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Notre Dame Football

Young supporting cast shining for Notre Dame

November 15, 2021
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Neither quarterback was on the roster a year ago, nor were the team's second- and third-leading rushers.

The leading tackler has carved a reputation as a special teams enforcer more so than a critical defensive cog.

And the guy who tied for the second-most tackles Saturday night? Well, he's a converted wide receiver.

Notre Dame's depth both continues to be tested and on display as the No. 6 Fighting Irish (9-1) try to cap what would be a fifth-consecutive season of double-digit wins.

Missing four team captains (Avery Davis, Kyle Hamilton, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Drew White), the Irish nonetheless are winners of five games in a row and creeping further into College Football Playoff discussion in no small part because of their depth.

Quarterbacks Jack Coan and Tyler Buchner are working in tandem now to operate the Notre Dame offense, though Drew Pyne earlier this year had a key role against Wisconsin.

Coan, of course, is a graduate-transfer from Wisconsin, but he still has just these first 10 games in an Irish uniform.

Logan Diggs is emerging as a possible future star at tailback, leaping would-be Cavaliers tacklers en route to 64 yards in the win while fellow 2021 signee Lorenzo Styles Jr. was blistering past the Virginia defense for 37 yards on a reverse.

Bo Bauer paced the defense with nine tackles; Xavier Watts matched second-best on the team with five stops.

Lined up at defensive end due to absences, Rylie Mills responded with four tackles that included a pair of quarterback sacks. Ramon Henderson proved his development and versatility at safety, where he notched an interception and four tackles.

“I look at a Rylie Mills, he may not have been ready to play at a high level early but certainly was later,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “Certainly a Ramon Henderson would be in that category as well as Xavier (Watts).

“They were good players but just needed more time. I think the depth of our team is certainly called upon later in the season and they have to come through for us and we saw that (Saturday) night.”

Even more was needed from the Irish reserves at Virginia, after injury continued to keep the star Hamilton off the field and a flu virus ransacked the Notre Dame roster. Kelly said as many as 13 players, if not more, were affected by the illness; he earlier revealed that Tagovailoa-Amosa and White both had triple-digit fevers.

Jordan Botelho added four tackles in more extended work for the second-year player while freshman Kahanu Kia registered a stop.

Four Notre Dame skill players in their first year with the program – Coan, Buchner, Diggs, Styles – factored prominently into the offensive production. Along the offensive front, true freshman left tackle Joe Alt again started. Freshman tight end Mitchell Evans also logged snaps, as did freshman defensive back Ryan Barnes and second-year defensive lineman Alex Ehrensberger.

“I think that's the depth in the recruiting process showing itself more so than in years past where we just didn't have those players that we could count on later in the year to put them out there,” Kelly said.

Both Henderson and Watts, Kelly said, appeared to have found their homes on the defensive side of the ball.

“I think (Henderson's) length and range really, I think, stood out for us as a safety in terms of what we were looking for,” Kelly said. “As we played him more at the nickel position, those things kind of stood out to us. When we got him in the game it became pretty apparent that safety was a comfortable position for him.

“(Watts) is coming along. I think we just continue to impress upon some of the fundamentals with him, we just think that that next stage of development for him being a little bit more aggressive in tackling. He just has so much to offer, we just feel there's another stage of development.”

HAMILTON NOT EXPECTED BACK IN REGULAR SEASON

Though a few weeks ago he emphasized he believed Kyle Hamilton would play again this season for the Irish, Kelly on Monday indicated both Hamilton's injury and the timeline for recovery meant that Hamilton would not again appear during the regular season and that the postseason was undetermined.

“The injury itself is generally a six-week injury,” Kelly said. “So there was some meniscus involvement but that is no longer an issue. There's no meniscus at all; he's got a great meniscus. This is much more about the healing around the knee itself. There's no structural damage at all but it usually takes about six weeks.

“So it's really the tissue, I'm not a doctor so I don't want to get too much information here, but there's tissue and fibers that kind of connective tissue and fibers around the joint and the knee and they get pinched or pulled. That's the issue that has to heal and it just takes some time. …

“Yeah, well, six weeks would take him through the end of the regular season and we have to see where we are with College Football Playoff, bowl games, things like that.”

BUCHNER CONTINUES TO GROW

Though displeased with turnovers, Kelly praised Tyler Buchner's work in command of the offense.

Buchner logged 14 snaps in the win at Virginia, where he connected on three of four passes for 42 yards and added 10 net yards rushing.

“It was really good that we got him in there and got some expanded play,” Kelly said. “Every experience is a new one and there are different conversations. With the fumble itself and his reaction and our conversation and how he took that. All those things are really good because we want to get him back in there and see how he leads that next drive. You can't duplicate that in practice? Now did we want to fumble the football? Absolutely not, but all those things are building towards his development.

“I think from my perspective as the head coach, those are moments that allow us to really see what he's about. We like the things we see about him.”

 
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