6 Thoughts on a Thursday
Marcus Freeman laid it out pretty plainly when speaking after the first practice last week. When asked about a position group that stood out, he went straight to praising the big boys up front.
”I love being around our o-line. I do. I say it all the time we’re an o-line, d-line driven program. Those guys work and they're pushed and they continue to respond to being challenged. I love being around. I love just the culture in that room, the vibe. I really spend a lot of time looking at those guys, basically, maybe because I'm behind the offense and those guys are looking in my direction, but as much as I can spend time with that o-line and d-line, I'm going to continue to do it because those guys will drive our culture and our program.”
In case you were searching for another “This guy gets it” quote from Freeman, there’s another one to put up on the wall.
Notre Dame has to recruit and develop better at the skill positions. There isn’t any doubt about that. None of that matters if they aren’t strong up front. That’s the foundation of the program and he is smartly leaning into it. He’d be foolish not to at a place that has been dubbed “O-line U”.
It also feels appropriate given that if Notre Dame is going to beat Ohio State to start this season, they’ll have to do it by winning their matchups in the trenches.
That’s what Michigan did. And they didn’t just win their matchups. They pretty much dominated.
From 6 Thoughts back in January:
OSU rushed for 2.13 yards per carry while the Wolverines averaged 7.24 YPC behind a Joe Moore Award winning offensive line. They also pressured quarterback CJ Stroud on 47.2% of his drop backs.
This is a different Ohio State team with a new defensive coordinator that just led an Oklahoma State defense that was first in EPA (expected points added) per rush in college football last season. It’s going to be a lot more difficult for Notre Dame to average over seven yards per carry against a Jim Knowles defense, but coming close to that would be a recipe for success.
If Notre Dame is going to continue to be driven by the offensive and defensive line and have that lead to a national championship, they’ll need to compile the talent to overwhelm their opponents. They have done a good job of that right now with 80% of their scholarship offensive line who were blue-chip recruits (4 or 5-stars). 66.7% of the scholarship defensive linemen on the roster were blue-chips as well. That and good coaching is going to overwhelm most opponents on their schedule.
That talent advantage isn’t going to be overwhelming against Ohio State or Clemson, though. The blue-chip ratio on their offensive and defensive lines are pretty comparable to Notre Dame’s. It’s 62.5% on the OL for OSU and 85.7%(!) on the DL. Clemson’s OL is a surprising 69.2% and it’s 72.2% on the DL. That’s not a huge difference between them and the Irish, which probably means that those matchups up front will be won and lost by the best players for each squad.
Notre Dame currently has nine offensive and defensive line commits in this class and they are eight for nine with blue-chips. Freeman is backing up his words when it comes to that being the driver of the program as long as they keep recruiting like that. If he wants both lines to drive them to a national championship, then they have to strive to get to a point where they have multiple first round picks on each side of the ball every year.
2. Jayden Thomas is getting reps with the ones and even if it is early in camp, it is notable for many reasons.
The biggest reason why I think it’s a significant development is that in the one full practice that was open to the media back in the spring, Thomas was nowhere to be seen with the starting group. That was with Joe Wilkins injuring his foot in that same practice and Deion Colzie not participating in team drills. Those players were out and they didn’t look at Thomas then.
They are looking at him now.
It’s way too early to make any proclamations on anyone based on the limited viewings the media has had and today is the first day they’ll be in full pads, but they wouldn’t have elevated him if he wasn’t showing potential to contribute this fall. That’s definitely an encouraging sign for the wide receiver group.
3. Heading into camp in the 2020 season, Marist Liufau was not considered to be a favorite to contend for a starting position. I don’t know if anyone who followed the program had him even slotted in the two-deep.
With Asmar Bilal moving on, it was supposed to be Shayne Simon, Jack Lamb, or Jordan Genmark Heath competing for the open Will linebacker job. By the end of camp it was Simon and Liufau competing to start at Will with Lamb buried down the depth chart and JGH entering the transfer portal. By the end of the season it was Liufau making a massive impact against North Carolina and him starting in the College Football Playoff against Alabama.
I don’t know who's going to be this year’s version of Liufau or even if there will be one, but thinking about what happened with him is a reminder that what we think know right now might not be how it actually turns out by the time they travel to Ohio State or later in the season.
We’ll see if there are any big depth chart surprises eight days from now when we get to the final full practice viewing of camp.
4. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah won the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker in his final season at Notre Dame and he was very good the previous season as well. He made a lot of plays (19.5 total Havoc plays) and what makes that even more impressive is that he wasn’t regular in Notre Dame’s 3rd down package that season. There was only one regular linebacker and it was Asmar Bilal.
The staff elected to play with six defensive backs instead with three safeties on the field and Kyle Hamilton being too good to keep on the sideline.
That 2019 defense had so many options who could thrive on 3rd down. JOK wasn’t a regular and neither were Jamir Jones or Ade Ogundeji until injuries opened up opportunities for them. They both thrived with expanded roles as the season progressed.
This 2022 defense might have similar issues with finding room for players to play on 3rd down.
If Notre Dame plays the 4-2-5 they did last year, then are you going to take Bo Bauer off the field to get Jack Kiser and Marist Liufau as the two linebackers? If Notre Dame plays with three linebackers, then does that mean Justin Ademilola gets bumped for one of those linebackers? What about players like Howard Cross or Jordan Botelho? They both feel like fits to rush the passer on 3rd down, but to insert them in means taking another good defender off the field.
There’s always a desire to get the best 11 on the field to stop offenses on 3rd down, but determining the best 11 could be difficult and there will probably be more than 11 who deserve a chance in those situations.
Rylie Mills moved to a 3rd down role for the Virginia game and was awesome as a pass rusher. He never broke into the line up again in those situations and that always felt like a mistake to me.
They don’t need to go too deep with who plays and who doesn’t, but I don’t think it’s a bad idea to mix it up a bit more than they have on 3rd downs.
5. The Big Ten looks like they have a deal with three networks set up for noon (FOX), 3:30 (CBS), and prime time (NBC) games and it kind of seems…brilliant? They aren’t on ESPN/ABC any more, but it’s not like they’ll be lacking exposure. And as long as they still have Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway, and Desmond Howard as part of their team of analysts, then I sincerely doubt they will be forgotten when it comes to getting mentioned on the worldwide leader.
As for what it means for Notre Dame games on NBC in general, I guess it all depends on the number NBC wants to pay. It would seem like a perfect fit with the afternoon window leading into those Big Ten games at night. Jack Swarbrick seems to feel the same way and I don’t think he would have mentioned that publicly unless that was what he wanted.
It also makes sense for NBC to do a deal because it would be a smooth transition if Notre Dame were put in a position where they have to join a conference with the Big Ten being the most likely partner. Let’s assume Notre Dame and NBC get an extension done: what does it mean for those prime time games the Irish have on NBC each year? I don’t know if there is an answer for that yet, but my assumption is that Notre Dame will be more than happy to not play those night games at home from now on if they aren’t required to.
The schedule is already brutal enough for everyone who is involved with the program and they will still be featured in night games on other networks for road games. Not having those extra couple of night games could make things a lot easier for the coaches and players. I wouldn’t be surprised if Notre Dame tells NBC they are happy to stay in the afternoon slot and the Big Ten would be happier too.
NBC could push to make the USC game a night game every year whether it is home or away because that’s (weirdly) going to be a Big Ten matchup. Notre Dame has other Big Ten programs on the home schedule in the coming years as well so it’s not like that won’t be an option.
Notre Dame played six night games in the regular season last year. That was more than Ohio State (four), more than Alabama (five), and more than Michigan (four). Six is too many so I think the Big Ten deal with NBC could work out in more ways than one for Notre Dame.
6. Two top-100 prospects in the 2023 recruiting cycle decommitted yesterday and Notre Dame fans know that programs are trying to steal away their top commitments as well. It’s always a wild ride in the fall for recruiting when it comes to flips, but it should be even crazier with NIL playing a big factor with many recruits.
There will be those who will stick with their commitments and pass on the highest bid much like what has happened with transfers. Zay Flowers passed on big money to stay at Boston College. Jordan Addison got that bag and left Pitt. It’s going to be similar with many recruits down the stretch.
The other element of this will be potential coaching changes. That typically has been a catalyst for players to explore other options and there are a bunch of coaches who we know will be on the hot seat coming into the season like Nebraska’s Scott Frost, Auburn’s Bryan Harsin, and Arizona State’s Herm Edwards. There’s also a long list of guys who could join them if their teams get off to a slow start.
Scott Satterfield might be having more success than before on the recruiting trail, with a large assist from NIL deals, but he’s also coming off two straight losing seasons. If he loses his job or the speculation grows that he might, what’s going to happen with his blue-chip recruits who committed for other reasons? Will they stick because the money will still be there or will they go shopping somewhere else?
It sounds like Neal Brown’s buyout at West Virginia likely keeps him safe even if they have another disappointing year, but that’s a familiar story that has ended badly for many coaches. Even if he keeps his gig for now, what if his firing looks inevitable at some point? Rodney Gallagher might not care if he is guaranteed some sort of deal, but who’s to say that all of these deals stay on the table if the program is struggling?
This doesn’t even bring into the equation some recruits making the jump from good to elite as seniors or others who go from hyped to stock down. This is all uncharted territory.
All of this is just making me glad that actual football starts soon and most of the focus will be on the field. Notre Dame needs to take care of business on the field and the business off the field will get sorted out eventually. It may just be a bit of a wild ride before that happens.
Men’s Heathered Navy Notre Dame Tri-blend T-shirt 