Notre Dame’s need for offensive growth hasn’t exactly been a secret.
Since Marcus Freeman took over in 2022, the Fighting Irish defense has consistently set the tone, often carrying the program while the offense worked to find its footing. But this spring, there were clear signs that Mike Denbrock’s unit is beginning to close that gap.
The return of quarterback CJ Carr is a major factor. For the first time in Freeman’s tenure, Notre Dame enters an offseason with a returning starter under center and that continuity has shown itself.
But the progress goes beyond just the quarterback position.
Notre Dame’s wide receiver room looked noticeably different this spring, both in terms of athleticism and overall talent. Even during individual drills, the group flashed more explosiveness and even confidence.
“I like that group overall,” stated Denbrock. “I think there's a lot of diverse talent in that group. Most of them have come in with a maturity level about them and their work ethic is at a level where they've picked things up pretty fast. They continue to get better, I think, every day.”
Across the board, the unit took a step forward.
Cam Williams showed more consistency. Bubba Frazier and Devin Fitzgerald proved capable of making plays. Logan Saldate demonstrated he could transition to a new position and still produce, while Mylan Graham quickly picked up the offense, putting himself in position for an even bigger summer.
Now, the challenge is sustaining that momentum.
“That's their charge,” explained Denbrock. “Dig in over the summer now. Now that they've had one install, they're going to get another one over the summer that looks very similar to the one we just did. Their details and their focus should kind of bump up a little bit. I like the versatility of that group and I think there's some really talented players there.”
With a more seasoned group and a returning quarterback, Denbrock was able to push the offense further this spring with installs and testing his group in compromising situations.
“I think what that allowed us to do offensively, especially with the first group and based on the experience that we have on the offensive unit,” said Denbrock. “We were able to kind of be a little bit farther reaching with our install, be a little bit farther reaching with putting them in kind of awkward situations to try to anticipate problems and issues and how to fix those if we come in contact with those early in the season.
“It's allowed us to be a little harder on them from the standpoint of putting them in situations scheme-wise that are more difficult than just first and second down and play football and do the best you can.”
Notre Dame’s tight end room is always going to have high expectations, but with Denbrock leading the group, they are probably even higher.
The tight end room needs to replace the production of Eli Raridon, and while Denbrock wasn’t disappointed in his group, he also knows they have to reach another level before the season starts.
“I think it's got to continue to get better,” Denbrock stated. “I want to see more production out of that group, a little bit in the passing game in particular. I'm more than thrilled with where we are in the run game. I think with Coop (Cooper Flanigan), James Flanagan and Tyrus Washington and the guys in that room, we can line up physically with anybody.
“Can we run and play football in space and make plays in the passing game and be our quarterback's best friend when he needs one? That's something that we have to continue to get better at.”
Up front, Notre Dame appears to quality depth beyond the starting five.
The starting offensive line remained intact throughout the spring, though redshirt freshman Matty Augustine made a strong push for playing time. His ability to work at both guard and tackle didn’t go unnoticed.
“I thought Matty had an incredible spring and has put himself in a position to compete to be one of the five and that's really the goal of all those guys right now,” said Denbrock. “Refuse to be ignored. Put yourself in a position where you have to be counted on come fall camp, where we've got to evaluate this and make it hard, make it hard on us as coaches to choose.”
If Augustine doesn’t start, it’s not necessarily a negative, as it speaks to the overall depth in Joe Rudolph’s room.
“I like the depth that we've got there,” Denbrock said. “Unfortunately, the last couple of years have provided us with a need to have depth. Good Lord willing, maybe that's not the case, but if it is, we've got a number of players who can help this football team win games.”
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