Notre Dame’s special teams delivered electric moments and costly miscues in 2024.
This fall, coordinator Marty Biagi is focused on tipping the balance toward consistency, while still chasing game-changing plays.
That effort starts on kickoff return, where two of Notre Dame’s most dynamic players will line up. Rule changes have made returns more difficult, but Biagi believes Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price give the Irish a chance to flip the field every time they touch the ball.
“At kick return, we've had Price and Love as the main two guys back there,” explained Biagi. “Even when you talk to Ja’Juan [Seider] and you look at the two returners that were in the game versus us in the Orange Bowl, they were the two starting running backs.
“If we're going to spend time and block it up, we want to get our best athletes back there that we know can hit it. Nolan James has done a great job.”
It’s a calculated risk to use top offensive playmakers on special teams, but Biagi and Marcus Freeman aren’t shying away from getting the ball into the hands of their best players.
“I don't feel like it was difficult,” Biagi stated. “It was something that talking with Ja’Juan and Free (Marcus Freeman). If we feel like we have something schemed up really well, we want to get our best playmakers on the field. That's something that at the end of the day Coach Free has all the full decision-making over our roster and who goes in and who doesn't. He's not going to play scared or timid if we think we can make a game-changing play.”
On the flip side, Biagi is working through an intense battle to return punts.
“Will Pauling and [Jordan] Faison have done a great job as the punt returners, with Dallas Golden getting a lot of work back there as well. Aneyas Williams and Jaden Greathouse, probably those five, have really stood out.”
On paper, Faison and Golden stand out by having that ability to make the first guy miss and then use their speed to get loose. It requires some agility, which is why Greathouse has had success and Williams would be an effective option.
Golden has flashed his abilities to Biagi, but it will come down to not making mistakes.
“It's not so much would you trust a true freshman,” Biagi said of Golden. “It's just can you show you can be consistent doing it. He had a couple drops early on in camp, and he's worked really hard to prove that he can handle that. It's something that he is gifted at doing and wants to work into that. At the right time, there could be an opportunity, but he's got to catch up a little bit from early on in camp.”
While the returners get the headlines, Notre Dame’s coverage units will also feature young talent. Several freshmen have shown speed and athleticism, but Biagi stressed the importance of situational awareness.
“For a lot of these freshmen in general, it's the scenario teaching,” explained Biagi. “It's not that they can't run down on kickoff. It's not that they don't know how to take on the block. It's the understanding, OK, now this is more in depth of what could be happening through the whole play. or this is why we would not do this or do that.”
Will you see freshmen on special teams? Sure. But as Biagi stated, they are going to have to prove they can do their job at a high level as there are several older players hungry for roles.
It means Notre Dame can also stay fresher, as there won’t be a need for a player to play on multiple special teams units.
“Micah Gilbert and Matt Jeffrey for sure over there on the offensive side of the ball,” Biagi said of who has stood out on his units. “Loghan Thomas, [Preston] Zinter, Kahanu [Kia], definitely have flashed. Using some of our young corners to be able to come in and contribute.
“I feel like we have a really good group. We have a lot of depth, even to the standpoint of some of the newcomers, which is exciting with Devonta [Smith] and Stroh (Jalen Stroman) and then you got a freak athlete back there in Tae Tae [Johnson] being able to help. I really feel like we're to the point that we can kind of platoon this.”
With James Rendell back at punter, the final piece of the puzzle is at kicker, where graduate transfer Noah Burnette currently holds the edge over freshman Erik Schmidt.
Biagi wants to see more consistency on attempts inside 50 yards, but he’s encouraged by recent progress.
“I feel confident,” said Biagi. “We just ended on a game winner and it was on the 32-yard line, so it was right at a 50-yarder, and he (Burnette) put it right down the middle. It was good, but he's got to show he can do that every time. That's the biggest thing is we've really picked up in Block 3 and Block 4, and then right after Block 4, we'll get more into true situational scripting as opposed to just trying to get a good amount of kicks in to where they can get work in.”
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