroud, a former top-50 prospect and Elite 11 MVP. He has at least two more years of eligibility. The quarterback room will also have composite 5-star Kyle McCord who signed in the 2021 class. While Ewers is considered better than McCord, this isn’t some random kid that Ewers will be able to roll right on by on his way to be Ohio State’s QB1.

I know Ewers wouldn’t have to wait if he wants an opportunity if his path is blocked at Ohio State, but to invest so much money in a player who could potentially be a backup for two years would make things pretty interesting when it comes to investing in the next great high school quarterback.

I’m sure many think the idea of giving any unproven athlete big money seems like the dumbest bet ever, but I bet brands would regret it if they didn’t get in early on the next Lawrence. That’s the caliber of prospect Ewers is so we’ll see what happens and if that investment looks like a bargain a few years down the road.