Sorry if I missed it but where is Stepherson?
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Notre Dame Football
Notre Dame Practice Report: 4/19
Notre Dame held its sixth practice of the spring outside on Wednesday morning and man….where to start...
The Irish offense and defense both had moments where you could the pieces coming together, which led to an impressive showing as a team in the last full practice of the spring.
Things started off with the tempo drill as usual.
First-Team Offense
QB: Brandon Wimbush
RB: Josh Adams
WR: Miles Boykin
WR: Chase Claypool
WR: Equanimeous St. Brown
TE: Durham Smythe/Alizè Jones
OL: Mike McGlinchey
OL: Quenton Nelson
OL: Sam Mustipher
OL: Alex Bars
OL: Tommy Kraemer
Second-Team
QB: Ian Book
RB: Dexter Williams/Tony Jones Jr.
WR: Chris Finke
WR: CJ Sanders
WR: Javon McKinley
TE: Nic Weishar
OL: Robert Hainsey
OL: Aaron Banks
OL: Tristen Hoge
OL: Hunter Bivin
OL: Liam Eichenberg
Third-Team
QB: Montgomery VanGorder
RB: Deon McIntosh
WR: Keenan Centlivre
WR: Austin Webster
WR: Mick Assaf
TE: Tyler Luatua
OL: Sam Bush
OL: Parker Boudreaux
OL: Logan Plantz
OL: Jimmy Bryne
Yes, there were only four offensive linemen on the third-team as Trevor Ruhland was out of practice.
The offense got started off with some half-line drill work as the offensive line went against each other. The focus was working on the guards pulling and getting to the second-level.
“Drive your pads and knock them down South!”, Hiestand yelled at Aaron Banks.
The offensive line continued positional work, while the tight ends move to sled work, running backs worked on pass protection, and the receivers were doing some ball security drills. Quarterbacks then combined with the running backs to work on a variety of handoffs.
The offense then to work on the run game. It wasn’t too exciting as guys weren’t live.
The next period, Notre Dame then started to work on live half-line drills between the offensive and defensive line. The offensive line seemed to have their way, as expected in this drill, but it was pretty damn physical.
Linebackers coach Clark Lea was getting vocal during the drill praising and reminding Jonathan Jones about his role.
“Good job Jon!” yelled Lea. “That’s what we want.”
The next rep, Lea was making sure Jones knew what he did wrong.
“Don’t be indecisive!” Lea said. “You had your line.”
Notre Dame then went to full 11-on-11, and fireworks happened on both sides of the football.
Brandon Wimbush
- Josh Adams run…tackle for loss by Daelin Hayes.
- Dexter Williams inside run for about 10 yards.
- Wimbush keeper for a short gain.
- Wimbush hit Alizè Jones on a crossing route for a gain of about 20 yards.
- Daelin Hayes earned a “sack” on Wimbush, who wasn’t live.
- Jay Hayes tackle for loss on a Wimbush keep.
Ian Book
- Dexter Williams 15-yard run up the middle.
- Tony Jones Jr. rips off a 60-yard run. Middle collapsed, and somehow he popped out.
- Andrew Trumbetti sack. Jamir Jones pressure
- Party in the backfield on a run. Jamir Jones, Jay Hayes, Micah Dew-Treadway involved.
Brandon Wimbush
- Josh Adams run for about three yards.
- Complete to Durham Smythe for a gain of 10.
- Adams inside run for five yards.
- Bad snap. Tackle for loss by Drue Tranquill and Jamir Jones.
- Bomb to Chase Claypool a tad overthrown.
- Incomplete pass to Alizè Jones.
Ian Book
- Asmar Bilal almost decapitates CJ Sanders on a jet sweep. Defense hype. Biggest hit in practice in the last two years.
- Bad snap
- Dexter Williams outside run for a small gain.
- Roll out to the right. Incomplete.
- Tony Jones Jr. inside run for about two yards.
The defense was extremely impressive during the 11-on-11 portion of practice. They were physical, playing fast, and played with emotion you hadn’t seen from them in previous practices over the last couple years.
It was also noticeable that Notre Dame was running more of Mike Elko’s defense than we had seen previously, so it was also a positive sign to see the players have success running his scheme. It wasn’t a basic defense to give the offense different looks, but they were moving around presnap, blitzing and attacking.
The receivers and defensive backs then broke into 1-on-1s, which were also competitive.
Wimbush
- Incomplete – Overshot Claypool
- Incomplete – Julian Love with a PBU on Equanimeous St. Brown
- Incomplete – Overshot CJ Sanders. Troy Pride on the coverage
- Complete – Nic Weishar vs Nicco Fertitta
- Complete – Miles Boykin vs Nick Watkins
- Complete – Chris Finke vs Temitope Agoro
- Incomplete – Devin Studstill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – St. Brown vs Pride
Red zone
- Complete- CJ Sanders beat Nick Coleman
- Incomplete – Nick Watkins beat Mike Boykin
- Incomplete – Devin Studstill beat St. Brown
- Incomplete – Agoro beat Finke
Book
- Incomplete – Julian Love vs Miles Boykin
- Incomplete – PBU by Drue Tranquill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs Devin Studstill
- Incomplete – Troy Pride Jr vs Austin Webster
- Complete – St. Brown vs Love
- Complete – Alizè Jones vs Jalen Elliott
- Incomplete – Pride vs CJ Sanders
- Complete – Centlivre vs Dontè Vaughn
Red zone
- Complete – Alizè Jones vs Jalen Elliott
- Complete – Javon McKinley vs DJ Morgan
- Incomplete – Dontè Vaughn vs Miles Boykin
VanGorder
- Complete – Durham Smythe vs Jalen Elliott
- Complete – Chris Finke vs Dontè Vaughn
- Incomplete – Agoro vs Centlivre
- Incomplete – Drue Tranquill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs Nick Coleman
- Complete – Austin Webster vs Julian Love
- Incomplete – DJ Morgan with a PBU vs Chase Claypool
- Complete – Javon McKinley vs Nick Coleman
Red zone
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs DJ Morgan
- Complete – Javon McKinley on Nick Coleman
- Complete – CJ Sanders on Devin Studstill
The team then went back into 11-on-11, but this time it wasn’t live. There was no tackling involved, and it was tempo-based.
Ian Book
- Complete to Chase Claypool
- Screen to Equanimeous St. Brown for a small gain
- Josh Adams big run
- Book keeper
- Miles Boykin made the catch of the day, as Vaughn tipped the pass and Boykin caught it with a foot out of bounds.
- Josh Adams short gain
- Book run
- Josh Adams touchdown run
Brandon Wimbush
- Threw an absolute rope to Chris Finke for about a 30-yard gain.
- Wimbush run
- Wimbush keep on a read option
- Dexter Williams 10-yard run
- Wimbush hit Finke on a beautiful go route for a 40-yard TD.
**Offense kept going to finish the drill after the TD
- Wimbush with another big-time throw to Alizè Jones on a slant
- Dexter Williams short gain
- Dexter Williams TD run.
Notre Dame then went work on Special Teams. They were working on punt, so nothing overly exciting.
Brian Polian was heard yelling at John Shannon, “Outstanding! Dammit, Good Job!”
The team then broke into positional work, but the skills guys were doing some 7-on-7 work, but only half the field at the same time. The right side would run routes and get a throw and then the left side would run their routes and get a ball. Nothing too exciting here.
However, the full-go 7-on-7 was next.
Wimbush
- Complete to Smythe
- Incomplete to Alizè Jones
- Incomplete to Alizè Jones
- Complete to Chase Claypool
- Complete to Smythe
- Complete to Alizè Jones
Red zone
- Complete – Boykin TD
- No throw
- Complete – Tony Jones Jr. TD
- Incomplete – Troy Pride Jr. with a PBU against Claypool
- INT – Fade to Smythe. Isaiah Robertson got the pick
- Incomplete – PBU by Devin Studstill vs Durham Smythe
Book
- Incomplete – Overshot Tony Jones Jr.
- Complete to Javon McKinley
- Complete to walk-on
- Complete to Deon McIntosh
Red zone
- Incomplete to Dexter Williams
The practice finished up with some situational football. The offense got the ball with 1:05 on the clock and they had to move the ball from their own 40.
The first play was electric and kind of defeated the purpose of the drill, but I am sure Brian Kelly and Chip Long will take it.
Brandon Wimbush dropped back to pass, and as the pocket collapsed, Wimbush took off down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run. It was a burst that Notre Dame fans haven’t seen from the QB in recent years and just simply a play made by an elite athlete.
Kelly wanted Wimbush to go through the drill, so they quickly restarted the drill.
Wimbush
- Sack
- Complete – A bomb down the sideline to Miles Boykin for a gain of about 35 yards.
- Incomplete
- Complete – Wimbush hit Claypool on a crossing route for about 15 yards.
- Josh Adams run off tackle for a 20-yard score.
Of note, Ade Ogundeji was getting some work with the first-team defense in the red zone along with Ashton White at safety.
Red zone
- Jay Hayes sack
- Wimbush TD to Alizè Jones
Book
- Incomplete – Jay Hayes tipped ball
- Bad snap – Fumble recovered by Daelin Hayes
Wimbush
- Complete. Brock Wright lined up as a fullback. Wimbush hit him off play action for a TD.
Note
- Notre Dame tight end commit Cole Kmet and walk-on Cameron Ekanayake were in attendance.
The Irish offense and defense both had moments where you could the pieces coming together, which led to an impressive showing as a team in the last full practice of the spring.
Things started off with the tempo drill as usual.
First-Team Offense
QB: Brandon Wimbush
RB: Josh Adams
WR: Miles Boykin
WR: Chase Claypool
WR: Equanimeous St. Brown
TE: Durham Smythe/Alizè Jones
OL: Mike McGlinchey
OL: Quenton Nelson
OL: Sam Mustipher
OL: Alex Bars
OL: Tommy Kraemer
Second-Team
QB: Ian Book
RB: Dexter Williams/Tony Jones Jr.
WR: Chris Finke
WR: CJ Sanders
WR: Javon McKinley
TE: Nic Weishar
OL: Robert Hainsey
OL: Aaron Banks
OL: Tristen Hoge
OL: Hunter Bivin
OL: Liam Eichenberg
Third-Team
QB: Montgomery VanGorder
RB: Deon McIntosh
WR: Keenan Centlivre
WR: Austin Webster
WR: Mick Assaf
TE: Tyler Luatua
OL: Sam Bush
OL: Parker Boudreaux
OL: Logan Plantz
OL: Jimmy Bryne
Yes, there were only four offensive linemen on the third-team as Trevor Ruhland was out of practice.
The offense got started off with some half-line drill work as the offensive line went against each other. The focus was working on the guards pulling and getting to the second-level.
“Drive your pads and knock them down South!”, Hiestand yelled at Aaron Banks.
The offensive line continued positional work, while the tight ends move to sled work, running backs worked on pass protection, and the receivers were doing some ball security drills. Quarterbacks then combined with the running backs to work on a variety of handoffs.
The offense then to work on the run game. It wasn’t too exciting as guys weren’t live.
The next period, Notre Dame then started to work on live half-line drills between the offensive and defensive line. The offensive line seemed to have their way, as expected in this drill, but it was pretty damn physical.
Linebackers coach Clark Lea was getting vocal during the drill praising and reminding Jonathan Jones about his role.
“Good job Jon!” yelled Lea. “That’s what we want.”
The next rep, Lea was making sure Jones knew what he did wrong.
“Don’t be indecisive!” Lea said. “You had your line.”
Notre Dame then went to full 11-on-11, and fireworks happened on both sides of the football.
Brandon Wimbush
- Josh Adams run…tackle for loss by Daelin Hayes.
- Dexter Williams inside run for about 10 yards.
- Wimbush keeper for a short gain.
- Wimbush hit Alizè Jones on a crossing route for a gain of about 20 yards.
- Daelin Hayes earned a “sack” on Wimbush, who wasn’t live.
- Jay Hayes tackle for loss on a Wimbush keep.
Ian Book
- Dexter Williams 15-yard run up the middle.
- Tony Jones Jr. rips off a 60-yard run. Middle collapsed, and somehow he popped out.
- Andrew Trumbetti sack. Jamir Jones pressure
- Party in the backfield on a run. Jamir Jones, Jay Hayes, Micah Dew-Treadway involved.
Brandon Wimbush
- Josh Adams run for about three yards.
- Complete to Durham Smythe for a gain of 10.
- Adams inside run for five yards.
- Bad snap. Tackle for loss by Drue Tranquill and Jamir Jones.
- Bomb to Chase Claypool a tad overthrown.
- Incomplete pass to Alizè Jones.
Ian Book
- Asmar Bilal almost decapitates CJ Sanders on a jet sweep. Defense hype. Biggest hit in practice in the last two years.
- Bad snap
- Dexter Williams outside run for a small gain.
- Roll out to the right. Incomplete.
- Tony Jones Jr. inside run for about two yards.
The defense was extremely impressive during the 11-on-11 portion of practice. They were physical, playing fast, and played with emotion you hadn’t seen from them in previous practices over the last couple years.
It was also noticeable that Notre Dame was running more of Mike Elko’s defense than we had seen previously, so it was also a positive sign to see the players have success running his scheme. It wasn’t a basic defense to give the offense different looks, but they were moving around presnap, blitzing and attacking.
The receivers and defensive backs then broke into 1-on-1s, which were also competitive.
Wimbush
- Incomplete – Overshot Claypool
- Incomplete – Julian Love with a PBU on Equanimeous St. Brown
- Incomplete – Overshot CJ Sanders. Troy Pride on the coverage
- Complete – Nic Weishar vs Nicco Fertitta
- Complete – Miles Boykin vs Nick Watkins
- Complete – Chris Finke vs Temitope Agoro
- Incomplete – Devin Studstill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – St. Brown vs Pride
Red zone
- Complete- CJ Sanders beat Nick Coleman
- Incomplete – Nick Watkins beat Mike Boykin
- Incomplete – Devin Studstill beat St. Brown
- Incomplete – Agoro beat Finke
Book
- Incomplete – Julian Love vs Miles Boykin
- Incomplete – PBU by Drue Tranquill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs Devin Studstill
- Incomplete – Troy Pride Jr vs Austin Webster
- Complete – St. Brown vs Love
- Complete – Alizè Jones vs Jalen Elliott
- Incomplete – Pride vs CJ Sanders
- Complete – Centlivre vs Dontè Vaughn
Red zone
- Complete – Alizè Jones vs Jalen Elliott
- Complete – Javon McKinley vs DJ Morgan
- Incomplete – Dontè Vaughn vs Miles Boykin
VanGorder
- Complete – Durham Smythe vs Jalen Elliott
- Complete – Chris Finke vs Dontè Vaughn
- Incomplete – Agoro vs Centlivre
- Incomplete – Drue Tranquill vs Javon McKinley
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs Nick Coleman
- Complete – Austin Webster vs Julian Love
- Incomplete – DJ Morgan with a PBU vs Chase Claypool
- Complete – Javon McKinley vs Nick Coleman
Red zone
- Complete – Chase Claypool vs DJ Morgan
- Complete – Javon McKinley on Nick Coleman
- Complete – CJ Sanders on Devin Studstill
The team then went back into 11-on-11, but this time it wasn’t live. There was no tackling involved, and it was tempo-based.
Ian Book
- Complete to Chase Claypool
- Screen to Equanimeous St. Brown for a small gain
- Josh Adams big run
- Book keeper
- Miles Boykin made the catch of the day, as Vaughn tipped the pass and Boykin caught it with a foot out of bounds.
- Josh Adams short gain
- Book run
- Josh Adams touchdown run
Brandon Wimbush
- Threw an absolute rope to Chris Finke for about a 30-yard gain.
- Wimbush run
- Wimbush keep on a read option
- Dexter Williams 10-yard run
- Wimbush hit Finke on a beautiful go route for a 40-yard TD.
**Offense kept going to finish the drill after the TD
- Wimbush with another big-time throw to Alizè Jones on a slant
- Dexter Williams short gain
- Dexter Williams TD run.
Notre Dame then went work on Special Teams. They were working on punt, so nothing overly exciting.
Brian Polian was heard yelling at John Shannon, “Outstanding! Dammit, Good Job!”
The team then broke into positional work, but the skills guys were doing some 7-on-7 work, but only half the field at the same time. The right side would run routes and get a throw and then the left side would run their routes and get a ball. Nothing too exciting here.
However, the full-go 7-on-7 was next.
Wimbush
- Complete to Smythe
- Incomplete to Alizè Jones
- Incomplete to Alizè Jones
- Complete to Chase Claypool
- Complete to Smythe
- Complete to Alizè Jones
Red zone
- Complete – Boykin TD
- No throw
- Complete – Tony Jones Jr. TD
- Incomplete – Troy Pride Jr. with a PBU against Claypool
- INT – Fade to Smythe. Isaiah Robertson got the pick
- Incomplete – PBU by Devin Studstill vs Durham Smythe
Book
- Incomplete – Overshot Tony Jones Jr.
- Complete to Javon McKinley
- Complete to walk-on
- Complete to Deon McIntosh
Red zone
- Incomplete to Dexter Williams
The practice finished up with some situational football. The offense got the ball with 1:05 on the clock and they had to move the ball from their own 40.
The first play was electric and kind of defeated the purpose of the drill, but I am sure Brian Kelly and Chip Long will take it.
Brandon Wimbush dropped back to pass, and as the pocket collapsed, Wimbush took off down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run. It was a burst that Notre Dame fans haven’t seen from the QB in recent years and just simply a play made by an elite athlete.
Kelly wanted Wimbush to go through the drill, so they quickly restarted the drill.
Wimbush
- Sack
- Complete – A bomb down the sideline to Miles Boykin for a gain of about 35 yards.
- Incomplete
- Complete – Wimbush hit Claypool on a crossing route for about 15 yards.
- Josh Adams run off tackle for a 20-yard score.
Of note, Ade Ogundeji was getting some work with the first-team defense in the red zone along with Ashton White at safety.
Red zone
- Jay Hayes sack
- Wimbush TD to Alizè Jones
Book
- Incomplete – Jay Hayes tipped ball
- Bad snap – Fumble recovered by Daelin Hayes
Wimbush
- Complete. Brock Wright lined up as a fullback. Wimbush hit him off play action for a TD.
Note
- Notre Dame tight end commit Cole Kmet and walk-on Cameron Ekanayake were in attendance.
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