Notre Dame Fall Camp Storylines
Notre Dame will begin the 2023 campaign on Wednesday as the Fighting Irish will open its second fall camp under head coach Marcus Freeman.
The college football world always has eyes on Notre Dame, but this fall there might only be one eye on the Irish program compared to the hype that surrounded Freeman coaching his first regular season game at his alma mater in a Top 25 showdown in week one.
Yet, Notre Dame fans will have plenty of storylines to follow this fall as the Irish look to rebound from the 9-4 campaign in 2022.
QUARTERBACK
Sam Hartman has been the focus of the offseason as the graduate transfer gives Notre Dame proven production and endless experience. Now, that experience hasn’t come in the blue and gold, but a defense won’t throw anything at him he hasn’t already seen.
That said, the next month won’t necessarily be all about Hartman as Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli will be tasked with developing sophomore Steve Angeli and freshman Kenny Minchey. Yes, Hartman needs reps, but the coaching staff must find ways to involve Angeli and Minchey as the program needs a backup in 2023 and a starter in 2024.
Angeli will naturally have an advantage over Minchey as he has a year headstart, but Guidugli will have the chance to really push both as he doesn’t have to focus on a competition to be the starter.
RUNNING BACK
Similar to the quarterback position, Audric Estimé is the starter after running for 920 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2022. Sophomore Gi’Bran Payne, sophomore Jadarian Price, freshman Jeremiyah Love and graduate transfer Devyn Ford will provide the fireworks as they will battle for carries and roles behind Estimé.
Payne impressed many around the program with his spring as he showed off his ability with the ball in his hands and the will to pass block. Price arguably had the momentum to be Notre Dame’s starting running back after enrolling early and turning heads last spring. He tore his Achilles in June and missed the 2022 campaign. Per Freeman, Price is full go, but it’s likely there will be an adjustment period when the pads come on as the Texas native hasn’t taken contact in over a year and will need to trust his foot to cut and take hits.
Ford is an interesting piece to the puzzle as the Irish didn’t necessarily need him, but after losing Logan Diggs, Notre Dame saw his experience as a luxury. While at Penn State, Ford’s best season came as a freshman, so the jury is still out on what exactly Deland McCullough can get out of him. There is speed there, so there can easily be a role for Ford as Chris Tyree moved to slot.
It might be an uphill battle for Love to earn consistent carries, but like Ford, the St. Louis native brings speed to the table and showed he could catch the ball in high school. There will be someone left out in the running back room, but there are always roles for guys with speed.
WIDE RECEIVER
There are several players and storylines here, but the long-term fall development will be which freshmen receiver steps into the bright lights. Jaden Greathouse, Braylon James and Rico Flores Jr. enrolled early while Kaleb Smith arrived in June. All three had moments in the spring, but it seemed like Greathouse entered summer workouts with a slight advantage after his 11 catches for 118 yards in the spring game.
Greathouse worked in the slot and that might be the biggest hurdle for him as Jayden Thomas and Tyree are also working there. Obviously, Thomas can move outside, but Notre Dame likes the mismatches a bigger slot causes, which is why Greathouse fits there too. The Irish need a receiver to take the top off the defense, which paves the way for Flores and James to potentially get long looks if they prove they are ready.
Regardless, Notre Dame will need at least one freshman to play a significant role this fall and it will interesting to see if they take it on their own or if Chansi Stuckey has to expedite a kid who isn’t necessarily ready.
TIGHT END
Mitchell Evans showed off his game in the Gator Bowl, so there is confidence he can take the next step. Notre Dame will likely have all eyes on its sophomore tight ends Eli Raridon and Holden Staes. Both played a year ago, but only combined for one catch for 11 yards.
Raridon suffered an ACL injury for the second year in a row, which led to him missing a large portion of the year. If healthy, the 6-foot-6, 249-pounder athlete presents a massive mismatch for defenses and Notre Dame won’t be afraid to take advantage of it.
For Staes, the Georgia native proved he could be a factor in the run game as a freshman and an entire offseason with Matt Balis should only improve that piece of his game. It will be interesting to see his development as a pass catch and where he can help in the passing game.
Summer enrollee Cooper Flanagan has told multiple people he’s over 260 pounds, so if he is that heavy, it will be interesting to see if he can carve out a role in the run game or if he needs to drop some weight to be effective.
OFFENSIVE LINE
As much as Notre Dame needs to develop tackles behind Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, all eyes will be on the starting guard battle. It seems like it’s a three-man race for two spots as Billy Schrauth, Andrew Kristofic and Rocco Spindler got most of the reps in the spring under new offensive line coach Joe Rudolph.
We’re told during summer workouts, Kristofic and Schrauth were with the first group, but it also didn’t make too much sense to throw Spindler out there as Rudolph needs a motivated junior heading into camp.
Spindler had to work through some hurdles away from the field last year and that’s behind him, which means he has a clear mind and he looks the part as the Michigan native had a productive offseason. Kristofic brings experience to the table, which Schrauth and Spindler don’t have. He knows what to expect, but can he do what’s needed at a consistent level? Schrauth had an up and down spring, which was expected, but he’ll need to show improvement in pass pro over the next three weeks.
Perhaps the best news for all the offensive lineman is Rudolph doesn’t seem as hard-headed in terms of sticking with his starting five as Harry Hiestand. That means if Notre Dame takes a commanding lead, younger guys will get experience and while it’s not ideal to have a rotation at guard, it seems Rudolph is more open than Hiestand.
EDGE
Notre Dame has talent, unique skillsets and body types at both defensive end positions. What’s missing is proven production despite players having experience. Jordan Botelho has shown in flashes he can produce while Javontae Jean-Baptiste couldn’t quite consistently crack the rotation in Columbus.
It certainly seems like there is a chip on the shoulder of most of the edge guys, which is a positive as Al Washington will have no issues leaning into it.
The development of Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka and Aiden Gobaira will also be fascinating to watch. All three have flashed and showed growth during the spring. For Gobaira, it comes down to adding strength and weight. Burnham and Tuihalamaka give Notre Dame different skill sets at vyper, which isn’t something the program consistently has had. Both will need to take a step forward in consistently getting the quarterback, but that comes with reps.
INTERIOR DEFENSIVE LINE
It’s a big month for the heart of the defensive line as Notre Dame will need Gabe Rubio, Tyson Ford, Jason Onye and Aidan Keanaaina to take steps forward. It doesn’t have to be a “challenge Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills” step forward, but one where Notre Dame can count on them for solid game reps.
It’s interesting because Notre Dame has interchangeable parts inside as Rubio, Ford and Onye could play one or three tech. Either way, Notre Dame has bigger bodies in the wings and that’s a good thing.
That said, I’m still keeping an eye on sophomore Donovan Hinish. Notre Dame didn’t have to throw him to wolves like his older brother. Yes, Hinish isn’t as big as some of his teammates, but given his family history and the way he plays, I wouldn’t count him out. Remember, folks in his own family said Kurt was a prick and Donovan is....well I can’t repeat that word.
It will also be fascinating to see which freshman stayed outside and who moves inside to three tech. Presently, Armel Mukam seems like the most likely given his added weight and build.
LINEBACKER
Notre Dame knows what it has in JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser. Marist Liufau is a bit of a wildcard as he was a different player before his broken leg that cost him the 2021 season. In the spring, Liufau worked in a variety of roles, which may be more beneficial to his game instead of just playing a traditional weakside backer role.
The most intriguing storyline will be Jaylen Sneed and if Notre Dame is ready for him to take over the rover position. Sneed showed off his ability to attack off the edge in the Gator Bowl and then had a solid spring. If he can handle it mentally, Notre Dame will have a chess piece at the second level its been missing in recent years.
We’ll also be watching the development of Drayk Bowen and Nolan Ziegler over the next month. It seems like both will have the shot to earn snaps on defense after productive springs. Sophomore walk-on Tre Reader seems like a player to keep an eye on as he was underrecruited and while it’d be a tough task to earn snaps on defense, the Florida native could certainly find a role on special teams in year two.
CORNERBACK
Mike Mickens has transformed the room and it’s probably not talked about enough. Notre Dame has returning All-American and he’s a sophomore. Read that again. The hype and attention doesn’t seem to be getting to Benjamin Morrison and that’s a great thing.
That said, Notre Dame will need to figure out its nickel situation. The good news is there are plenty of options. It starts with Thomas Harper and Clarence Lewis. Harper played the position at Oklahoma State, while Lewis seemed to settle into a role there last year after Morrison took over on the outside. Lewis is the bigger body, while we don’t know too much about Harper’s game as he missed the spring recovering from labrum surgery. Jaden Mickey and Christian Gray also present intriguing options there too. Gray has the athleticism, length and speed to cause issues, while Mickey’s physicality is a bonus inside.
SAFETY
Similar to linebacker, Notre Dame knows what it has in DJ Brown. A very solid college player, but is limited in a few areas. Brown has done much more good than bad, but as with most players, fans highlight a missed tackle over the 15 big tackles he made.
Xavier Watts is the guy we’ll be watching closely as he has a chance to be a special player as he showed at times last year. Watts is far enough along in his transition to safety where there are expectations and it seemed like he’s settled in well during the spring.
Ramon Henderson carved out a role a year ago and had success. There’s snaps for him, but the compelling watch will be grad transfer Antonio Carter II and how he adapts to big-time football after having success at Rhode Island. Carter is also a guy who could find a role in the nickel, but Al Golden loves to play three safeties so it’ll be interesting the personnel groupings that come from that. Can Golden take Brown off the field to get Watts, Henderson and Carter on the field? Will it be a battle between Carter and Henderson for the third safety role?
There are also freshmen Adon Shuler, Ben Minich and Luke Talich waiting in the wings. Talich arrived in the summer, while Shuler missed the spring with shoulder surgery and Minich missed a portion of spring ball after a thumb injury.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Zac Yoakam and grad transfer Spencer Shrader will battle it out for kicking duties. Brian Mason named Bryce McFerson the starting punter during Gator Bowl prep so that carries weight despite him leaving for the Colts.
in our viewings, we probably won’t get enough of a feel for who will the kick and punt returners, but it will be heated battle as Notre Dame has several explosive players who fit the bill, especially with Marty Biagi’s ability to scheme in the return game.
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